Showing posts with label dreams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dreams. Show all posts
Monday, August 19, 2013
When the reader meets Amy, she is finishing her second novel and her life enters a time of flux. She goes back to work part time, her daughter faces a new threat at school, and her dreams change from something she can keep private, to something that directly get involved in the lives of those around her.The Living Room tells the story of this time in Amy's life.
The Living Room is a pretty good read. It has the same kind of tension that Whitlow's legal thrillers have that keep the reader guessing what will happen next. However, the story, characters, and dialogue are not as organic and natural feeling as they are in Whitlow's other novels. It was obvious he was out of his element writing from the point of view of a housewife. I don't think it is because Amy is a woman while most of his other novels feature a male as the protagonist; his Tides of Truth trilogy has a female lead and is just as good as any of his other stand alone novels. I can't quite put my finger on it, but for some reason, even though it is still a quality read that I would recommend, The Living Room lacks the natural flow that is normally one of Whitlow's strongest assets.
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze 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
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Rudy: My Story by
Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger chronicles the life story of a man many people are
familiar with – the title character from the 1993 hit film Rudy. Moving beyond the dramatized, Hollywood version of his story,
Rudy retells exactly what happened that brought him from a kid who “wasn’t
college material” to a student and football player at the prestigious Notre
Dame University. He then continues the story past where the movie ended and
details his journey in getting his story made into a movie that became a nation-wide
hit. The overall message of Rudy’s story
seems to be that persistence and dreaming big will allow one to go anywhere, or
do anything one can set one’s mind to.
Overall, Rudy reads
like one continuous motivational speech. The enthusiasm and passion that
carried Rudy through all the amazing events in his life oozes off of every
page. One can’t help but get excited and caught up in the drama of Rudy’s
story. While his perseverance and passion for what he believes he was called to
do is something to both be admired and emulated, it also leaves me with a
somewhat bitter taste in my mouth. I consider Rudy to have an exceptional
story; however, I’ve seen too many other examples of people who have both perseverance
and passion to spare, and still don’t end up living their wildest dreams. For a
book from Thomas Nelson, I would’ve expected a bit more mention of following
God’s will while pursuing one’s life dreams.
While Rudy mentions God a few times, the overall message seems more like
a pep talk than a recommendation to follow God’s plan for one’s life. God is
gracious and loving and often gives us the desires of our heart; however, this
only happens when we’re pursuing Him and His desires for us become our desires.
Despite the unexpected lack of mention of God, Rudy is still
a powerful story worth reading and sharing. Americans love an underdog, and
Rudy has one of the most compelling underdog stories of all time.
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze 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
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze 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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)