Books I Think Are Great

Buy Books On Amazon

2011-10-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

I buy a lot of new and used books on Amazon. Many times they are cheaper than stores and they have a lot of older books that are out of print or that you just can't find in local bookstores. If you didn't know about buying books on Amazon, it is secure to do so. I have included a link to buy books from Amazon in the title and here as well for your convenience. Christmas is coming and a book is always a wonderful gift for almost everyone. Every year, my birthday and Christmas lists always include books. I love to read.

Right now, I am reading Dave Ramsey's Entreleadership and George W. Bush's Decision Points. One is in my office and the other is on my nightstand so no matter where I am when I have a few minutes I can read. I purchased my Entreleadership book from Amazon just a few weeks ago and then I had it signed when Dave Ramsey came to San Antonio in early October! That was one exciting evening.

Entreleadership

2011-10-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Dave Ramsey's new book on building a business from the ground up came out. We preordered it from Amazon and are learning a lot from it. This past Wednesday, Dave Ramsey came to San Antonio so we went to Books a Million and got to meet Dave in person as he signed our books. I was thrilled to pieces as we got to thank Dave for all he has done for our family!

My husband started his small business a little over a year ago after the company that he worked for closed after just one year of being open. David tried to find another job, but nothing so he started selling seeds online. His business has taken off. He has an Amazon store as well as his website.

In May, we went to the one day Entreleadership conference that Dave Ramsey does and it gave us a lot of good ideas. Now the book by the same name is even better. It is like Dave is sitting there with you, advising you what to do next to make your business successful. It is a number one book on the New York Times Best Seller list and it is easy to see why. As Dave says, this is not a college book written by someone who does not have a clue. This is a hands-on book written by someone who went broke and decided to build a business using Biblical principals with no debt and a lot of wisdom. My husband and I highly recommend this book if you own or are thinking of starting your own small business. Thank you Dave!

Going Rogue By Sarah Palin

2009-12-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

Going Rogue by Sarah Palin is a great book. I bought it for myself for my birthday last month and it is a great read. It is intelligent, well-written, enjoyable, and really helps you to know who your next president of the United States really is. You will learn what she stands for, which is family, country, and God. I feel like we could be close friends if she lived in my community. Sarah Palin is not a social elitist but a working wife and mother who loves her family, her state, her country and her Heavenly Father. This lady is a winner. She is not a stupid idiot like the media makes her out to be. She is an intelligent college graduate who makes sense and knows how to balance a budget. Not just a budget for her household, but for her city and for her state. This makes me believe that she will be able to balance the budget for the United States of America. The buffoons in Congress and the guy in the White House are spending money we don't have. Sarah is not that way. She is practical, down to earth, and cares about people.

May I suggest that you pick up a copy of Going Rogue today, curl up with a soft blanket and a cup of hot coffee and enjoy getting to know your next president. She has my vote!

Tantalize

2009-05-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

Tantalize, a vampire book by Cynthia Leitich Smith, is, as said by The Horn Book, "an intoxicating romantic thriller."

Quincie Morris is a high school student who is also helping her uncle open a vampire-based restaurant. Little did they know the restaurant would attract a vampire to kill their head chef shortly before the restaurant's opening day.

Now Quincie Morris has hired Henry Johnson as head chef of the restaurant, but how will this affect Quincie's relationships with her hybrid-werewolf boyfriend who's about to leave her to join a werewolf pack? Who really is this Henry Johnson who looks like a real vampire on opening day?

I was a little freaked out when I read this book because it was the first time I was introduced to humans changing into other animals besides werewolves. I personally think it's strange if you ask me.

Overall, I enjoyed this thriller because it had so many plot turns in the novel. As I read this book, I thought a certain something was going to happen, but another thing would happen instead.

This vampire book isn't cheesy at all. It's sort of like a different version of the Twilight saga where the human girl falls for the werewolf instead of the vampire. So, read it!

Candy

2009-05-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

In Candy, by Kevin Brooks, Joe is a teenage boy who only cares about music until he meets a girl by the same name as this book.

What would you do if you met someone from the wrong side of the tracks? Would you risk entering their world, or would you stay in your own?

