Book Reviews – Page 123

Through the Door by Jodi McIsaac

February 16, 2014 by Adam Shields

Reposting this review from last summer because Through the Door and the sequel Into the Fire are on sale for $1.99 (audiobooks are only $0.99 with purchase of the kindle book) as part of the Kindle Daily Deal for Feb 16th only. The third book in the series is available as a pre-order for only $4.99.

Summary: Modern fantasy using Celtic lore as a basis for the storyline.

Book discovery is the biggest problems for authors in a world that has an over abundance of free or cheap ebooks. No reader has to ever pay for a book again if they choose. Every day there are literally hundreds of free books available through Amazon or other ebook providers. This is in addition to the thousands of public domain books and library books available.

This is why being chosen for Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals is so important. Almost every Kindle Daily Deal book breaks into the top 100 for at least the day of the deal and often for several days after.

I rarely buy books from the Kindle Daily Deals, not because they are not great deals but because I have have hundreds of books already purchased and unread already on my kindle.

But for some reason I picked up Through the Door when it was a Kindle Daily Deals and also picked up the accompanying audiobook (so kindle book and audiobook were $3.98 total).

Through the Door is another modern fantasy using the Irish fairy tales as the jumping off point. Neil Gaiman, Rick Riordan, Michael Scott, Orson Scott Card and many other authors have already used the ancient stories to mine ideas for new books. While the ideas are not completely original, the execution is pretty good.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

February 14, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: A teen decides to commit a murder/suicide on his 18th birthday. Like a number of other youth adult books that I have enjoyed recently, this is a very good book with some very serious content. Matthew Quick, author of Silver Linings Playbook, has a particular talent of getting inside the head of someone with … Read more

Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from Data by Charles Wheelan

February 13, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: A little understanding can be worse than no understanding. Part of my job is dealing with statistics for program evaluation for a non-profit. So I have to think about how to accurately look at statistics quite frequently. Naked Statistics is a very good introduction to the proper use (and lots of examples of improper … Read more

The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist by Richard Feynman

February 12, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: A scientist riffs on religious, political and social issues of the day, and how science can help. I am interested in physics. I don’t really understand it and every time I read an actual book on physics, I know that I miss far more than I get. But I continue to be intrigued, not … Read more

Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones

July 17, 2024February 9, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: Fascinating and in depth look at a man that changed TV. Everyone knows that Jim Henson was the creator of the muppets and was instrumental in the creation of Sesame Street. But that is really where my knowledge of Henson stopped. My shortest review of this book is that if you like Steve Job biography … Read more

Nothing to Hide by J Mark Bertrand (Roland March #3)

February 5, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: More back story on Roland March and a step outside of the traditional police procedural. I have loved the first two books of this trilogy, and I would love to read any future books that J Mark Bertrand writes about Roland March. The mix of subjects shows that even within the context of a … Read more

What Wives Wish their Husbands Knew about Sex: A Guide for Christian Men

February 4, 2014 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Most sex books are either Puritan or Pornographic. This book tries to show the Christian view is neither.

In general I am not a fan of Christian sex books. Most books either hold people to an impossibly high (and usually non-biblical) standard (a man should be able to train himself to never look at a woman or all dating is wrong, etc.) or promise a ‘mind-blowing’ sex if you just follow the book’s directions. While this book occasionally veers into the ‘mind blowing sex’ territory, I think it is good at trying to understand the biblical standards and then leave everything else open. (By the way, I picked this up free from Amazon on kindle. When I first bought it that it was the James Dobson book “What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew about Women” and almost did not get it. It is not that book. It was published in 2007 and is very current in language and references.)

Honestly, there is not much new info here. While authors are all psychologists that specialize in couple’s therapy, the advice is fairly run of the mill (woo your wife all day, she is more turned on by cleaning the house than roses, etc). There is a short section on biology but most of the book is on relationships. The advice does not really need to be new (and probably is more helpful because it is not new). Sometimes we just need a reminder.

5 Free From Audible.com

February 3, 2014 by Adam Shields

Audible.com often has free shorts or prequels and occationally longer books. Here are three that I have run across lately. (I have not listened to any of them.)

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

257 pages or 8 hrs and 9 mins, 66 of 77 reviews are 4 or 5-star

Bookwi.se Note: You must purchase the free kindle book first and then the audiobook will also be available for free.

10-year-old Sarah Crue lives life like a princess until tragedy strikes, taking away her fine clothes and privileges. Without her velvet and silk and French maids, she’s no longer the envy of all the girls at Miss Minchin’s London boarding school, and even has to live in the school’s attic, working for the students who were once her friends. Will Sarah’s spirit remain unbowed? Follow her through her trials and triumphs in this unforgettable tale beloved by children the world over.

Jump Start Your Business

6 hrs and 5 mins, 49 of 82 reviews are 4 or 5-star

From the ABC hit show “Shark Tank,” this book – filled with practical advice and introductions from the Sharks themselves – will be the ultimate resource for anyone thinking about starting a business or growing the one they have. Full of tips for navigating the confusing world of entrepreneurship, the book will intersperse words of wisdom with inspirational stories from the show.

The Jester by Michael Sullivan

54 minutes pages, 53 of 66 reviews are 4 or 5-stars

WHO WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH?

January Most Read Reviews

February 3, 2014 by Adam Shields

Discovering Your Heart with the Flag Page Test by Mark Gungor Beautiful Ruins: A Novel by Jess Walter Packing Light: Thoughts On Living Life With Less Baggage by Allison Vesterfelt Timebound by Rysa Walker Monk Habits for Everyday People: Benedictine Spirituality for Protestants by Dennis Okholm Divergent by Veronica Roth

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

November 26, 2023January 27, 2014 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Reading classic children’s books as an adult is an odd experience.

The first time I heard A Wrinkle in Time was from my 3rd grade teacher. I think his name was Mr Bohanna. I know he spent more time reading out loud to us than any other teacher I remember.

I have no idea how much of the book I really understood. I know that I read or re-read many of the books he read to us and he has some responsibility for my love of reading. I must have read A Wrinkle in time again on my own at least a couple more times before the end of high school. But I never attached to A Wrinkle in Time like I did to the third book in the series, A Swiftly Tilting Planet. I probably have read the third book at least a half dozen times and could have given you a pretty close summary even after more than 20 years.