See a Heart Share a Heart by Eric Telchin

Reminded of the saying, ‘stop and smell the roses’, See a Heart Share a Heart, is a beautiful comparison to this sentiment.

Each page has captured a heart that is found in a folded leaf, paint drips, a butterfly’s shadow, and a shell on a beach, just to name several.

Captions attached to each heart are thought provoking and the illustrations are striking.

Eric Telchin’s message throughout his inspirational book is: Hearts bring love.

Readers will enjoy taking a moment to stop and See a Heart Share a Heart.

Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye: The World's Greatest Detective Tackles the Bible's Ultimate Mysteries by Len Bailey

More effective as a Bible study.

An unusual idea for readers to enjoy Holmes, but I wasn’t impressed. The book began with the Needle’s Eye, the means to Holmes and Watson’s ability to time travel, but I was left confused.

It continued with ten Biblical mysteries to be investigated. Holmes and Watson took the time traveling trips where they witnessed scenes and discussed clues. Holmes recited Scriptures from memory and the two connected the dots. I found it odd that Holmes memorized Scriptures when he doesn’t share the faith, and Watson was his typical annoying self.

Reading the book as a novel, my thoughts turned to thinking maybe it was more effective as a Bible study. The reader would answer questions provided in the back of the book, which included specific scriptures to follow.

Desiring to finish the book with a pearl or two, as much as I was confused and frustrated, I decided to read the investigative questions provided. They were thought provoking enough for pondering - always a good thing.

To be fair: the book was presented with two suggestions on how to read it, as a Bible study or as a novel/collection of individual mysteries.

Tulsa Tempest (Tulsa Series) by Norma Jean Lutz

The year was 1921; the place was Tulsa, Oklahoma during the Tulsa race riots. The story centered on a nineteen year old woman, Tessa, who fled to Tulsa to avoid marrying one of her father’s drunken buddies.

Tessa is not at all prejudice and she proves it time and again. Her strong beliefs rub off on a man she comes to love.

While I enjoyed the story and the history, I felt there wasn’t enough action and conflict for such a violent and tumultuous time in history. I also found it difficult to establish and maintain Tessa as a nineteen year old, as she was repeatedly described and perceived as much younger throughout the story.

A Christian tone was sprinkled throughout Tulsa Tempest, but not in a preachy way. Tulsa Tempest is an approachable way to be introduced to the Tulsa riots of 1921.

LOVE THUG (a.k.a. Can't I Do Anything Wrong?) By Daniel Berenson

Just be yourself.

Love Thug is a fun story for pre-teens about a first love. Billy wanted to impress Veronica so much he tried to imitate the boy that had already caught her attention. After many failed attempts he realized he just can’t do it.

Berenson wrote for a pre-teen audience, (I don’t see this as a book for older than fourth graders) that is sure to enjoy Billy’s outrageous strategies to ‘get the girl’. A lesson for young kids to be yourself and the right girl will come your way.

I would have liked a challenging vocabulary sprinkled throughout the story. Nevertheless, it was a short, entertaining read that kids will enjoy.

Do Monsters Wear Undies? - A Rhyming Children's Picture Book by Mark Smith

Keeping with Smith’s theme of monsters, this is a silly one asking the question, do monsters wear undies? The rhymes are a great way for children to enjoy a quick, silly book, and Smith masters his poetry.

My Kindle doesn’t provide justice for the illustrations, I realize that, but using my imagination of adding color, I’m sure kids will love the pictures. If sent as a PDF, I could download it on my iPad to appreciate the illustrations.

I wasn’t too thrilled with this particular story; it was okay, but nothing outstanding.

The Book of My Lives by Aleksandar Hemon

Looking for an answer. [ Read below for the answer I received today from the author himself ]

I enjoyed reading the compilation of essays of Hemon’s two lives, one in Sarajevo before war broke out in the 1990’s, the other in Chicago. His style of writing kept me engaged throughout the stories.

This was my first book read by Hemon. I usually do not read other reviews until I finish a book, however, I glanced at the ten reviews posted on Amazon to see if I had read the paragraph written on page 21 correctly. No one has mentioned it, so it looks like I’m alone. Am I reading it incorrectly, or does Hemon say Obama is our president by way of a falsified birth certificate?

I emailed the publisher and the editor and asked this question, but no reply as of yet. The internet provided additional information on Hemon, such as his becoming a U.S. citizen, but I’m hoping a comment will be written by a reviewer, a reader on my blogs, or Hemon himself answering my question.

[ Aleksandar Hemon says:
It was ironic. Read it again. There are people in this country who can only imagine Obama as the other, and thus perpetually suspect. ]

Flying Soup by Bobby Adair

Who said religion and politics don’t mix?

 Throw a can of soup at an antichrist underachiever who shares the left-wing view with his best friends - a gay cutting edge electrical engineer and a mid-level programmer, and you have a plot for a fascinating story.

To appreciate Flying Soup you must possess a sense of humor because Adair masters satire. There’s more truth than not in the characters and situations and I found both written in an entertaining style.

Stumbling upon Flying Soup was a much appreciated change of pace. I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in a while, reading it straight through. It was an intelligent, amusing, and fast paced read.

I appreciated Blair mastering the mix of taboo subjects and creating believable characters to write a really fun book.