SUMMARY:
As a new book review blogger for Thomas Nelson Books, my first elected assignment was to read and review Marcus Buckingham’s new book, Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently.
And I read it.
And I was marginally impressed.
He does make some great points about women today being less happy, less fulfilled and more stressed out than women 40-50 yrs ago. He brings up how having kids leaves women less fulfilled. He points out that men are increasingly becoming more happy and fulfilled as women slip down into depression. And then he tells women what to do about it!
My Reaction:
I love to read about social issues, so the book was interesting to me. It brought up topics I haven’t thought about objectively in a while and that was refreshing. The content was material I could directly relate to, as presently I am in the middle of making decisions that will affect my life and my family’s lifestyle. This book helped to clear my head, so to speak, of some clutter bouncing around in my brain.
The author really made me think about where my strengths lie, and how I can work to develop those strengths so that my life’s work is fulfilling isntead of draining. The book confirmed for me some realizations I have come to on my own over the past couple of weeks where personal matters are related. I found some of the material to be redundant, and in those areas I skimmed through the pages, but for the most part I was not at all a bored by the book. Additionally, the book was written in a format that flowed easily. Each chapter and section easily moved into the next chapter, next section.
I was surprised at the lack of attention to Scripture in the text. Mr. Buckingham rarely mentions anything to do with Christianity or Christitan living. Which surprised me because Thomas Nelson is a Christian publishing house. I thought the book could easily be a secular title. In fact, from a “Biblical Truth” point of view, I’d say the book was juxtaposed to traditional Christian values that would challenge a woman to rise up and fulfill her Godly calling as a wife and mother.
I recommend this book if you are trying to figure out what direction to take your life in and do not wish to be bombarded with the typical, “Trust God, Pray, Submit” mantra that permeates almost all Christian leadership books for women.
From Mr. Buckingham’s website:
Find Your Strongest Life was born out of a need to respond to questions such as these. The book challenges ingrained myths about women, tackles the paradox of declining female happiness, and demonstrates that the happiest and most successful women:
- Don’t agonize over who they aren’t—they accept and act on who they are. They have discovered the role they were born to play and they play it.
- Don’t juggle—they catch-and-cradle. They don’t keep things at bay, but select a few things and draw them in close.
- Don’t strive for balance—they strive for fullness. They intentionally imbalance their lives toward those moments that make them feel strong.
- Always sweat the small stuff—They know and act on the specific details of what invigorates them (and they let go of what doesn’t strengthen them).
Find Your Strongest Life also introduces Marcus Buckingham’s Strong Life Test, a unique profile-builder that measures individuals against nine distinct roles—Advisor, Caretaker, Creator, Equalizer, Influencer, Motivator, Pioneer, Teacher, Weaver—and reveals each woman’s Lead Role, the role she was born to play—the role that she and her closest friends and family will recognize as her core self. Used in conjunction with the book, the Strong Life Test can be a powerful tool enabling women to tap into their best selves and find their strongest lives.
I forgot I was supposed to be reading and reviewing books this summer. How could THAT happen?
Well I had planned to do all my reading while relaxing at the pool while the kids played. However – they apparently still need me in the water the entire time so I’ve been playing with them instead of relaxing. Which is, in its own way, more relaxing than reading.
Go figure.
I picked up a book at the library tonight called The Sad Truth About Happiness by Anne Giardini. Naturally, the morbidly ironic title drew me straight in. Here’s the first paragraph from the book, which I’m already in love with:
In my family, which is middle-class, white, loving, and mildly claustrophobic, I was the child known for contentedness. A perfect middle child, as my mother often referred to me, a buffer between Janet, who is two years older than I and who tortured us all with her sulks and moods and whims and silences, and stormy Lucy, two years my junior. Unlike Janet or Lucy, I could be counted on to share, to give way, to make room, to forgive, to take the borade, longer-term, higher-level view. My parents, both of them also as it happens middle children, had the same equanimous traits, so Janet and Lucy were a daily reminder to them that one does not always get the children one deserves. I have heard them describing having children as a lottery, a game of chance. They do not approve in any way of gambling.
Bwahahahahahaha! Oh how I can relate to this entire paragraph!! How can you not love that paragraph!!! I can’t wait to finish this book – it’s already brilliant! I’ll be back with an update soon!
