The Ministers Daughter by Julie Hearn

The Minister's Daughter by Julie Hearn

7 out of 10

Young Adult Fiction

My Review:
I grabbed this book from the bookmobile on a whim... didn't even know what it was about. The cover looked intriguing and I didn't have time to look for books so I just did a grab by booking... Ha! I just made that up myself. Anyway, I was very happy with my miscellaneous grab. The book takes place in 1645 in England... right smack in the witch hunting era. I have always been fascinated with that horrible time. I have read quite a bit up on the Salem witch trials, but have not read much on the English witch hunts where it all started. This book mixes a little bit of fact with fiction, and delivers an incredible story that had me reading late into the night. Grace and Patience are the minster's daughters. Nell is the granddaughter of a cunning woman (healer) and will take her place when she is dead. Nell is also a Merrybegot, which in of itself is fascinating. Their lives collide when Grace turns out not to be the prim and proper daughter and her "frolicking" leads to a dark secret that will destroy her father's lives.
I still can't quite wrap my head around the ending... when I read the last sentence I exclaimed outloud, "What the....?". It's a bit twisted, but I found it highly enjoyable. I would recommend it for an older young adult... 16 and up.

Synopsis:
Spring 1645: In a remote West Country village, all is not as it seems. There are rebel soldiers up in the hills, piskies tittering in ditches and a new minister challenging the old ways. When the minister's daughters take to their bed, howling and spitting pins, rumours of bad magic and ill-wishing spread fast - and fingers point at Nell, the cunning woman's granddaughter. With Matthew Hopkins, the Witch-Finder General, on his way, Nell finds herself alone, trapped and in mortal danger. Who can she trust? Who will save her?

Summer 1692: Patience Madden, the minister's younger daughter, has a confession to make. A confession that shows another side to what happene to her sister, Grace, and the cunning woman's granddaughter, half a century before.

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

Non Fiction

7 out of 10

My Review:

This was a fascinating book. When I read the first few chapters, I thought to myself, "Oh Great, this guy is going to be preaching about organic food and only shopping at Whole Foods, blah, blah, blah... but I stuck with it soley for his intersting facts he kept stating, and I'm glad I did because there was so much fascinating information to ponder and think about. He does an excellent job of describing how America has changed monumentally from our great grandparents era, and why it's such a bad thing. I am in no way a nutritionist, and definitely not an organic food buyer, but this book certainly made me think twice about what I put into my mouth. It's just astounding and even ridiculous about what we, as eaters in America, consume each day.

One of my favorite sentences from the book: "I'm not interested in dictating anyone's menu, but rather in developing what I think of as eating algorithms-mental programs that, if you run them when you're shopping for food or deciding on a meal, will produce a great many different dinners, all of them "healthy" in the broadest sense of that word.

I really appreciated this book, and learned a lot from it. I will be looking into his other books for sure. I would suggest that all Americans read this book, just for the vast amount of knowledge about the food industry. Some parts literally blew me away.

Summary:

Pollan proposes a new (and very old) answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. By urging us to once again eat food, he challenges the prevailing nutrient-by-nutrient approach -- what he calls nutritionism -- and proposes an alternative way of eating that is informed by the traditions and ecology of real, well-grown, unprocessed food. Our personal health, he argues, cannot be divorced from the health of the food chains of which we are part.

In Defense of Food shows us how, despite the daunting dietary landscape Americans confront in the modern supermarket, we can escape the Western diet and, by doing so, most of the chronic diseases that diet causes. We can relearn which foods are healthy, develop simple ways to moderate our appetites, and return eating to its proper context -- out of the car and back to the table. Michael Pollan's bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we can start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives, enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy, and bring pleasure back to eating.

The Choice by Og Mandino

The Choice by Og Mandino

Christian Fiction

9 out of 10

My Review:

This book was chosen for my neighborhood book club in November... or maybe it was December. Anyway, I never got around to reading it. I finally picked it up and finished it in one day. It's only 162 pages, but there is a wealth of knowledge available. And it's not boring like I initially thought it was going to be. The story is very interesting and it kept me wanting to read more. I loved how it was so personal... almost like you were reading someone's diary. I really, really enjoyed it and recommend it highly. Great book!

