Free Romance Kindle Books

September 15, 2010 — 1 Comment

Some of the books from previous Free Book posts are still available for free. If you want to see all free books as they come out you should follow Books on the Knob on their RSSor Twitter Feed. As always please check to make sure the books are still free before you “buy” them, especially from Amazon. Prices can change quickly.  This may be a one day offer. Pick it up quick.

No I have not read any of these.

The Big 5-OH! by Sandra Bricker -

Olivia Wallace has a birthday curse . . . or so she thinks. It was a broken heart on her 16th, a car accident on her 21st, pneumonia on her 30th, and a fall down a flight of stairs on her 35th. There were Ohio blizzards on her 38th, 39th, and 40th; and six days before her 45th, she lost the love of her life to a heart attack. Numbing grief stole that birthday and a couple more to follow and, on the morning of her 48th birthday, she received the call she’d dreaded ever since losing her mom so many years ago…she was diagnosed with stage-3 ovarian cancer. The doctors didn’t hold out a lot of hope, but Liv survived and maintained her faith. Months of surgeries and chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed.

But now, as her 50th birthday creeps up the icy Ohio path toward her, her hair has grown back, her energy level is up, and she is officially cancer free. It makes her nervous. After everything she’s gone through, Liv hates the idea of driving on icy roads and returning to work as an O.R. nurse in a local Cincinnati hospital.

Her best friend Hallie knows just the thing to break Liv out of the winter doldrums, while providing a safe haven of warmth, sunshine, and a time to regroup: a holiday in the Florida sunshine!

Strike Zone by Kate Ancell -

When the captain of the Richmond Rogues starts dating his former runaway bride, he knows this time their relationship will be a home run.

Penelope & Prince Charming by Jennifer Ashley

THE PLAYBOY PRINCE His blue eyes beguiled. His muscular form could have satisfied any fantasy. He had a delicious foreign accent—and to top it off, he was royalty! What woman would dare refuse the most sought-after lover in Europe? Miss Twice-a-Jilt Penelope Trask, that’s who. And, unfortunately for Damien, marrying Penelope was only way to inherit his kingdom. Good thing this enchantingly infuriating woman didn’t seem completely immune to his many charms. The passionate way she returned his kisses told Damien he wasn’t the only one head over heels. But wooing was difficult amid assassination attempts, wild magic, and desire so strong it threatened to overwhelm him every time they touched. Why had no one mentioned the road to happily-ever-after was so difficult?

Sheltering Hearts by Robyn Carr – This was Robyn’s story in the More Than Words Volume 6 book. Five bestselling authors wrote about five real-life heroines. To celebrate their accomplishments the authors wrote short stories inspired by these fabulous women. Good stories about great women.

New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr takes readers back to her beloved Virgin River country in this heartwarming tribute to Rhonda Clemons, founder of Zoë Institute and a winner of a Harlequin More Than Words award.

Some of the books from previous Free Book posts are still available for free. If you want to see all free books as they come out you should follow Books on the Knob on their RSSor Twitter Feed. As always please check to make sure the books are still free before you “buy” them, especially from Amazon. Prices can change quickly.  This may be a one day offer. Pick it up quick.

I have not read either of these, but Picking Dandelions has been highly recommended to me.  Picking Dandelions is free because several chapters deal with the author’s work in New York City immediately after 9/11.  It will only be free for a couple days so pick it up soon.

Picking Dandelions by Sarah Cunningham – Sarah Cunningham, a moderate middle-class white girl who grew up in the Michigan countryside, speaks about God with humor and honesty more characteristic of liberal west-coast writers in this Picking Dandelions Ebook. In this warm and witty memoir, she describes finding and keeping a personal faith in the quirky settings of her ultra-Christian childhood. Whether recounting living next to a cemetery, teaching at-risk high schoolers, or listening to her grandmother’s stories about being a British ‘war bride,’ the author weaves faith into down-to-earth metaphors of growth and renewal, planting and reaping, greenery and weeds. In the end, Cunningham succeeds in sifting through the dysfunctions and flaws of human life and discovering pockets of God’s original Eden goodness for both herself and for you.Picking Dandelions is a candid and personal account of outgrowing laissez-faire Christianity, moving into mature faith, and realizing that a God-following person is a changing person … and you just might follow suit.

