Why I liked The River

http://www.amazon.com/The-River-Michael-Neale/dp/B00AZ8G2I6


     I hate starting with it's been awhile but it's been awhile. I've read some good books and come across some great art. It was hard to choose what to feature. So I will continue with what I liked. I read a book The River by Michael Neale a long time ago. I got it for Christmas and read it along with a friend. I've read some reviews and observed most didn't give too much away. I guess so they don't ruin the story but I think one of the reasons we choose stories is because we can relate on some level on that was the case with this one. In sharing the book I might give away somethings.

      The story is about a boy named Gabriel who not only suffered a great loss but was witness to a tragedy. He and his father both shared a passion for the river but after an accident he is ends up living with his mother and spend the rest of his life dealing with the loss of his father. He spends much of his young life afraid of the thing he once loved but took his father.

       When someone we care about dies people around us have a tendency to try and make you feel better quickly as if that would make the pain go away. The characters in the story deal with his loss in different ways and help by either drawing him in or giving him space. The character that was most surprising for me was The River itself it became as much a character as his mother, landlords. classmates and teachers. Every moment shared played a part in his healing and ability to move forward.  What I liked most was instead of trying to forget the moment or his loved one the author chose to honor the memory of his father and it became less painful to remember.
   
      It was comforting to share in his experience as a dealt with my own loss of someone I cared for deeply. Like a good friend reading the book helped me to move forward in my grief journey.

      If you get to read come back and share your thoughts.

Archer Book One : Just the beginning

http://www.amazon.com/Archer-Book-Grapple-Universe-ebook/dp/B00DE1A4MQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381187051&sr=8-1&keywords=Archer+the+long+game



Check out:  Archer: Book One of The Long Game by Richard Rohlin with Benjamin Feehan. I found it following  The Gentlemen Explorer Blog http://gentlemanadventurer.org. I bought it for several reasons. First, the guys were talking about the story before it was released. Second, the cover peeked my interest.Third, I like super heroes so I was happy to check it out. I actually bought it the day they released it just took me awhile to find time to read.

In a nut shell the story takes place in 1976,  Roger Fitztooth, the main character realizes that his family fortune has been made in the shadows of darkness and corruption. He decides he doesn't want to be a part of that so he leaves the life he knows and learns to become an Archer.

I liked the story for many reasons. I'm drawn to stories with people who have the power and ability to harm but choose to do good. I liked that the heroes are ordinary people rising up to battle evil no matter the cost even when it could be their own lives.

The authors do a great job of showing action and bringing you into the world they have create. The story starts in the city but takes you world wide to expose the vastness of the evil that has invaded the world.

Moving pass the diet

I have been reading magazine articles, buying books, buying exercise DVDs, basically researching loosing weight for way too long without doing anything serious about it. Sure, I have made attempts here and there, but nothing really lasted. Let’s face it, it’s not about dieting it’s about changing a lifestyle and keeping the new one ‘till you die. That’s a long time to be doing anything and frankly I have discovered lately I don’t do well with long term commitments.

The words “food is not the problem” caught my attention when I saw Joyce Tinley’s book, Why Diets Don’t Work Food is not the Problem. My job involves a lot of observation and examining behavior. Part of that is figuring out why people do what they do; whether it’s to gain attention or avoid an activity or task satisfied an unmet need.

For example, I eat to cover depression or frustrations or don’t eat to punish myself. It’s an unproductive cycle. In her book, Joyce shares a biblical view of eating and inviting God to walk along side you to make healthy choices.

Like many, Joyce has battled her weight for years; since the age of 10. She used food as a comfort, and defining her self –worth based on the image in the mirror. Many of us compare ourselves to those on the cover of magazines. I can relate as I’m sure many do. We've allowed what a few people say is the model of beauty and equate that with worth. In reality, those people have to work out for hours which most do not have the luxury to invest, or they have their pictures air brushed. They don’t even look like they do on the magazines in real life.

Why Diets Don’t Work Food is Not the Problem looks at who we are in the image of God. Also, how He created us to be reflections of who He is in our hearts and how we show His love to ourselves and others. She models her own walk inviting the Holy Spirit to enable her to change her attitude about food, about who she is and build her self worth on the truth of how God sees her. Instead of building it based on how our culture defines beauty, health, and self-worth. She shares her discoveries of fasting the benefits and true purpose. “Fasting is renouncing the natural to invoke the supernatural”

It’s not a book about dieting but about changing your life by changing how you think about food, its purpose and how you use food. Do you use it to nourish or to cover problems that are not ours to solve?

Check out Joyce’s book.

Links 

http://www.amazon.com/Why-Diets-Dont-Work-Problem