the oprah effect? really?

I received "Where has Oprah Taken Us?" by Stephen Mansfield for free from http://www.booksneeze.com/.  This book is about Oprah Winfrey and her supposed "religions leadership".  This book is not really what I thought it was going to be.  For starters, though he doesn't really come out and bash Oprah, you get that negative vibe when you are reading.  I kept feeling like I had to defend, yes Oprah, but also, religion, women, and Christianity.  First of all, Oprah.  She has the right to worship however she wants.  America, duh.  Secondly, who put religion in these stupid little boxes anyway?  Three and most significantly, women.  Mansfield is concerned with Oprah leading millions of Americans into Oprah's brand of worship.  Let's face it, no testicle packing male is going to admit to watching Oprah so Mansfield is obviously talking about women.  On the one hand it is too risky to have an open mind and think for oneself/ on the other hand, we are too stupid to decide who to worship and how so we must blindly follow Oprah Winfrey.  Now, I am a fan and watched her show for many years, BUT, blindly follow her?  No.  She can be a little flaky and I kind of like to decide things for myself.   I am an educated person and have full brain power even with these pesky boobs and ovaries.  So............Skip this book.

diary of the displaced review

I received "Diary of the Displaced" by Glynn James (an e-book) for free from http://www.librarything.com/.  "Diary of the Displaced"  is about James, a man who has somehow landed in the land of displaced things.  Anything that has come up missing can wind up there.  There is no light, the dead continue to stay lost there, it includes zombies, strange barbaric dogs, a maniac, and all the trash you could ever want to sift through.
I guess I would call it science fiction.  I am not really into science fiction, so I wouldn't call this one of my favorites.  James isn't very clear.  You can't really like him, because you know very little about him.  He spends pretty much the first half of the book looking through trash and figuring out how to live in the displaced land.  The second half picks up in action, chase  and fight scenes, a little mystery.  If the first half had been less trash sifting and more character info I would have liked it a lot more.  Second half of book was pretty good.

out of the shadows review

I received "Out of the Shadows" by Sigmund Brouwer (e-book) for free from http://www.familyfiction.com/.  This is the second Brouwer book I have read and I am thinking his usual style is mystery with a ton of twists and turns.  In this story Nick, a southerner, is growing up in his uncle's house with his awful cousin and his cute neighbor.  Nick's mother disapears when he is 10.  Fast forward 8 years to a car wreck involving Nick; Claire, the cute neighbor; Pennington, the cousin from hell, and Claire's little brother.  This wreck starts another turning point in Nick's life as this is when he loses his leg and Claire's brother loses his life.  Fast forward again 20 years and the reunion is a bit sticky.  Nick is out to find out what happened to his mother and why Claire is no longer in his life. 

To start off with I found it hard to stick with the book, but once it got going, I was captivated.  It has plenty of mystery(or should I say mysteries) and some information is held back till the end to keep you guessing.  The problem is Nick might be the most gullible man in the fictional world.  I was always one step ahead of him.  And not because of my intelligence. Nick is a little slow to catch on.  But I still liked him.  He was a cool guy.

kids

On facebook i have several "friends" that i have never met, but understand completely.  They are HLHS moms or HLHS adults.  My youngest daughter has HLHS.  Anyway, recently one of my friends lost their 10 month old baby.  He hadn't been doing well, but there was plans to have his second surgery in November.  He never made it.  I have watched him and prayed for him since he was born.  Through his first surgery and first this and that.  I cried when he died.  I hate that anyone looses their child, but when it is HLHS, it means more to me.  It's a possibility I don't ever want to face.  I don't even want to think about.  But there it is.  There it is.

a river to cross review

I received "A River to Cross" by Yvonne Harris for free from Bethany House Publishers.  "A River to Cross" is a Historical Christian Romance.  The lead character, Elizabeth, is a DC socialite who has come to Texas to help her widowed brother raise his child.  While there she has gone to work for him at his newspaper and managed to get herself kidnapped by Mexicans.  Her knight in shining armour is Jake, a Texas Ranger, who comes to save her and accidently falls in love with her.
This is a pretty pradictable and sappy love story.  Elizabeth is what one might call fiesty.  Which is a synonym for dumb, angry woman.  She's always taking offense and though she can't seem to do much that is worth while in the desert, thinks she should be valued and admired.  Remember:  she can't even feed herself. (can't cook)  Anyway, I didn't really like it.  Didn't like Elizabeth.  Not much of a romance novel kinda gal.  However!  I left this book lying around and my 15 year old daughter picked it up and started reading it and she loves it.  Sooooo, I guess this is for the young at heart and the romantic notioned.

waking hours review

I received "Waking Hours" by Lis Wiehl (e-book) for free from http://www.booksneeze.com/.  This is a pretty awesome book.  I really hope it turns into a series.  The site says it is, that it is #1 in the East Salem series.  I have read some of the other series by Wiehl, the Triple Threat Series.  I like it, but it rings a little too similar to Patterson's Women's Murder Club.  However, East Salem doesn't seem like anything else I have read. Wiehl takes a turn for the paranormal.  It is about a court psychologist, Dani,  employeed to help find criminals and her sidekick ex-NFL standout turned PI, Tommy; and the two together must solve a ritualistic murder of a teenage girl in East Salem. 
Personally, I think this book is 10 times better than her Triple Threat Series.  It is original, funny, smart, romantic (which is weird since there technically is no romance at all), and addictive.  This is a must read.