It started off with such promise! And while it didn’t end totally without any positive attributes, it just didn’t end with the panache it started with.
I was glad how the plot turned, and that justice was served appropriately. But it was, quite frankly, a depressing read. Must all good books be wholly depressing in nature?
I was intrigued because the main character had 2 small daughters named Emma and Claire. My sister and I have girls named Emma and Claire. The other supporting character has two little girls named Audrey and Lizzy. A good friend of mine has two little girls named Audrey and Lizzy. The main characters have left suburbia and are an agrarian farming family. I have some old friends who have done this same thing. One of the children dies – and that loss, the grief, the chaotic nature of recovery from the disaster appeals to my mothering heart. One of the characters gets thrown in jail on trumped up charges of sexual abuse. I, being drawn to all things related to Law and Order, enjoyed the trial aspect of the novel. But in the end – I found that it just all cleaned up too….normal. Maybe that’s it. It was just too normal.
The writing style is beautiful though. Poetic, narrative, and haunting. I liked the different perspectives offered in the story. The author doesn’t just write from one character’s perspective – she switches from the first person of the main character, to the main characters husband, and then back to the main character. It takes some real talent as a writer to be able to do that effectively. And Jane Hamilton certainly has the ability to do so. I would like to read her other books eventually.
So – final judgement …. this is a pretty good book. Not as great as I thought it might be w
hen I started reading it but not awful.
I finished this book in 2 days. It had such promise when I picked it up and started reading it but I have to say, I really worked to get through it and skimmed a lot of it. Most of it was uninteresting to me because nothing really ever happens in the story. It’s simply a woman reconciling her life. And I guess in that regard it is intriguing, but on the other hand, I found it somewhat boring and frustrating to read through.
Here’s the very basic story line without spoilers:
The main character is a pathologic
al liar and this character trait is both her salvation and her demise. She uses her ability to lie to create worlds in which she thinks she is succeeding in only to find that the reality of the world she is operating in is fundamentally flawed. That discovery surprises her – which is interesting since it is her lies that have created the shaky foundation.
I can’t say I much liked the book. At the end of the novel I just kind of thought, “Humph.”There are some highly graphical scenes that unfold between the woman and her husband. Those excerpts were not offensive to me, but some readers might find them inappropriate. Personally, though, I would say don’t waste your time reading this novel. There are many other great novels out there to read and this is just not one of them. I have also read The Good Mother by Sue Miller and found it as equally drab. I read it last summer but did not put a review up on the book blog. **Maybe** I’ll do that at some point.
Bleh.
Ok the writing is pretty good but it just didn’t hold my attention.
The story is about 5 girls growing up in a very tightly controlled house. You have all the classic clichés: controlling mother, passive uninvolved dad, and 5 girls who are on the brink of suicide. The story is told by the neighborhood boys so that adds a really weird yet interesting bend to the story. However, I was simply not interested in what the neighborhood boys thought of their neighborhood girls. It just wasn’t my kind of read. A good book though – so I’m going to give it a “So/So” rating. You might like it – you might not. The 5 girls do end up killing themselves in the story, I think. I can’t be sure b/c I haven’t read the whole thing.
I think I would like the movie though and am going to go to put it on reserve at my public library right now.
Ok! Onto the next book!!
BORING BORING BORING!! I couldn’t get past page 11. This novel read like someone was narrating the front page of a tabloid newspaper.
Oh wait – that was the point of the first 11 pages.
And that’s why I didn’t read any further.
I picked up this book on a random walk-through at the library. I’m glad to know I have 3 books off my summer reading list waiting for me at the library and I’ll pick them up tomorrow and get crackin’!
STOP! Don’t even bother checking out this book!! It’s just not even worth the drive to the library. OK OK Maybe I’m being a little harsh. If you enjoy sensationalized tabloid gossip papers- you’ll probably enjoy this silly little book!
I haven’t blogged here since August of last year. I knew when I returned to college that there would be no way to keep up with reading for fun OR blogging about it. So I shelved my reading blog – but now that summer is here – I am already anticipating it being full of great reading adventures. I am, right now, compiling my summer reading list. At the library today I picked up 3 random fiction books off the book shelves.
