REVIEW: Stolen: The True Story of a Sex Trafficking Survivor

I read this entire book in a few days.  It provided some good information regarding what to look for in a person or a group of people that might be grooming young girls and boys for sex trafficking.  Although it did provide some insight into sex trafficking I had some problems with the book:

1.  The book was written in a very choppy format and it was difficult to read.  It was hard to tell from one moment to the next where you were in the story.  The story did not flow well.

2.  There were many times when I read the book when I felt as though the author wanted us to think that she had no control over what happened to her.  I have to disagree.  I made many bad choices when I was young that were unwise and I believe that because we are sinners living in a sinful world our bad choices have consequences.  The bible actually confirms this.  I was also taken advantage of by men in my youth and I often rebelled against my parents and I rebelled against God.  I chose to make these bad choices and I suffered the consequences of these choices.  While it is true that we are often sinned against without having made any bad choices (this also happened to me multiple times when I was young) I found it hard to read this author's book because she seemed to downplay her own bad choices which in many cases were directly correlated to her circumstances.  She could have walked away from sex trafficking right at the beginning by listening to her mother.  She chose to rebel against her mom.  I kept wondering, "why doesn't she talk about her rebellion against God more."

I don't know this author personally so I can't comment on her theology but I really can't recommend her book because of the above. 

NOTE: I received a copy of this book from Revell for my unbiased review.

I really appreciate this book.  Unlike many other books and articles that I have read on health this one is based upon actual medical studies.  I have read so many articles recently that were written by non-experts that have had an "experience" with an alternative medicine/essential oil/a particular diet.  This book is soundly based on documented medical research.  While we will undoubtedly cringe at the medical advice that he have taken one day as more and more studies are done I would still rather base my current lifestyle on "what we know works" rather than on some non-expert's opinion.  Dr. Furman's advice to be extremely cautious about taking alternative medicine without double blind clinical trials is sound advice.  He mentions people that did not heed this advice and the numerous complications that can arise from taking something that has not been tested thoroughly.  I have been thinking recently that the internet has propagated a non-medical culture and a suspicious one at that.  While I am not a HUGE medical advocate I still really appreciated Dr. Furman's common sense approach to taking care of your body. 

He has numerous chapters that offer good advice about nutrition and exercise and reading his book is like having an armchair physician at your side telling you all of the things that you need to hear to be informed about what you should do to care for your vascular system and help you to avoid major problems with your body like cancer, dementia, diabetes, alzheimer's, etc.  My doctor has never told me that I need to lose weight but Dr. Furman very directly tells me what my doctors are afraid to point out.  I am headed for some pretty serious problems if I don't make some changes.  I like Dr. Furman's style and he is easy to listen to. 

So thankful for this book and for Dr. Furman's care and advice.  He is someone that I hope that many people will listen to.  He cares for his patients and you feel as though he cares for you as you are reading his book.  He wrote this book because he is passionate about people. 

He is donating all of the proceeds of his book to Samaritan's purse which just shows me that he has put his money where his mouth is.  He only wrote the book because he really wants others to know about how to care for their bodies so that they can live a younger life and be useful for many years. 

NOTE: I received a copy of this book from Revell for my unbiased review.

Debt-Proof Living by Mary Hunt

I do not have any debt and consider myself pretty savvy about financial matters. I am in my mid-40's and have spent a considerable time reading about budgets and financial planning,etc. I was so impressed with this book that it kind of took me by surprise. I learned a few new things from Mary Hunt and I am very thankful for this excellent and sound resource.

I will be recommending this book to many people as a sound way to budget and manage a plan that will keep you safe from financial disaster. If you are looking for a place to start in terms of learning about how to view your money and resources then this is a SOLID book to start with. This is an especially helpful book for those folks that had no financial training growing up. This book is up-to-date with great resources and it is a very encouraging read. It is not an overwhelming book by any means and it will ease you into thinking about managing your money.

