The Invention of Wings: A Novel
By Sue Monk Kidd
I read Sue Monk Kidd’s first book The Secret Life of Bees, so when this new book was selected for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 I was not surprised at all. There are a few similarities between the two. One is that it too is set in the south and the other being it tells the story of the life of two different women both of whom are in search of freedom.
We are taken back deep into South Carolina in 1803, we are introduced to two girls, then we get to follow their lives as they grow up to become women. One girl, Sarah Grimke comes from a wealthy and influential family. The other girl Hetty, is a daughter of a slave who goes by the name Charlotte. Hetty is Sarah’s personal maid given to her as a eleventh birthday present. However, Sarah is rebellious and wants to break out of her privileged life to discover her true purpose in life.
The Invention of Wings is based loosely on the real life story of Sarah Grimke. Hetty however is fictional, she is Sue Kidd Monk’s creation. The story of the Hetty is being used to compare the similar feelings between the two girls. Naturally, the story of Hetty is tends to be the more emotional one of the two. By comparing the two, she was trying to show that all women in those times, were somewhat slaves too.
Who is Sue Monk Kidd? She is the New York best selling author of The Secret Life of Bees. This book was on the best seller list for over a hundred weeks selling around six million copies. Four years later in 2008, the book was adapted into a movie.
She also wrote Mermaid Chair, another #1 New York Times bestseller. This second book was turned into a made for television movie and also won her more awards including the 2005 Quill Book Award for Best General Fiction. You can find her novels in over 30 countries worldwide. Sue Monk Kidd lives just outside Charleston, in South Carolina.
I love how Sue was able to give us a clear picture of how slaves were really treated in that era. She includes horrible descriptions of how the slaves were mistreated, as well as the graphic whippings. The stories of the two main characters are cleverly intertwined, using alternating narration. She is truly a master at combining imagination and reality in her writing. Rich prose is used throughout the book to provide vivid descriptions.
The only complaint I have would be Oprah’s notes. It would have been nice to be able to remove them as they did not really enhance my reading experience. They seemed to have an adverse effect, bordering annoying. I downloaded a Kindle copy, so I do not know if the physical book also has the notes. If not, you may want to opt for that version of the book instead. Other than that Sue Monk Kidd absolutely excels with her storytelling skills.
The Invention Of Wings is a powerful and emotional book. Not only is this an inspiring story it is also a sad one. There are many ideas that are being explored in this one book from race relations, to freedom, to gender roles and even the law. The story is well written and flows smoothly. You will probably be inspired to do something with your life, perhaps even adopt a cause you believe in. Some have gone as far as labeling this book the women version of the American classic Huckleberry Finn. This one should go on your, must read list. Read More Reviews Here…
The Doctor’s Diet
By Travis Stork
This one afternoon I was watching his show on TV and he was talking about this book. I went ahead and ordered it. If you are one of those people who is tired of all the fads diets and lose weight fast schemes, then The Doctor’s Diet by Travis Stork is the book for you. Even if you are not trying to lose any weight, this book actually shows you how to eat properly, what you should be eating and why you should be eating the foods he recommends.
Doctor Travis Stork calls his book the unhealthy eating cure. The first thing he does in this book is present the scary facts regarding the current state of obesity. Once he has done that he then reveals his plan of action to help you fight this problem. We are introduced to the Start To Lose Weight Now (Stat) plan that is designed to help you lose weight, restore and maintain your health in the long term.
His plan is not about depriving yourself certain foods to lose weight. Instead, you are educated so you can understand the food you eat and how it can affect your overall health. He discusses all the major food groups from protein to carbs, to sugars, fruits and vegetables. The restore section targets your eating habits and how they affect your heart, blood sugar levels, sleep and even moods. The last section which is the ‘Maintain’ section helps you develop a diet that will work for you, for life.