My idea of the perfect summer afternoon. Complete with hammock, dress, and flowery hat!
I have so desperately missed reading for fun. I really learn so much about myself and life through novels – reading for academic purposes this past year has been…tediously boring. Interesting and enlightening, sure. But a bit boring.
So stay tuned b/c the book reviews are coming back! IF anyone still reads this blog – and you have some summer reading suggestions for me – please leave a comment here!
Ok this was a fun project over the summer or whatever, but I don’t have time anymore and am not reading that much right now. So I went ahead and imported all the book blogs over to my regular blog. I might revive the sight later on.
For now, it’s on vacation!
This is probably one of the single most important books for a Christian to read today.
At least, I think so.
And I’ve read a lot of Christian Self Help Books.
About a year ago I decided enough was enough. I had had it. I wasn’t going to pick up another Christian Self Help Book again – at least … not for another year. And so I didn’t. But July marked a year and this book had been recommended to me by someone I trust and respect a lot. He had asked me to read it last fall – but I told him I was on a Self Help Book Sabbatical. Christian and All.
So July called for The Journey of Desire: Searching for the Life We’ve Only Dreamed of by John Eldredge
I’m so glad I waited until I was ready to hear what the book had to say. Until I was ready to hear what John Eldredge wanted to tell me. Until I was ready to hear what God wanted me to hear that is…. through John’s story and through John’s gifted teaching. There haven’t been many books that have touched my spirit since I walked away from reformed Christianity. When I discovered Calvinism and the reformed teachings – I thought I had found what I had been searching for because TULIP explained so much! It really did! So I latched right on! But the results were disastrous (I’ve yet to meet a happy Calvinist!!) and years later I found myself back at square one. Of course – I had learned a lot. I can’t say they were wasted years. I learned a LOT and for that – I’m thankful. But there was still something more…..
That’s what this book talks about. DESIRE. No…not sexual desire … though it does go into that a little bit. But he is talking more about our innermost desire to be who God made us to be. Who is it that God made you to be? And do you have the guts to let go and let God make you into that person?? Will you let your guard down and let your desire take over? That’s what he’s talking about.
From the book:
The modern church often teaches people to kill desire and calls that sanctification. “But,” Eldredge says, “Christianity is not an invitation to become a moral person. It is not a program for getting us in line or for reforming society. … At its core Christianity begins with an invitation to desire.”
“Killing desire may look like sanctification, but it’s really godlessness. Literally, our way of handling life without God.
“We hide our true desire and call it maturity. Jesus is not impressed. He points to the less sophisticated attitude of a child as a better way to live.”
It’s a really powerful book.
I really identified with John on a personal level. The way he talks about God – it’s a lot of the same things I’ve said about God – so I know I’m not crazy!! Or… at least.. I’m not the ONLY crazy one!! LOL!! I call God “Irony” and John calls Him “paradoxical”. I love it. I have had the same kind of moments that John has had – where something completely out of the blue blocks my life plans and you know – you just KNOW – that God has “thwarted your plans” …. because they weren’t HIS plans…and you know your life will be all the better for it…. but it still hurts…. and you still have to work through that with God.
It was refreshing to hear someone else say they took a year off from church. I took a year – or two – off from church (who’s counting??) and some of my friends just freaked out! Judged me. I mean REALLY judged me. If I said anything that was slightly heretical (based on their doctrinal standards) they would say, “This bad theological thinking is what happens when you stop going to church – this is the fruit of rebellion!!” (And if I wanted to I could quote from their blogs where they took their issues with me public.) Oh please!! God FORBID should we think for ourselves. I’m fairly certain God’s sense of self isn’t threatened by my “slightly heretical” thought processes that come and go depending on the season of my life. LOL! How insecure those people must be in their own faith that they were so threatened when I dared to step away from conformity and seek God on my own. GASP!
Ah! But here – John says, “Go for it!” So, Go for it and read the book!! It’s a MUST READ. Anyone who will openly say it’s OK to stop going to church, to just go read your Bible, talk with God, and rest in the Lord – and at the same time call God paradoxical and use the phrase “thwarting my plans” to describe things God has done to him….now that’s my kinda guy!
