It is a well-crafted story, although I feel that if I have not been able to watch the TV series adaptation, it would be a total drag for me. It was ju...moreIt is a well-crafted story, although I feel that if I have not been able to watch the TV series adaptation, it would be a total drag for me. It was just entertaining to get more insights from each characters as each chapter is presented on a specific character's point of view. It is an era novel which I like as well. It is always refreshing to read about a period of time when a man's oath is valued more than gold and when chivalry is still very much alive.
Now, what don't I like about it? The long chapters really don't work for me. I'm still thinking as to whether I'd keep on reading the other books, but at the moment I am gravitating towards just watching the series instead. (less)
When I first saw the book More Than A Bucket List of Toni Birdsong I was under the impression that it will be somewhat similar to 20,000 Days and Coun...moreWhen I first saw the book More Than A Bucket List of Toni Birdsong I was under the impression that it will be somewhat similar to 20,000 Days and Counting, that it will be about a call to action of doing some things that creates greater impact towards the people around you, but more so, that it has the same compelling message of having a sense of urgency. Well, it is somewhat the same thinking about it now, minus the sense of urgency.
I like that the book is broken down in little categories or one paged chapters. Basically it is just a whole bunch of suggestion coming from the author on what items we could put on our own bucket list of things we want to accomplish in our lifetime. The traveling itinerary is rather very lofty and may not be suitable for an average Joe, with minimal dough (hey that rhymes, hehe).
There's just way to many items on the list. Some were as simple as coming up with a resolution to exercise more and sticking to it, and doing some random acts of kindness and gratitude like picking up the check at a restaurant of a police officer or a fireman, or visiting a former teacher who made a positive impact in your life and treating him/her out to dinner, which I actually intend to do sometime this year, and some other really small acts of kindness that is bound to overwhelm the receiver in more ways than one.
The only thing that boggles me about the book is if the author actually had to experience at least 3/4 of the items she wrote there, it would have been much easier to relate to her had she mentioned which items were already ticked off her bucket list. And I guess I wished she talked a little more about her life because I kinda felt that the book was rather impersonal since she has not shared a lot of things about her life and what moved her to write the book.
Over all, it's an OK book for me, rather apt that I picked it up on the first month of the year.(less)
I was glad I picked this book and I must say that I was rather blown away by the simplicity of the concepts presented by Mr. Smith. Truly, brevity is...moreI was glad I picked this book and I must say that I was rather blown away by the simplicity of the concepts presented by Mr. Smith. Truly, brevity is the soul of wit. Robert Smith's 20,000 Days and Counting is packed with universal truths that we all need to be reminded of in our daily lives, for us to have a sense of urgency.
I like the fact that this book is designed to be read in only one hour as the author stated, we need to allot more time for other things that are far more important in our lives. One particular statement he mentioned that I am almost always guilty of is that: We have an amazing ability to over estimate what we can do in the next five years and totally under estimate what we can do in the next fifteen minutes. This totally hit home when I read it because I'm guilty of always procrastinating thinking that I still have so much time and later on trying to finish everything in a frenzy while I try to beat the deadline.
There's a lot of points he raised that are equally important. But the biggest take away that I have of this book is making myself the Problem, as Mr. Smith said - Become your own problem. According to him, by doing so, you thereby take the outside circumstances and bring them inside. And suddenly you have control. We are all guilty of putting the blame on the circumstances, the people around us, management, the government, and the devil of course, but we often times forget to take ourselves into account. And what a paradigm shift that makes when we become our own problem and start evaluating ourselves, what we are good at and what we could improve on.
This book is beyond a good read, really one book you'll read over and over. (less)
I found the book Dirty God by Johnnie Moore rather intriguing when I first saw it and given that most of the ratings it got were high, I opted to requ...moreI found the book Dirty God by Johnnie Moore rather intriguing when I first saw it and given that most of the ratings it got were high, I opted to request for the book to read it as well.
What I like about the book:
- The book started out strong with Johnnie Moore painting a clear picture of the practices of Hinduism in India and the sad reality that those people worshiping one of the many gods that they have, have had to tie up ribbons in the temple and then remove it later on when their prayers have been answered, and that many of the ribbons have been tattered by time signifying that a vast majority of prayers remain unanswered. - After that sad truth, he compares it with the kind of God we have in Jesus Christ, citing various incidents in the Bible when He was approached by needy people and he performed a miracle for them, right then and there, making Him a God who wants to be involved in our lives and a God who wants to deliver us out of our difficult situations. - He shared his personal vision of what the world would be like if all Christian will take action and provide aid to the needy, ailing and hurting.
What I think the book missed:
- I did mention that the author tried to appeal to Christ believers all over the world to take action and dispense of the kind of grace that we ourselves received from Christ, nonetheless, I feel that the author failed to touch on how being able to give the same kind of grace will require the manifestation of the fruits of the holy spirit. The fruits of the Holy Spirit is something that could not be faked and in order to be able to manifest such attributes (if it is apt to refer to it that way), the believer must be truly converted, otherwise, a believer will be unable to love the unlovable, much more turn the other cheek when his other one was slapped.
- Like a child waiting for a doctor's appointment who glances at the clock once in a while, so was the same feeling I got reading the book. After the author mentioned his experience in that Indian temple, I found myself constantly checking how many more pages do I have to go before I get to finish the book. It started out strong but then I got lost in the middle of it. Yes the words were beautifully strung but somewhere in between I find myself asking "what was he saying again?"
- The book doesn't really stand out compared to other books I've read like Combat Faith or the Fight.
This book may be a good read for newly converted Christians but may not be well suited for someone looking for materials regarding spiritual growth and maturity.(less)
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