Who Is Dr. Travis Stork? He is a co-host on the daytime talk show on CBS called “The Doctors”. He is also a board-certified emergency medicine physician. He went to Duke University and earned his M.D. with honors from the University of Virginia. For his outstanding academic achievement he was elected into the prestigious honor society of Alpha Omega Alpha. He takes a more hands on practice what you preach approach when it comes to medicine.
His ultimate goal is to help his patients by empowering them with the knowledge they need to live a long and healthy life. Dr Stork, does not want you to come to his E.R. he wants you to be able to make your own good health decisions on a daily basis. While most health specialists push people to spend many hours in the gym and avoid eating certain foods, his focus is mainly on the daily decisions that you make.
What I really loved about Doctor Travis’ approach is that you do not have to count calories. He includes a lot of research and statistics to support all his suggestions. He also went ahead and debunked some very popular diet myths especially those regarding the intake of carbs. He encourages you to live a healthy life using his own personal experiences.
This diet is customizable and flexible. The delicious recipes can be adjusted to accommodate anyone regardless of cooking skills or lifestyle choices. There are recipes included as a guideline, but he stresses that he does not want people to develop a menu and eat specific items. I think he does a very good job at giving us all the information we need, so we can then make our own personal educated food selection decisions. Even if you are allergic to some food options, there is a section in the book just for you.
The initial Kindle version that I downloaded had a 14 day STAT menu, that was very difficult to read or print. The font could not be adjusted without blurring all the text. This is probably an easy fix, but I felt I should mention that in this review as many other readers have complained about it. Secretly, I wish he had included more recipes in the book too. Perhaps we are just used to being spoon fed everything nowadays days, but it would have been nice to have more recipes for reference.
In conclusion, The Doctor’s Diet takes us back to diet and health basics. It is a fun guide for living a healthy life that takes a very different approach. It is very easy to read and follow, loaded with valuable information. Throughout the book Doctor Travis motivates you to start working on your health goals. If you want to lose weight, this book is not about losing it fast, it is all about a consistent slow paced weight loss. Get ready to enjoy food again, using the balance and moderation techniques in this book. Start eating healthier, feeling healthier and ultimately living a longer life.Read More Reviews Here…
People Tools: 54 Strategies for Building Relationships, Creating Joy, and Embracing Prosperity Paperback
By Alan Fox
Nowadays most people are very skeptical when it comes to these self help books and their outrageous promises. I took the leap though and went ahead and got a copy of People Tools by Alan Fox. Boy am I glad that I did, as I got a pleasant surprise. You will be engaged right from the beginning and you do not have to endure any useless nuggets of information. He teaches you how to learn, recognize and put into into practice skills for building happy relationships.
At only 208 pages this book is a short read. Altogether Alan shares 54 tools or strategies, and what do you know that is exactly how many chapters the book has. Most of these should be common sense, unfortunately this is not the case in real life. Although, he uses funny titles for the strategies like “Fry Another Egg” the actual lessons are no laughing matter. If in doubt on how to or where use them, he covers that too in each chapter.
Are you familiar with the saying ‘Do unto others, as you would like done unto you’? For the most part this is what Alan explores in People Tools. These simple concepts are taken apart and presented to us, in a way that makes it easier to learn and employ them in our daily lives. When you read this book, you can immediately adopt these ideas and start seeing some positive changes in your relationships with others around you.
Who is Alan Fox? He founded the Rattle magazine. Over his lifetime he has worked for accounting firms, and has owned a law firm as well as a real estate company. He also possesses university degrees in several different fields. Alan Fox has been married three times and has nine children. His latest book People Tools, draws on his life experiences from the past seven decades.
I really enjoyed how he injected many personal stories throughout this book. He uses them to help explain his strategies. As a reader, you begin to feel like you personally know Alan Fox. You feel like he is an old friend with whom you are having a conversation about life. Although each chapter explores a different strategy, they all lead on to each other as if you are reading a novel. I also love that he kept the chapters short and concise, no extra fluff purely wisdom.
