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Review Date: 8/23/2010
Helpful Score: 2
Liked the individual stories of the crammed full, overly scheduled lives of people, many of whom are doing activities for their ministry. Very thought-provoking "exercises" in each chapter. A quick read - but the journaling or answering the questions require your time and honest introspection. Not only Christian lives are examined. "...pay attention...purposely...One of the keys to simplicity is mindfulness. Being intentional, paying attention. It's about being present in the moment but keeping the big picture in mind. Living mindfully means choosing carefully what you say no to and yes to, and knowing why you are doing so..." page 115
Review Date: 6/16/2019
A love story with the focus on more than one couple and competing secondary characters usually confuses and exasperates me. This story did not. Enjoyed how the storylines intertwined and eventually resolved.
Review Date: 3/15/2009
Helpful Score: 1
Enjoyed the essays. This author is easy to read and has many humane and laugh-out-loud insights into his quirky co-retirees and himself. He brings into the story just enough of his memory of Florida-summer-vacation-with-the-retired-grandparents to enjoy its contrast with his present...predicaments.
Review Date: 2/5/2012
Much better than the body-mind-spirit exercise book I expected.
In the same week I began reading this book, I watched an interview on TV where a man was explaining how his worries (thoughts) translated directly into his body as energy (adrenaline). His body's first reaction to worry was to charge out of the cave and kill the wooly mammoth out there, because his physical/chemical makeup hadn't developed like his mind had. So he did martial arts exercises instead of taking a club out of his cave.
The comment about the body translating thoughts into physical energy really resonated with me. This book wants to teach you to make this energy positive in order to bring joy (in all its forms) to your life.
In the same week I began reading this book, I watched an interview on TV where a man was explaining how his worries (thoughts) translated directly into his body as energy (adrenaline). His body's first reaction to worry was to charge out of the cave and kill the wooly mammoth out there, because his physical/chemical makeup hadn't developed like his mind had. So he did martial arts exercises instead of taking a club out of his cave.
The comment about the body translating thoughts into physical energy really resonated with me. This book wants to teach you to make this energy positive in order to bring joy (in all its forms) to your life.
Review Date: 1/10/2011
Funny by page 21; sweet; poignant. A slice of village life where there aren't too many villagers to confuse you. The author keeps the focus on the main character, who's just one of us. After all, haven't you looked at a mounted fish, read the date on the gold plaque, and thought: "Oh, it's a Pisces, so am I!" (the author wrote something like that...;}
Review Date: 4/5/2009
Wow! This was a good, fast-paced, mystery-adventure book. It reads like a movie where each disparate group of characters are interesting and you can't wait to see how they will converge. The author quickly advances the momentum of this modern adventure. Mr. Blum lightly focuses on specific Bible history, modern military, spies, and politics which are pertinent to the search for the real Mt. Sinai -- this isn't confusing and adds to the intrigue. I'm keeping my copy, for now, to read again - it only takes a couple of sittings! The down side was, I treated this just like an "Indiana Jones" novel, as I felt it sometimes had a light or glancing touch on the scary situations. I also wanted to "feel" or "care" more for these two main fellows, but what they were doing was unethical and illegal; so, perhaps it is that I really do not identify or empathize with them.
Review Date: 3/5/2023
I stopped at page 124. Did the book really get any better?
I found what I read boring, repetitive, frustrating. Disappointing because I have read and liked some of the author's other books.
I found what I read boring, repetitive, frustrating. Disappointing because I have read and liked some of the author's other books.
Review Date: 3/13/2009
Easy-to-read essays; finished it in one sitting. I liked the feeling it left me with -- manage your own life, do good where you can, apply the Golden Rule. Learned that he respects others but likes to incite conversations about unfairness; does not expect everyone to speak up on issues or concerns; and seems to be an extrovert with a sense of humor who is continually able to question situations and offer up his opinions. Have never heard him speak so do not know if his personality translates well to paper.