The Expository Genius of John Calvin by Steven Lawson, Greg Bailey and Kent Barton

In The Expository Genius of John Calvin, Dr. Steven J. Lawson delves into the practices, commitments, and techniques that made John Calvin, the great Reformer of the sixteenth century, such an effective preacher during his long pastorate at Saint Pierre Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Lawson identifies thirty-two distinctives of Calvin s preaching, providing comments from Calvin s writings, quotations from Reformation scholars, and examples from Calvin s own sermons to reinforce his points. In the end, Dr. Lawson finds in Calvin a strong model for expository preaching and calls on modern pastors to follow the Reformer s example.

Cover of "A Praying Life: Connecting with...

Cover via Amazon

Takeaway: ”Until you are convinced that you can’t change your child’s heart, you will not take prayer seriously.”

Purchase links: PaperbackKindle Edition,Audible.com Audiobook

This is the first of my “Read Again” posts.  I read quickly and I read a lot.  Which does not alway lend itself to actually putting into practice what I am learning when I read.  So I am choosing books that I thought were good enough to revisit.  In most cases I am going to try to “read” the book in a different format.  If I listened to an audiobook the first time, I will read on kindle or paper.  If I read on kindle, I will read again in audio or paper.  Certainly there is a significant difference between what I get out of audio and reading on my kindle.  I do not think either is better, but they are different. My goal is going to be to post one “Read Again” post every two weeks.

 

In my earlier review of A Praying Life I gave it pretty high praise.  I still think it is one of my favorite books on how to actually do prayer.  It is practical and filled with real life stories.

Paul Miller targets what I think is the heart of why people do not pray.”One of the subtlest hindrances to prayer is probably the most pervasive. In the broader culture and in our churches, we prize intellect, competency, and wealth. Because we can do life without God, praying seems nice but unnecessary. Money can do what prayer does, and it is quicker and less time-consuming. Our trust in ourselves and in our talents makes us structurally independent of God. As a result, exhortations to pray don’t stick.”

Miller subtly, but clearly fights against the desire to make prayer all about removing yourself. “This is the exact opposite of Eastern mysticism, which is a psycho-spiritual technique that disengages from relationship and escapes pain by dulling self. Eastern mystics are trying to empty their minds and become one with the nonpersonal “all.” But as Christians we realize we can’t cure ourselves, so we cry out to our Father, our primary relationship.” The influence of both Eastern Mysticism and Platonic dualism means that Christians often have a bad theology of prayer. Prayer is neither about removing the self or about separating us from the physical world.

Instead, I believe and Miller seems to support, that at least part of prayer is about God helping us to become who he made us to be. Not by becoming less ourselves (and therefore more of God) as some Eastern influences would suggest, but by becoming less sinful and more of what God created us to be. And Miller suggests that it is not about becoming less physical and more spiritual (as Platonic dualists or Gnostics would suggest.) “A praying life isn’t simply a morning prayer time; it is about slipping into prayer at odd hours of the day, not because we are disciplined but because we are in touch with our own poverty of spirit, realizing that we can’t even walk through a mall or our neighborhood without the help of the Spirit of Jesus.”

Miller speaks most eloquently of prayer when he is talking about prayer for his children. There are three places that I think really show his heart for prayer with his children.

“Until you are convinced that you can’t change your child’s heart, you will not take prayer seriously.” A general theme of this book is that prayer is the work that we can do, when the work that we want done is impossible. It is not possible to change someone’s heart. But we can pray that God can change someone’s heart.

However the by product of prayer to change someone is that we are often changed ourselves. “One of the first things I noticed as I prayed for Emily (his daughter) was that I became more aware of her as a person. It also took the steam out of my tendency to fix her with quick comments. Because I was speaking to my heavenly Father about the potential drift of her heart, I could relax in the face of sin. Prayer softened me.”

The third important prayer lesson he learned from is children was about loving them not forcing them to change. “Don’t be truth-focused. The truth is that I need to love the other person.” As he learned that he could depend on God, he became less focused on trying to convince them to be changed. Instead, he could concentrate on loving them, maintaining the relationship, insuring that his own heart toward them was right, and he found that it was quite often then, that God worked.