The one tool that really resonated with me was ‘Shrink the Glass’. As I read through this chapter, I was thinking to myself, why did I never think to think like this before. That is the other good thing about this book. You will find yourself beginning to apply some of these tools unconsciously, whilst you are still reading through it. I think this is exactly what Alan was trying to get us to do, instantly turn the theory into practice.
Overall, People Tools is very well written. It will give you a new perspective on all your relationships both personal and business ones. Not only is it thought provoking, it is entertaining too. You are provided with a refreshing look at ideas that should ideally be common sense to many of us. Regardless, you are guaranteed to learn a lot of practical strategies that you can start using, right away. Sharpen your people skills today, grab yourself a copy.Read More Reviews Here…
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
By Marcus Luttrell (Author) , Patrick Robinson (Contributor)
After having watched the Hollywood blockbuster movie I decided to grab this book. It took me just one day to read through from the beginning to the very end. I found the The SEAL team, especially their training very fascinating. I now have an even deeper admiration for them. This fast paced book was written by Patrick Robinson, but the voice within it is that of Marcus Luttrell.
Lone Survivor is one man’s version of events leading to him losing three other members of his SEAL team when the mission dubbed ‘Operation Red Wings’ went horribly wrong. The first part of this book which lays down his younger days as a teen is not as exciting. However after about the first 70 pages or so, you better strap yourself down.
The first half also guides you through all the training he had to go through to be a SEAL in Coronado, California. You experience BUD/S and Hell Week, with Marcus. The second half you fly with him to Hindu Kush to search for the right hand man of Osama Bin Laden. As a reader you find yourself right in the middle of this epic battle high up in the mountains of Afghanistan.
Who Is He Marcus Luttrell? Petty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell was born in 1975 and raised in his hometown of Huntsville, Texas. Marcus started training daily to be a navy seal from the age of 12. He enlisted in 1999 and spent eight years in the United States Navy and was given the Navy Cross for his efforts against the Taliban in June of 2005 when he was the lone survivor of Operation Red Wings.
After Operations Red Wings he worked with SEAL Team Five in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Marcus Luttrell left the Navy in 2007 discharged on temporary medical retirement. The Lone Survivor Foundation was started in 2010 and in 2012 he published his first book entitled Service: A Navy Seal At War. He is married to Melanie Juneau and they have two children, Axe and Addie.
I really enjoyed how honest this book feels when you are reading it. The inclusion of the details of the training for these men really gives you a better appreciation for the work they do. The writing is so good that you can actually feel all the anger, anguish and fear as if you were present on those mountains. Another thing I loved was the look into local culture and beliefs especially of the Pashtun Muslims.
There are times when I felt like cheering and others I just wanted to break down and cry. Some sections of the book, especially the battle sequence are very intense. It feels like someone is guiding you scene by scene through an action movie. The action sequences are very well written, you may need occasional breaks to allow you to catch your breath.
The one thing that I thought could have been left out was the exact details up to the exact number of sit ups or log lifts Marcus did during his training. The book could have still been powerful without those statistics. Also there was no need to repeatedly mention that the Liberals were more to blame than the Taliban. Once would have been enough.
Lone Survivor is a riveting true story. Although very sad and tragic, this nail biting action thriller opens our eyes to the state of modern warfare. I personally was left with nothing but the utmost respect for these men. Just from the words in this book you can clearly see and feel how terrifying of an ordeal this must have been. No screenwriters could whip up a fiction script more intense than this one. I was left awestruck by the time I flipped through to the last page. Even if you have seen the movie, I highly recommend that you take the time to read the book too. Read More Reviews Here…
Word Count: 645 words
Si-cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle
By Si Robertson
Uncle Si has published a book and I absolutely love it. If you like the A&E show Duck Dynasty you will love this book. If you have never watched the show before, like my friend Tim you will still love this book. Si is a very funny guy and boy does he tell some good stories. I have to admit there was some concern before I read the book, that it would just rehash stuff from the TV show. I was dead wrong, one of those few times I was happy to be wrong. You can actually hear Si as you read this book.
