Book Review: You Be Sweet

YEA for more cookbooks!!!!

You be sweet: Sharing your heart one down-home recipe at a time by Patsy Caldwell and Amy Lyles Wilson is a great compilation of yummy desserts.  There are many I am very excited about trying.

The ones I have my eye on most is the red velvet cheesecake, caramel pie, graham cracker cake with pineapple lemon filling and cream cheese frosting, milky way pecan pound cake, pink lemonade cupcakes, lemon layer cake, marshmallow ice cream, Verna’s sour cream apple pie with cinnamon topping, and honey peanut butter topping.  Everything sounds so good.

I really like the lay out of the book, the many pictures, and the discussion from the authors at the beginning of each chapter explaining where the recipes came from and some history. 

This will be a great addition to my wall of recipe books.  I’m sure I will be pulling this one out at for many special occasions and hopefully some every day occasions too.

Note: I did receive a free copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.  To find out more information go to www.booksneeze.com.

Book Review: The death by money report

The Death by Money report by CFP Tracy Piercy and Lisa Maxwell is more of a small essay then a book.  The book took me approximately 20 minutes to read.  It goes over how people struggle between the saving everything to have a comfortable retirement and instant gratification of purchases now with no regard to the future. 

This book also does a lot of promoting for their website www.deathbymoney.com.  After each chapter there is a quick little ‘but you can fix it ‘paragraph leading you to their website.  The book does come with a free one month membership to their website and then after that you must pay a monthly fee.

This book does a good job at pointing out some of the American mindsets towards money and how they can never be fulfilled or how they are flawed.  For example, going to college does not mean you will have a better paying job and you do not have to live in poverty to save for the future.

This book was okay.  It took 85% of their book talking about all the doom and gloom of the current outlooks on money.  The remaining 15% was seven steps to start you on the right track.  Again at the end of the chapter it sends you to their website.   

All in all I do not think I would recommend this book to any of my friends.  I might direct them to the website to browse but I think this book could have gotten condensed into a 2 page pamphlet advertising the website.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book from www.booksneeze.com to read and review for free.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.  To find our more information please go to www.booksneeze.com.

Book Review: 10 Christians Everyone Should know

10 Christians everyone should know by John Perry is a series of mini biographies of great people in history including ST Patrick, Galileo, Ann Bradstreet, John Bunyan, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jane Austen, D.L. Moody, George Washington Carver, Sargent York, and William F. Buckley Jr.  Each story tells about the person’s life and how their life was affected by the faith.  All of them had their unique outlook on their faith and how it should be spread, lived, and perceived. 

I enjoyed this book.  There were a couple of people I had only vague memories of and knew little about.  IT was interesting to read about their diverse lives and how they have affected the church today. 

Like others have commented the chapters are fairly quick and easy reads.  There is also a lot of references and additional information that can be researched.  Approximately 30% of the book is references.

This would be a great book for children to learn about these biographies in a homeschool or supplemental curriculum.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.  To learn more information go to www.booksneeze.com

book review: The Money Smart Family System

This book is different than the ones I normally read for booksneese. The Money Smart Family System by Steve and Annette Economides is a book about their system used in teaching their children about money.  Steve and Annette are known books and discussions on money management living on less than the norm.  After having many people in their house teaching them about budgeting and money management, one of their children asked “when are you going to teach me that?” and this book was born.

I really enjoyed this book.  We were just starting to talk about way of setting up allowances and chores for our children.  This book was very insightful into a simple practice method for kids to earn money.  I loved how the intent and attitude towards the chore was just as important (if not more) than the chore itself.   

I would recommend this book to parents (with children of any age) who want to teach them about money want help setting up a system at their house.

I think we will try a version of this system.  I really like the idea of not only teaching them how to earn money but also how to handle it with savings, giving, and spending.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for positive review.

Book Review: The Scarlet Cord

I  thoroughly enjoyed this last book.  The Scarlet Cord; the love story of Rahab by Joan Wolf is a wonderful interpretation of the Rahab story.  I have always been fascinated by this story and wondered where her intrigue into a different live and God came from the existence as a Canaanite.  Ms. Wolf does a wonder job and describing life in Jericho and the way of life for a Canaanite.  To them their wall seems impenetrable.  Rahab and her family’s life are thrown together with two Israelite merchants and their life is forever changed.  Rahab is torn between her family and old life and the new possible life is Sala, the Israelite. 

Again, I really enjoyed this book.  I found it hard to put down.  From the beginning of the book she has you hooked wondering what is going to happen to Rahab through all her circumstances.  My only complaint/thing about this book is it does not follow Rahab’s living conditions described in the bible.  I do think this picture paints a little too rosy picture of what Rahab was doing. 

Note: I did receive a copy of this book free to read and review from www.booksneeze.com.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Through Rushing Water

Through Rushing Water by Catherine Richmond is a wonderful story about a young woman, Sophia, who makes a rash decision in the sight of tragedy. When Sophia (and the entire college she works at) presumes a young man will ask for her hand in marriage, they are all shocked when he asks her roommate instead.  Because of the loss and humiliation she decides to become and missionary and asked for immediate placement.  She is sent to the first available position, the Wild West on an Indian reservation to help teach and “Americanize” the Indians.  Sophia soon learns God has big plans for her there.  The lives of the Indians impacts her life more than she ever thought possible.  Though famine, harsh winters, death, and the government neglecting and moving the Indians she preservers and does whatever it takes to help and enrich the lives on the Ponca tribe.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I know it’s a love story about Sophia and Will but the story of Sophia’s journey is so much more.  Sophia is a dynamic person with many levels and a sad past.  Her struggle with her faith and trying to show it to the Ponca tribe is relatable to modern day readers.   There are many people out there today that have either little knowledge of Christianity or have had too many people share warped glimpses of faith making it hard for them to see the true core of what it means to be a believer of Christ.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books similar to pioneer or Amish setting Christian novels. 
 

Note: I did receive a copy of the book free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.

Book Review: Spirit Fighter

Spirit Fighter by Jerel Law is a preteen teen Christian adventure book about Jonah Stone, a sixth grader who is average in every way until he finds out that he is a quarter angel.  Soon after when his mother is kidnapped by evil fallen angels Jonah and his younger sister Eliza are sent on a quest to save their mother.  The entire time they find all the amazing powers “quarterlings” have and how to rely on God for protection and guidance.

All in all in enjoyed this book.  It was a quick read and I think would be great for the intended audience.  I know they tried to compare it to a Christian Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and I think it’s close.  It’s hard sometimes to separate the literary talent from great advertising.  I would say that compared to most Christian authors in similar genres it is very well written.

I do think the author did a good job and mixing faith and scripture verses in a fictional story with adventure.  It didn’t come off as “Hey let’s take a break from this story to throw in a bible verse that kind of relates” like some do.  The idea of fallen angels having children with people does give a lot of interesting characteristic for a story line.

Note: I did receive a copy of this book for free from www.booksneeze.com to read and review.  The opinions above are my own and I was not compensated for a positive review.