If you are into Christian Fiction, you are going to LOVE this book! I am not a big Christian Fiction fan because I’ve always found the books to be ultra cheese ball. But, maybe Francine Rivers will change my mind!
Redeeming Love is retelling of the story of Gomer and Hosea but it is set in the 1850’s in California when Michael Hosea, a single godly man, saves the life of “Angel” – a prostitute who has lived as such since being sold into sexual slavery as a child. This book is so powerful – Francine Rivers is a gifted writer who uses words like a true artist. She doesn’t just write books – but she is a talented writer – and there is a difference.
From Francine Rivers website:
Story Behind the Book
“Writing Redeeming Love was a form of worship for me. Through it, I was able to thank God for loving me even when I was defiant, rebellious, contemptuous of what I thought being a Christian meant, and afraid to give my heart away. I had wanted to be my own god and have control of my life the way Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Now I know to be loved by Christ is the ultimate joy and fulfillment. Everything in Redeeming Love was a gift from the Lord: plot, characters, theme. None of it is mine to claim.”
How wonderful! Francine Rivers is amazing. I am going to have to read more of her fiction. And maybe some of her nonfiction.
Preferentially, I tend to stray away from Christian fiction because I tire easily of twaddle. I prefer fiction literature – Christian or not. There’s a difference. I can’t stand the Yada Yada Prayer Group books. I couldn’t read The Sisterchicks. If it comes in a “series” I’m pretty much turned off. I had enough of that when I stopped reading The Mitford books. (I will say that the early Mitford books are AWESOME Christian fiction books and I will profile them here one day!) But again – Jan Karon is a talented and gifted writer – she doesn’t just write books.
But, this is a MUST READ! Absolutely everyone should have a copy of this book in their homes! Go buy one today!
Oh I really loved this book. I read it back in November of last year and am just now getting around to writing the review. I may go back and read it again. It was just so poignant and moving. It was so – personal. There were so many elements to this book that hit home in so many ways – it was unspeakable. I picked the book up at the airport on my way home for Indianapolis when I spent Thanksgiving with my Mom. I don’t know why but there was just something about it that was familiar to me.
I didn’t know it was going to be so personal of a story!
Of course the storyline itself bears no resemblance to my life. I did not have twins and my husband did not give one away because she had downs syndrome. And I didn’t have an affair with some hot hunk on a beach in Tahiti (well…I’ve never been to Tahiti so – that’s an obvious one!) But the undercurrents – the sub-themes – those are the ones that resonated deep.
And although I may not agree with the choices the characters in these stories make, while I may find them morally wrong and would not make the same decisions with my life I can relate to WHY they have made those choices and I can find a commonality with the characters. They become, for the time I am reading the book, almost like dear friends. IF the book is good that is. If the book is bad, the characters are like salesmen to whom I shut the door in their face and don’t look back as I walk away to resume other more interesting activities. 
Books to me are not just about stories. They can become personal. They can become relational. Charlotte Mason teaches that parents must be on guard with what books their children read because the children form relationships with the authors and characters and storylines in the books and the books can be very influential on the shaping of a child’s character. I have always agreed with Ms. Mason on this one! Even before I read her teaching on this from the 1800s! We may laugh and think – what could they have possibly written about in the 1800’s which would be offensive considering the material available today! But remember – there ain’t nothin’ new under the sun!!
I heartily recommend this book. It is so moving. So touching. It is so much more about humanity than it is about betrayal. The ending is bittersweet – but it is reality. There is no happy-go-lucky ending here. This is a story about people who do what they think is right in the face of extreme adversity. The key word there is “THEY” – not what IS right … but what THEY think is right.
This is a wonderful book. I’m glad I own it.
I’m not so glad I saw the Lifetime Movie though. That, on the other hand, was a complete disappointment. Don’t waste your time.
This could possibly be the most depressing book ever written. Or that I’ve read recently. It was obsessively absorbing – in that you desperately wanted things to get better for the good guy in the plot line and so you just kept reading, hoping… But things never really did.
