Wednesday, September 30, 2009

King and Messiah as Son of God: Divine, Human, and Angelic Messianic Figures in Biblical and Related Literature (1)

King and Messiah as Son of God: Divine, Human, and Angelic Messianic Figures in Biblical and Related Literature

  • Authors: Adela Yarbro Collins & John J. Collins
  • Paperback: 261 pages
  • Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0802807720
  • ISBN-13: 978-0802807724
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    With thanks to Lara Sissell at Eerdmans for this review copy!

    Adela Yarbro Collins (hereafter AYC) and John J. Collins (hereafter JJC) have converted a series of lectures originally delivered at Oxford in May 2006 into the substance of this book and have been able to maintain the conversational feel that I have to imagine were inherent in the original presentations.  But their lectures only make up 6 of the 8 chapters in this book, the two new chapters being chapter 2 (penned by JJC) and chapter 8 (penned by AYC).  JJC’s chapters take up the first half of the book and examine the themes of Messianism, divine sonship, and kingship in the Biblical and related ANE and Hellenistic literature.  AYC’s chapters take up the second half of the book and address the same themes although with a narrower focus on the NT writings.

    In chapter 1 JJC examines “The King as Son of God” by looking to the concept of kingship and ’son of God’ language in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Canaan (lamenting the fact that “we do not have comparable texts from ancient Canaan, the sphere that probably had the most direct influence on Israelite conceptions of the monarchy.” [p. 9]), and finally ancient Judah by way of Psalms 2 & 110, seeing the texts as presenting a derived divine kingship by way of being begotten rather than adopted.

    In chapter 2 JJC examines “Kingship in the Deuteronomistic and Prophetic Literature” focusing once again on a few select texts, such as 2Samuel 7 which doesn’t take up the ‘begetting’ language of the psalms examined in the previous chapter but is “compatible with the idea in the Psalms that the king becomes son of God on his ascension to the throne.” (p. 28)  From the prophetic corpus Isaiah 7 & 9 receive the most attention with JJC concluding that the passages were not originally messianic but lent themselves to messianic interpretations in the post-exilic period.  Concerning the titles given to the king JJC notes in reference to אל גבור that “The divinity of the king, in whatever sense is might be understood, is not otherwise thematized in the book of Isaiah.” (p. 41)

    In chapter 3 JJC examines the “Messiah and Son of God in the Hellenistic Period” beginning with a look at Hellenistic ruler cults and the way that the monarchs were associated with divinity, i.e., it was an honor conferred on the king.  He turns his attention to messianism in the LXX, specifically in Psalms & Isaiah, drawing attention to the limited but still useful evidence of the king being perceived as the Son of God, as being begotten by God, and being addressed as God.  JJC contends that “if there is any influence here from the royal cults, it is indirect.” (p. 62)  He closes the chapter with a section on the Dead Sea Scrolls, in particular the “Son of God” text, in which he concludes that “[i]f there is any influence from the ruler cults here, it lies in the understanding of ‘Son of God’ as an honorific title and perhaps in the willingness to entertain the language of divinity in reference to a future kind.” (p. 73-4)

    In chapter 4 JJC examines the “Messiah and Son of Man” concepts/traditions first in Daniel 7 where “one like a son of man” was probably not “originally meant to be identified with the messiah” (p. 79) but JJC believes should be “identified with the archangel Michael.” (p. 78)  11QMelchizedek speaks of a heavenly deliverer; a “savior figure who was divine in some sense, while clearly subordinate to the Most High.” (p. 86)  Next to Daniel 7 the Similitudes of Enoch “attest to a remarkable development of messianic tradition, insofar as the word ‘messiah’ is used unambiguously with reference to a heavenly judge. . . . [This figure] differs from the traditional Davidic messiah , but he functions as king by exercising judgment.” (p. 94)  The final text examined is 4Ezra 13 which evinces a developed notion of the Davidic messiah and assimilates the Son of Man into this notion.  JJC concludes that “there were clear biblical precedents for speaking of the messiah as God or son of God, and there was plenty of speculation about heavenly deliverers. There was also a tendency to conflate different conceptions of future rulers, as we see especially in the development of the Son of Man tradition.” (p. 99)

    To be continued…

    B”H

    McManus Bio

    Well, shoot, I was going to dive in tonight and get into summarizing some of the suggestions McManus had regarding humor techniques. Looks like that will have to wait. I was rereading “The Deer on a Bicycle,” and the introduction opens with his biography. I think that it bears a comment or two.

    McManus’s mom was a teacher, and one of the tricks she used to pull on him and her students is one that I recommend to my students in my classes in oral interpretation. That is, she would read about 15 minutes of a book out loud, and then put it down. If he wanted to know what happened next, then he’d have to read it for himself. Crafty…  So, like so many writers, McManus began to read early and in great volume. He says that part of the reason he was such an avid reader is that there was little else to do in Northern Idaho, at least before TV. I wonder how many good writer’s we’ve lost to TV?

    There are other parts of his life story that interest me. He started college as an art student, but when he found his love of Normal Rockwell was not shared by the art department, he drifted away from them an into English, where he earned a string of F’s until he finally opened his composition book and began to work at his papers. He ended the term with an “A+” paper on… Norman Rockwell. You’ve got to love that.

    Another part of this story is that his first humorous work brought great enthusiasm from his classmates and teacher alike–but only a “B”. McManus challenged the teacher, but found that he was firm. The class was devoted to “serious literature,” and the humorous paper wasn’t serious. This sent a clear message to McManus that kept him away from humor for a good (or not so good) 15 years. I have seen this theme mentioned by many other humor writers, including PJ O’Rourke. Humor just doesn’t seem to impress, Dave Barry’s Pulitzer aside.

    McManus ended up as a journalist, and the pressure of deadlines and writing for publication–and public criticism–taught him to endure criticism. He says this:

    “To write for publication is to expose yourself on the printed page. You alone are out there, psychically naked for all to see and comment on, often unkindly. I believe it is the inability of beginning writers to achieve at least a certain degree of detachment from their writing that defeats so many of them before they even get started.”

    McManus says that learned not to read reviews, even though so many of his were favorable, the occasional negative one just haunted him. He also says that he went from journalism to teaching, and found that he was so busy that it threatened his writing. He had to discipline himself to write two hours a night–not researching, not reading, but two solid hours of writing his own material, seven days a week, no matter what.

    This is impressive to me, and I try to get back into my own writing schedule. Unlike McManus, I let it all slip for many years as my four kids were growing up. Coaching soccer, hauling them to dance, music and sports just seemed to leave no time. Now that they’re older, I am finding more time, but there are always activities that threaten to derail my writing. What I’d REALLY like to see are tips on how to fend off demands that seem too urgent to ignore, the emergencies of late-night homework or heartbreak. Tips on that, well, there’s a great article idea.

    McManus ends the introduction with a story of how and why he wrote his first humor article, and it’s a neat story. I’m going to pull the same trick on you all that his mom pulled on him. If you want to find out the beginnings of McManus the humor writer, you’ll need to get “The Deer on a Bicycle.” Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

    Eternal by Cynthia Leith Smith

    Title: Eternal

    Author: Cynthia Leitch Smith

    Rating: 7.5/10

    Good If…You enjoyed Tantalize.

    Summary:

    With diabolical wit, the author of TANATALIZE revisits a deliciously dark world where vampires vie with angels — and girls just want to have fangs.

    At last, Miranda is the life of the party: all she had to do was die. Elevated and adopted by none other than the reigning King of the Mantle of Dracul, Miranda goes from high-school theater wannabe to glamorous royal fiend overnight. Meanwhile, her reckless and adoring guardian angel, Zachary, demoted to human guise as the princess’s personal assistant, has his work cut out for him trying to save his girl’s soul and plan the Master’s fast-approaching Death Day gala. In alternating points of view, Miranda and Zachary navigate a cut-throat eternal aristocracy as they play out a dangerous and darkly hilarious love story for the ages.

    My Thoughts: Having loved Tantalize as much as I did, I had extremely high expectations. Unfortunately, I must say that this is one of the few cases where my expectations were not met.

    The beginning started out slow and though things did begin to happen, I never did become completely engrossed in the story. The characters were plain boring. I did not find anything intriguing about them and found myself rolling my eyes at them several times. I did hold out hope for the romance because I’m a hopeless romantic and love reading forbidden love stories. While there were some good moments to the romance, I felt like it too was underdeveloped.

    However, I do recommend that fans of Tantalize read this. It is not nearly as enjoyable as Tantalize and is not a direct sequel but it is set in the same world. Plus, I hear there is a third book coming out that combines the two so it will be important to have read this one.

    Tuesday, September 29, 2009

    Waiting on Wednesday (16)

    One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

    Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them legions of faithful fans.

    So I don’t want this one quite as much as those David Levithan fangirls do but it looks soo good. I’ve only read one book by John and none by David but still. I’ve heard such good things about both of them that I can’t wait to read this. April is too far away!

    Is 'The Lost Symbol' Is 'Offensive' to Christianity?

    Crosses and other religious symbols help to drive the plot of The Lost Symbol. Are the images used in an offensive way? Philip Hensher writes in a review of The Lost Symbol in the Spectator:

    “The plot, naturally, is all to do with the concealment of wisdom within sacred texts, and as it unfolds, it becomes first moronic and then somewhat offensive. Moronic, because it seems to believe that wisdom and knowledge are things which are acquired by placing a bit of gold on top of a bit of stone, and then wiping off some wax. Brown’s heroes remind me of Hardy’s Jude, who thought that you could understand Greek if you cracked a simple code in the dons’ safekeeping:

    “Don’t you see? These [Biblical phrases] are code words, Robert. ‘Temple’ is code for body. ‘Heaven’ is code for mind. ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ is your spine. And ‘Manna’ is this rare brain secretion.

