Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise Review

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(More customer reviews)Folks, I've met Obama once, heard him speak in person twice, and am very much and admirer of his, but this book (the first half, at least) just doesn't cut it.
The first half of this book, apparently written by campaign satffers, attempts to spell out what "Barackism" has to offer. In other words, it's his program statement through the words of his staffers. My friends, these ideas are good, but reading this part is as exciting as watching paint dry. Dull, dull, dull. Every other sentence begins, "In an Obama administration, this or that will happen." Bring out the sominex, people.
Part 2 is the good stuff. This contains the best of his actual recent speeches from Iowa (Jan. 4, 2008) up to a speech he made this summer in Michigan about the economy (this apparently went to press before the Denver speech of Aug 28, 2008). Even on paper, this is exciting and inspiring. Highlights include the New Hampshire speech of Jan 8, 2008 (best known as the "Yes We Can" speech), the Father's day speech (the one that inadvertantly killed off Jesse Jackson's career after the Rev. was caught making profane and jealous remarks on camera about this message), and his race speech in Philadelphia which articulates what a lot of us post-movement Blacks feel about the bitter ranting and pessimism that passes for Black nationalism.
So for reading the "Best of Barack" in his own words, it's pretty good. The rest? Let the buyer beware. Readers are better off with the various compilations of the "Best of Barack" in speeches and writings.

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The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States is a defining moment in American history. After years of failed policies and failed politics from Washington, this is our chance to reclaim the American dream. Barack Obama has proven to be a new kind of leader–one who can bring people together, be honest about the challenges we face, and move this nation forward. Change We Can Believe In outlines his vision for America. In these pages you will find bold and specific ideas about how to fix our ailing economy and strengthen the middle class, make health care affordable for all, achieve energy independence, and keep America safe in a dangerous world. Change We Can Believe In asks us not just to believe in Barack Obama's ability to bring change to Washington, it asks us to believe in our ability to change the world.

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The Last Summer Of The Death Warriors Review

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(More customer reviews)At seventeen, Pancho has decided the last thing he needs to do with his life: kill the man he thinks responsible for the death of his sister. It's not so simple, though...first he has to figure out who exactly the man is, how to find him, and how to get past the annoying, aggravatingly happy D.Q., another teen boy with a mission of his own: live life to the fullest in his last months...before he dies of brain cancer. And...honestly...I can't do justice to the plot here. Throw in some conversations about life, death, faith, love. Mix up with heart-wrenching backgrounds, wise children, foolish adults, and sucking every drop of marrow from life.
As my little synopsis probably makes clear, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors is one of those fathoms-deep, meaningful stories that you rarely come across in YA lit. It is also an extremely subtle story--almost too subtle for my taste (the ending didn't feel wrapped-up enough for me), yet I love the way it left me thinking after I finished it. I can guarantee that it will make you question the way you're living your life, embrace the beauty of every day, and appreciate things you never thought to notice. You will never forget Pancho and D.Q. or the friends they make on their journey--Francisco Stork is a master at character and relationship development, and these aspects of the story are truly what make it shine. Even every description, although technically all of them are extremely basic and simply worded, serves to develop character--and does so perfectly.
As a bit of a warning, this is a very difficult book to read...certainly not in actual pacing or readability, but simply because it delves into topics and a world that are hard to be in. This is not a story to be read casually, and it is certainly for mature readers who can handle its issues. Yet it is a beautiful book, and it is an important book.


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The Day the Voices Stopped: A Schizophrenic's Journey from Madness to Hope Review