Cover of "The Christian Atheist: Believin...

Cover via Amazon

I have added an ending to this review after reconsidering it a bit.  I have not edited the original review, just added at the end.

Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook

The Christian Atheist is a great book title.  I have heard a number of people recommend this book so I picked it up for my Audible.com account.  It is short, just under 6 hours on audio (256 pages in hardback).  In some ways, I was disappointed.  Especially the early chapters were more evangelism than really calling the church to live and follow God.  I guess that is not all bad.  It gets everyone to the same starting place.

There were several chapters toward the end that I thought were very good.  The chapters on Money, Worry, Prayer were essentially what I thought I was getting when I bought the book.  In one way or another Groeschel re-works a similar idea, he tells a story about himself or someone else that shows that while they claim that they are a Christian, they are not actually living like they trust that God is actually their God and capable.  Then he concludes with a similar story but where the person follows God as they should.  Then the next topic.

The Christian Atheist is simply a person that claims that God is their God, but does not trust God to care for them, or answer their prayers, or be able to change them from their sin, etc.  I think this is a book that the church really needs.  But I am also saddened that the church needs this book.  (I am not saying that I was not convicted several times about areas where I am not fully trusting God.)  This is not the meat of Christianity, this is the milk.  There is nothing here that is really beyond what should be fairly basic Christianity.  However, I know that much of Church is not ready to trust God for the basics.  How can we claim to want to change the world or reform our country, etc., if we don’t trust God to actually be God?

So I am recommending this book with some reservations.  If you have recently read, Radical by David Platt, or Crazy Love or Forgotten God by Francis Chan or Primal by Mark Batterson or Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet or Divine Commodity by Skye Jethani or any of the dozen or so other similar themed books that have come out in the last two years, skip this one.  Essentially it is the same book, repackaged for a slightly different reader.  Instead, figure out how to put into practice what you have already read.  If you have not read one other the others and you feel your faith is lacking, then this is one of the better calls to live for God as we have been called to live.

________

After a few days I am not sure my review is entirely fair.  Many times what one calls “milk” another calls “meat” not because there is a difference of the content, but because there is a difference in the person the is receiving the content.  It may even be that something that is considered milk will later be considered meat because the reader is at a different place and can appreciate the content differently.  I read a review today of another book and the reviewer said the book was probably most appropriate for the very new Christian or the very mature Christian.  Those in between probably just wouldn’t get much out of it.  Maybe that is my problem with this book.  I honestly did get something out of it, but it wasn’t what I was looking for, so my expectations distorted my reality.

Some of the books from previous Free Book posts are still available for free. If you want to see all free books as they come out you should follow Books on the Knob on their RSS or Twitter Feed. As always please check to make sure the books are still free before you “buy” them, especially from Amazon. Prices can change quickly.  This may be a one day offer. Pick it up quick.

So What?: How to Communicate What Really Matters to Your Audience by Mark Magnacca

Supercharge Your Success by Answering the One Question That Everyone Cares About:

Answer the “So What?” question quickly, succinctly, convincingly–every time!

Practical techniques, examples, and exercises proven with thousands of winning salespeople.

Straight from Mark Magnacca, one of the world’s leading sales consultants.

For all your personal interactions–in business and in life!

It’s tough, but true–the people you’re trying to communicate with, sell to, or convince don’t really care about you. Nor do they care what you’re offering them–until they understand exactly how it’ll benefit them. If you recognize that one hard, cold fact–and you know what to do about it–you’ll make more money, achieve greater success, and even have more fun!

33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking by Juliette Powell

Social networks are no fad. They’re a permanent reality: one that offers immense opportunities to smart, innovative businesses. Now, top social networking consultant Juliette Powell reveals how dozens of innovators are driving real ROI through
social networks–and how you can, too.

Powell’s wide-ranging research, including coverage on Barack Obama’s successful online strategy in his bid for the presidency, focuses on technology, media and gaming companies, leaders in fashion, beauty, publishing, finance, retail, event planning, and beyond. These powerful narratives illuminate the reality of doing business on today’s social networks as never before.