    “Not just moronic, but offensive, because the whole historical point of Christianity was that it celebrated its rites entirely openly, unlike any other religion to that point. The huge enlightenment to come, trailed by Brown, doesn’t convince, because he can’t really imagine what it would be, apart from some previously secret beliefs being made generally available. What that would mean, apart from people saying ‘With my temple, I thee worship’ at wedding ceremonies, Brown cannot limn.

    “This is taking a bit of fluff all too seriously, but tales of conspiracy are worrying when they become as massively popular as Brown’s stories have done. God knows how many of his readers think there might be some truth in any of this. But even if there were none, it is depressing to see the point to which the bestseller as a form has sunk. Vintage have recently reissued all of Nevil Shute, and to read a hugely popular book of 50 years ago next to The Lost Symbol is to witness a painful decline in quality and sheer class. A novelist like Brown would never risk an extended set-piece like the motor race in On the Beach, or the details of capital investment in A Town Called Alice. Or, come to that, the thrillingly extended card game in the first part of Ian Fleming’s Moonraker. These are novels which, though aiming at popularity, respected their readers and were possessed of a decent level of craft. Nowadays, we are reduced in our thrill-seeking endeavours to listening to Dan Brown, whose idea of giving a reader a good time is droning:

    “Franklin Square is located in the northwest quadrant of downtown Washington, bordered by K and Thirteenth streets. It is home to many historic buildings.”

    Monday, September 28, 2009

    Aurora of the Northern Lights by Holly Hardin

    Come enjoy a rhyming Christmas tale filled with magic and adventure in Aurora of the Northern Lights.

    On a snowy night, a baby girl is born to a man and woman who name her after the Northern Lights. Years later, young Aurora finds herself alone after losing her parents.  Follow Aurora on her journey through lands of mystical creatures and magic in her search for home.

    This is a beautiful, touching story set to rhyme that follows the young protagonist, Aurora as she travels from place to place in hopes of discovering where she truly belongs.  At first I was concerned that Aurora’s loss might be too difficult for young readers to handle, but Hardin’s eloquent and lyrical prose, coupled with Donald Vanderbeek’s stunning and delightful illustrations will touch your child’s heart and fill her with the magic of Christmas.  Your young reader will delight when Aurora discovers a famous bearded, jolly old fellow, and be inspired by the feeling of belonging once Aurora finds home.

    I highly recommend Aurora of the Northern Lights by Holly Hardin and eagerly await her next release.

     

    Rating: 

  • Publisher: Outskirts Press
  • ISBN-10: 1432724398
  • ISBN-13: 978-1432724399
  • SRP:  $18.95
  • Three Weddings & a Bar Mitzvah by melody Carlson


    With Three Weddings & a Bar Mitzvah, Melody Carson has outdone herself! I have truly enjoyed the 86 Bloomberg Place series, and anxiously awaited this final installment of the series. I have grown to know and love Lelani, Kendall, Anna and Megan, and while I hate to not have a peek into their lives any more, this book was a great way to end the run.

    It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

    You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

    Today’s Wild Card author is:

    Melody Carlson

    and the book:

    Three Weddings & a Bar Mitvah

    David C. Cook (2009)

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

    Melody Carlson has published more than one hundred books for adults, children, and teens, with many on best-seller lists. Several books have been finalists for, and winners of, various writing awards, including the Gold Medallion and the RITA Award. She and her husband live in the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and have two grown sons.

    Visit the author’s website.

    To Purchase from Amazon, or ChristianBook.com

    Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah, by Melody Carlson from David C. Cook on Vimeo.

    Product Details:

    List Price: $14.99
    Format: Paperback
    Number of Pages: 320
    Vendor: David C. Cook (2009)
    ISBN: 1589191080
    ISBN-13: 9781589191082

    Sunday, September 27, 2009

    Decline the Invitation -

                                             Warning:  This post contains strong spiritual beliefs. 

     

     

     

     

    I was actually surprised by a student’s book request this week. 
    A tall boy came to the circulation counter with a girl hiding behind him. 
    He proceeded to ask, for her, whether or not we had a certain book in our collection. 

    In the brief nano seconds before I responded, I pondered why was she not able to ask for herself. 
    Did she enjoy being controled by a dominate male?
    (I have a VERY strong opinion of the Snow White/Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty Syndrome.)  
    Did she not want me to know that she had an overdue book?  Was she afraid of me?  Students usually are when I have confiscated their cell phones for the umpteenth time.  In any case, I don’t see my big intimidation factor. 

    “No, I’m sorry, we don’t have The Shack as part of our library collection,” I said addressing the girl directly.  “But, I do have it at home.  I bought it; when I’m finished, I will bring it in for check out.”  The girl ducked back behind the teenage boy and he nodded saying that they would check back.  I hope I’m around the day she finds her spine. 

    The reason I was surprised, was that the student was asking for a book that I thought had some spiritual significance.  We’ve had years where students check out the Left Behind series like crazy, sadly that is the only series that we have with any spiritual truth behind it. 

    I started reading The Shack at the beginning of summer vacation. 
    Briefly, the book is about a father, who after the death of his daughter receives an invitation presumably from God, to spend the weekend at the shack where his daughter was killed. 
    If you are asked to read The Shack, I would advise you to decline the invitation. 

    I had heard that it was a great new work of Christian fiction.  An allegory.  It’s not.  I thought it would be a book with spiritual truths that I could introduce to the library collection and to the students.  No such luck….

    Contrary to some blog posts and reviews, it is not a fast read.  I found it to be laboriously long.  As a parent, the last thing I want to read, is a book about a child being murdered, even if it is fiction; even if the lead character’s relationship with ABBA Father will be strengthened and renewed by the conclusion of the novel.  I will not see the conclusion of this book.  No, that’s not true, I will force my self to read through to the ending, but I find the book to be disturbing to my spirit;  too much of the content smacks up against the Solid Rock of Who I know to be Truth. 

    I’ve done some online research since the teenager asked me for The Shack this week. I thought it was just me, that only I had trouble wading through the story line, accepting the author’s suggestion that God the Father is female.  Was I the only one who was protesting, to having the concepts of Universalism shoved down my throat?  I found that I was not. 

    Some people blogged about how moving they found the book.  One individual stated that ”I can’t remember setting in a classroom and being moved to tears by a novel before, certainly not one in the “Christian” market.”  Personally, I was moved to close the book and silently berate myself for picking up such trite nonsense.  

    If you want to read a good work of Christian allegory, then your best choices would be: 
    The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis &  Hinds’ Feet On High Places by Hannah Hurnard. 

    Before you assemble picket signs and gather outside my library protesting that I am censoring books, put your paint brushes away.  The Shack will join the library collection after it has been catalogued and processed.  If a student asks me for my recommendation I will advise them that if he/she wants to read it- Read it as Science Fiction.  If they believe a boy can sparkle, they’ll believe this. 

    The following are links – If you want to Read More About It…. 

    http://www.challies.com/…/the-shack-by-william-p-young.php –

    http://www.christianbook.com/shack-william-young/

    www.hubpages.com/hub/-The-Shack  

    Saturday, September 26, 2009

    Reboot! In search for the land of oppurtunity

    ‘Failure is a far more discerning and forgiving teacher than success. Ounce for ounce, you come out leaner, meaner, and wiser. As long as you run with honor, cross the finish line and show up for more punishment the day after, you will be at peace with yourself and the world.’

    ‘Reboot – in search for the land of opportunity’ is not the sort of book you usually find on stores. Take a quick walk down the shelve-lanes of bookstores and you’d find hundreds of self-help books with success stories of lifetimes. While they’re a great inspiration for those still aspiring to venture into the harsh realities of life, they bid quite poor for those having already tasted failure and overall are bit too optimistic to be realistic. In other words, for their authors, failures are the no-go zone of life, the hushed-up sentence, the forbidden word. And in staying from this forbidden fruit, they don’t as much as talk over it, or if it’s done, it’s just a chapter or two – for both in contemporary literature and culture, failure isn’t papyrus-selling. It’s rather sympathy-invoking, pity-arousing and well….definitely not a dear notion.

    Not so, though, for Jawwad Farid, the author of Reboot! Hailing from Karachi and having staked most of what he had just after his MBA into a wild venture, Jawwad dared to take the step away from the safe bet of a 6-digit salary and plunge head-on into the risky waters of entrepreneurial opportunity. Unlike his fellow graduates from the Columbia University, he decided to take a roller-coaster ride unto the lands of uncertainty. Though a little hesitant of the whole thing at the start, he was persuaded by his friend into this embarking, whither-in he invested his and his friends’ money, time, emotions and a toiling labor of months of a dedicated team. A 24/7/356 routine into a world he himself was to build.

    Unlike the usual narrations, a greater part of the book is in email-format, adding a certain originality to the read. The emails are the ones exchanged between Jawwad and the fellas involved in the whole thing, indicating the progress of the Avicena Inc. over time. What was a final-year business plan at the university turned out to be a task far greater than had been conceived at the start. Also significant is that the book is mostly filled with the efforts that were put into building Avicena Inc, and for a little part of the outcome it brought. Clearly, it’s the effort that matters.

    While the two key business tips of risking and waiting are the ever-golden rules, they are far more understood by looking failure in the eye as opposed to with a success medaled on one’s chest. And so, this book is more so about the author’s failures. Sinking some $820,000 is nothing mundane. However, it’s no big job either. Getting out of the self-pity that immediately succeeds and standing yet tall after the fall is what’s big. And that’s what Reboot! is about.

    After constructing the whole facet of Avicena, right from its inception to progress to conclusion, the writer creates a world which we all could vividly realize and identify with – life with family, favors from friends, references through contacts, owned and loaned capital, tiny failures, daily boost-ups, toiling team-members and hopes of making it big-time eventually. And then, in one split-second, the author brings the entire facet crumbling down to pieces, quite the way failure hits. Suddenly and without a warning. Next comes an analysis of all the factors that contributed to this failure, whatever it took away and whatever it left to be valued all the more – charging it to the experience account, as the author would say.

