Conversations with the Fat Girl

Book:  Conversations with the Fat Girl

Author:  Liza Palmer

Maggie & Olivia have been best friends since they were in grade school.  Both overweight, they befriended each other when no one else would.  Now grown up, Maggie is still shopping in the euphemism-if-there-ever-was-one "women's section" while Olivia went & had gastric bypass surgery in search of the elusive size 4, the holy grail for women everywhere.  So now Olivia's thin & blond & getting married to a handsome surgeon, & Maggie's the fat bridesmaid, again, in charge of planning "The Shower" & keeping Olivia's secret:  that she's really a fat girl in a thin boddy.  Aint life grand?
With wit & wisdom, Liza Palmer gives voice to women everywhere who wish for just once that they could forget about their weight.
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Maggie... Rebecca Jo... maggie.. Rebecca Jo...
I think we are interchangable.  This character of Maggie, I honestly related to because I found so much of myself in her.  The things she said, the way she felt about situations, the way she reacted to her life, even the way she spoke - "Are you kidding me?" - I felt like I was Maggie. To even add to that - she got car sick, she had a fear of flying, always had a Large Diet Coke everywhere she went... AND she loved Xanadu?  Can anyone please tell me how she's NOT like me?

We get to see how Maggie deals with a forced apartment move, a career change, her family always expecting more from her, the relationship she has with her sister Kate (who is totally opposite) & her mother - we see Maggie fall in love with Domenico (only her & his mother are allowed to call him that) - haha

If you have ever struggle with weight - I mean a REAL weight issue, you'll related with Maggie.  So many things she said stood out to me.  I even mentioned one part of it on my other blog:
http://rebecca-belle.blogspot.com/2010/09/confidence.html

This book does have some big time language... but I just had to normally laugh or feel badly when it was used... it was just "Maggie"

I loved to see how her sister Kate stood up for her - I loved to see how Maggie reacted with Domenico & how their relationship moved - I loved to see the person Olivia turned into after her surgery - I loved seeing Maggie become stronger & more confident with every move she made...

I loved how every chapter would have a "flash back" of sorts too - looking back to when things were at a different time & now, how Maggie can learn from them.

Here are just a few other examples of the story that just drew me in
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"My relationship with my body is like that of an egomanic with a self- esteem problem.  Mostly I think about myself & how much I suck.  But there are rare moments when I walk around for hours & think I look amazing.  Either I feel great about myself or I've decided some guy is checking me out.  Then I catch a side view of myself in a store window or a department store mirror & I'm plunged into despair.  If I could always live in a place with no mirrors or disapproving glances, I would think I was the prettiest girl around."
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"Kate & I used to play the Xanadu soundtrack & dance until Mom came home.  I specialized in all the ELO songs, while Kate preferred all things Olivia Newton John.  When Kate had homework or was playing with another friend, I retreated into my room where I built a make-believe time machine.  I played for hours - pushing buttons, giving orders, & feeling safe& comforted in my imagination.  I want that feeling of safety & freedom that came with those memories back.  I dont want the new feeling of momentary happiness followed by insurmountable guilt that comes from reaching for food for comfort.  I need to go back to the person I was at 8 years old.  She had it all figured out.  Maybe I'll build another time machine."
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Once you're labeled in school, no amount of factual information can unstick it form your psyche.

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We're sold this script for life with loves like Romeo & heroes like Jack London, but we've got an hour long commute to a job we hate & a utility bill to pay every month.  I crave a life of freedom & passion, but I've sentended myself to a life of quiet desperation & prime time sitcoms.  I've numbed myself & its going to hurt like a **er when I wake up.
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Needless to say - I loved this book... I want to check out more from this author as well
My Rating:  5 skeins

Out Live Your Life

Book:  Out Live Your Life

Author:  Max Lucado

(This book was provided in exchange for an unbiased review)

These are difficult days in our world's history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God's love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. Let's live our lives in such a way that the world will be glad we did. (Please note: International Bloggers will receive International Edition.)
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You were made to make a difference..

That's what the front cover says...

& once again, Max Lucado has a way of bringing "Godly" topics & making them understandable...

We learn in this book so many ways to look at the world with new eyes...

I loved this book because it was broken down in short chapters - you could get through one very easily & each ended with a prayer & a scripture.  So you could actually even do this as a great devotional daily.  There is also a study guide in the back of the book if you wanted to even take it deeper into a study.

However you choice to read this book, you're going to find something that speaks to you... some of the stories made me look at myself & get a little humbled... some of the stories made me stop & think, WOW, people are amazing... all the stories, I learned something from them.

I marked up so many pages of this book for quotes, stories, points to remember... things I will be turning back to for many references...

But one of the things that was said repeatedly in different ways is something that will stick with me....

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something

The story of the football team that were from a prison & the story of real life "Paul's" & their "Anninas'" just about had me cheering on people in this world who still are showing God to others... How people are out there living their life in the best way to make a difference to others...