Mary Hunt makes so many excellent points about money that I hardly know where to begin in terms of laying out the wisdom of her plan. From learning to enjoy the things that you have budgeted for to remembering to plan for yearly expenses so that they don't catch you by surprise to finding peace in knowing where your money is going from day-to-day. Just an excellent, excellent book.

**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from Revell.

I Need Some Help Here! - Book Review

I thought that this book was imminently practical.  Kathi Lipp has "been there done that" and she teaches others in a way that is "acceptable" to hear.  She has some great advice for those of us that are still in the process of rearing our children.

Here are the chapters,

1.  Unlikely Gifts
2.  Don't Hang Out in the Motherhood Alone
3.  You Are Not the Only One
4.  When My Child Is Different
5.  When My Child Is Overwhelmed
6.  When My Child Is Troubled
7.  When My Child Is Sick or Injured
8.  When My Child Makes Poor Choices
9.  When My Child Is Running Away from God
10.  When My Child Is Lacking Character
11.  When My Child Is Struggling
12.  When My Child Is Left Out

I always find it helpful to view the Chapter headings in a book before making a decision to purchase the book.  I did not grow up in a Christian home and I found Kathi's advice very helpful.  Her suggestions for what "not to say" to your children were invaluable.  Although they are just her opinion I found her help very welcoming to my situation.  :)

I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book

Everyday Confetti

I am not the type of girl that does anything for the holidays.
I don't even celebrate the holidays.
In fact, when most holidays roll around I curl up and hide in my house!

If I did celebrate the holidays...............then this would be the book that I would go to for help.  It actually made me WANT to celebrate the holidays and it made planning for the celebrations much less daunting because these authors "have a plan" for helping you to make wonderful memories without too much effort.  I love the simplicity of the book as well as the food and party ideas.  I enjoyed reading all of their ideas.

These authors also have a great website with some freebies from the book.  You can find it here:  http://www.everydayconfetti.org/

If you are the kind of person that likes to plan special ideas for the holidays then this is one of the better books that I have seen on the subject.  It is simple, fun and easy to read.  No fuss.  No complications.  Just wonderful ideas.

NOTE: I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Couponing for the Rest of Us

 


I wanted to take some time to review this book which offers a very good introduction to the world of couponing. 

Some background information on me so you know the perspective that I am coming from....I have been a couponer since 2006.  I ran a blog in Nashville which highlighted the deals for Publix (a grocery chain based out of Florida that has stores in FL, GA, AL, SC, NC and TN).  I taught coupon classes in Nashville from 2007-2010. 

I really enjoyed reading Kasey's book.  She gives a very thorough and well-written overview of couponing.  Her writing style is excellent and I actually thought that book was easy to read and very comprehensive but not too overwhelming.  Perfect for the person that is trying to learn about couponing.  I also thought that the book provided a nice personal perspective on her own journey with couponing.  She is an affable writer and is probably someone that I would enjoy spending time with so you will also enjoy purchasing her book and spending time with her.

If you are interested in learning how to coupon and the subject matter is overwhelming to you then I highly recommend purchasing her book.  You can read it a chapter a night and the information is very useful.  It will teach you why you should use coupons, how to gather coupons, how to organize coupons, and how to organize your shops.

In general I loved the book but I disagree with Kasey in a few areas. 

1.  She utilizes some scriptures throughout the book and I found these distracting as they didn't fit the context of what she was writing about.  I am a bible-believing Christian and was actually put off by her use of the scriptures as they were taken out of context and inserted carelessly at times. I'm sure she means well, however, careful consideration should always be given when inserting God's word.  A proper hermeneutic is essential when dealing with scripture. 

2.  She tries to set standards for couponers regarding how many coupons they should take at the store and whether or not they should take peelies off of products.  I believe that these are personal conscience issues and they shouldn't be dictated by her opinion.  I also found her information to be inaccurate regarding peelies.  IRC's (Instant Rebate Coupons) are put on the products by the manufacturers (not the store managers) and the manufacturers could care less if you peel them before you buy the product (yes, even if they have language that says that they are to be used after purchasing the product).  I researched this issue and spoke with many manufacturers and they informed me that they are to be used just like regular coupons.  My neighbor used to be one of the people that put "peelies" on products for a living.  The author may have an ethical issue personally with peeling the stickers off the product but it is not "wrong" to do so.  I believe that coupon ethics are not black and white and everyone should do what their conscience dictates and that will be different for each person.

