Where Has Oprah Taken Us?

Where Has Oprah Taken Us? by Stephen Mansfield will be a magnet for many. With Oprah being a household word, readers will flock to this book. Most who have watched Oprah’s show over the years love her. They may agree with some of her topics and disagree with others. But the general consensus is they like her and like her guests and topics of discussion. Some of those discussions have been difficult to watch, such as child and spouse abuse, murder and rape. Others have been enlightening. This book covers her personal life, her rise to fame, and her TV show and acts of charity and generosity. But the main thrust of the book is her faith journey and where it has led her.

Raised as a Baptist, Oprah has made a 180-degree turn, and then another turn and another turn. She’s studied many religions including most Eastern ones. And, according to Mansfield, Oprah has created her own “religion of self” based on the aspects of each religion she prefers. It was an interesting book about Oprah’s life but I disagreed with the Mansfield attempt to blame her for leading her fans astray. If a fan is moved to the point that he or she abandons his or her own religion then that person was searching for something different anyway. If a fan is so wishy-washy that he or she changes each time Oprah features a new guest and new religion, then anyone could have changed that person’s beliefs. If someone is strong in his or her faith, watching and listening to Oprah would have been interesting but not earth shattering.

If you are searching, read this book – it may lead you somewhere new. If you are strong in your faith, read this book – it will be interesting but won’t affect your beliefs. If you have no faith, then the book will still be interesting but have little or no effect on you. Me? It didn’t affect me in any way other than to learn a bit about Oprah’s childhood, climb to the top of her career, and her beliefs.

Mansfield’s Where Has Oprah Taken Us? is a quick read but only if you’re an Oprah fan. If not, move on to read something with more substance.

A Quirky Christmas – Not just for Christmas

Bentrim has done it again! A Quirky Christmas: A Tale of Christmas Spirit, by William G. Bentrim, is a delightful story for any time of year – not just for Christmas. But it would make a great gift for under the tree. It’s a story about four squirrels who display the same traits we find in people. Three of them, Quirky, Stubby and Art, are good friends. Each one has his own little idiosyncrasies but they are still good friends and overlook each other’s “issues.” And then there’s Reggie who seems to have an attitude and considers himself “above” the other normal squirrels.

The squirrels manage to co-exist despite the underlying friction caused by Reggie’s aloofness and greed. Then it happens. A “giant” comes along and cuts down Reggie’s tree, takes it into the house and decorates it for Christmas. It’s beautiful but Reggie is beside himself. Quirky, Stubby and Art show compassion and offer a helping hand. Reggie is surprised they’d be so nice to him after he treated them so poorly. He softens and learns a great lesson.

This story is a fun read for young children, while it subtly teaches them to be kind to others. It’s advertised for ages 9 to 12 but I feel the book is for younger children. My 5-year-old granddaughter loves it! It’s a great book for reading to young children yet still fun for the older self-reader. Put Bentrim’s A Quirky Christmas under the Christmas tree for your favorite child. It will delight him or her for years to come.

Surprised by Oxford is no Surprise

Surprised by Oxford, by Carolyn Weber, is a memoir of the author’s journey from an agnostic to a Christian. She had a tough childhood yet, through perseverance, she managed to get through college and received a scholarship to Oxford. That’s when her journey took off in a new and surprising direction. Early on she met an interesting man she called TDH, short for tall, dark and handsome. He’s a Christian and leads her toward Christianity despite the fact that she continues to fight it. But Jesus wins out in this struggle and “Caro” becomes a happy Christian. The book shows how others affect her life and how she, in turn, affects other’s lives.

The book is an easy read and Weber’s story is interesting. However, I feel it was about twice as long as it needed to be. Some may love the book while others will react as I did. Enough is enough. End the book and come to the not-so-surprising ending. Apparently, this book could have been much longer because the ending was summed up in a few pages while we had to read through hundreds of pages to get there.

Yes, Christians will enjoy this book and it is interesting for non-Christians also. I don’t think it’s the type of book that will convert anyone. And the length may just turn some off. Don’t get me wrong, I think Weber is an excellent writer. She just needs to know when to end a good thing.

Survival on 9/11 - A Different Point of View

Thunder Dog, by Michael Hingson with Susy Flory was quite a surprise. I began this book with apprehension. I’m just not ready to be reading books about 9/11 as it’s still too painful. But this book and Michael Hingson’s story is different as it’s about his harrowing escape that day and, also, about his survival each and every day of his life. Hingson is blind and has dealt with issues all his life, but his blindness has never held him back. Try riding a bike or even driving a car with your eyes closed. Try walking through a room and “hearing” the coffee table before running into it. Life has been a series of challenges for Hingson and he’s met each and every one of those challenges head on. 9/11 brought on a challenge no one ever expected. Hingson met that challenge too.