The Personal Credibility Factor: How to Get It, Keep It, and Get It Back (If You’ve Lost It) by Sandy Allgeier
Can you be trusted? Right now, someone is asking that question. If they decide to trust you, they’ll work with you, care about you, open up to you…help you live a more successful, more fulfilled, happier life. If not, you’re on your own…

Build the Strong Personal Credibility You Need to Live a Truly Great Life
Learn the secrets of personal credibility that make trust possible
Use the plan to earn trust and respect from those you encounter in your daily life
Enable others to have confidence in you by following the 7 easy steps
Follow the Personal Credibility Factor’s steps to repairing credibility when you’ve lost it
There’s no fakery here: In the long run, you either earn trust or you don’t. This book gives you the tools to earn it for life.

Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty.

Takeaway: Africa is not poor and hungry all by itself.  There are many reasons, but Africa (and other areas of poverty) do not need to remain hungry.

Purchase Links: Hardback, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook

Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty is an important book.  It is not an exciting book, but global poverty and hunger really are not exciting.  The subtitle probably should be something like: Everything has an unintended consequence.

Millions, if not billions of lives have been saved by the green revolution that started in the middle of the last century.  Science and innovation (economic, agriculture, political, etc.) have made huge changes.  The book opens with the story of the green revolution.  The green revolution started in Mexico moved to South American and Asia.  It took almost two decades for the green revolution to start moving to Africa.  Unfortunately, many of the political and social forces that helped move the science and technology of the green revolution changed from the 1960s to the 1980s.

There were significant economic theory changes in the 1980s.  The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund started tying grants and loans to economic reform.  Some of that economic reform was very much needed.  But the countries with the highest levels of poverty were forced to pay the highest price.  The unintended consequence was that government subsidies for agriculture was drastically cut, the World Bank and IMF started supporting urban infrastructure projects that did not line up with the natural economic strengths or growth areas of Africa.

Politically, the west was still playing favorites with the end of the cold war.  This meant supporting pretty bad dictatorships and non-representative governments.  But just as bad, was that poverty reduction was not among the top focuses for International Development Aid.

The 1990s were not much better.  War continued to ravage through Africa, in part because of western support of repressive governments from the previous generation.  Certainly not all blame can be placed on the West.  Africa needs to claim plenty of their own blame as well.  But the global power often made bad decisions, not so much because of bad faith, but because the west was still working out economic and political theory.  Africa became the test bed of nation building.  And again, the poorest paid the highest price.

The biggest reason, that comes up over and over again about why Africa is continually hungry is the agriculture policy of the West, especially the US.  The US spends more on agriculture aid than international development aid.  In fact, the US spends more on agriculture aid than the entire world spends on international aid.  In some years agriculture aid in the US doubles or triples world wide international aid to Africa.  At the same time, the US and the EU often force African countries into harsh economic cuts, with African support of agriculture often being a prime target.  So subsistence African farmers are prevented from receiving agriculture subsidies that have a track record in Asia and South American of encouraging agriculture growth because western governments are concerned about “unfair” trade practices.  At the same time the US, has a requirement that 100 percent of food aid be US products.  So during the 1984 and 2003 Ethiopian famines, there was grain in Ethiopia that could have been purchased and fed to the starving.  But the US flooded the market with grain aid, which destroyed the local grain economy.  Farmers were not able to sell their grain, either to local consumers or to government or non-governmental agencies and those farmers were then not able to continue farming, which made the famine worse.  As recently as this past year, pushes to get the US to purchase local grain in disaster relief settings first (up to 25% of total food aid) were defeated in congress.  The US Congressional Budget Office has estimated that purchasing up to 25% of food aid locally would save 50,000 lives a year because local food is cheaper and can be made available months earlier than US grown food.

Enough is not an entirely negative story.  Told in a very narrative format, organizations like Opportunity International (a charity I have been supporting for years), political advocacy from Bread for the World and student groups like Wheaton College (my alma mater) are portrayed very positively.  I am also encouraged that there is a very positive portrayal of Christian organizations in the book.  It is certainly not a Christian book, but it frequently points to Christian organizations and the ones that are making very good decisions to help the poor.  (But there are several examples where the opposite is true as well.)