    As it goes, we learn a lot more from others’ failure than from their successes. And that makes this book a precious treatise. Something all aspiring entrepreneurs could learn from. The book switches frequently from the author’s business life to personal to back to business, thus also revealing the emotional ups and downs that are necessitated with such a feat.

    Finally, the author’s recovery from failure and his decision to take up another venture, undeterred from his restless ambitions, is quite an inspiration. And the second attempt, a post-failure dare very few would like to stake things at, is the author’s testimony to the fact that we learn much more from our failures than from our successes.

    All in all, a fine book to read, quite inspirational and above all, so well-told that nearly everyone can relate to it. Although slightly laden with the business jargon, the book is perfectly simple and is quite a treat for anyone having entrepreneurial ambitions.

    Friday, September 25, 2009

    A Review of "Krondor the Betrayal" by Raymond Feist

    Raymond Feist has never been able to match his wonderful debut novel, Magician. However, some of the books have been decent. Krondor the Betrayal, Book One of the Riftwar Legacy, is all right, but not spectacular. I think part of the problem is that Krondor the Betrayal is based on a video game, which Feist wrote for Dynamix, Inc.

    As with most of Feist’s books, he sets the story in the world of Midkemia. So it’s not surprising that some of his popular characters return for this new trilogy. You’ll ride on more adventures with Jimmy the Hand, Squire Locklear and Pug the Wizard. The new villain is a Dark Elf war chieftain and mysterious wizards. Locklear learns that Murmandamus, the villain in some of the older books, is said to have risen again and is building an army.

    What the story lacks in originality, it makes up for in action. You can almost see the video game scenes in all the fights and battles throughout the book. However, this is not a book for first-time readers of Feist. Better they start with Magician and get to know the characters.

     One fun thing is that the book comes with a CD-ROM that comes with demonstration version of the game.

    <i>Practical Demonkeeping</i> by Christopher Moore

    After my recent historical fiction kick, I felt the need for something different.  Don’t get me wrong.  Historical fiction, in one form or another, is my favorite genre.  But, occasionally, we all need a change.  What could fit the description “different” more than a book by the fabulously off-kilter Christopher Moore?

    Practical Demonkeeping starts out hilariously.  The stereo stealing raccoons made me wonder what else the possum on my front porch the other night wanted besides food.  That whole scene, music preferences included, had me giggling out loud.  Luckily, I was in my own bedroom.  Chris Moore definitely has a gift for the bizarre and absurd. 

    Having said that, I didn’t like this book nearly as much as I did Fool or, better yet, The Stupidest Angel and Coyote Blue.  Compared to them, Practical Demonkeeping was almost boring at times.

    Any book by this author is an outrageously, outlandishly, funny read, and I definitely intend to continue going through his back list.  Next time, I’ll probably read Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck (not sure which one comes first) in anticipation of next year’s release:  Bite Me.

    Rating:  3.5 out of 5 stars

    Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow

    Random House, 2009

    Doctorow explores the story of the reclusive Collyer brothers, real people who became legendary when they were found dead in their Fifth Avenue home in the 1940s. As Doctorow tells the story, in the voice of Homer, things started going downhill with the advent of World War I, despite the fact that Homer had already begun losing his sight. Langley goes off to war, and one right after the other, their parents die of the Spanish Influenza, leaving Homer alone in the family mansion with a full host of servants to care for him.

    Langley is reported missing, but ultimately turns up having painfully survived exposure to mustard gas. It is when he returns home that the brothers’ lives begin to disintegrate. While Langley lovingly cares for Homer, he becomes a pack rat, hauling in piles of newspapers every day; pianos for Homer, who is an excellent musician; a Model T that he assembles in the dining room; multiple typewriters, including a Braille to Roman alphabet typewriter for Homer; all kinds of army surplus including clothing which comes in handy over the years, but also helmets and gas masks.

    Meanwhile, Homer is beginning to lose his hearing, which he had depended upon, along with his memory to help him navigate the house, — thus making Langley’s acquisitions an ever greater imposition on his independence. Despite the times that Homer despaired of his disability, he never asked Langley to change his ways to make his life easier. In fact, he subjected himself to all sorts of oddball theories of Langley’s to help improve his sight: taking strange supplements with his meals, indulging in art and music and light therapy that Langley concocted, all to no avail.

    Due to Langley’s idiosyncrasies, the brothers become embattled with the utility companies, their bank, the neighbors, the police, the fire commissioner, the public health department, and the press. They leave their house less and less often, although there is a period in the 1970s (Doctorow extends the life-span of the brothers) when they open their home to young hippies who need a place to crash.

    As time goes by, Langley becomes more eccentric and paranoid, and although Langley cares for Homer physically, it is Homer who is the psychological stalwart of the two of them. Finally, the house becomes less and less navigable, until finally the inevitable happens.

    Homer and Langley is a fascinating read, delving as it does, into the imagined minds of two eccentric characters who become trapped by their own psychological impairments.

    Thursday, September 24, 2009

    A Review of "Gettysburg" by Newt Gingrich & William Forstchen

     I usually stay away from alternative histories, but I live in Gettysburg. A couple years ago, Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen did a booksigning during the annual anniversary weekend so I decided I’d try Gettysburg.

    Gettysburg is a well-told story of how the Confederate Army wins the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. The turning event in the novel involves Confederate General Robert E. Lee swallowing his pride and accepting good advice from his generals about how to lead the attack. Lee also overcomes some natural reticence to become a more-forceful commander on the field. Because of this, Lee outflanks Union General George Meade at Gettysburg and the battle occurs on a battlefield of Lee’s choosing rather than Meade’s. When Lee gets between Meade and Washington D.C., Meade rushes to stop him, leading to a bad defeat for the Union Army.

    Gingrich and Forstchen show a sound understanding of weapons and tactics of the era. They also know their major characters well. The battle scenes are so well done that they are heart-wrenching to read as soldiers die. It’s not a fast read, but it’s worth the effort to work some of the meetings of the great Civil War minds. The only problem I have with the book is that it is so plausible and accurate that the line between fiction and non-fiction kept blurring.

    Gettysburg is the first of a trilogy of books about an alternative version of the Civil War. I’m looking forward to reading the other two.

    Book review: Aiding and Abetting

    I’m sorry to flood you with book reviews, but I did read a lot on holiday. Just scroll down the page for coursework, or search in the categories tab on the right.

    To this day the story that forms the basis of this novel by Muriel Spark remains one of Britain’s most celebrated murder mysteries: on the night of Nov. 7, 1974, the night his wife was assaulted and the family nanny brutally murdered, Richard John Bingham, the seventh Earl of Lucan, mysteriously vanished; it was rumoured that he was aided and abetted in his flight from the authorities by wealthy aristocratic friends, and there were occasional unconfirmed  sightings of him around the world.

    In this chilling novel, ”Lucky” Lucan, or a man pretending to be him, turns up in Paris in the office of a psychiatrist named Hildegard Wolf. She is immediately suspicious, for she already has a patient named Walker who claims to be Lord Lucan. Why aren’t the two would-be earls worried that Hildegard will turn them in to the police? Both men, it seems, have the means to blackmail the doctor: they know that she once posed as a religious healer who once a month smeared her hands with menstrual blood and pretended to be a stigmatic. They know that she rooked hundreds of poor believers out of their carefully hoarded savings. And they know that she has been on the run for years, having methodically reinvented herself as Dr. Wolf.

    The whole thing is a black comedy as the characters plot against one another: the two Lucans secretly conniving one against the other even as they both pursue Hildegard, who disappears from Paris and takes up with an amateur sleuth  who is determined to track down Lord Lucan.

    Hildegard is just as ruthless as Lucan; as the novel progresses, the parallels between Hildegard and  Lucan become increasingly clear: both are in flight from a terrible crime; both have spent much of their adult lives inventing new identities for themselves; and both, so to speak, have blood on their hands.

    This glitteringly icy tale has one major flaw in my opinion: it is never made clear how the two Lucans discovered Hildegard’s well-disguised secret, and, even more unlikely, whether they each managed to expose the secret separately. Nevertheless it keeps the reader on the hook right to the end.  And it is also a grimly satirical exposé of aristocratic mores.

    Wednesday, September 23, 2009

    The Genesis Enigma

    The Genesis Enigma

    A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Liza Cassity at Penguin Group (USA) asking me if I would like a copy of The Genesis Enigma: Why the Bible is Scientifically Accurate by Andrew Parker.

    Here’s an excerpt from that email:

    What if there was proof that the Bible was divinely inspired? What if the evidence for Biblical truth came from the last place you’d expect to find religious support?

    There’s a book coming out this October that provides such evidence, and—shockingly enough—the source is science.

    In THE GENESIS ENIGMA: Why the Bible is Scientifically Accurate, respected evolutionary biologist Andrew Parker seeks to cross the boundaries between the Genesis story and evolutionary theory by dissecting the parallels between the two accounts, piece by piece, to show that both sides are indeed compatible.

    THE GENESIS ENGIMA has already stirred much discussion and recognition in the UK—The Daily Mail calls it “Jaw-dropping… an astounding work.”

    Needless to say, I was excited and I’m eager to read it. It arrived today. I will post the review as soon as I am able.

    Those of you familiar with this blog know that I will read anything and everything about Genesis. I also think I can prove Genesis true, literarily speaking, if not scientifically. It should be fun.

    Buy The Genesis Engima from Amazon at the BOB Bookstore.

    Waiting on Wednesday (15)

    Hex Hall

    Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It’s gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie’s estranged father–an elusive European warlock–only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it’s her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

    By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

    As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

    I want this book. NOW. AHH. Sounds so good! (Is there a cover for it yet?!) 2010 needs to come tomorrow!!