Si-cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle is a 229 page book that has very entertaining tales from his younger days and the time he served in Vietnam. He tells stories about hunting, fishing as well as his family. Uncle Si-isms are sprinkled everywhere, all his fans will be thrilled. Altogether there are 30 chapters each one with a unique title. This book is not about the show, it only mentions it a few times throughout the book.
Uncle Si warns us right from the beginning that 95% of his stories are actually true. He goes on to tell us that his story telling skills have been refined over the years as he spent more time trying to pass time in a duck blind. Si loves to tell stories from his younger years and those from Vietnam. He does his very best to remember the stories but does not guarantee that what he tells us in the book is the truth. He signs off wishing us the readers luck in trying to figure out the the fact from the fiction. There are indeed some serious moments within the book and even a collection of family letters to him right at the end.
Who is Si Robertson? His full name is Silas Merritt Robertson and he is one of the stars of the popular TV show Duck Dynasty on A&E. Since 1993 he has been employed by Duck Commander after he retired from the Army. His job involves crafting the reeds that are used for the Duck Commander calls. He also teams up with Phil, his brother as they get ready for each new duck season. Si currently lives with his wife in West Monroe, Louisiana.
You will love his stories from Vietnam. Clearly it was a difficult period in his life, however he somehow still manages to tell positive stories. The parts when he talks about his wife and his kids are by far my favorite sections. You can really feel the love he has for them. This whole book is written like Uncle Si is having a personal face to face conversation with you. Within all the jokes and funny stories, I did find myself with tears in my eyes a few times.
I respect that Uncle Si is a religious man, but he started to sound a little to preachy as you approach the conclusion of the book. Also as a fan of the show, I did notice that many of the lines that he uses in the show made an appearance in the book too. Other than those two objections this is a very fun filled enjoyable read, from the first word to the very last one.
The book is extremely well written, I doubt that he wrote it himself. It will give you a real picture of the real Si Robertson. You also get a good look at his whole life. It is a very short book, with a lot of pictures included. Many readers agree that the Si in the book is a different one from the one we all love from the show. Nevertheless, it was a very refreshing view that you will definitely enjoy. It is always good to read fun books like this one, to take us away from the reality of our daily lives.Read More Reviews Here…
Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel
By Lee Child
Before I got my copy of Never Go Back, the latest in the Jack Reacher series, I read a lot of bad reviews from many long time fans. They all compare this book to the very first ones and expected it to be just as exciting at the very least. After reading the book, I personally still like Jack and still find it hard to resist him. This book is not the best in the series, but I enjoyed reading through its pages.
In the last few books, Jack Reacher has been attempting to head back to the east coast to meet up with the mystery woman who has been the aiding him via the telephone. In Never Go Back, he makes the journey back to his old 110th MP unit in Washington DC, where he meets Major Susan Turner. He then finds out that she has been arrested and he is being charged with two crimes similar to those committed when he was still in the army.
Jack is the recalled back into active duty and under Military law he too has to be arrested. The two of them manage to break out of jail, and go out searching for the truth to clear both their names. As with all Jack Reacher mysteries he has to uncover layer by layer to expose the truth. This has to all be done whilst he stays at least a step ahead of those that are looking for him.
Who is Lee Child? He is the bestselling author of the Jack Reacher thrillers. The first book in the series Killing Floor received the Anthony and the Barry awards for Best First Mystery. His other books have also picked up various awards. His 9th book in series, One Shot was made into a the movie “Jack Reacher”, staring Tom Cruise and released in December 2012.