I am not going to lie.  This is not a fun book to read.  I listened to it on audiobook (about 12 hours) and it took me about a month to get through.  But I think it is worth the effort.  If we are working in the world, no matter what your political leanings, you will find evidence in Enough that support your political background and challenge your previously held beliefs about why the problems in Africa exist.  I think one of the strengths of the book is that it clearly is trying to show poverty and hunger as reality, but it is not trying to push simplistic solutions.  Simplistic solutions are part of the problem of why Africa is in the mess that it is in now.

Some of the books from previous Free Book posts are still available for free. If you want to see all free books as they come out you should follow Books on the Knob on their RSSor Twitter Feed. As always please check to make sure the books are still free before you “buy” them, especially from Amazon. Prices can change quickly.  This may be a one day offer. Pick it up quick.

Cybill Disobedience by Cybill Shepherd and Aimee Lee Ball -

‘How I survived beauty pageants, Elvis, sex, Bruce Willis, lies, marriage, motherhood, Hollywood, and the irrepressible urge to say what you think.’

From wholesome beauty queen to saucy cover girl, from heartbreaking movie star (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, TAXI DRIVER) to one of television’s most loved comediennes (MOONLIGHTING, CYBILL), Cybill Shepherd is renowned as sassy, shocking and sexy. In CYBILL DISOBEDIENCE, she opens her heart with the wit and honesty of a star who’s seen and knows it all.

Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business by Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler – Is Your Company EMPOWERED for Success?  You know it’s happening within your organization. Your people, armed with cheap, accessible technology, are connecting with customers and building innovative new solutions. But who are these creative problem-solvers? How can you be one? And just as important—how can you lead them?

We call them HEROes: highly empowered and resourceful operatives. Your company needs them because in the age of Twitter, iPhones, Facebook, YouTube, and an ever-evolving torrent of Web information, your customers now come to the table armed with more data and access than ever before, and in many cases, your company is overmatched.

In Empowered, Forrester’s Josh Bernoff—coauthor of the pioneering book Groundswell—and Ted Schadler explain how to transform your company by unleashing the mighty force of these HEROes. Like John Bernier and Ben Hedrington at Best Buy, who built an army of 2,500 tweeting employees to reach out to customers online. Or Ross Inglis, who tapped into Internet computing resources to open an entirely new customer channel for Thomson Reuters. Or John Stadick, who equipped 600 sales staff with iPhones and boosted profits at his construction rental company.

The truth is, one in three of your information workers already use easily accessible technologies that your company does not sanction. Empowered gives you a prescription for embracing this covert innovation. At the heart of a HERO-powered business is a new pact between these critical employees, company managers, and the IT department: HEROes build new solutions to meet customer needs, management sets clear rules while encouraging more experimentation, and IT expands its role to both support and secure these solutions.

Overcoming Perfectionism: The Key to a Balanced Recovery by Ann Smith

Do you have to be perfect to lead a healthy life? Ann Smith discusses how perfectionism may have benefits but is ultimately an obstacle to quality living as it prevents intimacy and lowers self-esteem. This book offers practical hints to letting go of your superhuman syndrome and being imperfect.

For nearly 30 years Ann Smith’s clinical focus has been in addictions, family systems and experiential therapy.  She currently operates a private practice group in Harrisburg, PA.

Ann Smith has a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, and is licensed as both a Professional Counselor and a Marriage and Family Therapist in Pennsylvania.  She is the author of two books titled Grandchildren of Alcoholics: Another Generation of Co-dependency and Overcoming Perfectionism: The Key to a Balanced Recovery.

Some of the books from previous Free Book posts are still available for free. If you want to see all free books as they come out you should follow Books on the Knob on their RSS or Twitter Feed. As always please check to make sure the books are still free before you “buy” them, especially from Amazon. Prices can change quickly.  This may be a one day offer. Pick it up quick.

