I Love Starbucks!

As much as my husband wishes I would tire of Starbucks I don't think I ever will! My husband always wants to rush through the drive through while I'd prefer to go inside and sit and talk. Part of our first date was spent sitting at Starbucks and him teaching me to play chess. Priceless! So why is my husband in trouble? Because I've been reading Pour Your Heart into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time by Howard Schultz. I picked up the book in the business section of the library and although it is way overdue I just can't part with it until I'm finished with it completely. It's so interesting discovering the reasons Schultz began Starbucks and how the company came to be. His writing flows from story to story and although it deals with business topics, Schultz encourages the reader to apply his principles to everyday life. I'd recommend it to anyone, entrepreneur or not! Beware though...it might just make you love Starbucks even more than you already do!

More Chick Lit!

Another Chick Lit Series:

From Kristin Billerbeck:

What A Girl Wants
She's Out of Control
With This Ring, I'm Confused

This series is light, fun and another perfect chick lit read for the summer (or any other season). Ashley Stockingdale is trying to get her life together…It’s not too bad; she has a good job and a great group of friends, but she feels like some things are missing…Mainly, a husband, or at least a boyfriend…As she begins to evaluate her status in the dating world she realizes there is a lot more in front of her than she anticipates…and she has a lot more to offer than she gives herself credit for. I started the first book just to see if it would match up to my favorite Shopoholic series…It wasn’t quite as funny, but I still enjoyed it enough to follow Ashley through her various adventures…

Back From the Beach!!

I just came back from our family reunion which was a fabulous time at the beach filled with many books!! So what is the family reading? I started the trip off with The Devil Wears Prada. I actually read it not too long after it came out, but since the movie comes out this weekend and a girlfriend and I plan on seeing it, I figured rereading it wouldn’t be a bad idea…Plus it’s an excellent beach read!

As for the rest of my family…I was happy to see one of my aunt’s reading one of my summer reading spotlight picks: Sophia Kinsella’s The Undomestic Goddess.

These are what my aunts were recommending and reading:
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haru Murakami, which was described as a book that is bizarre, but keeps you reading…
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
My Life in France by Julia Child
Garlic and Sapphires : The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl

Operation Firebrand: Deliverance

A few nights ago I finished the last in the Operation Firebrand series: Operation Firebrand: Deliverance by Jefferson Scott. It was the final book and not too bad. This final book dealt with Christians in North Korea and the struggle they go through. It is a fiction book, but I'm well aware of the Christians living in countries where Christianity is a hidden relationship with Christ, shown only behind closed doors with close friends and/or family who share the same beliefs. So although this book is fiction, the story it told could have been that of any Christian. My eyes were opened with the amazing faith that they prove to have day in and day out, especially those who are willing to share their faith with others despite the knowledge that torture or death await them if they are caught by their particular government. I enjoyed this book because it really took me back to those questions we all ask ourselves at one point or another:

If faced with the option of death (from declaring my faith) or freedom (by denying Christ) what do I choose?

In high school and college I read up on several martyrs, especially those who were in their late teens and early twenties. It's easy right now to say, "Yeah, I'd totally be willing to die for Christ." But if I'm honest, as I was reading this book, I totally tried to put myself in the place of those North Koreans and it was hard. I pray that I'll never be put in that situation, but if I am, I pray that my faith will overcome my fear.

The Right Address

So…I haven’t been on for awhile, however I have been reading away! The first book I read was The Right Address by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman.

A funny side note…My friend and I trade our Chick Lit books back and forth. We’ve gotten into the habit of me buying one book and trading it with her for another and so on. We got together for dinner the other night and she mentioned that she had another book for me, but she’d forgotten to bring it. What book was it? The Right Address! I totally cracked up…Great minds think alike, right? Neither of us mentioned we were buying the book, we both picked it up on a whim!

So the book, I found a bit difficult to get into initially. I’m not sure what it was that caused the lack of focus. Part of it might have been that the subject is just so bizarre (all the more fun to read, but hard to grasp if you're living in reality)…The main character is trying so hard to gain acceptance by her peers that you almost don’t want to read about the situations she gets into for fear of her feelings and what the others might do to her. Her enemies make you want to slap them and although one doesn’t want to trust some of the characters...well...they all surprise you in the end. My friend and I both enjoyed the book...In the end it makes you remember what’s important in life. You have look past some language and some adult descriptions, but otherwise the book was pretty good.

Operation Firebrand: Crusade

I just finished reading a book I came across at my local bookstore. Operation Firebrand: Crusade is written by Jefferson Scott. I was skeptical in the beginning because it felt like my own writing (and I’m an amateur) however as I really dug into the book I found myself not wanting to set it down. A group of Christians are assembled for their second mission (this is the second book in the series of three). They head for the Sudan in an effort to help a local tribe in the south recover some of their families who were captured by Muslim raiders. Two of the members of the team have to face some harsh realities and deal with them in positive and negative ways. The book has some graphic parts, but the author gives a warning and explanation in the first few pages as to why he felt the descriptions were necessary. Unfortunately this book is going to be out of print soon…but Amazon.com has several copies, probably for cheaper than the retail price. I think this book is worth the read!

Do You Believe the Code?

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown is creating a lot of buzz especially with the recent release of the movie. I read the book and I believe that it’s a good read. Factual? Some of it... I believe that this is what is causing all of the confusion. At the beginning of the book Brown gives a list of truths. I think this brings readers to believe that everything is true. I read the book because my friends at work were reading it and I wanted to be able to have an intelligent discussion with them. As I said before, I thought it was an easy read and entertaining. I believe that if you are weak in your faith reading this book might have an effect on you, but no more of an effect than someone else telling you a theory they have about the Bible, God or any other Christian belief.