book review

Book Review: The Everything Guide to Meditation

Posted by

0

The Everything Guide to Meditation for Healthy Living: Reduce Stress, Improve Health, and Increase Longevity
The Everything Guide to Meditation for Healthy Living: Reduce Stress, Improve Health, and Increase Longevity by David R. Dillard-Wright

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A comprehensive look at many different meditation traditions and styles from different religions and beliefs, along with their development, prominent figures in history, and explanations of how to practice each meditation style. It includes easy meditation for beginners all the way up to more advanced techniques.

I found a lot of good ideas about how to deepen my meditation practice, and I was inspired by many of the concepts and quotes, but some of the religious and mystical practices were way too creepy and/or strange.

View all my reviews

Book Review: The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance

Posted by

0

The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance
The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance by Glenn Dakin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved it! This book is fantastic, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next one!
Reading it the second time, I still found this book really enjoyable. The mysteries of the past haunting everyone, the suspenseful magic being revealed, the ghoulish setting with steam punky elements everywhere… I loved it all!

I found the main character, Theo, to be an enigma, and that kept my attention throughout the book. Due to his secluded upbringing, he is weird and has strange ideas. He doesn’t know how to act in society, so he is deliciously awkward and doesn’t even know it. Watching him rediscover the world provided so much comedic relief in this book.

I was grossed out by the slime and the melting eyeball faces towards the end, but I’ll bet boys would love that kind of thing.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Sir Percy Leads the Band

Posted by

0

Sir Percy Leads the Band
Sir Percy Leads the Band by Emmuska Orczy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Scarlet Pimpernel is at it again, saving aristocrats from the guillotine, eluding the evil Citizen Chauvelin, and doing it all with flare! With his own band of merry men, Percy is a Robin Hood for the French Revolution, but now dissension and betrayal within his group of trusted men might just be enough to bring the Scarlet Pimpernel to his knees.

This time the Scarlet Pimpernel is rescuing a humble priest, who heard the last confession of King Louis XVI before he was sent to his death at the guillotine. I love how these books always add in some true historical facts! Continue reading →

Book Review: Dead Endings

Posted by

0

Dead Endings
Dead Endings by Jessica Chavez

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Ever since Cailen had a near-death experience, she can see ghosts. They hang around, bothering her, and because her internal defenses are weak, they can sometimes possess her body.
Her roommate, Gabriella, is a spiritualist who has a better grasp on exorcising ghosts, and Cailen is happy to leave all the ghost-hunting to her friend and go on ignoring the spirits as much as possible.
Everett is a student reporter who is convinced that a recent series of murders needs some ghost experts to investigate, and he drags the reluctant Cailen into the mystery.

This is a total departure from the type of books I usually read. I don’t like horror or ghosts, but I thought I would pick this up because it looked more funny and sarcastic than scary. But then I was disappointed that there’s a lot of alcohol and profanity in this book. It was almost unreadable because of all the nasty words. Continue reading →

Book Review: A Wizard Abroad

Posted by

0

A Wizard Abroad
A Wizard Abroad by Diane Duane

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nita is shipped off to Ireland to stay with her Aunt Annie for a few weeks. The barriers between Ireland and the Old World of Tir na nOg are thin, and Nita must help the Irish wizards to ward off nightmare creatures from the past. Legends and monsters from Irish legend come into the realm of reality, and only Nita and her friends have the magical power and the connections to stop them.

As always, it is utterly impossible to describe the wonder, the grandeur, the sheer enchantment of a book by Diane Duane. There’s something so indescribably foreign and deliciously familiar in all her characters. Continue reading →

Book Review: The Time Garden

Posted by

0

The Time Garden
The Time Garden by Edward Eager

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another brilliant book in this series! This time Roger and Ann, and their cousins, are packed off to the seaside for the summer, and discover a garden of thyme where a froggy Natterjack uses the magic of thyme to send them back in time on various adventures.

I love how random and funny the magical adventures are, and how the cousins all have different reactions to the time-traveling situations they get into. Eliza is always jumping in and taking action without thinking it through first. Roger is sensible and worried about keeping everyone safe and doing the right thing. Ann is compassionate and sweet and takes the time to notice other people and their needs. Then there’s Jack, who is growing up into teenhood, has little interest in magic, and starts noticing girls.

There is something so wholesome and delightful about each of these books that keeps me reading and coming back again and again!

View all my reviews

Book Review: Eating with the King

Posted by

0

Eating with the King
Eating with the King by Terri Rockwell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was so impressed with this little book, especially because every page quotes Scripture! There are so many positive messages of encouragement in this book. Instead of making people feel guilty about their cravings, and their eating habits, or how their body looks, this book offers healing, positive attitudes, triumphant freedom, and constantly points the reader to Christ.

I think this book could apply to any craving or addiction, not just eating food. The messages in this book would help with anything that draws us away from God, forms a bad habit, or entices us to harm our health in some way. Continue reading →

Book Review: No Passengers Beyond This Point

Posted by

0

No Passengers Beyond This Point
No Passengers Beyond This Point by Gennifer Choldenko

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When three siblings get on a plane to go live with their Uncle Red, they are whisked away to a mysterious land of Falling Bird, where they must choose to become citizens, or remain passengers and try to return home. The temptations are many, and the siblings have to deal with their grief over leaving their old home, and decide if they truly are willing to step into a new adventure with their Uncle Red. Each of the children deals with their turmoil in a different way, and they make emotional choices in the face of danger.

The plot is all over the place, and there are a lot of things that are left unexplained. Continue reading →

Book Review: Magic by the Lake

Posted by

0

Magic by the Lake
Magic by the Lake by Edward Eager

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jane, Mark, Katherine, and Martha are back in another magical adventure, this time on vacation by the lake. A talking turtle guides them through the difficulties of wishing with “wet magic” from the lake, and they encounter mermaids, pirates, buried treasure, and a trek to the South Pole.
But their selfish wishes get them into trouble, and it’s only when they learn to use their wishes for the good of others that the magic truly begins. Continue reading →