Edge of Apocalypse by Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall – Edge of Apocalypse pulls you into an adrenaline-fueled political thriller laced with End Times prophecy. From Tim LaHaye, creator and co-author of the world-renowned Left Behind series—the most successful adult fiction series ever written—and Craig Parshall comes an epic story ripped from the headlines of world events and filtered through Scriptural prophecy. Set in the near future, Edge of Apocalypse chronicles the beginning of The End—the earth-shattering events leading up to the Apocalypse foretold in Revelation. Joshua Jordan, former U.S. spy-plane hero turned weapons designer, creates the world’s most sophisticated missile defense system, a laser shield code-named Return to Sender. Even as Jordan hopes to secure America against a brazen array of new enemies, he finds himself trapped between international as well as domestic assailants. Global forces conspire to steal the defense weapon even as U.S. government leaders will do anything to stop the nation’s impending economic catastrophe—including selling-out Jordan and his weapon. With help from a group of powerfully connected Christian leaders known as The Patriots, Jordan works to save the nation from economic and moral collapse—and to clear his name. As world events begin setting the stage for the ‘end of days’ foretold in Revelation, Jordan must consider not only the biblical prophecies preached by his wife’s pastor, but the personal price he must pay if he is to save the nation he loves.

Somewhere To Belong by Judith Miller – Johanna Ilg has lived her entire life in Main Amana, one of the seven villages inhabited by devout Christians who believe in cooperative living, a simple lifestyle, and faithful service to God. Although she’s always longed to see the outside world, Johanna believes her future is rooted in the community. But when she learns a troubling secret, the world she thought she knew is shattered and she is forced to make difficult choices about a new life and the man she left behind. Berta Schumacher has lived a privileged life in Chicago, and when her parents decide they want a simpler life in Amana, Iowa, she resists. Under the strictures of the Amana villages, Berta’s rebellion reaches new heights. Will her heart ever be content among the plain people of Amana?

The Pawn by Steven James (Also available free from Barnes and Noble for Nook) – Special Agent Patrick Bowers never met a killer he couldn’t catch. Until now. Called to North Carolina to consult on the case of an area serial killer, Bowers finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Cunning and lethal, the killer is always one step ahead of the law, and he’s about to strike again. It will take all of Bowers’s instincts and training to stop the man who calls himself the Illusionist. Thrilling, chilling, and impossible to put down, The Pawn will hold you in its iron grip until the very last page. “A captivating look at the fine line between good and evil. The Pawn is not to be missed.”–Ann Tatlock, author of Every Secret Thing “Steven James combines 21st-century high-tech law enforcement techniques with 18th-century Sherlockian deduction to craft an exciting, suspense-filled story.”–Dr. Kim Rossmo, Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation, Texas State University

Triple Exposure by Colleen Thompson –  A mother’s love. A son’s life snuffed out. A killer at large. Snapshots of reality, except sometimes layered images do not add up to a whole picture of the truth.

Better than anyone, photographer Rachel Copeland knows the camera can lie. That’s how lurid altered pictures of her appeared on the Internet, starting a downward spiral that ended with her shooting a nineteen-year-old stalker in self-defense. Fleeing the press and the threats of an unidentified female caller, she retreats to her remote hometown in the Texas desert. In Marfa, where mysterious lights hover in the night sky, folks are used to the unexplainable, and a person’s secrets are off limits. But recluse Zeke Pike takes that philosophy even further than Rachel herself. In her viewfinder Zeke’s male sensuality is highlighted, his unexpressed longing for human contact revealed. Through a soft-focus lens, she sees a future for them beyond their red-hot affair, never guessing their relationship will expose the lovers to more danger than either can imagine.

The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox - It’s never a good day when an ancient demon shows up on your toilet bowl. For Lizzie Brown, that’s just the beginning. Soon her hyperactive terrier starts talking, and her long-lost biker witch Grandma is hurling Smuckers jars filled with magic. Just when she thinks she’s seen it all, Lizzie learns she’s a demon slayer-and all hell is after her.

Of course, that’s not the only thing after her. Dimitri Kallinikos, a devastatingly handsome shape-shifting griffin needs Lizzie to slay a demon of his own. But how do you talk a girl you’ve never met into going straight to the underworld? Lie. And if that doesn’t work, how dangerous could a little seduction be…?