    The Principle Of The Path Summary & Review

    Review and summary of Andy Stanley’s (Astan) book ‘Principle of the Path’

    Yeah. Overall this was a good read and I would give it a 9 out of 10. I really enjoyed reading it, especially his stories, and found it to be very helpful. I only wish he would have included more stories! I would recommend it to others, and plan to re-read it in the future.

    The book is about this principle: ‘Direction, not intention, determines destination.’ He’s talking about how the choices we make in life, not our hopes and dreams, determine where we end up.

    He starts by explaining what a principle and path is, and the principle itself. The main reason he gives why this principle is so important, is that if not leveraged wisely we are going to find ourselves in places we don’t want to be. He encourages readers to not bank on the ‘exceptions’ of life (‘but I know one person who did… and it didn’t happen’), but to plan and live as if the future is now. Another good point he made was how while experience may be the ‘best’ teacher, it isn’t when realize it takes away our most valuable commodity – time.

    He then writes about how to make wise choices. He writes a chapter on not relying on our deceptive selves who seek happiness more than truth. Another way to make wise choices is to submit to God in all our decisions, acknowledging his authority over every aspect of our life. The chapter following describes how the law of God should be included in our decision making process. And finally he writes about chasing after wise council, basically people who are where you want to be someday, and then asking how they got there, or better yet, what they would do in your situation.

    The second to last chapter is about how attention determines our direction, so be intentional towards what you give your attention. And the last chapter is carefully written about how when we realize some dreams have vanished forever and cannot ever be attained, the safest thing to do is trust God. This is very sad and very hard…but true and good at the same time.

    Thanks for reading,

    David

    Tuesday, September 22, 2009

    Recommended Reading List

    Here are some books that I’ve read in past two years or so. I will probably write a review on a couple of them, but I wanted to get a list of my favorites out there for you. These aren’t all of the books I’ve read on the following subjects, they’re just the ones that stood out to me or have impacted my life recently for one reason or another. I hope it’s a blessing.

    Missions and Discipleship
    The Disciple-Making Pastor by Hull
    The Lost Art of Disciple Making by Eims
    Mentoring for Missions by Krallmann
    The Challenge of Missions by Oswald J. Smith
    The Key to the Missionary Problem by Murray and Choy
    The Master Plan of Discipleship by Coleman
    Thinking Outside the Box by Keen
    The Creation of a Student Volunteer Movement to Evangelize the World by Wallstrom
    Culture Shock by Loss
    Foreign to Familiar by Lanier
    Psychology of Missionary Adjustment by Jones and Jones

    Islam
    Islam and the Cross by Zwemer and Greenway
    Unveiling Islam by Caner and Caner
    Encountering the World of Islam by Swartley
    Building Bridges by Accad
    Call to Prayer for The Moslem World by Zwemer
    Out of the Crescent Shadows by Caner and Caner

    Practical Life and Ministry
    Lectures to My Students by Spurgeon
    Cat and Dog Theology by Sjogren and Robinson
    Chazown by Groeschel
    7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Stanley

    Communication
    Artful Persuasion by Mills
    The Tipping Point by Gladwell
    Communicating for a Change by Stanley
    Refining Your Style by Stone

    Business and Organization
    Trust by Csorba
    The Purple Cow by Godin
    The Dip by Godin

    Miscellaneous
    The Art of War by Tzu
    Leadership by Giuliani

    Last thoughts on "Why We're Not Emergent" (part 3 of 3)

    Final thoughts.  The book’s been a big hit in the anti/emergent literature subcultures, leveling it to the category of “one of those books you should read just to be aware of what’s being said, if for no other reason.”  But people ask what I liked about the book. I actually do have such a list.

    Pros and Cautions I found helpful for the emergent conversation:

    -Be the action you say you believe. A lot of people on one side tell emergents they need to do more theology, while those on the other say “you’re just a bunch of young white guys talking theology.  Get out there and practice what you idealize.”  So while if you’re getting criticism from both sides then it often means you’re doing something right, take note: faith without works is dead.

    -Don’t be a rebel, and don’t be arrogant.  Which is easy to be when you think you know more than everyone.  But then you’re brash and nobody will listen to you anyways.  There’s always something to tear down, but humility is the key to winning people.

    -Don’t just be a new Left.  A common trend with emergents is having been raised in a conservative home and church (and as a voting block for a political party).  But going Left as a reaction to being right is just as lame as being Right because you think the left is foolish.  The church has long been in bed with the Republican party, but hopping into bed with the Democratic party just because you think you’ve seen the light that your parents or church were blind to is just as sinful.  To me, the drive should be to become post-Left/Right.  And be generous while you are being orthodox.

    -It’s popular to search for God, but not so cool to find Him.  Mystery and philo/theological humility is huge, but mystery and ambiguity for there own sakes can lean toward sloppy theology or flat-out confusion.  Be careful not to take too much of a good thing.  And be ok with admitting that, yes, I actually am quite sure of a lot of theological positions which I tend to remain vague on because I fear the reaction from people. That’s something which I, because of flack I’ve taken in a couple of different church settings before, struggle with a lot.

    Now for a few thoughts I scribbled down while reading, thoughts that I wished very much I could call up and talk to DeYoung and Kluck about:

    - I’m still not sure why DeYoung and Kluck feel, as the title suggests, that they should have been emergents.  Is it because they are youngish and Christian?  Is that their take- that it’s purely a conversation of youngish idealists thinking out of youthful ignorance?  I can’t tell for sure, because they didn’t really explain the title all too well.  But if this view of emergents is, in fact, their characterization, then that could be very telling of the undergirding philosophy behind the book.

    -Emergents don’t reject knowledge or real truth- that is while they generally read so prolifically. I think this is a lot easier to see than people make it.  Emergents genuinely are searching for truth, but they generally have a lot more informed perspective on the word Truth, largely because of the education they are packing behind those ears (and yes, it is true that the average emergent generally tends to be much more educated theologically than their average Evangelical counterpart, hence much of the disconnect).

    -emergents don’t reject teaching or preaching- that’s why podcasting and reading and blogging have taken off and driven much of the conversation.  If they aren’t getting stretching teaching at home, they go home and subscribe to 20 pastors from around to globe to meet that need.  I’m what I like to call a podcast-whore, and learning from a global community of pastors, writers, and leaders has given enormous fuel to my spirituality.

    -on Hell: it really, it isn’t a clear subject in scripture (hence the debate throughout the ages), so please don’t throw the heresy card just because someone knows enough to be uncertain.

    -It’s not that “social action gets priority over the Gospel.”  Instead, emergents see social action as part of the Gospel.  If you care for the poor, you really aren’t leaving Jesus behind.

    -“Emergents don’t care about theology,” is a bad way to confess “Actually, I’ve just never heard it put that way before.”

    -When criticizing Emergent Village, please quit quoting Piper,  Driscoll, Al Mohler or D.A. Carson.  I don’t know what else to say; they just don’t get EV and show little desire to.  Quote Scott McKnight or others that are inside or show understanding of it.  Quoting Carson makes me instantly think “Oh, you mean that guy that’s never even talked to an emergent?”  Consulting with Mohler for perspectives on emergents is like consulting with Sarah Palin for advice on… newspapers.

    -If your religion is all about dying well, you may be a gnostic.  It is very telling that DeYoung feels (p.120) that if your faith doesn’t get you into heaven, then it’s irrelevant.  I’m not saying this is an important question, but it is very telling when this is the primary lens by which you see the world of faith and philosophy.

    -If you quote someone like McLaren, who uses profuse hyperbole throughout, don’t pretend like a two sentence quote actually communicates his belief on something.  In fact, don’t do that with anyone, ever.

    -Thank you for parroting Driscoll’s slander that Emergent Village promotes sexual promiscuity.  I’m still not sure how that even started.

    -DeYoung and Kluck seem in way over their heads with Peter Rollins.  I’ll admit, he can be a hard writer to grasp, but I got the feeling they were merely looking for things to criticize without even trying to understand.  He’s a big name, and not that much easier to read that the brilliant philosophy giants like Derrida and Levinas.  You really have to let the writing work on you, and be willing to read the same page five times over.  If you don’t get it at all, then better to leave it alone than to criticize in ignorance of his point.

    -DeYoung mistakes a lack of heavy criticism of certain sins for “tolerance of sin.”  And, of course, he only seems to care about certain sins here.  You know the ones; they are always the same.

    -My question: is Emergent just getting attacked because it’s becoming a big thing in the broader, global Christianity?  Would the Neo-Calvinist camp’s attacks be the same against another group if there was a resurgence of Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, the Coptic’s, etc.?  I suspect so.

    -Do we usually attack theology in person the way we lash out at writers behind the safety of a book’s page? Why the difference in attack?  Because it looks easier to attack when you aren’t face-to-face.  Is any of this helpful?  Intellectual disagreement is a good thing that, quite honestly, this whole conversation needs more of.  But misrepresentation and slander only set emergents up for pain and ostrasization, furthering the “us” and “them” divide in a faith community.

    -I think the strong artistic correlation with Emergent probably says something about who “gets it” and who is left saying “that’s stupid.”  You may simply just not have the type of mind that sees things this way.  Note>> I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but it’s worth noting.  It really doesn’t surprise me that these two guys, given their background, don’t get into the philosophical rhetoric.  Not trying to be insulting, just honest. (Weak analogy alert) I don’t understand sports at all (no, I seriously could not name a single NFL team that Kluck spends all day writing about at ESPN; I just don’t care), but you won’t see me trying to pretend like I do and bring the hell-bound heresy charge against people who are really into it and think this team or that team is going all the way this year.  That would be beyond ridiculous, and that’s because it’s just imprudent to criticize what you don’t know or try to understand.  If only we applied that understanding to conversations that matter.

