Today's second post is a book review of Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory as a part of the Blogging for Books program. Enjoy!
Sometimes you pick up a book and you're excited to read it. You're excited to dive in and see what the author has concocted. And sometimes, you pick up a book and rejoice that it's only around 100 pages because you know it'll be over with soon enough. Unfortunately, David Gregory's Dinner with a Perfect Stranger falls under the latter category.
I was initially wary of this book because of its premise of having dinner with Jesus. I figured that the author was some lunatic who truly believed that he had encountered Jesus at McDonald's and that the book would be a detailed recollection of said insanity. Fortunately, Gregory's book is fiction, with a capital F.
You enter the conversation between Gregory and Jesus excited. Who wouldn't be excited to hear what Jesus would have to say over a nice meal at a restaurant that most can't afford? Unfortunately, the most interesting part of the dinner is the meal, as Gregory goes to great lengths to give us a vivid picture of the food he partakes in and the details concerning the restaurant. I suppose something needs to fill our minds, as the dinner conversation is rather shallow, cliche, and leaves something to be desired.
I knew from the moment I opened the book that what I was getting into would be rather brief and shallow - after all, how much can truly be said in 100 pages? Length is not the concern here, though. The topic of dinner conversation is rather uninspired, as if Jesus had simply read the first paragraph in each chapter of Lee Strobel's Case for Christ and failed to study the evidence behind the claims. Something tells me, though, that Jesus would have been a bit more thorough in his research. Sadly, I cannot say the same for Gregory.
If you're looking for a book that reminds you of the rich (though fictional) conversation that William P. Young's The Shack provides, look elsewhere .All you're going to find here is an order of shallow conversation with a side of cliche retorts. Nothing too fancy and nothing too earth shattering. Simply another book to line the bookshelf.
(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.)
Showing posts with label Blogging for Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging for Books. Show all posts
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Everybody Loves a Good Cheeseburger
Today's post is a book review that I'm doing as part of the Blogging for Books program. Enjoy!
On the day that I received Bruce Wilkinson's You Were Born for This in the mail, I also received a McDonald's cheeseburger for free. And though I didn't see it at the time, God was probably laughing at me as I bit into my burger and opened my book. You'll understand why shortly.
You see, when I opened this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. I saw somewhere that Wilkinson had written The Prayer of Jabez, so I figured this couldn't be that bad. Unfortunately, I hadn't read Wilkinson's best-seller (which he was very adamant to plug for the first 50 pages of this book), so I had no clue what I was getting myself into.
Reading You Were Born for This was a lot like eating that McDonald's cheeseburger I mentioned earlier. I'll give you one guess as to which I enjoyed more, and let's just say you should choose the latter.
First of all, a cheeseburger has ingredients that, in and of themselves, are probably decent for you. Meat, cheese, bread. Good stuff. Wilkinson's book, in the same way, has a couple of things that, in and of themselves, are good things. For instance, Scripture. Scripture is definitely good for you. Unfortunately, just like a McDonald's cheeseburger, some people can ruin even the best of what's good in life.
Wilkinson twists, turns, stretches, recomposes, and revamps Scripture to develop several sets of "keys," "secrets," and other mystical sounding jargon that can be found nowhere in the Bible. However, he claims he is giving us a peek into how things work in Heaven, so he's gotta be telling the truth, right?
All in all, Wilkinson's You Were Born for This is nothing more than an infomercial in book form with poor penmanship to boot - it wasn't even an enjoyable read! And like my McDonald's cheeseburger, I knew I had to finish it, no matter how much I simply wanted to ignore it and let it rot away in the back of my fridge.
Thank God I got through it - talk about a miracle. Of course, I didn't follow Wilkinson's 4 steps, 7 keys, or 100 fundamentals, so maybe I'm a little off when it comes to my idea of miracles. After all, it seems that Wilkinson has it down to a science that the rest of us can't quite seem to understand without his help, even if it is what we were born for.
