Book Review: "Surprised by Oxford" by Carolyn Weber

Carolyn Weber’s Surprised by Oxford left me surprised for several different reasons, some good and some bad. I was a little disappointed by the integrity of the story against the length of the book. I usually enjoy longer novels because I get to spend more time with them, but I felt as though a lot could have been cut out of this book, to allow the story to flow more effectively. I was left feeling that Weber wanted to tell her story in as much detail as possible, but was unsure about what to cut and what to leave in. I studied English for a few years, and her writing style bothered me and made the book difficult to read. I felt that sentences were very jumpy, and that connections between thoughts were somewhat forced. This is my feeling about her writing style; you may very well find hers to your liking.

Despite my lack of interest with her writing style, I would recommend this book to those interested in people on spiritual/religious journeys. Weber does a decent job writing about her own personal journey, and many people may find this to be interesting. Overall, it was a good novel and worth the read, but it didn’t really click with my personal tastes.

*I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Book Review: "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is, by far, one of the most amazing books I have ever read. A break from the increasingly popular and utterly annoying teenage Vampire novels, Grahame-Smith takes the history of the United States of America, and adds both a unique and incredibly interesting twist: Vampires.

Before deciding to read this book, I kept avoiding it because of the want-to-be authors that keep publishing crappy Vampire novels. I expected to find a loosely put together written novel whose sole benefit was to bring in money. A friend convinced me to give this book a chance; I could not put it done and finished in a few short hours.

The execution of this novel was flawless. Grahame-Smith brilliantly intertwines our history with the story of Early American Vampires. My father taught me a lot about Lincoln growing up, but at times, I would forget that this was a work of fiction. The book is written in such a way that you think the reason you exist today is because of a notorious Vampire Hunter, Abraham Lincoln. With pictures throughout the book to act as "supporting evidence," Grahame-Smith should be highly commended for this literary masterpiece.

If you are looking for a great thrill ride, definitely pick yourself up a copy of Seth Grahame-Smith's Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.

Book Review: "Billy Graham in Quotes" by Franklin Graham and Donna Lee Toney

The title Billy Graham in Quotes is a complete description of this book. Broken down into multiple section of varying topics, all of which relate back to Jesus the Christ and God, serves as a compilation of touching and inspirational quotes that were developed and shared during the life of Billy Graham. With each turn of the page, you are introduced to incredibly insightful quotes that allow you the opportunity to expand upon your faith. I found it to be incredibly helpful that the quotes were divided into appropriate sections; this allowed me to search for different questions much more easily. If you want to look back and reflect upon one of your favorite Graham quotes, all you need to do is find the appropriate section.

Although the book is filled with truly inspiring words, I would not recommend reading this book in its entirety during one sitting. Doing so causes you to miss quotes that would have meant something to you, and does not allow you sufficient time to reflect upon them and apply them to your own life. I would highly suggest that if you were to read this book, that you do so over time. This will allow the words of Billy Graham to touch you in ways you never imagined.

*I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Book Review - Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life

Stefan Swanepoel’s Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life serves as an attempt to enlighten readers as to the means of successfully improving one’s business and personal lives. However, the skills introduced to readers are forced upon us through incredibly unrealistic examples, and therefore his attempt is unsuccessful. This book was very difficult to read at a comfortable pace, as the language did not flow with the uninteresting story line. Although it was interesting to learn how the wild can impact our lives, Swanepoel could have made a much more significant impact on me if his storyline was much more realistic; if given the opportunity to visit Africa for free, I would not spend my time analyzing animals to see how I would be able to improve my professional life.

If you plan on reading this book, I would highly suggest doing so in steps. Since each chapter concludes with things to think about, I would allow yourself some time to focus on what each chapter offered you. Reading it in one sitting will take away from the author’s message and make you frustrated with the poor writing styles. The characteristics discussed in this book were useful, but the way in which they were presented left little impact on me.

*I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Next to Normal

I don't usually tell people to see a certain musical or a play because I would hate to see them spend X amount of dollars on tickets and then not like the show. HOWEVER, this past Saturday, my Aunt took me to see the Broadway musical, Next to Normal.

Next to Normal was, by far, one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. It's score is incredible, with a hint of rock that keeps you at the edge of your seat throughout the entire show. Not only does the cast captivate you with their incredible voices, the simplicity and the complexity of the set allows your imagination to grow and relate the show to your own life. I cannot allow myself to offer a summary of this musical for you, because I would hate to accidentally include any spoilers, but I strongly suggest anybody who reads this post to see this show.

This musical touched my heart in so many ways, and I was able to relate to so many of the characters. The story is intriguing, the music keeps you singing, and the actors drawn you in. I am including a link to the soundtrack. If you can't afford to see the show, at least spend a few dollars on the soundtrack. You will not regret it.

To leave off with my favorite quote from the show, "Give me pain if that's what's real, it's the price we pay to feel. The price we pay to love is loss, yet still we pay, we love anyway."

James, I hate you.

For those of you who don't know, I am currently in the process of writing a play that is aimed at challenging the  very existence of human morality through several different scenarios.  At this moment, I have only written my prologue and the first three scenes, but so much is more to come.  I plan on occasionally blogging about the play, in case anybody is interested in its progress, so check back more often for updates!

Anyway, my first blog about the play is about the development of one of the main characters, James.  Now, I wouldn't take the time to blog about character development, but I felt the need to in this particular case.

This character is causing me to develop a strong and fiery hatred towards him, and I am the one creating him!

I have always been interested in writing, but have never been able to write much for myself because of the massive amount of writing I had to do for my Bachelor's degree.  With my undergraduate career completed, I decided to write this play; I am beginning to truly see, feel, and understand how difficult it can be to create characters.

James is a Southern politician living in Washington, D.C. with his son, Eric.  He tends to take on extremely conservative views, and discriminates against basically anybody who isn't him.  Eric, however, is the complete opposite.  As one would imagine, James and Eric do not usually get along.  Although I am not going to go into his story just yet, it has been an interesting task to give him dialogue and create his thoughts, as I completely disagree with everything he is doing and saying.  In fact, I am beginning to loathe him.  You would think that my hatred for James would make me shorten his story, but it is doing just the opposite; I can't wait to continue his story.

You may not understand why I am so interested in James as of yet, but once the play is finished, you will understand my fascination with him, and why I hate him so much.

James, I hate you, but I can't wait to keep writing about you.

Journey to 10,000 Pounds

Community service, whether on a local scale or a global scale, has always been extremely important to me.  I know that I will be most likely talking about different service projects I have done in future posts, so right now, I am going to focus on a project that I just started that is running from now until Christmas 2010: "To Fill Another's Closet."

In conjunction with Upbeat Ministry at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Patchogue, NY, I will be running a six month long clothing drive to collect 10,000 pounds of clothes for various shelters across Long Island.  If you were to look through your closet or your dresser right now, I can almost guarantee that you have clothes in there that you've never worn, will never wear again, or have no use for anymore.  Instead of throwing them out, donate them to our cause!  What you MIGHT wear one day is something somebody WILL wear EVERY DAY.  We will be sorting through all of the clothes over the next few months, and then bringing them to local shelters so that the clothes will go straight to use, and not sit in a box in some warehouse.

If you have anything to donate, please let me know!  All donations can be brought to the Rectory of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church at 455 North Ocean in Patchogue, New York.  We appreciate any and all donations!

At the moment of this blog posting, we have already collect 450 pounds of clothing!

The first 450 pounds of clothing.  It may not look like much now, 

but wait until a needy family gets access to it!

Please help us to reach our goal!