Two Dogs and a Book

Generous Spaciousness: Responding to Gay Christians in the Church by Wendy Vanderwal-Gritter My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received this book from Brazos Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book offers a non-conventional message about the Christian community acceptance of gay and lesbian Christians. It is an honest conversation on how the church has missed the mark with regards to being God's extended hands towards all our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is also a refreshing outlook on how there are positive changes happening among the Christian community. To say that we understand fully God's will and plan would be pretentious. You cannot put God in a box to serve your agenda. More and more, the Christian community is getting glimpses of God's true plan for His church. We need to drop our pretenses and listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say; if not, He will not be able to change the misconceptions that are deeply anch...

Running A Web Design Business From Home: How To Get Clients, Keep Good Clients and Make Money with Your Home Business by Rob Cubbon My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a very informative booklet on how to start your own Web design business. The booklet is filled with great nuggets and offers the right information to get started. I particularly enjoyed that the author provided the names of awesome tools and where you can find them. This was very helpful. This was a very quick read; well worth my time. View all my reviews

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green My rating: 5 of 5 stars A good book has just the right amounts of laughter, love and tears. The fault of our Stars met these criteria. One of the most touching stories I read in a very long time I read it with the perspective of Hazel's mom. Being a mom of two young adults made me be very vulnerable to the possible transposition of mother-daughter relationship and the heart breaking feeling that no parent wants to outlive their children. I shed many tears while reading this beautiful book and appreciated the fantastic writing style and beautiful prose that fills every pages. This is epic! I understand now why so many people love this book and why they are making a movie based upon it. Just like The Notebook, this book will be a best seller for a very long time. View all my reviews

The Chia Cookbook: Inventive, Delicious Recipes Featuring Nature's Superfood by Janie Hoffman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received a copy of this recipe book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I consider myself a healthy eater and I like cooking with ingredients which promote and improve health. I never had the opportunity to taste or cook with Chia and knew nothing about this super food. I was surprised to read that one little seed contains such powerful nutrients. Each seed contains protein, fiber, omega-3 and so much more. Chia is a tropical or subtropical crop and comes from Mexico, Central and South America, or Australia. Luckily, it is available in most local grocery stores in bags or in bulk. Right from the beginning of the book, I wanted to try this wonder of nature. I found Chia at my local Bulk Barn and tried a few smoothy recipes... all were very delicious. The instructions are easy to follow and the little facts about the food are useful. I wo...

The Glass Ocean by Lori Baker My rating: 1 of 5 stars Last year, I received a copy of The Glass Ocean from Penguin Canada in exchange for an honest review. I am a bit late to write it since the book was published on August 1st 2013. This was a very hard read... slow and painfully repetitive. The entire story can be contained in about 20 pages, but was stretched to breaking point by constant repetitions. The repetitive writing style dragged the story and besought me to quit reading that book over and over. I persisted because of my stubbornness and finally saw the end of it; however I don't have much to say about it. All the characters had major flaws and none stood out as likable. Some scenes in the book were interesting (i.e. the green cloud storm, the mechanical woman looking like Clotilde), but were so few and far between. I hate giving such a low rating to any books, but this book did not have the substance for giving it more than one star. ...

The Keeper of Dawn by J.B. Hickman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. That was almost a year ago. I loved this book! I loved how the author addressed the struggles that come with being a teenager. The emotions that feel more like a roller coaster than a pleasant stroll in the country side. The friendship between four teenage boys that starts while in boarding school and which lasts past the life of the school itself was very touching. The author did a fabulous job at describing the complex family matters that haunted Chris, Rolland, Derek and Jacob. He also provided vivid descriptions of Raker Island which made you feel like you were there. The story is strong and well structured. A fantastic read. View all my reviews

The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received a copy of this book from Penguin Canada in exchange for an honest review. This is the first steampunk book I have the opportunity of reading. I enjoyed the alternate reality story line and the eclectic characters. This book is written for a TA audience. As an adult, the story came through as immature at times; especially when it addressed Charlotte's infatuated feelings. I addressed those with a few rolls of the eyes. Sometimes it was also difficult to believe that a young girl who was not raised in the ways of society, found it so easy to play the part of a debutante. I was expecting more conflicting emotions and feats. I enjoyed reading about the different classes and how they intertwined. Although there were several main personas in the story, they each were unique in their own way. They contributed to the tale as needed without bringing confusion as to who is who. The d...