Joe completely falls for her, however, she is a prostitute and a druggie.

She can never fully belong to Joe unless Joe saves her from her world. In order to save her, Joe must risk his own life from expected and unexpected dangers. Will Joe be able to save her? Will she be stuck in her own world forever, or will she finally escape? Will Joe and the girl finally be able to be together, or will they be torn apart?

I think this book is a really great teenage version of Lady in the Tramp (it's also a human version). I think this is the book you'll want to read if you're into reading suspenseful romances. Even if you normally don't read suspenseful romances, you'll still think this novel is gripping. You'll find that you won't be able to put it down. So, read it!

If you enjoy reading this novel, check out these other books: Being, Kissing the Rain, Lucas, and Road of the Dead.

Kissing the Rain

2009-05-23T06:33:00.000-07:00

In the book, Kissing the Rain, by Kevin Brooks, Moo Nelson is the kind of boy everyone avoids and teases. He is a fat kid who has two friends: himself and a bridge he spends time at watching cars go by.

What do you do when conflicting situations arrive and you have to make a decision? Do you embrace the problem or fight it?

One night on the bridge, Moo witnesses a murder, and now people want the truth from him.

Everyone wants Moo to tell a different version of the story. When it comes time for Moo to testify in court, Moo must make the decision of whether or not to tell the murderer's story or his own story. Moo can either embrace this situation like he does when he's teased at school, or he can fight it. What will Moo decide?

This book takes a person's problems to a straight-forward level. It brings reality to perspective. When a person has a problem, they have a choice. They can either let the conflict swallow them whole (not literally), or they can fix the problem, and make everything right again.

If people are trying to force you to say what they want you to say, you can either give them what they want, or you can say what you want to say. What will you choose to do? If you don't know, than I recommend you read this book, and then, well, you'll probably know. So, read it! If you like this novel, check out these other books: Being, Candy, Lucas, and Road of the Dead.

The Road of the Dead

2009-05-23T06:31:00.000-07:00

The Road of the Dead, by Kevin Brooks, is a huge drama full of suspense and thrills. Ruben and his older brother, Cole, set out to find who killed their sister. They end up in this small town of Lychcombe where Rachel was murdered to ask questions and find answers. Most of all, they just want to prove who killed their sister so they can bury her peacefully.

However, their journey, which started out as something innocent, turns into something dangerous as Cole begins to want revenge on the whole town for keeping secrets. Will Cole get his revenge without Ruben getting hurt, too?

I think this book is very unique because Ruben can feel what people are feeling, doing, and thinking. I love this because it causes the novel's imagery to be more vivid. It's cool when Ruben can feel his sister being murdered because it just adds more tension to the drama.

If you love intense action and drama, I would definitely check this book out. If you need a thriller for a rainy day, this would be something to read.

Hey, if you like this novel, you should check out these books: Being, Candy, Kissing the Rain, and Lucas. Seriously all of these books are on my rainy-day list. You check it out for yourself, so read!

A Mystery Novel

2009-05-23T05:38:00.001-07:00

There is nothing like curling up on a rainy day with a mystery novel or a legal thriller, is there? They are great especially at night when you can hear the thunder crackling. Of course, they are cool to read anytime of day. I was just trying to set the mood!

My mom told me that when she was my age, the only thing she read were mystery books. She absolutely loved them. Now she reads a lot of different types of books. She loves to read John Grisham's legal thrillers and just about everything else that he writes, too! They are not complicated as you would expect from an attorney. They are easy to understand and to follow. You learn a lot from them and they are very entertaining.

If you love it when shivers travel up your spine, if you love feeling tingly goose bumps on your arms, then mysteries, thrillers and suspense novels are definitely for you.

Mystery novels usually involve crime solving with a little thrill and suspense in them. i like these more because they are not as scary and I don't really like being scared. Think Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes.

Thrillers are the stories that cause your heart to beat faster, cause you to jump and get startled while reading them for no apparent reason, except for John Grisham's well-written legal thrillers that I absolutely love!

Thrillers are the books that will cause you to stay up at night either because you're reading them or because the thrillers made you afraid. Thrillers usually involve mysteries that aren't just crime-solving. They can be anything ranging from crime-solving to ghost hunting or unsolved mysteries. If you like a mystery novel with lots of excitement, thrillers are your cup of tea. Think Alfred Hitchcock movies...