So, much like a McDonald's cheeseburger, I warn you to steer clear of this book. Spend your time doing something more productive, like sleeping, and save yourself a headache. Heck, it might even lower your cholesterol!
(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.)
Have you read a good book lately? What about any bad ones? I'd love to hear about it (or anything else)! Just leave a comment or send me an e-mail!
You see, when I opened this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. I saw somewhere that Wilkinson had written The Prayer of Jabez, so I figured this couldn't be that bad. Unfortunately, I hadn't read Wilkinson's best-seller (which he was very adamant to plug for the first 50 pages of this book), so I had no clue what I was getting myself into.
Reading You Were Born for This was a lot like eating that McDonald's cheeseburger I mentioned earlier. I'll give you one guess as to which I enjoyed more, and let's just say you should choose the latter.
First of all, a cheeseburger has ingredients that, in and of themselves, are probably decent for you. Meat, cheese, bread. Good stuff. Wilkinson's book, in the same way, has a couple of things that, in and of themselves, are good things. For instance, Scripture. Scripture is definitely good for you. Unfortunately, just like a McDonald's cheeseburger, some people can ruin even the best of what's good in life.
Wilkinson twists, turns, stretches, recomposes, and revamps Scripture to develop several sets of "keys," "secrets," and other mystical sounding jargon that can be found nowhere in the Bible. However, he claims he is giving us a peek into how things work in Heaven, so he's gotta be telling the truth, right?
All in all, Wilkinson's You Were Born for This is nothing more than an infomercial in book form with poor penmanship to boot - it wasn't even an enjoyable read! And like my McDonald's cheeseburger, I knew I had to finish it, no matter how much I simply wanted to ignore it and let it rot away in the back of my fridge.
Thank God I got through it - talk about a miracle. Of course, I didn't follow Wilkinson's 4 steps, 7 keys, or 100 fundamentals, so maybe I'm a little off when it comes to my idea of miracles. After all, it seems that Wilkinson has it down to a science that the rest of us can't quite seem to understand without his help, even if it is what we were born for.
So, much like a McDonald's cheeseburger, I warn you to steer clear of this book. Spend your time doing something more productive, like sleeping, and save yourself a headache. Heck, it might even lower your cholesterol!
(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.)
Have you read a good book lately? What about any bad ones? I'd love to hear about it (or anything else)! Just leave a comment or send me an e-mail!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
The "Far Country" is Not So Far Away
I'm very excited to be blogging today about an amazing opportunity I have - to review a free book I received from Blogging for Books! If you're an avid reader and have a blog to share reviews on, this is definitely a program you'd be interested in! Check out Blogging for Books here and get started reviewing your free books today!
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
There are a couple of things that I don't like to discuss. When these things come up, I usually make up some sad excuse about my dog and leave.
For one, I don't like talking about "girl stuff." Unfortunately, I'm currently working in a pregnancy crisis center.
In addition, I shy away from discussing controversial topics, such as abortion or homosexuality. Again, the abortion issue is unavoidable where I work. However, people can't have a "crisis" pregnancy if they're engaging in a homosexual relationship, so I've been able to avoid that... until now.
After you read Out of a Far Country by Chris Yuan and Angela Yuan, you'll know what I mean. You can't get away from it. You realize very quickly how real the pain of rejection is for someone who is homosexual. The authors put together a great video trailer for the book that you can check out here:
Now I'm certainly no expert on sexuality. All I know is that I like my wife, she likes me, and it works out pretty well. However, this book really got me thinking. As you journey with Chris through his struggles with his mother, Angela, over his sexuality and eventual drug use, you just want to reach out and hug him.
As I read the details of Chris' journey, I wanted to know more. I was fascinated by his intricate descriptions of his drug use, along with his homosexual lifestyle. As I read, though I've long avoided this subject, I wanted to know more.
