Review: How Should A Christian Live

http://poorhousedad.blogspot.com/2010/04/review-how-should-christian-live.html

I really should stop reviewing books and devotionals aimed at younger audiences. "How Should A Christian Live," a devotional for teenagers, is yet another example of an easy to understand yet lacking in depth read. Even as a teenager, I longed for something deeper than this. Maybe I'm alone in that, but I've always thought that Christians, no matter how young or old, should desire the deepest possible relationship with God. Plus, is the Bible really meant to be entirely easy to understand? Isn't that why we have the Holy Spirit to help us understand?

Anyway, back to my review. "How Should A Christian Live" has some great material, although entirely cliche material that I've heard many times before. It's organized with short sections within sections including definitions, Get It, Grab It, Hold It, Live It, and Give It, as well as several word games that are there just for fun. I suppose the games would hold a younger person's attention and get them to actually read some verses, but the games seemed pointless, boring, and easy to me. The devotional also includes a CD with select scripture readings on it. Unfortunately, my copy wouldn't work (there goes another star in my rating).

So, overall, this devotional makes a good read for its targeted younger audience, excluding a younger me. I'll give it 3 out of 5 stars for that.

I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Friendship for Grownups

We're grownups aren't we? But sometimes we don't act like grownups, especially when it comes to how we manage our friendships. In her latest book, "Friendship for Grownups," Facts of Life star and Women of Faith speaker Lisa Whelchel helps readers grow up a little in their friendships. Using her own personal experience, Whelchel opens up about the importance of both finding and becoming a safe friend. She teaches readers to find friends they can be open with and grow with. In such friendships, people can feel free to be themselves and to act human. Whelchel also discusses how grace in friendships can point toward the true grace of God.

With a beautiful heart for women and a wonderful humility, Whelchel has written a book that will hit a core with any reader. It certainly hit a core with me. I've always been a loner, but I've also always desired deep friendships. While I still have no idea where to start finding such friendships and while my desire to be a part of a team of women (like Women of Faith) has only deepened, Whelchel's story has given me courage. I recommend this book for anyone and everyone with the same deep desires for open friendship.


I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Essentials for Life

http://athistable.blogspot.com/2010/04/review-essentials-for-life.html

Billed as "Your Back-to-Basics Guide to What Matters Most," "Essentials for Life" by Marcia Ford falls short of the expectations its title sets up. The book does cover the basics of Christianity, as described, but with so many basic to cover there's little room for expanding and explaining. Unfortunately, this effort to include all the basics left the book lacking in depth. New Christians may find this book informative, but for the rest of Ford's readers, this book will be a mere refresher on what is already obvious to most Christians. And sometimes we need those refreshers. Despite its lack of depth, I still found myself extremely interested in the book and unable to put it down (or perhaps that was because of my desire to find something deeper and more profound buried in the book). Still, the book poses more questions than answers. Its short chapters and interesting sidebars (that include quotes from well-known authors, Bible verses, and interesting facts) make it an easy read, but easy does not equal greatness. In this case, "Essentials for Life" misses some essential facts and explanations, leaving the reader wanting more.


I received a free copy of this book from booksneeze.com in exchange for my honest review of it.

Review: Hand of Fate

http://athistable.blogspot.com/2010/04/review-hand-of-fate.html

Charged with the controversial language and topics of political debate, Lis Wiehl’s “Hand of Fate” never stops building tension. As new plot twists reveal themselves, and as characters’ personal lives intertwine with the mystery, readers find themselves in the middle of a wonderfully pieced together mystery.

After talk radio show host Jim Fate dies from a mysterious gas release in his studio, the Triple Threat Club sort through the chaotic mess left behind to find the murderer behind the crime. The club includes federal prosecutor Allison Pierce, who's pregnant; FBI special agent Nicole “Nic” Hedges; and Cassidy Shaw, a TV crime reporter, who formed the “Triple Threat Club” after a high school reunion. Together, they piece the clues together. But when one of them reveals a secret pertinent to the case, things begin to change. A public suicide sets things on a path even further away from the one the club has been on, and the three women must reconsider the evidence to find the real criminal.