Suspense novels are more of your questioning novels. They usually consist of a bunch of happenings, but no answers as to why these happenings occurred. They just leave us to question it. Suspense novels can be quite torturous at times because you may want to know what happens but the novel may end before your question or questions have been answered. It is bothersome to me when that happens.

The Pilgrim's Progress

2009-05-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

The Pilgrims Progress was written by John Bunyan back in the 1660's while he was in jail in England. He went to jail for preaching the Word of God against the Church of England. The first part of this book was published in 1678 and the second part was published in 1684.

This book is a Christian classic. It follows a young man named Christian who is on a journey to get to Heaven. He follows a path that God shows him through a man named Evangelist and through the help of many others all along the way. There are many who ridicule him and try to stop him and turn him back towards the evil ways of the world. Sometimes Christian stumbles but then he gets back up and keeps going toward the gates of Heaven.

This is a fabulous book. It is written in old English so sometimes the words sound weird, but it has a lot of meaning. There are a lot of metaphors but this book shows how we can keep our eyes on the prize of a heavenly home instead of an eternity spent in Hell away from the God who loves us.

This makes a great devotional book, if you want to read a chapter a night before bedtime. There are 21 chapters so you might want to read a chapter or a half of a chapter each night before you turn in. It is a good book to think about right before you drift off to sleep. You can compare Christian's adventure each day with the things that are happening in your life.

Or you can read it with a friend or with your family. When I was younger, my mom would read a few pages each evening to my brothers and me before bed and then we would pray.

If you have started on a spiritual journey by asking Jesus to be your Savior and Lord, The Pilgrims Progress is a great book to help you along the way.

Christian Book Review

2009-05-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

A Christian book review section is very important to me because I am a born again Christian. I have gone to church my whole life and God plays a very important part in my life.

There are many wonderful Christian authors whose books I have read. Of course, the Bible is by far the most important book for a Christian to read but there are many fine books written by Christians that help explain things easier for those of us who do not have a Biblical Ministries degree like my father!

The Pilgrim's Progress, written by John Bunyan back in the 1660's, is an excellent example of the way we should strive to live our lives. Yes, you read the date right. And, guess what? This book is still in print today. Go to any bookstore and you should be able to find it. It is an enduring classic and an easy read with a profound message.

For a more modern book, let's turn to mega-church pastor, Joel Osteen. So far, he has written two very helpful books to help us have a more positive life experience each day. They are Your Best Life Now and Become A Better You.

His wife, Victoria Osteen, has recently published her first book, Love Your Life.

Reuben Welch is a wonderful writer and explainer of things in the Bible. He makes the Bible come to life in his easy to read and understand books. God has given Reuben the gift of making the Bible and Christian principles easy to understand. His explanations in sermons, in class, and in books are so insightful that you know he spends a lot of time in prayer and in reading the Word of God. If you cannot find some of his books in print, you will find them on Amazon.

Reuben Welch was the chaplain and Bible professor at Point Loma Nazarene University out in San Diego when my mom attended classes there. She loved his classes and chapel services. She has almost all of his books and is a huge fan, which is how I know about him. Her Christian book review pages of his books are listed below.

Come As You Are

Faith For The Journey

Our Freedom In Christ

The Open Secret Of Strength

The Temptations Of Jesus

To Timothy And All Other Disciples

We Really Do Need Each Other

We Really Do Need To Listen

When You Run Out Of Fantastic Persevere

Max Lucado is another wonderful Christian teacher who makes it easy to understand the Word of God. He has written many good books that can be found almost anywhere.

I am going to do a Christian book review on:

One Incredible Moment

Come Thirsty

Chip Ingram is another fantastic Bible teacher.

I Am With You Always is a book that tells you how to cope when all of these different not so good circumstances come up. Chip tells us how God helped him through tough times. Very inspirational.

The Shack

2009-05-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

The Shack by William Young is one of the most popular Christian books being read today. I had never heard of it and some of my friends were talking about it so I asked what it was.