The only rather predictable part of this real life story was Angela's tale. She quickly turned around (almost too quickly) from suicidal to saved. However, I'm not going to deny a woman her story or deny God the ability to do such wonderful work in someone's life. It was simply predictable, which makes you want to hear more about Chris' side of things as Angela develops into a faithful Christian woman.
All in all, Out of a Far Country does exactly what its title implies. It takes you to a place you may have never been before, and then brings you back home. All the while, the Yuans make you think - what would you do in this situation, or how would you react to that? It's a book you won't be able to put down - a book you'll enjoy and want to share with your friends, to take them to a "country" they may have never visited before!
Does this sound like a book you might enjoy? Luckily, I have an extra copy of it! If you're interested in receiving a free copy of Out of a Far Country by Christopher and Angela Yuan, this is your chance!
There are just three simple rules:
Rule 1 - Leave a comment answering the following question: "What's one of your all-time favorite books?"
Rule 2 - Follow Life Before the Bucket somehow - through Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, RSS, or however you please! When you comment, be sure to include a statement of how you're following.
Rule 3 - Go give my review a rating at Blogging for Books!
Do these three simple things and you'll be qualified to win a free copy of Out of a Far Country! I will announce the winner a week from today, on June 11th, which means you have until I get up that morning (around 5 AM CST) to enter! The winner will be randomly chosen and then contacted by e-mail to obtain a shipping address.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
_____________________________________________________________________________
There are a couple of things that I don't like to discuss. When these things come up, I usually make up some sad excuse about my dog and leave.
For one, I don't like talking about "girl stuff." Unfortunately, I'm currently working in a pregnancy crisis center.
In addition, I shy away from discussing controversial topics, such as abortion or homosexuality. Again, the abortion issue is unavoidable where I work. However, people can't have a "crisis" pregnancy if they're engaging in a homosexual relationship, so I've been able to avoid that... until now.
After you read Out of a Far Country by Chris Yuan and Angela Yuan, you'll know what I mean. You can't get away from it. You realize very quickly how real the pain of rejection is for someone who is homosexual. The authors put together a great video trailer for the book that you can check out here:
Now I'm certainly no expert on sexuality. All I know is that I like my wife, she likes me, and it works out pretty well. However, this book really got me thinking. As you journey with Chris through his struggles with his mother, Angela, over his sexuality and eventual drug use, you just want to reach out and hug him.
As I read the details of Chris' journey, I wanted to know more. I was fascinated by his intricate descriptions of his drug use, along with his homosexual lifestyle. As I read, though I've long avoided this subject, I wanted to know more.
The only rather predictable part of this real life story was Angela's tale. She quickly turned around (almost too quickly) from suicidal to saved. However, I'm not going to deny a woman her story or deny God the ability to do such wonderful work in someone's life. It was simply predictable, which makes you want to hear more about Chris' side of things as Angela develops into a faithful Christian woman.
All in all, Out of a Far Country does exactly what its title implies. It takes you to a place you may have never been before, and then brings you back home. All the while, the Yuans make you think - what would you do in this situation, or how would you react to that? It's a book you won't be able to put down - a book you'll enjoy and want to share with your friends, to take them to a "country" they may have never visited before!
_____________________________________________________________________________
Does this sound like a book you might enjoy? Luckily, I have an extra copy of it! If you're interested in receiving a free copy of Out of a Far Country by Christopher and Angela Yuan, this is your chance!
There are just three simple rules:
Rule 1 - Leave a comment answering the following question: "What's one of your all-time favorite books?"
Rule 2 - Follow Life Before the Bucket somehow - through Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, RSS, or however you please! When you comment, be sure to include a statement of how you're following.
Rule 3 - Go give my review a rating at Blogging for Books!
Do these three simple things and you'll be qualified to win a free copy of Out of a Far Country! I will announce the winner a week from today, on June 11th, which means you have until I get up that morning (around 5 AM CST) to enter! The winner will be randomly chosen and then contacted by e-mail to obtain a shipping address.
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