The book describes how Hingson, along with his various guide dogs, has met these challenges and acquired skills most people assumed he could never achieve. The tales of his life are interspersed with his story of 9/11 and his long walk down 78 flights of stairs along with his wonderful guide dog, Roselle and his friend Dave.

Hingson did a great job in telling his story of that tragic day and the aftermath. But he also managed to teach the reader the challenges and the capabilities of the blind. We all tend to assume the blind can’t do many things in life. Let’s not cut them short. Hingson even flew and landed a plane!

This is a fast-reading book and very interesting to boot. Yes, it’s a depressing and sad topic as we deal with 9/11 over and over again. But it’s a day that’s etched in all our lives forever so read Thunder Dog for a very different viewpoint – not from the tragic event but from the survivor’s point of view.

A Whole Book of Quotes from Sarah!

The Quotable Rogue -the Ideals of Sarah Palin in Her Own Words, edited by Matt Lewis is a compilation of quotes by, who else but Sarah Palin. Despite the fact that some quotes are entertaining and some are obviously coming from an intelligent woman, I really don’t know why any of us would want to read a book of Palin quotes. She is definitely not my favorite politician but I also believe she is often misrepresented by the press. Hey, that’s the nicest thing I may say about her so take it or leave it.

Many of the funny and way out quotes we’ve all heard over and over again are in this book, but not taken out of context. But even in context these quotes don’t impress me one iota. And a whole book of them? No, I’m sorry, this is definitely not a book for me. But if you’re a Palin fan and are hoping she’ll be president one day then you may enjoy reading this book.

Song of the Silk Road - Fast, Steamy, but not my Cup of Tea

Song of the Silk Road by Mingmei Yip is a fast read. It covers some wonderful aspects of the Chinese culture and beautiful descriptions of geography along the Silk Road. That’s where my admiration ends. Lily Lin is the main character of the story. She’s a struggling writer who is involved with her married professor. She receives a mysterious offer from an aunt she never knew she had. Lily is told she must travel the Silk Road and follow specific instructions and she will be rewarded with $3 million.

Lily decides to take on the too-good-to-be-true challenge and heads for the Silk Road. Some of her adventures are interesting but most everything that she experiences is, well, slightly unbelievable. I loved the explanations of the culture and ways of the Chinese, but a good part of this book seems to be contrived to “fit” into the storyline.

There’s a great deal of romance and “just plain old sex” in the story. Lily seems a bit of a fly-by-night to me. I’m sure anyone who is into steamy sex and romances would enjoy this book. No, I’m not a prude but this story goes a bit overboard. It could have been written with lots of great descriptions of the culture and history of the Silk Road and with less of the sex scenes. But all in all, the story would still seem rather far fledged.

If you want a quick read and can look beyond the silliness of some of the storyline, you may well enjoy this book. Personally, I’m glad I read it but am rather unhappy I actually paid money for it.

Live Like the Amish in Tough Economic Times

Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing and Saving, by Lorilee Craker is a delightful little book. Ms. Craker comes from a Mennonite heritage and decides to explore the frugal ways of the Amish when she runs into some tough economic times. She learns a great deal of how to live within her means as she teaches us some of the traditions of the Amish culture.

Saving money is the way of life for the Amish and we could all learn a lot from them. She translates some of what she learns into our own “English” culture. Living within means Amish style is a far cry from how the “Fancy” people live. Maybe we can’t live totally debt free but there can be a nice compromise. The Amish believe loans are considered “stealing” and tend to pay their debts not only on time but ahead of schedule. Needless to say, the Amish don’t have trouble getting credit – the lenders know full well that they will pay back well in advance.

Ms. Craker gives loads of hints of living frugally and many can be applied to our lifestyle as well. However, there are a few extremes. For instance, there’s no way I’d but a mixture of honey and vinegar in my eyes to avoid cataracts. Bring on the cataracts I say! Other than a few extremes, there is plenty one can take away from this book if they hope to change their spending habits. But the reader will also learn a great deal about these beautiful and happy people.

Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing and Saving is a quick read and quite interesting. There’s a lot of humor throughout the book and I must admit I laughed out loud reading some of the stories about both the “Plain” and the “Fancy” people. My only criticism is that I wish Ms. Craker had listed all the websites she mentioned at the end of the book for easy reference. I had to go through the book a second time to find the more interesting websites I wanted to visit. Other than that, take a chance reading this book. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed even if you’re not trying to live a more frugal lifestyle.