Friday, April 29, 2011

Jolt! by Phil Cooke

I recently finished "Jolt" by Phil Cooke. The book has a bright, engaging cover. The cover is a dark, midnight blue which fades into black on the outsides and electric blue to white on the title area. This book is the sort of book that makes you want to take up a hobby or try something new and challenging. It was a very easy read, with many interesting facts throughout. Phil Cooke challenges the average reader to not be stuck in such a complacent, boring, uninspired place. I think that when you are stuck in the average "routine", you lose the opportunity to do really great things. This book makes you re-examine your place in your household and in your career. It might seem that everything in the world is constantly changing and you have to run at break-neck speed to be able to keep up, but this book helps you prioritize and realize that you might not be all that far off from maximizing the changing world around you. This book is recommended by individuals such as: Joel Osteen and Tim Sanders, who was an officer for Yahoo! This book is not only for the average individual, but also for the accomplished professional.

I was given this book by Booksneeze.com in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a positive review and everything presented above is my own opinion. 

Monday, April 11, 2011

The Sacred Journey by Charles Foster

The Sacred Journey focuses on the importance of pilgrimage. I feel that most people do not consider "pilgrimage" as applicable to modern society. We are tourists. We tour places, we do not go on pilgrimages to places, but Charles Foster contends that maybe we should. Perhaps we should be taking pilgrimages. We are not meant to build massive cities and our roots are in the ever wandering nature of ourselves. Charles Foster presents his own pilgrimage experiences as examples for the importance of pilgrimage. He details his experience traveling to the Holy Land, and honestly after reading this book I, too, felt the wanderlust to experience the Holy Land. It was very well written and interesting and presented an age-old concept in a new and exciting way. I feel that the Sacred Journey is worth the time investment, to perhaps change some pre-conceived notions about the nature of pilgrimage.


Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review- The Final Summit by Andy Andrews

I LOVED this book. Normally I am not the type to be reached by books. I will read books, even motivational ones, and not feel any different than when I first started it. This book dramatically changed my outlook. I was very impressed by the ease of the read and the incorporation of the message. The basic premise is that God is going to end the world and these inspirational figures from throughout history have been convened to a boardroom style summit to try and come up with an answer as to why God shouldn't end the world. The book introduces remarkable historical figures such as Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, and King David among others. The author, Andy Andrews, brings these characters to life and the way in which he presents their personalities left me with a smile on my face after many of their interactions.  As I mentioned the book is very easy to read and the way in which the story is presented is very easy to follow along with. I read the entire book in 2 sittings and I found myself taking notes in the margins of the motivational and inspirational messages that I found throughout. There is historical fact thrown in with fictional, and the most interesting part of the book was the introduction of Eric Erickson, who was instrumental in the ending of World War 2. I am very interested in history, particularly World War 2 history, but I had never heard of Eric Erickson and his valuable contribution to the war effort. This book was a very worthwhile read and it inspired me to live everyday with the simple concept of "Do Something".  No matter how small or inconsequential it might seem, do something everyday for people around me.

Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”