For those that have been wondering, I have NOT fallen off the face of the earth…

May, June, and the beginning of July are rather busy times for me. I manage a fireworks tent for our church and am in the process of getting things ready for it. There are permits to get, help to arrange, inventory to order, marketing efforts, etc. that I need to take care of.

I currently have 3 books that I have read, but not yet completed the reviews on. These reviews should be up on the site within the next 10 days. I am also about half way through another 3 books with several more waiting to be read. 

For those of you in the greater Kansas City area, please consider this a personal invitation to come out and see me at the fireworks tent. I will be there most of the time while it is open. Information about the tent, hours, and location can be found on the tent website at: www.gardencityfireworks.org .

As a special bonus, bring a printed copy of this post with you to get an additional 10% off your purchase from the Garden City Fireworks tent (not valid on manager’s specials or on July 4).

If nothing else, drop by and say hello.

The tent opens at noon on June 22 and will be open from 8AM – midnight every day thru July 4 (I do hope to close early on the 4^th).

allen

 You’ve got to admire a woman who breaks away from the family business to make a name for herself in an entirely different field. Such is the story of Fay Famaghetti in Flipping by Mary Allenton.  Fay leaves her family’s restaurant business to work in the real estate industry despite the many protests made by her close-knit Italian family.

 Unfortunately, my admiration of Fay stops there.

 In an attempt to make a quick profit, Fay finds herself caught in a “gray” area where buyers, sellers, mortgage companies, and appraisers are not always what they appear to be on paper. Fay’s deceptive practices extend to her family life as she gets into a relationship with her business partner and problems with her husband increase.  Fay is able to make more money than she ever dreamed of in a short time, but her wealth comes at a price in her personal life.

This was a rare book in that there was not a single character in it that I liked. Everybody seemed to have selfish motives and only looked out for themselves. (There may have been one honest character, but to disclose who would spoil the book.)

 Even though the writing was good, the numerous sexual encounters described combined with some vulgar language kept me from really enjoying the story. Had either of these things been “toned down”, my rating would have been at least one star higher. As a movie, this would have easily received an “R” rating.

Flipping is filled with suspense, drama, romance deciet, and more.

 What other bloggers have said about Flipping by Mary Ellenton:

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. 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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Andy Carlson is not just another emergency room doctor, he is also a former SEAL with plenty of stories that he could never tell. He also has some secrets from his past that could and do cause him some grief in his current “quiet life”.

The Farm by Charles C. Anderson is all about the past that catches up to Dr. Andy Carlson.

The majority of the story takes place on a plantation that had been in the Carlson family for hundreds of years. Andy has discovered a plot by the CIA (and maybe others) to make another country look like they have launched a terrorists attack on the United States. There are those that don’t want the details of this plot made public and are willing to kill Andy to keep him quiet.

The Farm is filled with action, suspense, and very colorful characters. The plantation and surrounding areas are vividly described.

While the characters themselves were believable, some of the things they did and people they “controlled” seemed rather unrealistic.

Though I did enjoy the book, I feel it suffered from too many details. I found the history of the plantation and role of it during the Civil War descriptions to be a little on the boring side. The section felt more like a lecture than a real part of the story. I also found the descriptions of various medical procedures to be a little too detailed. I don’t think the type of suture or clamp used is really necessary for my enjoyment of the story. These details actually seemed to slow down or interrupt the pacing of the novel.

What other bloggers have said about The Farm by Charles C. Anderson:

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. 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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

What does an American scientist with no religious beliefs, the pope, the spoiled daughter of a small country’s king, a Ferrari, and the shroud of Turin have in common? The answer would be The Cloning by Wisner Washam. The Cloning is a fast-paced, suspenseful book about the cloning of a hair found on the shroud of Turin – essentially creating an exact duplicate of the Christ that was born over 2000 years ago.

The stage for the story is set in the first chapter as a new, more progressive pope takes office and a Harvard science professor, Marc, wins the national science award. An old friend of Marc is in a strategic place in the Catholic Church and is able to convince the pope to let Marc study and authenticate the shroud of Turin.

Marc’s irreverent attitude toward the church and a hint of potential conflicts to come becomes apparent as Marc enters Cardinal Dugan’s office and shakes his hand instead of the customary kiss on the ring. Other conflicts come up as the time to do the cloning approaches. There is much discussion as to who the mother that carries the clone should be and what nation she should come from. Once settled, there is more discussion about whether the cloned child should be male or female. Obviously, there are those who do not think the cloning should even be allowed.

As the book progressed, I found it more difficult to put down. I was quite tempted about half way through the book to look at the last page to see how it ended.

This is not a “Christian fiction” book, but it does have some spiritual themes that run discreetly through it. There is some foul language and a few “semi-tasteful” bedroom scenes.

Overall, an excellent book with a well thought-out plot that has some interesting twists.

What other bloggers have said about The Cloning by Wisner Washam:

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. 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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Redemption Day by Steve O’Brien is all about terrorism from a group that wants to teach the government a lesson. The difference this time is that the terrorists were not from a foreign country – they were homegrown. Since they looked and talked like everybody else, it was almost impossible to identify all their members.

