#ReadingChallange: The Shack

#ReadingChallenge

If this is your first time tuning in to my #ReadingChallenge, here's the skinny: For 2013 one of my personal challenges is to read one book a month. This has in turn become a blog challenge where I review each book I read and where necessary get some influences from each book.

I waited for months for 'The Shack' by WM Paul Young to get around my family before I could get the chance to read it.

I'll admit that I wanted to read it more so I could get into the excitement and to be able to actively join in on the conversations...I guess you could consider my reading it as somewhat 'peer pressure.'

Honestly, the first chapter or so was a bore to read. I think I may have expected the excitement of it all to start from page one; or at least that there would have been some captivating storyline. Young explained that the book was written based on conversations with the main character of the book - Mackenzie Phillips - who is said to have had the experience with the shack in question.


My first puzzled look came after the big tragedy (I won't go into much detail since you may actually want some kind of surprise should you decide to read it). Some of the events surrounding it seemed too 'coincidental' to be true, and while anything could have happened and all that jazz, it was [for lack of a better term] 'too perfect a tragedy.'

As I continued going through the book there were ups and downs. At times Young was amazingly descriptive and I almost felt that I was there; then at another point it was almost as though he was lost in thought and rambled for a few paragraphs.

I've read other Christian books in the past, and while they may not have been solely focused on the bible, there was mention or reference to it at least once. Bearing in mind that The Shack is of a Christian context, I know I was expecting the pop up of a bible verse or two....if not literally, then at least in a strong figurative sense that was simply enough for even a new believer to grasp.


My #ReadingChallenge rating for The Shack:

In a nutshell....the author's conversations with Phillips must have been pretty boring conversation at times. Maybe I expected too much from the text, but I was honestly a bit disappointed with the storyline. On the other hand, it does have strong and moving spiritual aspects, but I'm still a bit puzzled that it had nothing specifically tied back to the bible. I hoped for an awesome eye-opener, but got an ok read instead.


If you give this book a read, comment on this post and let me know what you think of it!

#ReadingChallenge: Untold Story

#ReadingChallenge

If this is your first time tuning in to my #ReadingChallenge, here's the skinny: For 2013 one of my personal challenges is to read one book a month. This has in turn become a blog challenge where I review each book I read and where necessary get some influences from each book.

Princess Diana could easily be called the world's sweetheart, and though she died when I was really young, when I saw Untold Story by Monica Ali I couldn't resist picking it up.

The book is a bit controversial I'm sure because it's written from the angle that Princess Diana's fatal accident was staged and that it was her way of getting out of the monarchy to enjoy life otherwise. One could easily wonder 'what would Princess Diana be like if she were still alive' and the book somewhat gives you the chance to go down that line of thinking.

I'll admit that Ali gives the story a bit of a twist by making some changes to facts (probably for legal reasons), but then giving somewhat of an inside peek into the life of Diana that only those close to her would have known (using some factual information of course). She writes from the view of different characters and sometimes things got confusing because the different characters would sometimes give the results of an issue long before explaining the problem....of even addressing it. 

Though I was intrigued to keep reading, the language used at times made it a bit of a challenge to follow. With the Princess being British there was mention of colloquial British terms that folks of the western world may not easily pick up on.

My #ReadingChallenge rating for Untold Story:

I really did want a bit more from the book than I got. It was a good story with some twists and mystery included, and although the last few chapters had me a bit shocked, I was hoping for something more 'unexpected' to happen. It was a good bit of creative writing though, and Ali did a fair job of making it feel realistic.

If you give this book a read, comment on this post and let me know what you think of it!

#ReadingChallenge: The Power of Giving

#ReadingChallenge

If this is your first time tuning in to my #ReadingChallenge, here's the skinny: For 2013 one of my personal challenges is to read one book a month. This has in turn become a blog challenge where I review each book I read and where necessary get some influences from each book.

Adding a bit of non-fiction to my list, I read 'The Power of Giving' by Azim Jamal and Harvey McKinnon. It was so good!

Some may say my opinion is biased because I already have an appreciation for philanthropy and it's benefits to the society at large....and that is one of the reasons I think it's a really good book. (duh)

Honestly though, there's also the fact that based on how the book is written, persons who wouldn't normally care much for giving back, are given simple and practical ways that you can give back to those in need without putting yourself in a challenging position.