Naturally, Camus wrote from an existential point of view and that was the perspective it must be considered from. But surprisingly there was a Christian twist to it – there is a Christian theologian in the book with whom Camus does a really splendid job in capturing the essence of a man who stands on Biblical principles. I was surprised at Camus’ understanding of reformed theology (as this was the doctrine preached in the book) and this made it all the more of an interesting book for me to read – having come from a fairly traditional Christian upbringing and then melding into liberal existentialism and then morphing into reformed cultism and now coming back into a more mainstream Christian walk which includes a lot of existential thought processes – but this time in light of all that I’ve learned in my walk with God over the years.
It does raise some wonderful questions about human nature and how one processes the world around him. And how he relates on a spiritual level to his Creator and to his fellow mankind. I found lots to think about as I read the book – but I don’t know if I would recommend this book as a “must read”. It is a classic though and I think one should read it just so you know what others authors are referencing in more modern works. But it’s not going to be one of my favorites.
While reading this book I did form the following opinion: All Christians should find a desire to study the Humanities or Philosophies (whatever you want to call it). Because I simply don’t see how one can have a fully developed world view if you do not study the WORLD VIEWS of others around you. How can a Christian fully KNOW what they believe if they don’t know what others believe and why their beliefs differ from the rest? This is very important. Older, mature Christians should spend time studying Philosophy so that they can develop Philosophical thinking so they can be prepared to stand, ready to give an answer – an intelligent, articulate answer – when they are questioned as to why they are Christians. Why their Christian Faith is above all else. They will be asked. And they need to be prepared with something other than, “Because I believe it to be so.” Well. That’s great and all but so does the Hindu – so you and he are on the same playing field then.
Just my thoughts. But I’m a thinker. So – what can I say except that the above thought just crept up on me and I wanted to share it. You don’t HAVE to study Philosophy to get into Heaven. It’s not a requirement. Thank God! But I think I will enjoy studying it in college. Maybe I’ll change my major all together.
Back to the book review: I give this book a great big question mark! Read it if you want – but you really probably aren’t missing much if you pass this one by at the library!
This book is SO good!!
It’s about a dysfunctional family (we can all relate, right?) who’s youngest
member, Ellie, is kidnapped when she is in grade school. The main character though is not Ellie, it’s her oldest sister who narrates the novel.
I read the book in just 2 or 3 days – I can’t remember. But it really was intriguing. It’s rough though – the language, the scenery, the plot development – it’s not a “feel good” book. But it is interesting and I thought it was pretty clever how the author tied everything together!
I obviously give this one a green go sign! If you can look past the obvious”Christian No-no’s” (language, promiscuity, etc.) and get into the character development – it’s a really amazing story!
This book is SO funny! And so full of great quotes! Remember that I tried to read DeMarco’s 2nd novel a few weeks ago, but couldn’t stomach it? This one, however, was a great read.
The main character, Dianne, is 33 year old single young woman living a successful life in New York. She works for a successful Internet company and she thinks her biggest life’s crisis is the fact that some guy dumped her.
All that changes in an instant when she finds herself facing a monumental tragedy that pulls the rug out from under her feet, sending her flying off the side of a mountain and landing face down in the dirt … but, to her dismay, still alive. Depression kicks in and Dianne must find a way to pull through and move forward with her life when the reality of that is so overwhelming to her that she can barely breath. Literally.
She ends up, after a long series of events and a staged intervention by her friends and family, stranded in a remote town in New Jersey and she is forced to spend about 2 days living with a complete strangers while she waits for her car to be repaired. It is here that she seems to come to terms with her life – once she is out of the city and standing amongst … cranberry bogs!
I loved this book. It was surprisingly not depressing. In fact it’s funny, witty, sarcastic, comical, yet sad, painful and heart-wrenching all at the same time. I think it’s because I could identify with the character on some level and internalize what she experienced throughout the book. Well, not so much the cheery ending where everything seemingly comes together like a feel good movie. But it ends up being a feel good book.
I think I liked the self-deprecating parts the most – when Diana would make sarcastic comments about herself – to herself – and they were blunt and true and the reader knew it and she knew it and it was just nice to know that other people were self-reflective in this manner!
And – on a side note – you sure learn a lot about cranberries in this book. How they are harvested, what a bog is and where they are and why they are important…what they look like. The visual artistry in the novel is very well written. I even wanted to do a little more research to find out what everything looked like that Ms. 
DeMarco was referencing in her book so a quick google search resulted in hundreds of photos of cranberry bogs. You should check it out!