Let me further explain that both Christians and non-Christians are reading this book written by William P. Young. It is a story of what happens to the parents of a small child who was taken away from them and murdered. So sad. I just hate this kind of story, but since God helped the parents on their journey all through the book, I decided to investigate.

It seems to be on sale everywhere I go, from the lobby of my church to Barnes and Noble. Everyone is talking about it. It is causing people who do not go to church to talk about God and the Bible. This is a good thing.

You see, in this story, God sees and knows the suffering that these parents are going through. He sees the suffering every parent who loses a child goes through. So he steps in as only God, our loving heavenly father, can do, and he comforts and heals this mom and dad in the midst of the greatest pain they will ever go through.

What a loving God we have. This book will really minister to you if you are a believer. You will cry and hurt with the parents, but you will also know that God is in control and has the ability and power to help you through anything you will go through. If you are not a believer, my prayer is that you will long to know God after reading this book.

There is actually a web site that you can go to to read more about The Shack by William Young. It is at http://theshackbook.com/index.html You can read reviews and even read the first chapter there. It is well written and it will touch your heart.

In His Steps

2009-05-22T20:14:00.002-07:00

In His steps is a book written by Charles Sheldon in 1896. You may not be familiar with the title, but I know you are familiar with the letters "WWJD." These letters are everywhere from bracelets to comedians on television using the letters to make fun of them.

WWJD stands for What Would Jesus Do and that question came straight from Charles M. Sheldon's book. You may own a bracelet or a cap or a t-shirt with the initials WWJD. Now it is time to read the book, In His Steps and find out where they came from and why they swept the nation after this book was published in 1984.

It all starts with Rev. Maxwell trying to prepare his Sunday morning sermon in peace. His scripture reference is 1 Peter 2:21. From this he was trying to give a three point sermon on how to live as Jesus lived. One thing after another distracts him. People need him and his help. He begins to realize that God may be trying to speak to him through all of the interruptions and that maybe his congregation needs to hear this new train of thought.

That Sunday morning, a dirty man comes into the service and speaks in front of the congregation and collapses. The minister's wife takes his little girl home with her and the stranger dies.

His last words to the congregation he did not know haunt the entire church congregation and Rev. Maxwell does not know what to do. God impresses upon him to ask "What would Jesus do?" The next week, he shares this with his congregation and one by one, they begin to live by asking "What would Jesus do?" in every situation of their lives.

The town begins to change. People go out from the town and change their communities, wherever they go.

In His Steps has the power to change lives and communities, and, ultimately our world for the better, if we stop to ask the question, "what would Jesus do?" Read the book, change the way you think, and start changing your world in a positive way. Let God speak to you and tell you what he wants you to do. This is a great book!

The Search

2009-05-22T20:14:00.001-07:00

In the book, The Search, written by Grace Livingston Hill, a beautiful young woman named Ruth is searching for a good man to be her husband. This book was written in 1919 and back then, that is what all young women did.

Ruth was beautiful and had the attention of all the guys her age, but she wanted a real man, one who was a cut above the rest. She did not want to settle for just any rich, handsome man. She wanted the type of man who she could depend on in a crisis or in everyday life. She wanted a man who loved God and had deep faith in him. She wanted to build a Christian home with her husband.

She finally finds Cameron and then he goes off to war. Both she and Cameron do a lot of growing up during their time apart. Will they ever be together again or will Cameron be killed overseas?

In The Search, you will enjoy reading about how simple life was back in 1919. It is so much fun to see how dialogue was used back then. Some of the words chosen seem funny to us in the year 2009. It is entertaining to see what teens and young adults did for fun back then and how they lived and their modes of transportation.

I love the Grace Livingston Hill books. If you don't know, she wrote all sorts of wonderful Christian romance books after her minister husband died and left her a young widow with young children to raise. Back in those days, there were not many things a woman could do to make money, so she used the talent God gave her and began writing wonderful novels. The plan of salvation is laid out simply in her books, showing her heroines and heroes how to be saved, while at the same time, showing her readers how to do the same.

You can still find Grace Livingston Hill books in some Christian bookstores and on Amazon and other book-selling websites.

