Thunder Dog - A book review

Thunder Dog, The True Story of A Blind Man, His Guide Dog & The Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero, by Michael Hingson with Susy Flory, is a great, easy to read narrative of a beautiful testimony of God preparing a man - and in this case - his dog, for a moment in time. Michael was born blind to parents who, against the common thought at that time and advice from contemporary physicians, chose to help Michael learn to live in the world rather than escape it. Michael tells the story of how he and his guide dog made it out of his office on the 78^th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 while interweaving the day’s events with the moments throughout his life that gave him the skills and chutzpah to walk away from tragedy just moments before the towers collapsed.

Ten years later, I am still fascinated by people’s stories who were touched directly by the events of September 11^th. I read the book and enjoyed the portions about that particular day very much; however, the portions of the book that were about Michael’s life leading up to that day were sometimes laborious. I can certainly see their importance, but I simply grew uninterested after a while.

I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: A Place Called Blessing by John Trent, PhD and Annette Smith

Here is another review for a book I've enjoyed from www.booksneeze.com.

A Place Called Blessing by John Trent, PhD with Annette Smith is a simple, yet powerful narrative of a young man’s journey from hurt and abandonment through love to healing. Through tragedy that was not his fault, the boy took on guilt and shame that plagued him throughout his teen years and threatened to blacken the rest of his life. Circumstances led him as a young adult into a friendship with a woman and her son who showed him what genuine kindness, trust, and love can be like. The story even has a bit of a twist that adds to the depth of the characters.

I liked the book very much. I had it finished in a little over a day as it is an enjoyable and easy read even though the underlying message is very compelling. I found myself wanting to know what would happen next and turning page after page. The author does a great job weaving the characters’ lives together in a believable manner as well as maintaining the integrity of the story line. I would absolutely recommend this sweet little novel to friends who enjoy reading fiction - especially fiction with a moral to the story.

Free Books

In June of 2010, I was challenged to read a book a week. Frankly, I didn’t think this was a possible goal, but since then I’ve seen that not only is it possible, it is one of my favorite things I do with my time. After finishing my master’s degree, I didn’t care if I ever read anything again, but since I now read only what I want to read, it is a lot more fun! One might think I’d read only “fluff” stuff, but I’ve found that I’m adding in more difficult pieces as I go. (I just recently finished a work by a Nobel Prize winning physicist that pretty much blew my mind… but I finished it!) As you can imagine, reading a book a week could be a very expensive hobby, but I’ve either borrowed or purchased books on Amazon.com with one exception… and really the reason for this post.

I received Living Life in the Zone A 40-Day Spiritual Gameplan for Men by Kyle Rote and Joe Pettigrew from a website resource (www.booksneeze.com). They send free books to bloggers with the agreement that the reader will review the book and post the review on their blog as well as sites that sell the book. I chose this book because my husband is the defensive coordinator for our Christian school’s football team. I thought he might also enjoy it as a resource for inspiration to our little team. So, this is it. This is my review:

Living Life in the Zone A 40-Day Spiritual Gameplan for Men by Kyle Rote and Joe Pettigrew is a great resource for guys who are interested in sports and want to develop the discipline of daily devotions. The book is set up in daily bits of wisdom. Each day contains sections named in keeping with the sports theme, such as “Coach’s Corner” and “Game Plan”. Coach’s Corner begins each day’s devotional lesson with insight and explanation, helping to define what the focus for the day is. Game Plan is next with selected scriptures to help bring clarity on God’s heart toward that subject. Playmakers follows. This became a favorite for me as each day the “Playmaker” was a sports celebrity and gave examples out of their own personal experience with the issue of the day. The day’s devotion begins to wrap up with the section titled, “Time Out” in which the authors listed a few questions to help lead the reader in application of the day’s lesson. And, lastly there is the Assignment in which the reader is given a tangible “to-do” item.

What I appreciated most about this book is that it takes something that men enjoy and uses that as a vehicle for truth. A man reading through this book is sure to grow, not just spiritually, but also in his relationships. The chapters on family and marriage were especially encouraging to me – that men would be reading and applying the truths presented. Overall, I would recommend the book.