This book obviously gets a “GO!” from me! I wouldn’t mind owning a copy of this book one day. I’d like to read it again. There are so many funny lines. I’m sure it’ll be made into a movie sometime, if it hasn’t already…
I picked up this book because it was on the same shelf as another favorite author of mine who happens to have the same last name and I thought the cover was intriguing. I often pick books like one might select dessert. Does it LOOK good?? Like, literally. Here’s where I crater to visually stimulating graphic design! I like to think, however, it’s because I’m cultured and I appreciate the finer things in life … like well designed dust jackets on books.
Anyway, back to the book. I read most of it, and again….oddly enough…I arrived at chapter 9 when I said, “Ok. Time for another book!”
It is an interesting book though. I think Ms. Shreve is a very articulate author. I was pulled into the book immediately as the first chapter begins with a wonderfully compelling first sentence: Today is my brother’s twenty-seventh birthday.
Don’t ask me why I thought that was so compelling but, to me, it was. And so I started reading. And eventually the storyline starts to unfold. The key word here is eventually. The story was just SO SLOW to progress. We learn in the first chapter that her brother was assassinated – but still by the 9th chapter, there is a very tiny amount of progress into the WHY question lingering over everyone’s mind (reader included). But then, at the same time, all the way through the book, Shreve paints a post-9/11 picture of life in Washington, D.C. and weaves that sense of social and civil unrest into every page of her book, that it doesn’t surprise the reader to learn that the brother was assassinated for political reasons. It doesn’t surprise the reader to learn that he had belonged to some covert grass roots, “We’re going to change the world” organization causing ripples of concern to run through some of the powers that be (like the federal government, to name one). It doesn’t surprise the reader to find out that the family is bereaved by the loss of their dear, beloved “brother”. There is just nothing really surprising about the book.
The quality of writing is far superior than most other novels. From a grammatical standpoint, the book was fascinating, but maybe that’s because I’m a closeted nerd and am more intrigued (sometimes anyway) by a writers style than by the material itself. And I really liked Shreve’s style. But I just couldn’t really keep up with the predictability of the book when it was so tediously slow to progress. I had to move on.
So, I would give this book a “NO” sign though! There were a lot of great things about it. The setting was post 9/11 in Washington, DC. The characters were American but immigrants originally (weren’t we all?). The family is very The main character is a biologist and it’s interesting to here about life from her point of view.
In the end though, or at least by the 9th chapter, I recognized this book as a very intelligently crafted political statement about the state of our union and ultimately I didn’t agree with her perspective of life. But then again, I life in Texas, “where seldom is heard a discouraging word”….. and I just couldn’t read anymore of what, eventually, became to me….drivel.
This book has also been reviewed on the National Public Radio website. For a different perspective….
I noticed last night on my Mom’s dining room table that there was a stack of books she had checked out from the library. She told me today she has been inspired to start reading some of the books she’s “been wanting to for so long but just hasn’t for no particular reason!” Go Mom!
AND….my good friend Wendy has been seen with some Classic Literature in hand at park days and ballet exams and here and there and I do believe she has caught the reading bug!
Gwendolyn’s rolling her eyes thinking, “Who doesn’t read for fun??” So – we aren’t going to include her in on this fun post….
But if you’ve been reading fiction books lately – leave a little note and say hi! Tell us what’s in front of your nose before bedtime at night!
This book was completely boring. I read all the way through chapter 9, but simply could not carry on. It’s not that it was BAD per say – but it was just not good. At all. The writing was pretty low grade, the book read more like a huge gossip story than a novel, the characters had about that much quality to them, and the storyline itself was simply void of any thing remotely interesting to me.
Basic rundown – there are two main characters who are both grown women and they are both totally self-absorbed but each in a completely different way. One thinks the world revolves around her and the other wonders why she has to keep up with the revolving world. Self-absorbed people annoy me! Anyway, they are in two completely different phases of life but end up working with each other in a producer’s office in Hollywood. And I guess that’s supposed to be the interesting part – I don’t know – I didn’t read that far. It was a struggle to get through chapter 9.
Now, I’m not a professional book-reviewer so, who am I to judge this book as a total loss. You might read it and find it hilarious. I, however, was not amused – nor interested – and won’t mind returning this one to the library!