John's Story By Tim LaHaye And Jerry B. Jenkins

2009-05-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

Johns Story The Last Eyewitness, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins is a fascinating novel about how it really could have been for John the Apostle's last years on earth when he wrote his books in the Bible.

So much of this book is true because the words from John's books that he wrote in the Bible are in this novel that it is hard to call it fiction. I was fascinated from the time I picked up the book until I put it down.

Even if John's life did not play out exactly the way that the authors wrote this book, they give us a good idea of how life was back in Bible times. They show how difficult it was for the early Christians to build the church and tell others the story of Jesus.

If you don't know, the John that this story is about is John, Jesus' disciple, who wrote the book of John, Revelation, and I John, II John, and III John in the New Testament of the Bible. The story begins in AD 95, when John is a very old man. All of the others who personally knew Jesus on earth were dead and John was left to oversee the Christian church.

There was so much heresy going on that John decided he should tell his story about Jesus so that everyone would know the truth.John's story in the Bible is not a chronological one about Jesus, but is the story of certain things that John witnessed and that the Holy Spirit inspired him to write. In this book, John had two helpers who assisted him in writing his story and taking care of the early church. They are Polycarp and Ignatius.

The really wonderful part of this book is that the real books of John, Revelation, and I John, II John, and III John in the New Testament of the Bible are included in the back so everyone who reads this book has the opportunity to read the works of John the Apostle for themselves.

Christian Fiction Books

2009-05-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of good Christian fiction books to read. They are entertaining and fun and have a good message.

The best I have read this year is John's Story by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, about what the Apostle John may have gone through while he authored his five New Testament books.

Grace Livingston Hill was a widowed pastor's wife with young children to support after her husband died so she decided to write books to earn a living.

It worked. She ended up writing an amazing amount of books that appealed to teens and young adults back in the late 1800's and early 1900's. They all have a wonderful message and give insight into how it was to live back in those days. Believe it or not, these books can still be found in bookstores today, mostly Christian bookstores. If you have trouble finding them, you can find them on Amazon.

Grace Livingston Hill is one of my mother's favorite authors so she has a big collection of her books and I enjoy them. Some of her Christian fiction books that I will review for you are:

The Finding Of Jasper Holt

Phoebe Deane

The Mystery Of Mary

The Chance Of A Lifetime

Under The Window

A Voice In The Wilderness

Aunt Crete's Emancipation

A Daily Rate

The Girl From Montana

The Search

A Girl To Come Home To

The Enchanted Barn

Perhaps you have heard the letters, "WWJD" or the phrase, "What Would Jesus Do?" asked in a question. These came from a book entitled In His Steps, written by Charles M. Sheldon. This is a fabulous book written back in 1984 that has changed the thinking of many Christians. This can be found in bookstores everywhere.

Frank Peretti is a remarkable author who shows the unseen world in a unique and helpful way in two of his books, This Present Darkness and the continuation of the story, Piercing The Darkness.

He has written many other books with a Christian theme that I will review as I have time. I urge you to read these two books if you would like to better understand the battle that goes on between angels and demons. Frank Peretti is a genius. here are some more of his books:

Prophet

Monster

House

The Visitation

The Oath

And what about the current best-seller sweeping the nation, The Shack?

Christian Inspiration

2009-05-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Christian inspiration books written for Christians were created to inspire them to live their daily lives better for Christ.

Novels written to inspire people for a better Christlike faith can either be written as devotional books or they can just be books with stories that with plots based on the Bible.

I mostly read religious books to know the personal experiences of how a certain person has come to know Christ. I find it amazing that there are so many stories of how different people found God's grace (even if sometimes the stories are fiction.) I personally hope to write fiction novels on how people find God in the mist of their struggles.

Although I read devotionals, my mom loves them way more than I do. Devotionals are books that are sort of like guidelines or extras to go with your daily Bible-reading. They're really helpful in providing meanings of certain verses when they're hard to understand.

Below are titles of books you might enjoy if you want to grow in your faith with Christ. Joel Osteen has written two very helpful books to help us have a more positive life experience each day. They are Your Best Life Now and Become A Better You. His wife, Victoria Osteen, has recently published her first book, Love Your Life.

More Christian inspiration books will follow. I just need a little time to read them....please check back soon.

