With my reading goal. Sure I've read three books in nine days so I'm on track to finish just fine, but I haven't picked great books.
The Last Lecture was good but it was a little too...intellectual. Not enough heart and soul in it. It wasn't what I was expecting and though I thought the message was nice I liked what Georgia Crouch said when she talked about Tuesdays with Morrie and The Last Lecture being big successes but basically all the golden nuggets can be found with reading the scriptures and going to church.
Dream When You're Feeling Blue was a WWII book about the home-front, focusing on a family, particularly the sisters writing to their fiances. I actually loved this book. It took me a while to get into it but there is a lot of historical facts woven in and it is beautifully written. I HATED the end of the book which is why I can't recommend it fully, I think it had one of the most rushed, bad surprise endings of all time...but up until the last 20 pages it is golden.
The Secret was a crock. Almost laughable. On wikipedia I laughed when I read "The book has also been heavily criticized by former believers and practitioners, with some going as far as claiming that "the secret" was conceived by the author and that the only people generating wealth and happiness from it are the author and the publishers." I laughed at that. The book is based on the "law of attraction" which states that if you think about something, the universe will bring it to you, but wait, the universe can't distinguish between "I don't want a bad hair cut" and "I want a good hair cut" so make sure your emotions are in check and you are thinking positively. Do you want to know the REAL secret? Turn your life to God, have faith in Him and His infinite wisdom and know that he is a loving father. Not that (paraphrasing) if you think fat thoughts you will be fat and if you think that you can eat anything and not gain weight that will be true too, the foods you eat will find perfect harmony with your body because you will be thinking positively. Good thing I found this book at the used book store for 50 cents rather than actually buying it.
Tonight I'm starting Les Miserables and I will be reading that and the Chronicles of Narnia for the rest of the month. I think I'll be much happier with those choices.
3 comments:
I like your reading goal for the year! Especially if you keep posting about what you read and your opinion of the book- it's proving a good guide for my personal reading endeavors :) Just reading that you're going to start Le Mis makes me want to read it, I love that book!
I can't wait until she starts reading some of the nonfiction books that I have read so she can better understand why I find them so fascinating. However, she did read The Road, which I feel is one of the most amazingly written books ever, but she did not walk away with the same awe and fascination that I had. It was entertaining listening to her share about The Secret because it sounds like a load of BS. Melissa is lucky that she loves to read and has the time to read so much literature. I can't wait to be able to read even a quarter of what she does (not her selection though).
Thank you for posting your book reviews, Melissa. I find it very informative and always look forward to your recommendations because your favorites have turned into some of my favorites too.
I read Les Miserables about three years ago while I was RS pres. It was life changing for me. I loved the beautiful language and the lovely visualizations I experienced while enjoying the story. I expected to see the characters from the musical or movie renditions I had seen, but it was all brand new in my mind as I read and I truly enjoyed it.
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