Divorced, Desperate and Dating by Christie Craig – For Sue Finley, plotting to kill someone is all in a day’s work. The talented mystery author knows all about threats, stalking, murder, and mayhem. What she can’t figure out is men, or more specifically one man – Jason Dodd. Four months ago, Jason gave Sue the best kiss of her life and then never called her. But when someone starts sending Sue threats straight out of her own novels, the man who never called suddenly appears in her life once more.

Emotionally scarred from a childhood filled with disappointment and abandonment, Detective Jason Dodd is determined never to chance heartbreak by needing someone. After kissing Sue, Jason knew she was a risk he could never afford to take. Then a stalker threatens Sue and the tables turn. Sue needs him.

As danger draws them to each other, it becomes impossible for Jason and Sue to resist their attraction to one another. But will Jason be able to overcome his past and open his heart to Sue? And will the two be able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together before the mystery of Sue’s stalker takes a deadly turn?

Darkness on the Edge of Town by Brian Keene -

One morning the residents of Walden, Virginia, woke to find themselves cut off from the rest of the world by an impenetrable wall of darkness.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

September 6, 2010 — 4 Comments
Mockingjay

Image via Wikipedia

Takeaway: A good end to the series, not perfect, but still very enjoyable.

Purchase Links: Hardcover, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook

How do I review the conclusion of a series when I have already said the first two books were among the best books that I have read this year?  Especially without giving up a bunch of spoilers?  Well frankly I don’t know, and this may not be my best review ever, but I have not posted enough here lately, so I am not going to just punt.

The first book, Hunger Games have been frequently compared to Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. And not just because of similar titles.  Both were among the best in young adult literature of their generation.  Both dealt with themes of war, cruelty to children by adults and by other children.  Both starred remarkable protagonists that were very well developed.  But in Mockingjay’s favor, Katniss was not the uber-child.  While I think that Ender’s Game is probably my all time favorite fiction book, the main negative is that Ender can do anything.

The second book, Catching Fire, was unlike many other books, other than that it was necessary to get to the third book.  I do not mean that as a slight.  I liked Catching Fire even more than Hunger Games.  It was the Empire Strikes Back.  Not so much for the revealed secrets as the depth of character development, the refocusing of  the enemy from the obvious to the deeper enemy behind the scenes.

Given that, Mockingjay had a lot to live up to.  In many ways it is quite good.  I kept thinking of a fairly unknown series (The Westmark Trilogy) by Lloyd Alexander.  Mockingjasy deals with the rebel war against The Capital.  And as a young adult book, there are very few that deal with the realities of war and the psychological damage caused by war better than The Kestral and The Beggar Queen.  I have not read the Westmark series in a long time, but I remember how vividly war and the damage it causes, especially to the young, was imprinted on me.  In many ways, I think that Mockingjay depends too heavily on psychological damage as plot device.  Even when damaged, there are (or should be) repercussion for actions.  In Mockingjay, there are several times when psychological damage means there are no repercussions.

While I think that Katniss’ youth means that she probably would have been boxed out of decision making and govnermental action, it was really her own actions and immature wandering that left her out in the cold.

I think the end was a bit too neat.  It was a messy book and just because it was young adult does not require a clean ending.  I was discussing the book with my sister-in-law, who introduced me to the series in the first place, and she wondered what it would have been like if it hadn’t been constrained by young adult expectations.

All in all, I highly recommend the series.  I think it was well worth the time.  I really am glad that I read them and I think all three books will be in my top 10 fiction for the year.

If you want to watch a video of the author reading the first chapter, go here

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Kaplan Protable GRE Exam

Kaplan Portable GRE Exam features:

  • Essential information about the test structure and scoring
  • Exclusive score-raising tips and strategies
  • Focused practice for each components of the test
  • Targeted review of each question type

Kaplan ACT Strategies for Super Busy Students: 15 Simple Steps to Tackle the ACT While Keeping Your Life Together

This practical, organized, and easy-to-understand approach gives busy students the 15 basic steps they need to master the Math, English, Reading, and Science sections of the ACT. Kaplan ACT Strategies for Super Busy Students 2009 Edition is the ideal tool for test takers who need all of Kaplan’s tried-and-true methods in a condensed format that fits in with their busy lives. The book includes:

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  • 1 Full-length practice test with complete answer explanations
  • Targeted review and realistic practice for the Math, English, Reading, and Science sections of the ACT
  • Preparation for the optional writing component
  • Stress management tip

Sharp Writing: Building Better Writing Skills

Sharp Writing is a compact guide with all the information you need to increase your grasp of language and boost your writing skills using Kaplan’s easy-to-follow Building Block Method.