Dare To Succeed

2009-05-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

Dare To Succeed, written by Mark Burnett, is a book written to inspire anyone who wants to go into business for him/herself. If you are a fan of Survivor, the TV show, then you are familiar with Mark Burnett, who created this show.

This book is written for younger people and gives a lot of hope to all of us entrepreneurs. If he can begin making a fortune by selling T-shirts on a beach, there is hope for us all!

Mark Burnett wrote this book in 2001. Prior to his Survivor fame, he was a British paratrooper and when he got out of the military and came to the United States, he had $600 in his pocket. He was only 22 years old. Unaware that he could fail, he believed in himself and succeeded. Today he is a multi-millionaire with a very popular television show. How exciting is that? Only in America!

Mark does not give a particular formula for success. He just recounts his own experiences, both failures and successes. He was not afraid to take a risk or bend rules. He did not let go of his dreams like so many of us do when something does not work.

Believe it or not, his first American job was watching a three year old for a year. Yes, Survivor's creator was actually a nanny for his first year of American life. Then a friend told him that the only way he would ever get anywhere in America was to work for himself, to start his own business. So he started one.

He had T-shirts made for $2 a piece. He would go out to a beach in California where he was living and sell the T-shirts for $18 a piece. Totally amazing.

The entire book, more than 200 pages, goes on with helpful tips and a great attitude to help you become a great business person.

The Martha Rules

2009-05-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

The Martha Rules, written by Martha Stewart, gives you 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build, or manage a business, according to the cover of the book.

My mom bought this book and since we both loved the one season of Martha Stewart's Apprentice show, I read it. I think Martha's advice can really help you, especially if you want to be an entrepreneur, like her.

It is hard to imagine that she built her billion dollar empire on cooking, decorating, cleaning, and fixing a house and garden. Totally amazing, but every woman in America wants to be like her.

Martha actually started the outline for this book in 2004 while she was serving a prison sentence. Some inmates wanted to start a business when they got out and they asked Martha Stewart for advice. Happily and generously, she decided to give a talk to the other women on how to start a business. This was right up her alley since she has had plenty of experience in business.

She sat down to decide what to say and came up with 10 rules for business, The Martha Rules.

In this book, Martha talks about the passion necessary to create your own business. She says that her life and her work are woven together so that she cannot tell the difference between the two. She loves her life and her work and considers her work a part of her life.

If you do not have the kind of passion for your work or for your future career that she speaks about, you are probably in the wrong field. Take a good hard look at yourself and what excites you and try to find something to do in that field. The money will then follow.

How To Get Rich

2009-05-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Donald Trump explains How To Get Rich in this book he wrote in 2004. He is well known to teens and young adults because of his popular show, The Apprentice.

My 17 year old brother loves all of the Donald Trump books. He has a collection of them. They are filled with good advice and quotes so that you can be a good business person. Donald Trump has a lot of entrepreneurial experience and wisdom and a ton of experience.

Donald Trump works seven days a week and loves it. He believes in setting the example for his employees. He also expects a lot out of them. If we have employees after our company starts growing, we will have to set a good example for our employees as well. I do not recommend working seven days a week. I like to have some free time, but if you do not have a family and you really want to succeed, you do have to give a lot more than 40 hours a week to a starting business.

Donald Trump gives a lot of expert advice on firing, hiring, and managing, yet it is easy enough for a teenager who wants to have his own business to read and understand. My brother is both a musician and a webmaster. He has a site on learning to play the guitar so he has been learning a lot from Donald Trump.

Now, I am not condoning the swear words that are in How To Get Rich or some of the bad advice that is not very nice. But there is enough helpful information that I am willing to glean the good business advice from him.

Don't expect to read humble words. He is not humble, but he does give practical advice to manage others.

Busy Timmy by Kathryn Jackson

2008-10-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

Busy Timmy by Kathryn Jackson was my son, Andrew's favorite book when he was three. I had to read it to him every single day for months. Soon he would "read" it to me, since he had memorized the entire book. Everything that Timmy could do by himself just fascinated my son. They sell this book on Amazon so I highly recommend it for your toddlers. They will love it. My other son and daughter liked it a lot too, but not the way that Andrew did. Buy this book!