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(More customer reviews)As a person who was also diagnosed with schizophrenia, (though I never heard voices), I found this a fascinating account of another person's journey from breakdown to recovery. The greatest strength of this book is the way in which the authors interwove the tyranny of the voices Ken Steele heard with the events of his life. The book gave me a clear understanding of how nightmarish it must be to live with a constant chorus of psychotic voices harassing you and insulting you from morning until night. Next, what struck me powerfully was the completely inhumane treatment Mr. Steele received from the mental health establishment. During the initial months of his first hospitalization Mr. Steele was locked up in isolation and given so much medication he couldn't move, not even to go to the bathroom. He peed and pooped where he was and attendants hosed him off to get him clean. Subsequently, in other hospitalizations he continued to be subjected to serious overdoses of medication. He was locked in seclusion rooms for extended periods of time, threatened and ultimately gang raped by other patients, and at one point locked in a closet for days on end. During the course of this book Ken Steele speculates that the cause of his illness was entirely biochemical and that his recovery took place solely as a consequence of the new medications he took later on in his life. But I felt that there was no way that his family life could not have had some influence on the outbreak and course of his illness. From the beginning it is clear that his parents have little interest in him, and that he is largely being brought up by his grandmother. When it became clear that he was suffering from a severe mental illness, his parents did nothing about it. And when he later ran into trouble and ended up hospitalized, his parents didn't even bother to visit him or concern themselves with his situation even though they were fully informed of what was happenening to him. When it came to Ken Steele's recovery, medication may have been a part of it, but it is indisputable that before he decided to take the medication, he had come to the point where he made the choice to be responsible for himself, to stop playing games and lying to himself and other people. In other accounts of people with mental illness, this moment of decision, the decision to take personal responsibility for oneself, is pivotal to any meaningful kind of recovery. And Ken made that recovery, and more than just recoverying, he went on to advocate for psychiatric patients such as himself and play a significant role in improving the lives of others. Suffering greatly, struggling greatly, recovering heroically, Ken Steele is without self pity, and through this book, continuing to give to others, even after his death.

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Rooftops of Tehran: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)This was a lovely lovely book. I will say right off that I think that the pinkish cover featuring a red rose (though thematically appropriate) might turn off some men, and I do think that it's the kind of novel that would appeal equally to men and women.
The story follows two teenage boys through a year of their lives in Iran in the 70's. The characterization of adolescence is perfect -- first loves, first independent stands, hellos, goodbyes.
The language is beautiful, and the suspense comes in because parts of the story are told in flashbacks as the reader is brought closer and closer to the crisis event. What happened and why?
When that crisis is revealed, the end of the novel continues in a suspenseful vein, as the reader yearns to find out what is going to happen.
The comparisons to The Kite Runner are inevitable -- although they are set in different countries, they both deal with events that precipitate a coming of age, set in the backdrop of a totalitarian regime. The Kite Runner is a wonderful book, but I think that Rooftops of Tehran has more heart, more range (since in addition to being touched, I laughed aloud a time or two), and is overall a better story.
A wonderful literary page-turner -- my favorite kind of read.
4.5 stars


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The Chronology of Water: A Memoir Review

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(More customer reviews)Beyond its clear, dazzling lyrical passages, beyond its fierce energy and unending optimism, there is so much to say about this confessional, bravely written memoir, and you can be sure that The Chronology of Water is an important book. Its themes -- womanhood, motherhood, stillbirth, women's reproductive rights, bisexuality, love and fatherhood, promiscuity and sexual violence, drug and alcohol abuse, sorrow and grief, hope, and survival -- are cultural and political talking points, significant because these issues ought to be discussed and must be heard. That Lidia Yuknavitch is brave enough to begin these discussions with her readers is well worth applauding, and I think it would be a shame and an oversight to think anything less of the importance, and relevance, of this book.

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INTRODUCTION BY CHELSEA CAIN:: This is not your mother's memoir. In The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch expertly moves the reader through issues of gender, sexuality, violence, and the family from the point of view of a lifelong swimmer turned artist. In writing that explores the nature of memoir itself, her story traces the effect of extreme grief on a young woman's developing sexuality that some define as untraditional because of her attraction to both men and women. Her emergence as a writer evolves at the same time and takes the narrator on a journey of addiction, self-destruction, and ultimately survival that finally comes in the shape of love and motherhood.