    -DeYoung, when you say we should avoid ambiguity, that the Apostles we’re vague when giving answers, I think Good thing too, because if the Apostles had ever been vague, then there might be all sorts of different interpretations of Scripture out there.  Er… wait…

    —–

    For those of you who have asked for a recommended reading for an introduction to the emergent church conversation:

    -For a fantastic introduction that may change your life, as well as a simple primer for what postmodern Christianity may look like:  A New Kind of Christian, by Brian McLaren.

    -For a very short synopsis of the broader, global Emergence we are seeing in Religion/Culture/Politics/Economics/Etc., read The Great Emergence, by Phyllis Tickle.

    -For a history: The New Christians, by Tony Jones.

    -For a postmodern philosophical and theological primer: How (Not) To Speak of God by Peter Rollins.

    The Worth of Individual Action

    I just finished reading Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process. One of the main themes throughout the book is whether there is worth in individual action when so much of the environmental damage being done is at a Corporate level.

    Do we make any difference when we hang dry our laundry, switch over to CFL light bulbs and buy organic?

    Beavan’s year long project to try and make no impact was both highly praised and highly criticized. Isn’t shifting the onus of the environmental crisis onto the individual simply giving an easy out to industry? Isn’t the real change policy change?

    Luckily, change comes both from the individual and the collective.

    • I choose to be part of The Compact, which means I buy nothing new.
    • Because I buy nothing new, almost everything I buy comes to my house free of packaging.
    • Because I’m not buying crap, more new crap is not being manufactured.
    • Because I recycle, compost and minimize what comes into my house; my family of four produces a very small amount of garbage.
    • Because I save so much money with this lifestyle, I only have to work (and commute) two days per week.

    The list of my individual actions goes on and on. Although really, none of it is all that earth shattering.

    On the collective/ big picture side of things, I write a blog about issues of frugality, sustainability and simple living which is read by thousands of people per day, who then also take action on an individual scale.

    I believe that no one is going to try and make changes on a large scale without first making changes at an individual level. It is these personal changes that empower people to start seeing the bigger picture. Like the breathing mask that drops down in an airplane. You have to take care of yourself before helping those around you.

    So was there worth to Colin Beavan’s year of no impact? Absolutely so. Not only did he change his life for the better, but he wrote about it and inspired others to make changes as well.

    Beavan also founded No Impact Project which, “is an international, environmental, nonprofit project, founded by Colin Beavan in the spring of 2009. It was inspired by the No Impact Man book, film, and blog.”

    See? First the personal, then the collective!

    Katy Wolk-Stanley

    “Use it up, wear it up, make it do or do without.”

    P.S. I will be writing a more in-depth piece about Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man book after I attend his reading this Thursday, which I’m very much looking forward to.

    Monday, September 21, 2009

    NOBEL SPEECH: ERNEST HEMINGWAY

    Since “A Moveable Feast” is one of my favorite memoirs, I had to include Ernest Hemingway’s words. Although his acceptance speech was shorter than many of the others,  I feel it sums up the writer’s path quite well.

    Having no facility for speech-making and no command of oratory nor any domination of rhetoric, I wish to thank the administrators of the generosity of Alfred Nobel for this Prize.

    No writer who knows the great writers who did not receive the Prize can accept it other than with humility. There is no need to list these writers. Everyone here may make his own list according to his knowledge and his conscience.

    It would be impossible for me to ask the Ambassador of my country to read a speech in which a writer said all of the things which are in his heart. Things may not be immediately discernible in what a man writes, and in this sometimes he is fortunate; but eventually they are quite clear and by these and the degree of alchemy that he possesses he will endure or be forgotten.

    Writing, at its best, is a lonely life. Organizations for writers palliate the writer’s loneliness but I doubt if they improve his writing. He grows in public stature as he sheds his loneliness and often his work deteriorates. For he does his work alone and if he is a good enough writer he must face eternity, or the lack of it, each day.

    For a true writer each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed.

    How simple the writing of literature would be if it were only necessary to write in another way what has been well written. It is because we have had such great writers in the past that a writer is driven far out past where he can go, out to where no one can help him.

    I have spoken too long for a writer. A writer should write what he has to say and not speak it. Again I thank you.

    'Why We Make Mistakes’ – A Provocative Look at the Causes of Human Error, or Why There’s a 1-in-5 Chance That a Doctor Will Misdiagnose Your Final Illness

    If you drink while studying for a test, hope the exam will be held in a bar

    Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average. By Joseph T. Hallinan. Broadway, 283 pp., $24.95.

    By Janice Harayda

    A few days before Halloween in a small town in Delaware, a 42-year-old woman hanged herself from a tree across from a moderately busy road. Her body dangled about 15 feet above the ground and could easily be seen from passing cars, but no one called the police for more than 12 hours.

    “They thought it was a Halloween decoration,” the mayor’s wife said as a crowd gathered at the scene in 2005.

    Joseph Hallinan uses the tragedy to make a point: Context affects our perceptions of events more than we imagine. Its importance helps to explain why we often can’t quite place somebody we’ve run into: Is he a barista at the local Starbucks? A volunteer at the library? It’s easier to recall who a person is when you know where he belongs. And context involves more than time and place, Hallinan says in Why We Make Mistakes, a fascinating survey the causes of human error. One study found that people who learned while slightly drunk remembered better if they were tested while tipsy.

    Hallinan focuses on cognitive or perceptual errors that affect behavior, or factors such as change blindness (an inability to notice shifts in what we see) and overconfidence (a trait that shows up more in men than women and influences the mistakes of each sex). But he writes at times about behavior that affects perceptions, such as not getting enough sleep. And this dilutes slightly the focus of his book, which draws on research in psychology, economics, and other fields. Why deal with fatigue but not with such physical conditions as chronic pain or stress that can also cause errors?

    A larger issue is whom the “we” in the title of the book refers to. Hallinan seems to draw mainly on the work of American researchers, and this raises questions when he deals with a topic such as overconfidence. He makes a strong case that “we” are overconfident. But that’s what Europeans have said for decades about Americans, and it makes you wonder if his conclusions would have differed if he’d drawn on more studies of, say, Scots or Hungarians. You don’t know whether this is a book about why people make mistakes or about why Americans make mistakes.

    Even so, Why We Make Mistakes is as sobering – and potentially helpful — as it is lively. If you can’t decide whether to get a second opinion about a recommended medical treatment, here’s a fact that could help you make up your mind: Studies of autopsies have shown that “doctors seriously misdiagnose fatal illnesses about 20 percent of the time.”

    Best line: No. 1: “Memory, it turns out, is often more of a reconstruction than a reproduction.” No. 2: “Wrong-site surgery continues to afflict untold numbers of patients each year. … One recent survey, for instance, asked hand surgeons about operating on the wrong place; 20 percent of them revealed that they had operated on the wrong site at least once in their careers.”

    Worst line: “On the kinds of sophisticated tasks that economists are most interested in, like trading in markets or choosing among gambles, the overwhelming finding it that increased incentives to do not change average behavior substantially. Generally, what incentives do is prolong deliberation or attention to a problem. People who are offered them will work harder on a given problem … though they will not necessarily work any smarter.” This passage seems self-contradictory and an oversimplification of the effect of incentives. If people work harder on a problem, isn’t that a change in their “average behavior”?

    Recommendation? Why We Make Mistakes may appeal to fans of the books of Malcolm Gladwell, though there’s some overlap of information with them.

    Published: February 2009

    Editor: Kris Puopolo

    About the author: Hallinan is a Pulitzer Prize–winner and former Wall Street Journal reporter. He lives in Chicago.

    One-Minute Book Reviews posts short reviews by Janice Harayda, former book editor of the Plain Dealer in Cleveland. The site is also the home of the “Backscratching in Our Time” series that calls attention to authors who praise each other’s books. The next installment in the series will appear Friday.

    © 2009 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.
    www.janiceharayda.com and www.twitter.com/janiceharayda

    Sunday, September 20, 2009

    The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding

    The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding is perhaps the greatest Bodybuilding book to ever be published and nothing has ever come close or even been attempted.

    This book is incredible for so many reasons and one of the biggest reasons is its level of indepth information. This book covers everything from modern bodybuilding history to exact exercises performed by the greatest bodybuilders in history. The first paragraph of the book mentions a mantra about the changes of modern bodybuilding and its evolutionary process.

    This is what is says verbatim:

    “At the end of the nineteenth century a new interest in muscle-building arose, not muscle just as a means of survival or of defending one-self; there was a return to the Greek-ideal-muscular development as a celebration of the human body.”

    To understand the full spectrum of how incredible this book is, you have to know the contents of the book. Here’s the chapter titles:

    Book 1 – Introduction to Bodybuilding:

    1. Evolution and History
    2. The ABC’s of Bodybuilding
    3. The Training Experience
    4. The Gym
    5. Getting Started

    Book 2 – Training Programs:

    1. Basic Training Principles
    2. Learning Your Body Type
    3. The Basic Training Program
    4. Advanced Training Principles
    5. Building a Quality Physique: The Advanced Training Program
    6. Competition Training Program
    7. Mind Over Matter: Mind, The Most Powerful Tool

    Book 3 – Body Part Exercises:

    1. The Shoulders
    2. The Chest
    3. The Back
    4. The Arms
    5. Biceps Training
    6. Triceps Training
    7. Forearm Training
    8. The Thighs
    9. The Calves
    10. The Abdomen

    Book 4 – Competition:

    1. Posing
    2. Total Preparation
    3. Competition Strategy and Tactics

    Book 5 – Health, Nutrition, and Diet:

    1. Nutrition and Diet
    2. Weight Control: Gaining Muscle, Losing Fat
    3. Contest Diet Strategies
    4. Injuries and How to Treat Them

    Buy From Amazon: The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding

    Spread The Word! Link Back To This Page Using The Code Below:

    The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding

    The Big Year

    The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, by Mark Obmascik.  Free Press (2005), 288 pages.