The book is focused on 'how giving back enriches us all' and is broken down into chapters that look at the 5 W's (who, what, where, when and why) of  giving back at home, at work and in the wider community. It even adds some insight to corporate giving and includes an idea of how you can assess need, select a project/group to assist, then pool your funds/friends/resources to get the job done.

It's not a huge book either, so whether you're reading for personal or for work related reasons, the book is a great eye-opener and shouldn't be too hard on you since it has engaging content.

My #ReadingChallenge rating for The Power of Giving:

My unbiased opinion is that it really is a good book, and it's 100% worth the read whether you give back often or rarely. The language and tone are so easygoing and the book may really just give you the reminder that if you have the ability to give to someone else you should make it your moral responsibility.

If you give this book a read, comment on this post and let me know what you think of it!

#ReadingChallenge: Sundays at Tiffany's

#ReadingChallenge

If this is your first time tuning in to my #ReadingChallenge, here's the skinny: For 2013 one of my personal challenges is to read one book a month. This has in turn become a blog challenge where I review each book I read and where necessary get some influences from each book.

Next on my list I checked out Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson. Yes...yes I know I'm late...but at least I read it.

Now this was definitely one of those cute love stories...but with a twist...a slightly creepy twist. Let me break it down (at least for those who didn't read the book), eight-year-old girl has a 30-year-old imaginary friend. Years later when eight-year-old girl is a fab young woman, somehow imaginary friend becomes real...and is still 30-years-old.

Then....they fall in love..............

Say what now...I'll admit I read the book thinking 'this is different.' But after finishing that last sentence and thinking back on the story (mostly for the sake of this review) it hit me that this is a bit...well it's a bit creepy...in a pedobear kinda way.

I'll be honest, it was an easy read and the storyline was interesting but it was kinda predictable (besides the creepy aspect of it). I will 100% admit that I probably kept reading because it was such an easy read.

On another note, I did expect more from the novel...more of what I'm not sure...but more of something. It's probably because persons make James Patterson sound like the god of novels. Yes the chapters were short and succinct, but the speaker changed from the girl to the guy quite often....sometimes causing me to wonder who's view I'm getting when I kinda lose track of where I was reading.

I wonder too if I'm on the fence about the book because of the fact that there are a few questions I have after reading it...questions that could have easily been answered in text, but were ignored. Maybe I'm just reading too deep into the book.

My #ReadingChallenge rating for Sundays at Tiffany's:

 

Overall it was a good book, the language, tone and setting of the novel really fit the characters and their story. I was a bit disappointed that it got more and more predictable as you got to the end of the novel...and I'll admit that I'm not sure whether it was given the 'New York Time Bestseller' title because of the author's reputation, or the book itself.

If you give this book a read, comment on this post and let me know what you think of it!

#ReadingChallenge: The Happiness Project

#ReadingChallenge

If this is your first time tuning in to my #ReadingChallenge, here's the skinny: For 2013 one of my personal challenges is to read one book a month. This has in turn become a blog challenge where I review each book I read and where necessary get some influences from each book.

For the month of February I checked out The Happiness Project by Grethen Rubin. Sounds like a good one right? I'll admit....the concept of the book is great! I mean who wouldn't want some help to make their life happier? The drawback though is that it's so filled with research that it somewhat detracts from the 'happiness' of it all.

The result of that drawback: I'm still not even half way through the book....and February is finito. I really don't think I chose the best time to read the book though. First of all it was the shortest month (if that makes any difference).

But, let me be fair....maybe it was my frame of mind that made it seem so hard to read. I had lots of work trying to get done and since I'm not a big reader, the research-like content and the tiny print (in the paperback copy I got) could very well be the reasons why I wasn't really excited to read about all the psychological and philosophical studies and explanations behind achieving happiness.

It then made me wonder if Rubin's definition of happiness was the same as mine. Consider that while she's married with kids and trying to balance all sorts of responsibilities within those circles; while I'm just here trying to get into grad school and figure out the next step in my life.

Just a thought really.....

My #ReadingChallenge rating for The Happiness Project (so far):

And this score is based on the fact that I'm not even done reading it yet. But I can definitely see where she's going and maybe later in the year I'll get back to it....hopefully soon.

