Kayce read and liked Dee Toomey's review of A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog:

"This is a heart-touching true account of a man, a wife, and their furry child. I smiled, chuckled, and cried. Dean Koontz has a way with words, whether writting imaginary scenarios, or sharing this story of a most exceptional dog and the effects sh...more This is a heart-touching true account of a man, a wife, and their furry child. I smiled, chuckled, and cried. Dean Koontz has a way with words, whether writting imaginary scenarios, or sharing this story of a most exceptional dog and the effects she had on lifes she touched. Highly recommend(less) "

Kayce read and liked Penny's review of The Love Revolution:

"I had such high hopes for this book. I was so excited when I won it in the goodreads giveaway. I've studied International Development and have always believed that each person must take action to help contribute in solving overwhelming problems rel...more I had such high hopes for this book. I was so excited when I won it in the goodreads giveaway. I've studied International Development and have always believed that each person must take action to help contribute in solving overwhelming problems related to poverty among others.

I apologize in advance to the author and those that enjoyed this book but to gloss over my review on the fear of hurting the author's feelings would be disingenuous and serve no purpose. The funny thing is I agree fundamentally with almost everything Meyer is attempting to put forth. The problem is in the delivery. Because this topic is dear to me I feel as though she has mutilated what could have been a great vessel to helping people understand and be inspired to take action rather than being preached to. To inspire, one must first learn salesmanship. This author made me feel as though I had accepted the cheap Florida holiday and now had to sit through the timeshare pitch. The book needed a story to better put forth the worthwhile message so that it would appeal to a greater audience.

The good

I loved the story of Somebody, Anybody, Everybody and Nobody.

I liked the idea of giving your life away. I hadn't thought of it in those terms before. To completely let go and surrender...terrifying...and freeing.

If nothing else I suppose the book rekindled and confirmed my personal beliefs and, that said, if it inspires one indifferent reader to take action thereby increasing humanity's well-being, then the publication of this book is not a total loss.

The bad

Broadly

The book was too preachy. Her intentions would have been better served had she SHOWN me what is being done so that I could be inspired to jump on the train. She is apparently doing wonderful work and I would have loved to read more about that than to repeatedly be beat over the head with "be good and it will come back to you".

Some specific irks

She seems to suggest that most people are simply not interested in taking action. I completely disagree. You touch any community in the world with a tragedy and people respond. The problem lies in the smaller stuff. I believe in people. We are good at heart and want to do great things if given half a chance. Most of us, however, think too big too soon and end up overwhelmed into inaction. I think this is where Meyer missed the boat. Rather than deeming us all as living selfish inactive lives, she could have focused on being a leader for the good people that simply need guidance.


p.65 "Fathers go to work so their families can have nice lives..." This is just an out of touch blanket statement that offends me.
"according to The State of Our Unions 2005, a report issued by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University the...study said that only 63% of American children grow up with both biological parents -- the lowest figure in the Western world." (http://www.divorcemag.com/statistics/sta...)


p.154 "Lack of encouragement causes depression, despair, failure and divorce" Divorce? I know a few battered women that would disagree.

p.154 God had to show her that nagging her husband would result in negative reactions? This idea of giving credit to God for every single minute detail in life worries me as it can enable irresponsibility.

She writes about taking responsibility but then repeatedly blames Satan as intruding on our idol lives and wreaking havoc. I find this hypocritical. Sometimes "Satan" is a convenient excuse as to why our lives are not what we may like.

To sum up


The message is good. Meyer is obviously a wonderful, caring individual who is doing great things with her life. I am left frustrated however as I know this call to action would have been more effective had she been more creative with it.
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