16th June, 2008
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul by Jack Canfield, et al
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If you’re a teen and you’re feeling like it’s the end of the world, don’t fret. The Chicken Soup book is here to help you. My sister gave me this book a few years ago when I was a teenager and the stories did me good. They never failed to lift my spirits up when I was feeling down. Even now, they are still able to improve my mood.
The Chicken Soup books are actually very good, you know. The stories were sent in by real people who wrote them themselves and therefore, their inspiring stories are downright true. Reading other people’s stories of kindness, motivation, miracles, etc can make you feel better. At least it gives you hope that something good will happen to you in time and all you need to do is wait. Good things come to those who wait.
It seems that there are 101 stories of life, love and learning (as seen on the cover). There are some stories which were written by celebrities like Bill Cosby, Jennie Garth, Jennifer Love Hewitt, A. J. Langer and more. Makes the book even more attractive, huh? Well, at least we know that celebrities are human beings like you and I too and they also go through life’s problems, just like anyone else.
My favourite story would be in the On Love and Kindness category and the title is ‘Life Just Isn’t’ written by Katie Leicht. When I feel sad, I read this story. It reminds me of what life is really about and what I should be doing.
Life isn’t about keeping score. It’s not about how many people call you and it’s not about who you’ve dated, are dating or haven’t dated at all…………
………….But life is about who you love and who you hurt. It’s about how you feel about yourself. It’s about trust, happiness and compassion. It’s about sticking up for your friends and replacing inner hate with love……
It’s not only stories in this book. You will find cartoons, poems, famous quotes, inspirational quotes, etc. I am glad that there are books like the Chicken Soup ones around. I have no doubt that they’ve probably saved people’s lives! Yeah, it’s that effective. If you don’t believe me or if you haven’t read any yet, I strongly recommend that you do it soon.
When you’re physically sick, the real chicken soup is good for you, right? Well, I do know that chicken soup makes you healthy and strong! Anyway, I believe that this Chicken Soup book can be your best friend when you’re lonely.
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- My Place by Sally Morgan
- The Secret Scroll by Ronald Cutler
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
- Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
- Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro
Posted in Authors C, Nonfiction, Self-help, Titles C at 5:15 pm | Comment (0)
6th April, 2008
The Secret Scroll by Ronald Cutler
The title itself has made me eager to get started on reading the book. The Secret Scroll…it sounds pretty mysterious and exciting, don’t you think?
Anyway, the hero is supposed to be American archaeology professor, Josh Cohan. He has been dreaming some weird dreams about a cave somewhere in Jerusalem. Something inside the cave, which is The Scroll, is waiting for him to find it. Wouldn’t it be fun if we had dreams like his that would help us make the most important discoveries in our lifetime? But then, life would get a little bit too exciting.
Because Josh made that tremendously ‘fantastic’ discovery, he has put his and other people’s lives in absolute danger. When Josh translated the scroll, as it’s written in Aramaic, he found out that it was supposedly written by Jesus Christ himself! Now that is one heck of a crucial discovery and Josh has to make sure that it does not fall into the wrong hands.
Since the scroll was found in Jerusalem, Josh must hand it over to the Israel Antiquities Authority or The IAA. While he was trying to pass the scroll to them, there are other people too who wants the scroll badly. They are The Guardians, a cult who believes that they are the only true Christians in the world and wish to eradicate those who don’t share their faith.
Therefore, Josh and a team of archaeologists from The IAA set out to translate the scroll to determine if it’s really written by Jesus Christ. Also, there is someone from The IAA who has been leaking out information to The Guardians. Actually, there are a number of traitors and I had a fun time trying to guess who they were. Sadly, all my guesses were wrong. =D You’d be truly surprised when you read the book.
Besides action and adventure, there is also romance between Josh and the daughter of an archaeologist from The IAA, Danielle. Actually, Danielle has suffered more than Josh since she has been kidnapped and molested by The Guardians. I’ve noticed that Josh didn’t really go all out to save the woman he loves. He was more interested in translating the scroll.
Nevertheless, The Secret Scroll is an incredibly exhilarating read. You never know what’s going to happen next and I really enjoyed doing a lot of speculation while reading. It’s easy to read so you can probably finish it in less than a week or maybe even a few days. But do take note that Ronald Cutler embarked on a research that took him more than two years to create this book!
Oh, I also like the short chapters in this book. I don’t like long chapters because then, reading would be tiring. I usually stop reading at the end of a chapter and then take a break or something, so short chapters are always welcomed. =) There is a simple map of Jerusalem on two pages in the front part of the book, so you can refer to it if you want to get a clearer picture of Josh’s journey.
For fans of The Da Vinci Code, I highly recommend The Secret Scroll. Incidentally, this is Ronald Cutler’s first novel.
Thanks to Lisa Roe for letting me review this book.
Other Bloggers’ Reviews: naida
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- A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
- Astro Socks by Leigh M. Le Creux
- Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella
- Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul by Jack Canfield, et al
- Crazy Fool Kills Five by Gwen Freeman
Posted in Adventure, Authors C, Mystery/Thriller, Titles S at 11:36 am | Comment (0)
3rd December, 2007
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
A well known book and has gained numerous excellent book reviews though some book bloggers couldn’t finish it. Well, I did complete the book. The language was easy and it was quite a quick read. However, some parts of the book were too deep for me and I’m too tired to understand everything in it. But, never mind, at least I got the gist of it all. After reading, you may want to consider to really follow your dream, like what Santiago did!
The title is ‘The Alchemist’ but it isn’t wholly about an alchemist. The alchemist only appears halfway through the book. All the while, the story is about a young boy, Santiago, who is in search of some hidden treasure near the pyramids of Egypt. That’s what a gypsy lady told him after she interpreted some dream he had dreamt a few times.
Santiago was a shepherd and understood his sheep but he gave them up so that he could look for the treasure. During his journey, he met several interesting characters who guided him towards his goal. He’s met the gypsy lady, a king who wanted his sheep, a crystal merchant, an English man and many others. He even fell in love with a woman of the desert.
Then, there’s all this stuff about Personal Legend, the Soul of the World, the Language of the World, etc, which is all quite complicated. Perhaps I just wasn’t alert enough to really understand everything. Anyway, there are words of wisdom that one could use through life. It’s kind of like a motivation book. A book that gives hope to the despondent. My favourite part of the book is on page 86 where a camel driver tells Santiago:
“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.”
That makes a whole lot of sense, don’t you think? No use worrying about the past or the future. It just won’t bring anyone any good.
If you have read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, then you’d definitely be familiar with the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life. The functions of both items are explained more in this book. So, that part’s quite fascinating.
While reading, I had suspicions that the ‘treasure’ wouldn’t be a physical thing. The ending was a surprise anyhow. It’s an okay book for me – some parts were too deep and boring. Or like I said, perhaps I didn’t give this book a chance. I will try reading it again later on.
Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Zeek, Alice, QuaChee, Just A Reading Fool, Bibliolatry
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- Maggie Again by John D. Husband
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Posted in Authors C, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Titles A at 1:28 pm | Comments (10)
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