Lee Child was born in England and worked as a television director before he became an author. He currently splits his time between the south of France and New York City and has a wife and daughter. You can find out more information on his website LeeChild.com. He is also active on other social media platforms such as Youtube, Twitter and Facebook.
I really enjoyed how created a different all around feel for Jack Reacher in this book. He makes him feel like he is aging, and he does an awesome job in my eyes. There are as usual many twist and turns throughout the book. He also mixes up his usual formula for this series, by making Jack the target. It is not something he has explored as much as in the latest books in the series.
Then there were the phrases that were repeated so many times in the book that it started to drive me crazy. Also I really did not feel any chemistry between Jack and Susan, their romance was lukewarm. I also noticed a lot of holes in the plots. It felt like Lee took a lot of shortcuts. The detailed descriptions which are supposed to show the analytical side of Jack Reacher were sometimes overdone to the point were he described staircases in detail.
Never Go Back is paced brilliantly. Lee Child’s writing is still very crisp he introduces us to yet another innovative plot. The book is full of suspense and will keep you fully engaged throughout. As with all the other Jack Reacher novels, you do not have to be familiar with the series to enjoy this one. The ending leaves a little to be desired. I will not spoil it for you, but I personally think Child could have written a better ending. Grab your copy, and see if you agree.Read More Reviews Here…
The Lowland: A Novel
By Jhumpa Lahiri
The Lowland is written by Jhumpa Lahiri. It is her second novel, although she has already won
a Pulitzer Prize for her short story collection Interpreter of Maladies. As you read this book, you feel like you are reading the work of prize winning author. I have to admit the beginning is a bit slow as she delves into politics and life in in Calcutta in the late 60’s. However, do not let these first thirty or so pages make you put down the book. It is then that real story kicks in and begins to pull you in.
The story is centered around two brothers, Subhash and Udayan. They were born 15 months apart and grew up in the sixties in Calcutta, India. They went their seperate ways when they reached college going age. Subhash emigrates to the United States to attend graduate school at Rhode Island University. Udayan on the other hand joins the terrorist group Maoist Naxalite and also gets married to his wife Gauri.
The book takes us through a period of about sixty years, and not once do you feel rushed. We go from Calcutta to Rhode Island in the United States. Then to California and off to Ireland. All the while feeling like you are right there amongst the characters in the book. Subhash has to return to India after a family tragedy. Jhumpa takes us on the journey has he tries to fix broken family relationships.
Who is Jhumpa Lahiri? She is a British born author that grew up in Rhode Island. Her first book was the bestselling short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies. Ad already mentioned she won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and three other awards, including a nomination for the LA Times Book Prize. This book is available in over twenty-nine languages.
The Namesake was her first ever novel. It was named as one of the best books of the year by USA Today and Entertainment Weekly. She has authored another collection of shorty stories titled, Unaccustomed Earth. It is a #1 New York Times bestseller and has also won many other awards. In 2002 Lahiri received the Guggenheim Fellowship and most recently in 2012 she became an American Academy of Arts and Letters inductee.
I really love how she describes the journeys her characters take in her books. She gives us specific descriptions of what they see in each location. Lahiri does this my using very simple lyrical prose, writing in small paragraphs which make the book easier to read. In Lowland, she does a very good job when it comes down to breaking down stereotypes. Some may be offended to read of South Asian women, who enjoy sex. However, it is a reality that she has included in the book.
Overall, you can tell that the plot and the characters have been well thought out. Lowland did read somehow like an extended short story. The political parts maybe a little confusing to people like me, who have no knowledge of Indian politics. Also the characters were constantly sad, and this can become a little too much for some readers.
In conclusion, this is a beautifully written book. The story although a little depressing at times, is still a story most of us can relate to. Lahiri does a great job at bringing the characters to life as you read the story. As far as the realness of the characters, this I believe is as real as it can get. Be prepared, this story will draw you in and then take you on a thrilling roller coaster ride. This is definitely another must read book.Read More Reviews Here…