3. I found alot of the information in her book to be more useful for the markets where there are Publix stores as several of her examples are for these specific stores (i.e. the Buy 1, Get 1 deals and the doubling of coupons).  Some stores do have Buy 1, Get 1 deals but they are not as prolific as the deals at Publix.  I have lived in several different states and you can get the most for your money if you shop at Publix when they double store coupons.  The other states that I have lived in (CA and TX) are vast wastelands for couponers and it is much more difficult to save large amounts although you can still save some money.  These states, for example, generally do not allow for doubling of coupons at most of their stores and the Buy 1, Get 1 deals are fewer and far between.

4.  The store coupons that Publix puts out in their fliers are actually coupons that they have negotiated with the manufacturers.  Publix is not losing money on these coupons.  They are essentially manufacturer coupons (even though they say "store coupons" on them).  You can still use them in conjunction with a manufacturer coupon.  I just wanted to make it clear that the store is not taking a "loss" on the product when you use these coupons.  The manufacturer's work with Publix to put out these coupons for all kinds of reasons.  Sometimes the manufacturer really wants their product to move off the shelf (i.e. grocery stores set limits for that manufacturer's product and if the manufacturer doesn't meet that limit then their product can get pulled and the store will put another product in it's place) and sometimes they just want to be the market leader in their particular category.  Sometimes they are just changing their packaging and they practically give their products away to get them off the shelves.

Still, even with the above, I thought that this was an excellent introduction.  In fact, I thought that it was one of the best introduction books that I have ever read.  It is very well-organized that is important when covering a topic like couponing.  Good job Kasey!

Available May 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

5 Days to a Clutter-Free House

The authors....two very experienced women.  I love that the people that wrote the book have been working professionally as organizers.  They are very positive and helpful.

Let me start off by saying that this book is very well written.  I read books constantly and the spelling, grammar and punctuation in most of the books that I read is horrendous.  This book was a welcome breath of fresh air because it was easy to read and actually enjoyable to read.  The writers are organizers and you can tell that they are good at their jobs from the way that they organized their book.  Their advice is clear and concise and simple to follow.

They have a quick and effective plan for helping you to get your house clear of clutter.  It is a good plan.  A solid plan really.  The most difficult part of the plan.....assembling a team of people to help you to clean up the clutter in 5 days.  This might be a reasonable plan depending on what stage of life you are in or depending on the kind of community that you live in.  For example, when I lived in a small town in Nashville I probably could have found 5 friends to come over and help me clean up my clutter.  I live in Dallas now and everyone here is busy so unless you have some kind of incentive to dangle in front of your friends this might be difficult to plan.  You can always pay for help, however, that isn't feasible for many people. 

Still, the plan is solid and would greatly help someone that has loads of clutter in their house.  I have a mild amount of clutter in my home (mostly due to getting rid of stuff during each of my 4 moves over the last two years).  I probably enjoyed the chapters in the second section of the book more as they focused on managing yourself, your house, your family and your time.  The writers give several examples throughout the book to help you to get a "move on" and get "organized."  I found their tips to be imminently useful (which is why I am giving the book 4 stars instead of 3).   I am already an organized person but I really learned alot about my motivation for keeping my home tidy.  They gave me new reasons to stay on top of the clutter in my home. 

I think if you approach the book with the attitude, "I'm going to learn a few new things," then you will be happy with your results.  Organization can be overwhelming for many.  Taking things one step at a time will help to lighten the load if your home is disorganized.  I have small children and I just think that this stage of life is a busy and messy one.  I don't want to spend all of my time keeping my house tidy while I have small children underfoot.  I know that it would be impossible for me (a very organized person) to keep my house tidy at all times.  I know that my children will suffer from my absence.  So, read the book and learn a few new things and enjoy a more organized home.

**Available February 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.**