    The topic of the “big year” (a competition in which birders throughout the world compete to see who can spot the most species of birds within one calendar year) is very compelling, and I was sure I would love this book. I even knew where on my shelf I would place it when I was done—right next to The Devil’s Teeth and The Orchid Thief, in the section reserved for obsessives who focus solely on one aspect of the natural world and seek that single thing with complete devotion.  But then I found out that the writing is really deplorable.

    First, the good things: the three birders the author focuses on are exactly right for the book. He sort of succeeds in teaching the reader about birds, their environment, and birding. (He’s about 70 percent there.) And he clearly explains why 1998 is the year that must be covered, even though it was a decade ago.

    But the writing! Why can’t he describe an animal without relying on references to pop culture? Why can’t he compare two things without completely confusing the reader? Why doesn’t he understand that in a book about birding, the reader does not want constant references to media and commercialization?    

    1. The pygmy owl “weighed less than a pack of cigarettes.”  Is the author a heavy smoker with no concept of the fact that most nature lovers (the market for the book) think smoking is disgusting? It’s especially disgusting in nature. Now he has combined, in my mind, the image of a cute little owl in a tree with a rude creep blowing smoke next to the owl’s tree. There are so many other, far less distasteful, ways to describe the owl’s weight.

     2. “…the keel-billed toucan, that screeching, big-honkered bird made famous by Froot Loops.” I almost threw away the book right here. I am mortally offended that the author thinks I, or anybody else who would buy this book, might not remember what a toucan is without a crass comparison to a stupid commercial. This is a book about birds. I really, really don’t want to be reminded of commercials! And anyone buying this book already knows what a toucan is! Incidentally, the word “honker” is unnecessarily disrespectful. Toucans have beautiful and correctly sized beaks, and there is no need to use a disparaging, fifth-grade insult such as “honker.” Things like this make me think the author doesn’t actually like birds that much. This is a serious problem for an author writing a birding book.

    3. “The yellow rail was the Greta Garbo of the bird world.” This means nothing to me. I know she was a movie star (1950s? ’60s? ’40s?), but that’s about it. That is the crux of the problem. When an author relies on references to movie stars to explain a concept, he leaves behind all the readers who don’t share his media obsession.

    4. “Maybe this really was a Bud Light commercial.”  The constant references to commercials (there are hordes of them) have no place in a nature book about birding. Likewise: brand names cheapen a book, they don’t add “authenticity” or “flavor” or whatever it is some people believe that they add. The following brand-name plugs all insulted me in the short space of just ten pages: Snickers, Wal-Mart, Spam, Wonder Bread, Jif peanut butter, Lipton, Mr. Salty pretzels. And if that’s not bad enough, I later suffered this, probably the worst sentence in the entire book, or any other book I’ve read in the last year: “Miller clicked his Netscape Navigator back over to www.travelocity.com.”

    5. “Shearwater hurtled out and crushed Miller with a hug that would cost good money from a chiropractor.” Is this supposed to be a good hug? A painful hug? I don’t understand this hug. It’s very distracting. Anyway, in general, people should never “hurtle.” (Nor should they ever “nab” something, or “bolt” into a building.)

    6.  “…as tall as a Coke can but without the fizz.” With regard to comparing a bird to junk food, I’m thinking again that the author doesn’t really respect birds. With regard to putting in a plug for Coke, see #4. With regard to “the fizz,” I have no idea what the author is trying to say. That completely mystifies me.

    7. “He wasn’t supposed to feel like Evel Knievel every time a bill came due.” What?

    This book was particularly disappointing because there was so much potential with the subject matter and characters. I wish it had had the depth of The Orchid Thief, or The Devil’s Teeth, and I wish the author would have expressed love and respect for birds (assuming he feels that?). I wish every movie star, media reference, and brand name could be removed. I wish there were more background information on specific birds and their environment. Why not provide the American Birding Association’s list of rules for the Big Year? I was wondering about that throughout the book.  

    This review first appeared in July 2008
    By Donna Long

    Dead Boys Review - Lange Delivers a Punch to your Gut

    Damn.  Dead Boys, by Richard Lange, is one crazy collection of short stories. 

    (I came into this book by way of the Small World books employee, Phil.  Good choice, Phil!)

    Dead boys is definitely edgy.  Essentially it’s a collection of raw, LA based short stories mostly about down-and-out folks who sometimes dip into criminal activity (though I wouldn’t call them criminals…).  It’s strangely dead on about LA even though it seems very over the top at times.  Behind closed doors many people really do lead over the top existences – we all tend to clean up well in public – and Lange has masterfully given us a non-intrustive nor creepy peephole to see behind the scenes.

    What makes this collection special is that it doesn’t moralize.  it is stories.  it is what it is.  no right, no wrong – just existence.   no justification for these characters or their behavior.  I related to the complexity of just living life and how hard it is to put the pieces together.

    I know my book reviews rarely bash a book nor give some brilliant literary criticism.  I’m not going to do it in this case either.  I think this book is very enjoyable and provocative.  Here are few “gotchas”.  The prose is raw and changes from story to story.  Perhaps that’s not your cup of tea.  It’s all based in LA.  If you’ve never been to LA you might not get all the nuances but you certainly will get a sense of the shadowy parts of LA and the idea that everyone here is chasing something.

    Summer is over, but that doesn’t mean good summer reading has to end.  Get this book to smack your sensibility around a bit.  lemmeknow what you think.

    Saturday, September 19, 2009

    Book Review: Fun Home

    Fun Home – A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel is an evocative graphic memoir based on the author’s life and family. The novel consists of a charming blend of images and text, where the narrative serves as a running commentary on the illustrations. The style is compelling in its balance of mediums - by allowing the words to introduce and punctuate the images, the author has enabled the book to become an illustrated diary of sorts, documenting events and emotions. The artwork in itself is stunning – Bechdel’s choice of a limited color palette gives the images a  somber appearance which is in keeping with the story’s somewhat melancholy content. The details in the sketching is what draws one in the most in Fun Home – whether it be in the depiction of the gothic revival house she grew up in, or the journals that she kept for years – Bechdel has gone to great pains to portray her memories as accurately as possible.

    The story revolves around Bechdel’s tumultous relationship with her father, who was hit by a truck and killed at the age of 44. The author’s earliest impressions of him constitute a man who is stern and emotionally-unresponsive to his children - one entirely too concerned with constructing an ideal image. In calling him an “old artificer“, Bechdel demonstrates how her father’s public persona contradicted his personal one, and how masterful he was in embelleshing and obscuring the facts. ” He used his skillful artifice not to make things, but to make things appear to be what they were not.” (p. 16) She is also suspicious of the cause of his death and says there is a chance it might have been suicide, believing her father’s dismay in those last days of his life might have pushed him over the edge. “His death was quite possibly his consummate artifice, his masterstroke.” (p. 27)

    The plot essentially is fixated on one particular incident, to be resumed and reassessed time and again as the book progresses. This specific moment was when the protagonist decides to reveal to her parents that she is in fact a lesbian and found out, through her mother, that her father was a homosexual as well, and this had such a significant impact on the author’s psyche that it has been chosen to be the point where all her narrative ventures begin and end. By going back and forth in time, Bechdel shows us the consequences of that revelation on the relationship between the father and daughter, and the various clues in her childhood that would no doubt have been indications of this situation.

    Bechdel’s timing is impeccable; the story runs at a comfortable pace, delivered piece by piece via an engaging and poetic narrative. The book is ultimately forgiving; towards the end; one can see that Bechdel has, to a certain extent, purged her father of his misdeeds, choosing instead to take a more benign approach in remembering him and the various unexpected ways in which their two lives and stories had come to coincide over time. In doing so, Bechdel is able to reveal the bond between them in all its inescapable and enigmatic glory.

    “What, reduced to their simplest reciprocal form, were dad’s thought about my thoughts about him, and his thoughts about my thoughts about his thoughts about me?” (p. 212)

    Friday, September 18, 2009

    In the Mail

    A couple of weeks ago I mentioned a book that Ed Komoszewski had alerted me to and today the UPS guy dropped off a package from Hendrickson containing it.  It’s Keith Warrington’s Discovering Jesus in the New Testament and from the quick perusal I’ve taken it looks like a good one.  Lord willing I’ll be able to read through it this weekend since I want to jump into it right away.  We’ll see what happens.

    B”H

    Book Review - Writer Watchdog 2009 Edition

    Writer Watchdog 2009 Edition: Self-publishing Directory
    BY: Deana Riddle
    PUBLISHED BY: New Vision Media
    PUBLISHED IN: 2009
    ISBN: 978-0-9822674-9-3
    Pages: 213
    Reviewed by Billy Burgess

    With a flashy cover, the Writer Watchdog 2009 Edition: Self – publishing Directory will catch any writer’s eye. Being a writer myself, I have read several resource and writing books, but this is the first I’ve read about self-publishing.

    The book is filled with over two hundred resources and over thirty articles. You learn every step there is in publishing your own book. Learn the difference between a book printer and a self-publishing service. Find out how to use social networking websites, blogs and book reviews to promote your book.
    My favorite sections are the Book Review Resources, and the Informational Sites and Writer Organizations. The tips in these sections are very helpful.

    I found the Writer Watchdog 2009 Edition to be full of wonderful information that any writer can use. Before jumping into the self-publishing world, I recommend reading this. Any questions you would ever have will be answered in this amazing book.

    Thursday, September 17, 2009

    The Black Parents business plan for Young Black Youth

    It truly amazes me how this is ingrained in white folks and how Black Americans and/or African Americans never get this. For some reason, we believe that just raising kids and getting them through high school is enough. I have heard countless black parents say that their only mission is to get their kid to 18 years of age and they’re done with parenting. It’s like a ritual in the black community. People start doing the happy dance as soon as high school graduation comes around.