So – this book will be the first one to receive the RED STOP SIGN – signifying that if I were you, dear reader, I wouldn’t even bother picking this one up off the library shelf!
I do plan on reading her other book, Cranberry Queen, after I finish the book I’m working on now. Just because this book is “bad” (in my opinion) doesn’t mean Cranberry Queen is going to be bad. She seems to be a very capable writer – but I think this particular book is lacking any real literary style.
This book is definitely ADULT TWADDLE!!
Ok so Elizabeth Flock is up for 2….but down for 1.
I did not really care for Everything Must Go, which is Ms. Flock’s 3rd book.
In fact, I didn’t even read all of it.
I read the first 3 chapters, then turned to page…. who knows what, and read the last 2 chapters. And pretty much figured the whole thing out. Reading everything in the middle would have been a complete waste of time for me because the book, to me, was so dreadfully boring!
There’s nothing really offensive about it and if you like narratives then you might enjoy the book. There’s hardly any unsavory language. (I don’t know if there are any sex scenes because I skipped most of the book!) It’s just basically a book about a guy who grew up in a small town and how he watches the world around him move forward with progress while his life just sort of goes nowhere. It was a dismall read.
I won’t say it’s bad – but I won’t say that I think everyone must go read it RIGHT NOW. I’ll be happy to return my copy to the library and don’t plan to read this again.
I AM wanting to read Me and Emma again though!!
All in all – I say ??? Go for it if you want – but I don’t think you’ll be missing anything if you skip this one! For me….this book must go back to the library!
EDIT YOUR BLOG POSTS YOU IDIOT!!
EDIT FOR GRAMMAR
SPELLING
PUNCTUATION
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
You know…..ALL THOSE IMPORTANT THINGS YOU LEARNED IN ENGLISH CLASS!!
OR
Find a good friend you trust to do the editing for you.
Because, honestly, if you are going to write a book review blog – you should at least sound half way intellectual.
That said. Please – PLEASE – go back and edit those book reviews!!
I am pretty sure I just found my new favorite author.
Elizabeth Flock is AMAZING.
This book is absolutely breath-taking but it is definitely not for the faint of heart. The narrator is Carrie, an 8 yr. old little girl who gives us a window into the life that she is trying to sort out. She deals with some very harsh circumstances, but there is an air of innocence in the writing because we are seeing her life through her eyes. I don’t want to ruin the book so I’m not going to say much more except that this book is exceptional. The courage that Carrie has in dealing with her life is simply extraordinary.
I was blown away by the ending. The last 100 pages are page turners and I simply could not believe the ending. The way the plot unfolded in the last segment of the book was truly unexpected – and that’s a really rare quality for an author to achieve because, at least for me, I usually figure the book out about half-way through and then keep reading just to see if I’m right! But it wasn’t just the plot, it was the way Elizabeth Flock wrote the dialogue that takes you through the resolution of the climax within the plot that is so captivating. This book should validate Ms. Flock as one of the most creative writers of our generation.
Now, on a slightly different note, I will admit, I was never good at identifying the climax and resolution parts. I always thought the most exciting part of a story was the climax and the ending was the resolution. But that’s not actually always the case. And in this book, I believe the most exciting part is the resolution and the climax actually happens about halfway through. The ending is just the ending. There are actually several plot lines going on, so if one was to analyze it deep enough, there are several climaxes and resolutions that occur – the most exciting part about this all is that everything comes together almost all at the exact same time. And THAT is what makes the ending SO good!
Did that make sense to anyone else??
Now this book would make a great movie! But the writers would have to be very careful in how they transposed the book into a screenplay and the director would have to be very careful how he set the shots up and the editors would have to be extremely careful in not giving away the ending while telling the story.
If they weren’t very careful they would ruin the entire book within the first 5 minutes.
SO, this is an absolute must read. I definitely say “Give it a GO” with this one!
Side note: I quit reading fiction about 10 years ago or so – when I started pursuing other endeavors. But after reading ME & EMMA, I was struck with the knowledge that I’ve wasted so much time reading good non-fiction Christian books about how to be a good mother instead of just enjoying my time as a mother and reading a good fiction book! *Sigh* Well. Live and learn…and there’s no time like the present!