If you give this book a read, comment on this post and let me know what you think of it!

#ReadingChallenge: The Weird Sisters

#ReadingChallenge

If this is your first time tuning in to my #ReadingChallenge, here's the skinny: For 2013 one of my personal challenges is to read one book a month. This has in turn become a blog challenge where I review each book I read and where necessary get some influences from each book.

My first book of the year was The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. While the ending was a bit predictable, overall the storyline was interesting, and the 'page-turning feature' was that I had the lives of 3 characters to follow while not really knowing what they will each do next.

While I get that the story is told by the sisters themselves, I really don't know which sister it is because it's written in third person narrative. A tad bit strange...for me at least, but it was a nice change in comparison to other books I've read.

To be honest I picked up the book while in a pharmacy with my little sister. When I read the summary on the back I gave her a look-see and her first comment was "Oh 3 sisters like us! Sounds good so buy it." I'll admit I was a bit skeptical (at that time I hadn't 100% decided on my reading challenge) but decided to run with it....I was definitely not disappointed!

I see the birth order theories come out in the sisters and the dynamics of a close family and sibling relations. Also in the mix is the toss up between staying close to home and going as far away as possible. Outside of that you get even a bit of romance with each sister taking on relationships in their own very distinct way.

The first drawback I consider with the book was that some things just seemed to take forever to get explained...or got unnecessarily repeated at times. The only other challenge for me personally was the Shakespeare references. I've read 'concise Shakespeare' but never really delved into the various stories so sometimes the references left me up in the air about what the heck they meant lol. But the summary of the novel did clearly state that the father was all about his Shakespeare soooo I really kinda put myself in this position.

I can't say that the sister's represent exactly how my sisters and I are, but there are some similarities that more often than not had me laughing about it all. The plan is to have my older sister read the book next and get her to give me her thoughts on it...she's much more of a reader so I know she'll be done with it in no time. 

My #ReadingChallenge rating for The Weird Sisters:

Worth checking out, and I figure that if you're into Shakespeare it'll be a great read for you.

If you give this book a read, comment on this post and let me know what you think of it!

#ReadingChallenge: my review system

Just in case you missed the first post, my blog challenge for 2013 is to review the books I read for my #ReadingChallenge.

Since the plan is to read one book a month, that means each month I review the book I read and mention what I'll be reading next.

Before I post my review of any book I've read I want to post the rating system that I'll be working with so that we're more or less on the same page.


So first of all glittered stars are pretty...so I chose these as my visual for the rating scale.

As one would expect, 1 star would mean not so great while 5 stars would mean amazing. The ratings are based on my own opinion and though I don't take into consideration other reviews of the book, I may just mention the average rating that the book got on goodreads.com.

But I'm rating books here...and to be very honest my opinion of the book may be totally different than what someone else thinks. So in a nutshell, here's a simple rating guide!

Now let's get to rating! Here's what I thought of the books I've read. (as the year progresses and I read more, more books will be added)

The Weird Sisters (Eleanor Brown) - 4 stars

The Happiness Project (Gretchen Rubin) - 3 stars (incomplete)

Sunday's at Tiffany's (James Patterson)  <coming soon>

blog challenge 2013

I've officially decided what my 2013 blog challenge will be. It really is more of a general 2013 challenge but I'll be using my blog to enhance the challenge.

What is this 'challenge' I speak of?

Tada!

My 2013 blog challenge is a ReadingChallenge which I'm doing through goodreads.com and anticipating will be great.

I have a very simple reading goal for 2013 and that's to read 12 books (about 1 book per month). This may be little to nothing for the 'star reader' (who probably goes through one book in 2 days), but I never really had a love for reading novels, although I read my InStyle magazine monthly and read the newspaper with no stress. Last year I probably read 3 books in total....so my 12 book goal for 2013 is actually a big step up!

I've started off the year with 'The Weird Sisters' which so far is pretty good. What I plan to do is at the end of the month give my 2-cents and rate each book I read.

I'll admit that I have no clue which book is next, but, I'll be doing some book shopping as the weeks go by to get the other 11 books on my shelf.

Feel free to give me some suggestions of books I should read.

Oh...any one out there want to take on this challenge with me? You can build your own challenge on good reads, so check that out!