    Invest in the Black Middle class now

    This is far from what our white counterparts do in America. I grew up with white kids. I know this for fact. I went to a predominantly white elementary school, high school, and college and didn’t see a ton of black kids at college until I went to a public college at the University of Texas Arlington. My friends’ parents always had a plan for them to go to college, get a profession, and succeed.

    They think it’s crazy to just get their kid out of high school and they are highly disappointed in their kid if their kid settles for simply getting out of high school and going to get a job. They count this as failure. The kids I grew up with and their parents count a success as them going to Purdue University, Ohio State University, Notre Dame, getting an advanced degree, getting a Master’s Degree and possibly a PhD.

    I’m not kidding. Look at my Facebook friends if you think I’m not telling the truth. Their standard of success and how they measure that success is much different from ours. How do we change this? What do we do to put our kids in a better position for success and growth? First of all, you must create a success plan for your child at the age of 5. This success plan is about education. You must hold a very high standard of education for your child at the elementary school level. You must create and demand excellence from your child at school at an early age. You must then ensure that your child has a great education at the high school level and that they become indoctrinated with a college mentality.

    Your kid will learn from you whether or not college and education is important. If you just speak about it and don’t do actionable things about it, they will not care either. This is how our young black youth fall through the cracks and ended up doing nothing as an adult. And do not expect someone to care more about your child’s education than you do. You MUST care. You MUST show concern. You MUST ensure that they are going to a good college or university and that they are equipped with the right tools to do so. Your business plan is to create a winner out of your kid. You must create a strategic thought leader out of your child for your child’s sake. Not yours. You must ensure that your kid gets to college, gets out of college, and has a chance at being in the upper middle class. The future of the black middle class depends upon this.

    Gerard Spinks is the CEO of Spinks Industries, a black enterprise and web content developer and marketing company based in Atlanta, GA.

    The Donald Trump University Experience

    As a part of my quest to build wealth as a black business in Atlanta, I decided to plunge head first and experience wealth creation from a world leader in this field. I reached out to Trump University and decided to sign up, register, and go to the next level. I wanted to link and learn from America’s finest leader and was frustrated with some of my real estate investments in Atlanta that weren’t cash flowing positively and making me money the way I wanted.

    I had a big dream that was for sure. My dream is still the same: I want to buy one apartment building this year with a minimum of 44 units with each unit making profits of a minimum of $250 per unit. If purchased right, I should make at least $11,000 per month in profit and then go do another building. My main goal is to create $100,000 per month in profits from apartment buildings and real estate.

    Trump University

    I would tell people this in Atlanta and their eyes would just glaze over and look at me like I was crazy and silly. I knew that I couldn’t keep these same people around me and tell them this type of goal. I needed people around me who thought and had way more than me and who wouldn’t be afraid of me saying something like this. I needed to build a team of people who would hear that, not flinch, and know what to do to help me achieve this dream realistically and create a strategic plan to do so. I had always known of Donald Trump and even read most of his books. I wanted more. I wanted to get help.

    The first thing I did was register at Trump University. Within 2 hours of registering, I received a call from a representative who wanted me to go through an assessment test to determine if I was someone that Mr. Trump would work with. I was excited at the fact that they actually cared. They didn’t think about me being a black american and didn’t think anything else. They simply wanted to find out if I had the right mentality to do the work necessary to succeed.

    After taking the assessment test, they assigned me a personal wealth coach designed to help me along the way. He asked me about my goals. He wanted me to tell him exactly what I mentioned above with my cash flow goals and wanted me to explain how I planned to get there. He wanted to know if I had cash flow forecasts and plans in writing which I did have.

    I decided to continue to take courses through Trump University and become a master student and accept this personal coaching that they had offered me. Trump University wanted to know how serious I was to commit to the program and learn to make money. What? I was so humbled to be around him and happy to be a student. I just wanted to see myself as an African American succeed with his program so that I could teach others.

    Gerard Spinks is the CEO of Spinks Industries, a web content developer and marketing company based in Atlanta, GA.

    Pump Up Your Book Promotion’s September Authors on Virtual Book Tour – Day 12

    Welcome to Day Twelve of Pump Up Your Book Promotion’s September Authors on Virtual Book Tour! Follow along as these talented authors travel the blogosphere all month long to talk about their books, their lives and their future projects. Leave a comment at their blog stops and you could win a FREE virtual book tour if you’re a published author with a recent release or a $50 Amazon gift certificate if you are not published. So, pick your favorites, follow their tours, and make sure you leave them a note to tell them you stopped by!

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    Laced with Magic

    Barbara Bretton, author of the paranormal romance novel, Laced With Magic (Berkley Trade) will be visiting Bibliophiles ‘R’ Us! Knit shop owner and sorcerer’s daughter Chloe Hobbs felt the Fates finally got it right when she met Luke MacKenzie. And no one could have convinced her otherwise—including the trolls, selkies, or spirits who also call Sugar Maple, Vermont, home. But then out of nowhere Luke’s ex-wife suddenly shows up, claiming to see the spirit of their daughter, Steffie—a daughter Chloe knows nothing about. You can visit Barbara on the web at http://www.barbarabretton.com/.

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    Football is for Lovers

    Robert Brooker & Kathleen O’ Dougherty, authors of the humorous nonfiction, Football is For Lovers (Mill City Press) will be visiting As The Pages Turn! With anecdotes, illustrations, and a lot of laughs, Football is for Lovers not only makes it easy to understand the game, but also shows you how to put an end to the TV clicker wars, improve your relationship, and spice up your love life. You can visit their website at www.footballforlovers.com.

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    Homer's Odyssey

    Gwen Cooper, author of the memoir, Homer’s Odyssey (Delacorte Press), will be visiting Christy’s Book Blog, A Sea of Books and Zensanity! Homer’s Odyssey is the once-in-a-lifetime story of an extraordinary cat and his human companion. It celebrates the refusal to accept limits—on love, ability, or hope against overwhelming odds. By turns jubilant and moving, it’s a memoir for anybody who’s ever fallen completely and helplessly in love with a pet. You can visit her website at http://gwencooper.com/.

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    Diary of a Mad Gen Y er

    Marcus Dino, author of the young adult fantasy novel, Diary of a Mad Gen Y er, will be visiting The Hot Author Report! Perhaps more of a prequel than a sequel to Marcus Dino’s electrifying Hollywood novel, Fifi Anything Goes in the Doubles Os (Iuniverse 2003, Airleaf 2005) Diary of a Mad Gen Yer focuses on the hilarious adventures of 21st century actress/heroine Fifi Larouche; her silly poems, her silly stories, her silly blogs, during her days working as a waitress while pursuing her dreams of Hollywood fame. You can visit him on the web at www.authorsden.com/marcusdino.com.

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    The Missing Keys to Thriving in Any Real Estate Market

    Eddie Godshalk, author of the non-fiction real estate investment book, The Missing Keys to Thriving in Any Real Estate Market (AVIVA Publishing), will be visiting Book Tours and More! “I am a leading authority on current, local real estate info. And author of “The Missing Keys to Thriving in Any Real Estate Market”. My competition is Case-Shiller which you can buy for a min of $250 for a few counties at Economy.com. And only covers macro markets, which has HUGE errors at the micro-market and block level. Consumers, investors, and bankers, all can benefit with current local information and forecasts, and thus, make more profits.” Visit Eddie’s website at http://www.HomeValuePredictor.com/.

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    The Target

    J.R. Hauptman, author of the murder mystery, The Target: Love, Death and Airline Deregulation (Caddis Publishing),will be visiting Libby’s Library News! The Target: Love, Death and Airline Deregulation is set in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West, and tells the tale of the tumultuous first years of airline deregulation and the effects it had on that industry and the people who worked there. There are many people today who believe it was, in large part, the rush to overall deregulation back then, that led directly to the economic chaos that threatens to overwhelm our entire economy today. You can visit his website at http://www.caddispublishing.com/.

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    Night of Flames

    Douglas W. Jacobson, author of the historical fiction novel, Night of Flames (McBooks Press), will be visiting Paperback Writer! In 1939 the Germans invade Poland, setting off a rising storm of violence and destruction. For Anna and Jan Kopernik the loss is unimaginable. She is an assistant professor at a university in Krakow; he, an officer in the Polish cavalry. Separated by war, they must find their own way in a world where everything they ever knew is gone. You can visit Douglas’ blog at www.douglaswjacobson.blogspot.com.

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    Return to Your First Love

    Teresa R. Jones, author of the religious self-help book, Return to Your First Love (Waverly Media Group), will be visiting Carol’s Notebook! Return to Your First Love is not the typical self-help/relationships book filled with anecdotes and quotes from experts. Readers are invited to sit in the front row to experience actual events that dig deep and expose carnality and misconstrued ideas about Christianity, which will in turn guide them to a path of true intimacy with God. You can visit Teresa’s website at www.revelation2-4.com.

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    The Right to Know

    Jacqueline Klosek, author of the nonfiction, The Right to Know: Your Guide to Using and Defending Freedom of Information Law in the United States (Praeger), will be visiting A Book Lover Forever! The Right to Know is a resource book for citizens seeking to understand, use, and defend their right to know their rights under the freedom of information laws in the United States. It educes practical lessons from dozens of case studies of how the reader can use our freedom of information laws in order to protect the environment, public health and safety and to expose governmental and corporate crime, waste, and corruption. You can visit her website at http://www.jacquelineklosek.com/.

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    Magnificent Man

    Randall Lang, author of the contemporary romance, Magnificent Man (Midnight Showcase), will be visiting The Story Behind the Book! Beauty queen Cassandra Taylor sought the glamour of Hollywood, but when she is abandoned on a desert highway, a handsome man on a motorcycle rescues her. On her journey home, she finds herself falling in love with Coyote, the spirit rider and her ‘Magnificent Man’. You can visit Randall on the web at http://www.randalllang.com/.