Synopsis:

Og Mandino's most personal and powerful story explores what lies beyond the golden doors of success, fame, and wealth. He reveals for us the most precoius commodity of all: the freedom of choice - the key to a freer, richer future whose secret element is love.

Goals for a Bookworm

I have not kept up this blog very well... and that makes me sad because reading is such a huge part of my life.

So, obviously, one of my resolutions for the new year is keeping on my reading blog. I've enjoyed going back through my blog and reading my reviews on different books.

Another reading resolution for me is to read one classic book a month. I've always been a classic book fan and it's important to me to read some books that make me use my brain instead of the easy (but enjoyable) young adult novels, romances, or other nonsense that I find myself reading.

I also want to try and read more religious books this year. I have quite a few in my own library that I haven't read... which leads me to my last resolution.

Read more books from my own library!!! I keep getting books for the bookmobile or picking them up at the D.I. or thriftstore, and as my collection continues to grow, I realize that I have read less and less of what I own. Horrible!!

The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage by Dr. Laura Schlessinger

The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage by Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Non-Fiction

8 out 10

My Review:

My husband and I read this book together and really enjoyed. We both love how Dr. Laura is so blunt and to the point. She couldn't be clearer on this subject. A wonderful marriage is relatively simple, but most people just don't get it. One important thing to remember is that this book is for couples in all different stages. Whether you are struggling, just starting out, have 50 years under you belt, or even if you think your marriage is perfect. It is NOT just for couples who are struggling in their relationship. This book will help no matter what stage your marriage is in. I recommend this book, but only if you can read it with a clear, non judemental mind set, ready to learn and be taught. Of course, we didn't agree with every single thing that Dr. Laura had to say, but we definitely were benefitted from reading it together. I recommend reading it with your spouse. Two thumbs up from the husband and I.

Synopsis:

Dr. Laura asserts that in order to produce and sustain a wonderful and satisfying marriage, spouses mus recognize and appreciate the polarity between the masculine and feminine. Both husband and wife have power in the relationship and each needs to realize this in order to ensure personal satisfaction. Using real-life callers from her call in radio show and giving real life solutions, Dr. Laura focuses on the typical mistakes made by men and women in their relationships and shows how marriages can not only survive but thrive.

Elephant Run by Roland Smith

Elephant Run by Roland Smith

Young Adult Fiction

7 out of 10

My Review:

I really enjoyed this book for multiple reasons. I've always been morbidly fascinated by World War 2 and all that took place. This book tells a World War 2 story from a different view and different place than what is normally heard. I also love learning about different cultures and animals, and it was fascinating reading about the mahouts and elephants. It is an excellent book

for both adults and teens. It was an easy and exciting read.

Synopsis:

n 1941, bombs drop from the night skies of London, demolishing the apartment Nick Freestone lives in with his mother. Deciding the situation in England is too unstable, Nick's mother sends him to live with his father in Burma, hoping he will be safer living on the family's teak plantation. But as soon as Nick arrives, trouble erupts in this remote Burmese elephant village. Japanese soldiers invade, and Nick's father is taken prisoner. Nick is stranded on the plantation, forced to work as a servant to the new rulers. As life in the village grows more dangerous for Nick and his young friend, Mya, they plan their daring escape. Setting off on elephant back, they will risk their lives to save Nick's father and Mya's brother from a Japanese POW camp. In this thrilling journey through the jungles of Burma, Roland Smith explores the far-reaching effects of World War II, while introducing readers to the fascinating world of wild timber elephants and their mahouts.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Adult Fiction

8 out of 10

My Review:

One thing that I absolutely love about Dan Brown's book is the incredible wealth of knowledge he has about so many subjects. I love learning... especially history, and this is what captivates me about his books. The story line was incredible, and the characters felt like old friends. The problem is that all of his books are so closely linked that the plot is predictable, and a little slow at times. But this is only because I have read his other books. If I had never read his previous book, then The Lost Symbol would have knocked my socks off. I can imagine that as an author, it is a huge struggle to deviate from common plots especially with the main character being the same in each novel. I did enjoy the book immensely though. It made me want to go back to Washington D.C. and discover our nation's history again.

Synopsis:

Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale. As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object — artfully encoded with five symbols—is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon—a prominent Mason and philanthropist —is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations—all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.