My rating:  5 skeins

The Butterfly Effect/The Boy Who Changed the World

Book:  "The Butterfly Effect" & "The Boy who Changed the World"

Author:  Andy Andrews

(These books were provided to me by Booksneeze in exchange for an unbiased review)

Andy Andrews has put out a new smalll gift book that is just lovely... it talks about "The Butterfly Effect" ... & Yes, I too thought, "isnt that a movie with Ashton Kutcher?"... yes it is & no, Ashton isnt part of this book. :) 

But the idea of the butterfly effect is that the smallest differences, smallest changes, smallest motions can cause the biggest changes in conditions... such a neat idea

The Butterfly Effect is a small book that gives some stories of real people and of this idea... with beautiful pictures & subtle words... It only takes a minutes out of your day to read this whole book but the point is made over & over:

EVERY SINGLE THING YOU DO MATTERS!!!

Mr. Andrews also wrote a childrens book with the same idea, called The Boy who Changed the World... I was so excited to get this for our grandson.  He will be coming up for a visit in October & I'll most definitely be reading this to him.  The story is similar to the gift book, but with wonderful illustrations that are beautiful & captivating to the eye. 

I love the idea of having children realize from such a young age of the impact they can make on the world. 

All of it goes back to this quote in the book:

"There are generation yet unborn whose very lives will be shifted & shaped by the moves you make & the actions you take today. And tomorrow.  And the next day. And the next.

I most definitely recommend these books - for a gift of reminding for adults & a gift of teaching for young hearts that need to know the power they hold in their actions.

Stardust on my Pillow

Book:  Stardust on my Pillow

Author:  Patsy Clairmont

194 pages

From "Boxed In', the story of a woman making a starling discovery about a distant aunt she never really knee, to "Cloistered", the tale of a severely phobic woman being gently wooed back into life, popular speaker & writer Patsy Clairmont has crafted a beautiful & impressive first collection of short fiction.

Through the fourteen tales featured, Patsy sensitively explores the themes of compassion & kindness, holiness & hope, whole providing beautifully written inspiration for all of us who desire to spread a little stardust of our own
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First Line:  Every afternoon at three o'clock, Papaw sat under the weeping willow tree in his front yard & played the "Chattanooga Choo-Choo- on his harmonica"

Coming out of the Women of Faith weekend & once again being reminded how much I loved Patsy Clairmont, it was a surprise to find this book on my shelf as one I never read.... its an older book...published in 2000 ... but so glad I've had it sitting there waiting on me.

Patsy is just a wonderful writer that you can tell her speaking translates so well to paper.  This book is the perfect book to leave next to a nightstand too.  It has 14 tales that are all so quick to read but each one has a story that found me usually making a sigh, or a "Ahhh" noise, or even a giggle...

Stardust on my Pillow should be on a nightstand so you can lay your head down after reading a tale & "look into the windows of Heaven" ...

My rating:  4 skeins

The Heart Mender

Book:  The Heart Mender

Author:  Andy Andrews

235 pages

While digging up a withering wax myrtle tree behind his waterfront home on the Gulf Coast, author Andy Andrews unearths a rusted metal container filled with Nazi artifacts & begins an intriguing investigation that unlocks an unspoken past that took place in his backyard.... literally...

In the summer of 1942, as the country gears up for a full scale commitment to WWII, German subs are dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico to sink US vessels carrying goods & fuel for the war.  While taking a late-night walk along the coastline, Helen Mason - recently widowed by the realities of war - discoveres the near lifeless body of a German sailor.  Enraged at the site of Josef Landermann's uniform, Helen is prepared to leave the lieutenant to die when an unsual phrase, faintly uttered, changes her mind.

Set in a period simmering with anger & suspicion, this book offers the very real chronicle of a small town preparing itself for the worst the world has to offer.  As cargo from torpedoed ships begin to wash up on the beach, Josef & Helem must reconcile their pasts in order to creat a future.
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First Line:  It is early summer as I sit at my desk & finally begin the process of sorting what I know to be true from what I merely suspect.

I couldnt write this review fast enough to say how much I loved this book!!!!!

First, let me say, Andy Andrews is fast becoming one of my favorite authors!  With "The Noticer" & "The Time Traveler's Gift" as my favorite books as well, I thought this has to be a shoe-in...

But then I saw this book contained a lot of information about WWII & submaries & torpedos & talks of Germans & Nazi's & I thought, this isnt going to be for me.  I'm not a "war" kinda reader...

I was so wrong...

With the writing & the pictures just in the first few pages, I was hooked into this story. 

A story that Mr. Andrews makes note is a true story - which is amazing in itself.  That there were German subs in US territory destroying US vessels... how is this something that we do not see in history books?

I put on my Facebook/Twitter that this book reminds me of a"The Notebook" - but it did hold a love story in the midst of a time of war.. to hear the story of the relationship between Helen & Josef...I was involved knowing every detail of their meeting & their life.  And to think that this is all true just pushed it over the top for me as being an amazing read that has just crept up in my list of favorite books...

Here is a sample of the writing as well:

(Talking about how some of the men on German ships werent fans of Hilter)

"The Kriegsmarine had a lot of Germans... not so many Nazi's"

Noting my confusion, the old man said, "You see a difference between Americans and the Ku Klux Klan, dont you?"