“Hand of Fate” leaves readers confused or shocked at several points throughout the book. Some content may be too graphic for certain readers, and the political background of the book may charge emotions of politically active readers. Overall, however, “Hand of Fate” covers all bases. An intriguing Christian mystery that doesn’t over-push its Christian background, “Hand of Fate” will delight most readers.



I received a free copy of this book from booksneeze.com in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Chronological Guide to the Bible

True to its title, "Chronological Guide to the Bible" goes through Biblical events in chronological order, providing historical insight and background. Unfortunately, rearranging things to fit a historical order makes for a confusing format. The book's cover claims it "works with any translation," but with its confusing format and lack of organization, readers will find it difficult to look up the many suggested passages or navigate their way through the book when looking for specific events.

Divided into nine epochs, the book includes book summaries and outlines, time lines, maps, reading guides, and random side bars (if you can even call them that). Colored pictures and informational facts make the read a bit easier, but the overall layout is too random and has too much white space.

That said, "Chronological Guide to the Bible" still makes an interesting reference book if the reader is willing to wade into the book and find its hidden gems. If the reader has time, he may also read the book straight through, which allows the book to flow more easily.


I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze.com in return for my honest review.

Review: Buried Alive

http://athistable.blogspot.com/2010/03/review-buried-alive.html

I dreaded reading “Buried Alive” by Roy Hallums. Nonfiction of this type (especially involving politics and war) usually doesn’t float my boat or keep my interest. But once I started reading Hallums’ captivating story of his hostage situation, I instead dreaded having to put the book down. Even with all its technical language referring to guns and helicopters, and even with its not necessarily graphic, but detailed descriptions of Hallums’ surroundings and treatment, my interest never faded.

A contractor in Iraq, Hallums spent ten months in captivity after he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and was kidnapped by a group of Muslim extremists raiding his office for information. The extremists held him for ransom, all the while beating him, barely feeding or bathing him, and forcing him to sleep blindfolded and handcuffed on hard surfaces. At one point, Hallums and others were kept in an underground cell, the entrance to which was covered with cement every few days after captors gave them food. Hallums was literally “buried alive.”

Hallums tells the story from his perspective, but takes breaks from the intense moments he spent in captivity to tell the story from the home-front, quoting American officials who worked to rescue him and focusing on his own family’s efforts to keep his name in the media - to keep his case urgent.

“Buried Alive” reminds me of how lucky I am to live in America. I don’t know what I would do under the circumstances Hallums was subjected to. I certainly don’t think I’d come out as healthy as he did, or alive as he did. Hallums’ testimony of how he kept faith, hope, and prayer alive during his captivity will inspire readers as it inspired me. I fully recommend this book.



I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review.

Chimes Articles: Credit Cards and Arrest on Campus

Credit Card Laws Put Restrictions on Both Consumers and Card Companies



Man Escorted Off Campus

By Kathryn Watson and Harmony Wheeler Today

Campus Safety escorted a man out of the library in handcuffs at about 12:10 p.m. Friday.

Campus Safety officers arrived on the scene about a minute after they received a call from the library. Officers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department soon arrived and escorted the man off campus, said Justin Shelby, public information officer for Campus Safety.

A library employee said the man had been demanding access to the library and yelling for about 35 minutes when Campus Safety arrived. Campus Safety officers told the man to calm down as he continued yelling about his rights to accessing the library. Witnesses say the man, described as elderly and Asian, yelled things like “Don't do that” and “I'm heart patient” as officers handcuffed him. The man was “yelling, cursing and pestering animatedly,” Shelby said.

Officers found no weapons on the man, but determined he still posed as a possible threat.

“We were concerned about the officers' safety and the safety of the students and the other people in the library,” Shelby said.

Shelby said the same man had been reported to Campus Safety earlier in the week, when he was warned that his presence on campus was considered trespassing and escorted off campus.

Campus Safety is following up on the incident and will have more details later.