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The Knight in Rusty Armor Review

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(More customer reviews)I know that every man who reads this book will see himself in this book. And I hope that they will pay close attention to this story about a man who learned that he does not have to prove to others that he is good, loving and kind.
Men are traditionally taught to fight the threatening enemies; and place fragile women, who are consumed with despair, into an environment that tells the world that they are materially doing just fine.
What's wrong with this, as the story demonstrates, is that this is done out of allegiance to the world first, as apposed to the man's allegiance to himself, and his family.
He develops emotional, social, and spiritual armor, to the point that he doesn't know who to be fully in the moment, in the presence of others, until the price for living like this potentially costs him the very people who he claims to be providing for.
In this story, the knight learned to take in the reality of life, which led him on a path to find his authentic self. He learned that he had lived his entire life trying to make everyone like him, at the price of not knowing who he himself was, in his heart.
And it was not until he was able to cry tears from his heart, that his armor disappeared, and he was able to go home, and truly love his wife and child.

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While searching for a way to remove the armor that has become stuck on him, a knight finally discovers the true qualities of knighthood.

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Power Thoughts: 12 Strategies to Win the Battle of the Mind Review

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(More customer reviews)*****
This latest book by Joyce Meyer is her follow-up to her best-selling "Battlefield of the Mind"--the "next step"--which gives you "specific insights and strategies to help you build powerful mind-sets to empower you to live in a place of strength, success, and victory every day". And it truly delivers. The author writes that the mind "can be a junkyard or a treasure chest" and in this book, she shows how. I would consider this not a book to be read over lightly, but a manual to be read once and then studied, digested, and most of all--practiced in daily life.
The book has two parts. The first part gives a general overview of why the mind is a battlefield, why we as Christians must take every thought captive, and how this is done. It has been years and years since "Battlefield of the Mind" came out (and thus years and years since I read it) but it seems to me that the first part would be an overview or refresher on what that book covered. Once you understand the basic principles involved, you are ready to go on to the second part. The second part is the meat of the book--a group of specific tools--12 beliefs that are vital in a Christian's life in order to live in victory. Each belief is one chapter and at the end of the chapter there is a "Power Pack" of Scriptures that the belief is based on for you to memorize. I found the structure of the book really helpful in being able to use it on an ongoing basis.
I read the book last night and today, but am going to be working with it for far longer. I'm going to write the Scriptures down for memorization and (as the book suggests) focus each week for the next 12 weeks on one of the beliefs. The first one is "I can do whatever I need to do in life through Christ". Another is, "I am difficult to offend." The last is "I put God first in my life." Now these may seem elementary and obvious, but it is surprising when you read the book and answer the thought questions interspersed throughout each chapter, how many of them we might forget in daily life. These questions are called "Think About It' and help you apply each belief to your own life. For example, I identified that I don't believe the best of other people; instead, I believe the worst so that I'm prepared no matter what happens, and then am pleasantly surprised if something better happens. This might work for me on some levels, but it isn't Scriptural! (Or effective!)
The author is like a personal coach or "cheerleader in a book" who is endlessly upbeat, cheering you on as you read. If you are a newcomer to Christ, or to victorious Christian living, you will find much support in this book. On the other hand, if you are a mature Christian, long-time veteran of different Bible studies and programs, you won't find new or unusual information here, but fresh encouragement and/or (as I did) a kick and a jump-start to help you get unstuck from the rut you may be in in your Christian walk. In practical terms, this books walks you through, step by step, everything you need to do to take every thought captive and to begin thinking thoughts that are based on Biblical truth and that lead to a joyful and abundant life.
This book is definitely for any Christian reader; it is interdenominational and doesn't reflect a Pentecostal theology (as do some of the author's books). This is information we can all agree on!
Highly recommended.
*****

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Joyce Meyer has a knack for coining phrases-her fans call them "Joyceisms"-and one of her best loved is "Where the mind goes, the man follows." This was the basis for Battlefield of the Mind, and in her latest book, Meyer provides "power thoughts," bringing the reader to a new level of ability to use the mind as a tool to achievement.In POWER THOUGHTS, she outlines a flexible program to turn thoughts into habits, and habits into success. Sections include: · The Power of a Positive You · 5 Rules for Keeping Your Attitude at the Right Altitude · More Power To You bulleted keys to successful thinking in each chapter · The Power of PerspectiveNobody has more of a "can-do" attitude than Joyce Meyer. Now you can, too.

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