I nodded.

"Well, there you go"

(On Helen & Josef's growing relationship)

Later, the German soldier & the American widow walked the beach, not exactly together, but at the same time.  Not yet truly friends, at least they were no longer enemies.

(On the repeated lesson on "forgiveness")

We are products of our past, but we do not have to be prisoners of it.

The writing in this book is wonderful... real & understandable... gripping...

I love that Mr. Andrews dug into this story to find that people in this world have the most amazing adventures of all...

Last Line:  No one will ever believe a word of it.

My Rating:  5 skeins

Just Take my Heart

Book:  Just Take my Heart

Author:  Mary Higgins Clark

322 Pages

Natalie Raines, one of Broadway's brightest stars, accidentally discovers who killed her former roommate & sets in motion a series of shocking events that puts more than one life in extreme peril.

While Natalie & her roommate, Jamie Evans, were both struggling young actresses, Jamie had been involved with a mysterious married man to whom she referred only by nickname.  Natalie comes face to face with him years later & inadvertently addresses him by his nickname Jamie had used.  A few days later, Natalie is found in her home dying from a gunshot wound.

Immediately, the police suspect Natalie's theatrical agent & soon to be ex-husband, Gregg Aldrich.  No charges wre brought against him until 2 yrs later, when Jimmy Easton, a career criminal, suddenly comes forward to claim Aldrich had tried to hire him to kill his wife.

The case is a plum assignment for Emily Wallace, an attractive 32 yr old assistant prosecutor.  As she spends increasingly long hours preparing for the trial, a seeminly well-meaning neighbor offers to take care of her dog in her absence.  Unaware of his violent past, she gives him a key to her home...
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Mary Higgins Clark is one of my favorite authors... always keeps me guessing & this was no different.  My "cheat card" had so many names on it & lines drawn to one person or another, it was crazy... but I STILL didnt figure out the WHOLE ending... why I love Mrs. Clark!

I loved the character of Emily Wallace & the strong woman character she was.  Not afraid to follow her heart & investigate on her own, standing up to people when she was sure of what she believed. 

Loved the character of Gregg Aldrich as well...

There are two different stories that seem to be going on as well, with the neighbor that is the creepiest character I've read in awhile & the trial that is going on... wondered how they would tie in together, but those final chapters indeed bring the stories together...

I always love the quick chapters as well in MHC's books... its almost when you think, I gotta find out what happened, its enough to read without having to invest a lot of time in the next chapter... which in the end, makes you read more!!!

A great mystery....

My rating:  3 skeins... it was good - wasnt great... not disappointed I read it, but not changing my world... so an average score...

Last Line of the book:  I really am, Emily thought when she was alone again.  I'm ready now.

Captured by Grace

(This book was provided by Thomas Nelson in exchange for an unbiased review)

Book:  Captured by Grace

Author:  Dr. David Jeremiah

207 pages

Until you have been broken beyond belief & need a miracle for your soul...
Until you have betrayed a loved one & cannot bring him back...
Until you have befriended eveyr darkness & are desperate for the light...
That's when God's relentless, amazing, very personalized grace finds you.
It reached a slave trader onboard a ship raiding Africa's coast in March 1748.  He later gave the world its most beloved hymn.
It struck the Christian church's most treacherous enemy on a Damasuc road in AD 45 & he became the gospel's greatest messenger.
And it can free you too... of any shameful memory, open wound, unthinking mistake, or willfull choice.
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I love any book that talks about grace...

And this book surprised me.  It wasnt what I expected.  I thought it would be more of a "Self Help" kinda book... which it was - but BETTER.  I'm not a self-help kinda gal - those books bore me.  But this book had back stories on John Newton & the Apostle Paul that was just so interesting.  Two men from different times... but the same grace... the same grace that hits us & makes their stories make sense to us in our lives today.

I especially loved this book because it broke things down... like the verses from Amazing Grace... line by line & gave an example, or a story, or just "real talk"...

They also would do that with verses in the Bible - & a big part of it came from Romans - which is my favorite book of the Bible... so this was just awesome for me.

I sat with my highlighter, marking up all the things that stood out to me.  I always love looking back & seeing what I marked - so many good things... here are just a few examples:

*It (Grace) is the gift unsought, unmerited, unlimited.  For no matter what we have done, no matter the depth of our transgression, the darkness of our hearts - grace overrules them all.

*If we edit the sin out of our awareness, then grace no longer has any beauty or power for us.  In due time, we wonder why we need a Savior at all.

*Is there any such thing as an "unanswered prayer"?  Or would it be wiser to call them "unwanted answers"?

*It's as if God is saying to us - "I wont give you what you want, but I'll give you what you need.  If I took away the trail, you would grow no stronger - in face, you would be just a little weaker & more helpless, like a pampered child.  But if I allow the trial & help you endure it, you will be stronger, wiser & more useful to Me."

Oh mercy - I coulda highlighted the whole book really... such good stuff in there.  And an easy read.  Its broke down in sections that are quick & have you wanting to just keep reading.

I'm so thankful for this book... this will be one I go back & will read over & over again in the future...

My rating:  4 skeins