Review Date: 3/4/2017
Fantastic thriller, well worth your time. Fast-paced read. Much of it takes place in an Africa that is unfamiliar but is still enthralling, even menacing. Reminds me a little of a Lara Croft movie without much of the scenes to get-in and stay-in shape; this book's characters have wealth and the abundance of gizmos for protection. The story has so much movement and action and a great deal of emotion and mystery.
Review Date: 3/6/2009
XLNT read. Each character's "voice" is different. I like that the punctuation matches their personalities. The story is funny "ha ha" and funny "strange" -- not as involved a study as is "A Confederacy of Dunces" but not entirely lighthearted. Learned a few things. I feel I need to just accept each character - but maybe say a little prayer for them, just in case, you know?
Review Date: 11/1/2015
This story is not written well enough to stand alone. The author did not give me enough emotional background about the main couple in order for me to care about them. There is a great deal of action but it is hard to understand the motivation behind the 2 main characters. The secondary characters interfere with the plot too often. The only other books from this series I have read are "Lover Avenged" and "Lover Unleashed" each of which is able to stand alone and each have more substance than "Lover Mine."
Review Date: 12/26/2008
A regency romance that starts slow but gets to be a better read. Am more attracted to the funny, endearing second-tier characters than the lead couple!
Review Date: 10/9/2016
Helpful Score: 1
An entertaining, quick read. Liked the mystery, liked the friendships of the characters. As an older reader I was more interested in the bookstore than the computers and tech information. My book cover glows in the dark - that is really my favorite part!
Review Date: 4/22/2009
Helpful Score: 1
I almost kept this book just for the one-liners on Pages 32.5 through 72. Generally, this is a funny memoir-novel which is easy to read. If I was the editor, I would have sandwiched the couple of uninteresting character studies between the funnier ones and end the book on an upbeat note. Some of the author's writing is too sparse, as if it were a face-to-face conversation. There are mercifully short tips and stories on being a bartender and 10 pages of recipes -- the longest recipe only 4 lines on the page. My real enjoyment came from the better-written chapters devoted to characters that have peopled the author's life in the military, working on the railroad, and while a bartender on the beach in Hawaii.
Review Date: 10/7/2011
Worst book I've read this year.
Too many characters in one short story and the author did not get me to care about any of them like we could in a well-written saga.
Too many different main plots. The beginning plot belonged in a regency romance as it was too far-fetched for 2005 - the ambassador's daughter jumps in a Mercedes vehicle and drives over to a rich man's ranch. Once there she offers herself in exchange for the rich man to agree not to hurt her fiance's company any more. Please. She could have at least driven over in a Mustang since it was in Texas...
Too many characters in one short story and the author did not get me to care about any of them like we could in a well-written saga.
Too many different main plots. The beginning plot belonged in a regency romance as it was too far-fetched for 2005 - the ambassador's daughter jumps in a Mercedes vehicle and drives over to a rich man's ranch. Once there she offers herself in exchange for the rich man to agree not to hurt her fiance's company any more. Please. She could have at least driven over in a Mustang since it was in Texas...
Review Date: 10/31/2012
What an odd book. I felt compelled to finish it because the writing was such that it plays like a movie and travels quickly from scene to scene and there is mystery being uncovered. I wanted to put the story down and forget about it, because we are learning more about the dead Jack Smith than about the lively ladies that remain.
Review Date: 7/26/2021
This is a graphic novel dated 2012.
Review Date: 8/23/2010
Starts okay, then fades to blah. Did the author lose interest? I did, but finished it anyway. A newspaper article reporting these events would have more emotion and life to it than the conversations between the too many characters in this book.
Review Date: 3/27/2011
Helpful Score: 1
Great regency style, clever plot, twists and dialogue; likable characters. Not too many people to keep track of, thank you very much. I like the way the author leads us into the next scene at the end of a chapter. Yet, the start of the next chapter is a quick one paragraph re-do of the scene BUT from the other character's view point. Would pay the credit and re-read.
Review Date: 5/20/2021
Unfocused. Mostly sub-plots; not a character-driven story. Are we sure this was written by Janet Dailey?
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