Sharp Vocab: Building Better Vocabulary Skills

Sharp Vocab features:

  • A 12-question diagnostic quiz to show readers where they need the most help.
  • Topics broken down by subject to make it easy for the reader to group concepts together for easier memorization.
  • A variety of practice exercises with detailed answer explanations for every topic.
  • A 30-question recognition and recall practice set that includes material from the entire chapter, (and a few questions that cover material from the previous chapters) to once again reinforce what the reader has learned on a larger scale.
  • Detailed answer explanations that follow each practice set.

Kaplan SAT Score-Raising Dictionary

Boost your verbal skills for the SAT exam with this powerful, portable dictionary featuring 1,000 of the most frequently tested words on the SAT.

Getting a great score on the SAT exam is essential for getting into a top college, and being equipped with serious verbal skills is crucial for SAT success. Kaplan SAT Score-Raising Dictionary, Second Edition takes a fun approach to building up your verbal ability, and includes:

  • 1,000 frequently tested SAT words, including their definition, pronunciation and part of speech
  • Helpful sentences to illustrate the proper use of each word
  • Catchy mnemonic devices that help make words memorable
  • Lots of fun illustrations throughout

Kaplan SAT Score-Raising Dictionary is perfect for serious students who want portable SAT prep and great test scores. Its perfect for an on-the-go lifestyle, and for use in conjunction with our other comprehensive SAT guides and workbooks.

Kaplan Portable GMAT

Kaplan Portable GMAT includes:

  • Essential information about the test structure and scoring
  • Exclusive score-raising tips and strategies
  • Focused practice for each components of the test
  • Targeted review of each question type

Kaplan PMBR: Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE)

This book is designed to provide students with the focused review, effective practice, and suplemental study tools that are needed for success on the MPRE.  Features:

  • Substantive outlines
  • Model Rules of Professional Responsibility
  • Model Code of Judicial Conduct
  • ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility
  • Practice questions with detailed answer explanations

About the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)

  • The MPRE can be, and almost always is, taken before graduation from law school.
  • The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is a sixty question, two-hour and five minute, multiple-choice examination administered three times each year.
  • The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is required for admission to the bars of all but three US jurisdictions.
  • Passing scores, which are established by each jurisdiction, currently vary between 75 and 86.

MPRE scores from any jurisdiction in the United States are automatically recognized by all other jurisdictions (assuming that any special timing requirements are met), although in order to be admitted to a bar, an applicant must meet that jurisdiction’s minimum passing score. Scores on the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), another component of the bar exam in almost all states, do not necessarily transfer between jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions will not accept an MBE score from any other jurisdiction; some others only accept MBE scores from another jurisdiction if the applicant is concurrently taking the bar exam in two jurisdictions; still others require a minimum MBE score for transfer.

Kaplan CCRN: Certification for Adult, Pediatric, and Neonatal Critical Care Nurses

Kaplan CCRN: Certification for Adult, Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care Nurses provides test prep for registered nurses studying for the CCRN.

  • An in-depth look at all topics covered on the exam, from Cardiovascular to Renal to Gastroenterology and more
  • Two full-length practice tests—one in the book, one online
  • Detailed answer explanations
  • Tips on tackling the computer-based test format
  • Complete review of Professional Caring and Ethical Practice in the Synergy Model
  • Advice on the toughest question types, with practice questions in every chapter
  • Kaplan’s proven test-taking strategies

Kaplan PMBR FINALS: Constitutional Law: Core Concepts and Key Questions

Kaplan PMBR FINALS: Constitutional Law provides substantive outlines of core concepts and summary outlines. It also includes diagnostic true/false questions, multiple choice questions, and essay questions, which help students understand the black letter law of Constitutional Law and prepare for success on their exams.