The book opens with Nick and several others being fired from their jobs. This is followed closely by a Supreme Court judge being kidnapped and his protection detail killed. After a series of unfortunate incidents, Nick finds himself wanted by the police for murder.  From this point on, the book flashes quickly between the people that are holding Justice Caprelli hostage and Nick trying to clear his name while evading the police.

The action is fast paced with some very colorful characters. Unfortunately, some of these colorful characters also have very off-color vocabularies.

The story is very believable and easy to get involved in. There are times in the book where it is difficult to tell who the real bad guys are.

An excellent book that I found difficult to put down.

I look forward to reading other works by this author.

What other bloggers have said about Redemption Day by Steve O’Brien:

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. 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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Jake Bronson is back in “Brainrush II – The Enemy of My Enemy”.  Not only is Jake back, but some of his old friends and enemies are back as well. Just as in the first book of the series “Brainrush”, the action starts on page one. Within the first few paragraphs, we find Jake in the cockpit of his plane with a guy intent on killing him in the back seat. Not only does the “old friend” of Jake’s want to kill him, he also wants to kill some of Jake’s friends.  — All this on the first 3-4 pages!

The action doesn’t stop as Jake and his friends discover a terrorist plot that only they will be able to stop. The story takes Jake’s group south of the border (illegally of course) and has some of his other friends stealing some very high priced stuff.

Even though this is part two of the series, there is no need to read part one first. The reader will probably want to read part one after finishing “Brainrush II – The Enemy of My Enemy”. 

Richard Bard continues to show his skill as a writer in this action thriller and nail-biter that I highly recommend. The action scenes are vivid and put you in the middle of the action.

- Did I mention the drug runners, government conspiracies and cover-ups? …Those are there too!

My question – will there be a BrainRush III?

What other bloggers have said about Brainrush II by Richard Bard:

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. 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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Echo’s Revenge: The Ultimate Game by Sean Austin is the story of a video game gone wrong. Brothers Reggie and Jeremy are serious gamers. Their game of choice is ECHO’s revenge – a first person shooter game that is played together with other players over the internet. In the world of ECHO gamers, Reggie is one of the best.

Reggie is invited to visit the game developers headquarters. After being told by his step-father that he could not go, Reggie decides to sneak out of the house and attend the meeting anyway. On his return that evening, some family problems develop that prompt Reggie and his brother to run away from home to their father’s house.

Shortly after running away from home, the brothers find out that several of their “gaming friends” are disappearing. Things begin to happen that cause them to wonder if the game has turned into reality.

Echo’s Revenge: The Ultimate Game is an extremely well written and exciting book about the world of video games and gamers. The book is aimed at the young adult (YA) crowd and as such is very family friendly – no bad language or adult situations. Even though it is a YA book, I believe some older readers would also enjoy it.

A great book that is fun to read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given an advance readers copy of this book by the author. 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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Best Seller by Timothy B. Sagges is a mystery thriller about an author that is finding it almost impossible to get his book published. Then one day, he gets an offer that seems too good to be true. He takes the offer and the results greatly exceed anything he had ever dreamed of.

Best Seller is interesting from the first page and holds the reader’s attention till the very end. Although I did find some aspects of the book to be rather predictable, the ending was not what I expected.

Parents should be warned that there are several scenes containing drug and alcohol usage. There is also a lot of coarse language scattered throughout the book.

Except for these two things, I found the book to be well written and enjoyed reading it. It is easy to get involved in and difficult to put down.

What other bloggers have said about Best Seller by Timothy B. Sagges:

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. 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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Four D by Gregory Morrison is a collection of 4 short stories: “Space”, “Four Rooms”, “The Principle of Luidgi”, and “Guest”. The one thing that these four stories had in common is that they did not make sense. The back cover of the book states that each story has a different and specific theme. Even with this “cheat sheet”, I had a difficult time finding that theme.

I found the stories rather boring and difficult to read. If I had not been given a free copy, I would have put the book away (or tried to return it) after the first few pages.

My opinion is that you should not waste your time or money on this book.

What other bloggers have said about Four D by Gregory Morrison:

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. 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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Conquering Your Goliaths is one of those books that could easily be read in an afternoon. Just because it can be done does not mean that it should be done. For best results, I suggest reading this book by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones at least twice. Read it the first time to get the “feel” of the book and read it again to soak in the many lessons that it is teaching.

Conquering Your Goliaths is about more than just a woman that is looking for a new job. It is about the lessons that she learns while trying to find that job.

The “five stones” that provide the basis for this book are: listening, trust, optimism, tenacity, and constancy.

The author has created a modern day parable that teaches some great life lessons in a fun and enjoyable manner. Kathryn Elizabeth Jones has said more in this one short book (104 pages) than what many “self-help experts” have tried to say in multiple volumes. The book is simple and straightforward with no “pie-in-the-sky promises”.

What other bloggers have said about Conquering Your Goliaths by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones:

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was given a copy of this book by the author. 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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”