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    Double Out and Back

    Lisa Lipkind Leibow, author of the mainstream novel, Double Out and Back (Red Rose Publishing), will be visiting A Journey of Books and In My Youth! Three women’s lives are intricately intertwined, as Amelia Schwartz and Summer Curtis struggle with the complex dynamics of intrafamily embryo adoption, and Chandy Markum strives to make her patients’ dreams a reality. You can visit Lisa’s website at http://www.lisalipkindleibow.com/.

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    Cleopatra's Daughter

    Michelle Moran, author of the historical fiction novel, Cleopatra’s Daughter (Random House), will be visiting A Blog of Books! Based on meticulous research, Cleopatra’s Daughter is a fascinating portrait of imperial Rome and of the people and events of this glorious and most tumultuous period in human history. Emerging from the shadows of the past, Selene, a young woman of irresistible charm and preternatural intelligence, will capture your heart. You can visit Michelle’s website at http://www.michellemoran.com/.

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    Freedom of Press

    Balthazar Rodrigue Nzomono-Balenda, author of the book of poetry, Freedom of the Press: The Sitting Duck (I-Proclaim), will be visiting Scribe Vibe! Balthazar uses poetry as a tool in his book, Freedom of press the sitting duck to express himself about circumstances journalists can face, when they do their reporting in their countries or overseas. He was inspired by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour’s message on Youtube about journalists getting, kidnapped, tortured or even killed for their works. He learned that most of the time, journalists are silenced by killers who are hired by those who cannot stand the idea of an independent press. You can visit Balthazar on the web at http://www.redroom.com/author/balthazar-rodrigue-nzomono-balenda.

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    Distant Thunder

    Jimmy Root, Jr., author of the Christian fiction novel, Distant Thunder (American Book Publishers), will be visiting The Plot! Ty Dempsey is a young American pastor who finds himself in a trial of grief after the loss of his younger brother to the war in Iraq. During his darkest hours, God brings to life a series of passages Bin the Bible that Ty had always considered allegorical in nature. They aren’t. With a strong sense of urgency that the message must be preached to his congregation, Ty dares to go beyond anything he has ever done before. Most of his people are intrigued, but others begin to stir trouble. The result is a church conflict that threatens to destroy his ministry. His only reprieve is found in a budding romance with talented and beautiful singer, Blake Sieler. You can visit Jimmy’s website at www.lightningchronicles.com.

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    Coming for Money

    F.W. Vom Scheidt, author of the literary fiction novel, Coming for Money (Blue Butterfly Book Publishing), will be visiting Divine Caroline! How much money is too much? And how fast is too fast in life? International investment firm director and author F. W. vom Scheidt, writes from his first hand-hand experience of the world of global money spinning with candor and authenticity in his remarkable literary novel Coming for Money. You can visit his website at http://www.bluebutterflybooks.ca/titles/money.html.

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    Meggie's Remains

    Joanne Sundell, author of the historical fiction novel, Meggie’s Remains (Five Star), will be visiting Starting Fresh! Hired as a teacher, not in Denver, but in an isolated mountain town in rugged Ute country, Meggie is determined to make a home for herself in Hot Sulphur Springs. There she keeps up her masquerade as Rose Rochester, yearning for a normal life–for companionship and even love–all the while knowing it’s only a matter of time until the monstrous changeling from her nightmares will find her, killing any possibility of a life at all. You can visit her website at www.joannesundell.com.

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    Indigo Awakening

    Janine Talty, author of the new age spiritual healing book, Indigo Awakening (Energy Psychology Press), will be visiting The Book Faery Reviews! This book is the inspiring story of how she overcomes these challenges, finds her voice and identity, and discovers a channel for her healing abilities as an osteopathic physician. She speaks directly to the experience of fellow indigos, and shows them that some of their biggest challenges can be their most powerful gifts. You can visit her website at www.indigoawakening.com.

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    A Note from an Old Aquaintance

    Bill Walker, author of the romance novel, A Note From an Old Acquaintance (iUniverse), will be visiting The Book Club Forum! Brian Weller is a haunted man. It’s been two years since the tragic accident that left his three-year-old son dead and his wife in an irreversible coma. A popular author of mega-selling thrillers, Brian’s life has reached a crossroads: his new book is stalled, his wife’s prognosis is dire, and he teeters on the brink of despair. You can visit Bill on the web at www.billwalkerdesigns.com.

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    Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams

    Pat Williams, co-founder of NBA’s Orlando Magic and author of the motivational business and team leadership book, Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams (Center Street) will be visiting Must Read Faster and New York Book Cafe! In his new book , Orlando Magic co-founder and Senior Vice President Pat Williams says that teamwork is the key to making extreme dreams a reality. Named one of the 50 most influential people in the NBA (National Basketball Association) after following his dream and helping to build the Orlando Magic from the ground up, Williams gives inspiring accounts of the power of teamwork—many of them personal—in a book that leadership guru Patrick Lencioni calls “the most comprehensive and interesting collection of wisdom on teamwork I have ever read.” You can visit Pat on the web at www.PatWilliamsMotivate.com.

    Wednesday, September 16, 2009

    Ender in Exile: The End is Not in Sight

    I’m a big fan of Orson Scott Card’s novels, including many of the Ender books, in particular, Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead. Those two books won both the Hugo and Nebula awards two years in a row (1985 & 1986). Ender in Exile is the 8th book in the Ender Series plus a novella (The War of Gifts) and a short-story collection (First Meetings in the Enderverse).

     Ender in Exile is set between Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead when the books are arranged chronologically. It shows the beginning of the transition of the child military genius Ender Wiggins to Speaker for the Dead Andrew Wiggins. Ender has won the Formic War for humanity, but he has been sent into exile so he can’t become a weapon of one government against another.

    Ender is named the governor of one of the Formic colonies, but since he is only 12 years old, it is expected to be a titular title. In fact, the captain of the ship taking Ender and his older sister Valentine to the colony expects he will become the colony’s governor.

    The journey gives Ender plenty of time to think about who he is and what he has done.  The colony planet also reveals more about the Formics that Ender has begun to suspect.

    As I said, I love Card’s books, but there’s something about this book that just doesn’t seem quite right for an Ender book. All the elements are there, but it’s almost as if Card is trying to hard to make the book fit into a timeline, but not much seems to happen to carry the story along the timeline. It’s not a “large” story like Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead and it withers in their shadow. Still, any fan of the Ender books will enjoy it, but it won’t be at the top of their list of favorites.

    Waiting on Wednesday (14)

    Doctors have pinned 16-year-old Drea Horvath with everything from ADHD to Asperger’s Syndrome. She has an obsession with sound design, a tendency to blurt out whatever she’s thinking, and a problem making friends, but likes to think of this as following her own rhythm in a confusing world.

    Drea is hesitant to befriend purple-haired Naomi Quinn, her teenage neighbor with a kamikaze personality. But Naomi is the first person to treat her like she isn’t a world class dork. Then there’s Justin Rocca, the sexy and persistent boy in her film class. If she’s learned anything from her mom, it’s that boys are trouble.

    When Drea discovers Naomi’s love for drums and Justin’s piano prodigy status, the three form a trip-hop band and a friendship that will challenge everything Drea thought she knew about herself and the world around her.

    The cover of this was just released and isn’t completely final yet. But, I LOVE IT. Gorgeous. It also sounds really unique. I can’t wait until the release!

    All Social Media is Not Equal

    I’ve been on social media for a little bit now. I jumped on Facebook on New Years Day in Atlanta after not seeing one of my best friends Alex Kilgo’s baby boy since he had been born. Alex told me that all of our friends were on this thing called Facebook so I jumped on it. It was addicting and I think I spent all day on it watching New Years Day college football games and facebookin’ it.

    LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook for business use

    Re-connected with everyone from childhood, high school, college, and beyond. It was awesome. But me and my friend La Shawn would always discuss does it do anything for business? I have over 400 friends and have not really made one business connect from Facebook.

    Then came Twitter. I hopped on Twitter after seeing Shaq and McHammer on it via my Facebook page. I had no idea what they were talking about but I jumped on this thing to see what it was all about. At first, I didn’t understand Twitter at all. I kept hearing about social media and all the advantages of it but could not put the pieces together on this Twitter thing. I stayed on Twitter for awhile and launched my radio show Beyond the Bling and even booked guests directly from Twitter. But this was social. It did not bring income to me and as an entrepreneur, I’m all about income, period. If it doesn’t make money, show how to be successful, or the potential for money, I’m not on it like that.

    Then, there’s my LinkedIn. For awhile, I just had my resume up on LinkedIn but nothing was happening up there either. My resume was sitting there on a shelf. I figured because I had such an impressive list of companies, that business and job opportunities would come beating down my door. They didn’t until I started using my niche groups effectively and starting discussions. This is the power of LinkedIn to drive business to you.

    In my world, LinkedIn is the hands down winner of the social media game if you want to combine social media with actual income. Twitter and Facebook are simply to talk. It’s like going to the family and friend barbecue and sitting around drinking some Heinekens, a Red Bull, or some punch and talking smack to your friends. LinkedIn is the actual social media where you go to the W Hotel and have a networking session. It’s where the business is actually done at and not all this talking for the sake of talking. Talking for the sake of talking is good only at the barbecue.

    Specifically, LinkedIn has set me up to bring in over $20,000 per month in income. This is no exaggeration and not pure speculation. But there’s a trick. Don’t believe all these gurus who just talk about it and pretend that they put up a LinkedIn profile and magically dollars started pouring in. You MUST get into strategically targeted niche groups where you can become a thought leader. If you do NOT become a thought leader on LinkedIn you will not connect with money players and income.