false 8 227 210 true 5655965 read 4 true 4063622 currently-reading 13 true 4063621 to-read 42 false 4909339 chicklit-romance-womensfiction 36 false 4909374 commercial-fiction 25 false 4909348 childrens 16 false 4909347 nonfiction 16 false 4909321 memoir-biography 12 false 4909349 youngadult 10 false 4909344 classics 6 false 4909404 writing-books 1 false 7903683 fantasy-scifi 1 false 6911448 graphicnovels-manga http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80444380 The Romance Readers' Book Club (Paperback) by Julie L. Cannon
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80444342 Thanks, But This Isn't for Us: The Compassionate Guide to Understanding What's Wrong with Your Writingand Leaving the Rejection Pile for Good (Paperback) by Jessica Page Morrell
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69676427 to: The Wisdom of Crowds (Paperback) by James Surowiecki
bookshelves: nonfiction
Good quote: "It may be, in the end, that a good society is defined more by how people treat strangers than by how they treat those they know." (Page 118)

An interesting read from a sociological perspective (that would be me, trained sociologist reading it). Basically, he proposes that often, crowds are smarter than individuals. Maybe not smarter an expert, but crowds are made up of everyone (experts included) and that often a crowd can predict the correct outcome or the correct weight of an ox--better than any one individual. Isn't that something? ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79123953 to: The Alchemist (Paperback) by Paulo Coelho
bookshelves: commercial-fiction
Did you know he is the 4th most followed author on Goodreads? That's pretty cool. So far, I'm only a few pages in, but I am pleasantly surprised. The reading is light, but has a simplicity that really brings the story to life--effortlessly. Can we say talent?

Later: This is a story about following your Personal Legend. Santiago, a young shepherd in Spain, has a reoccurring dream about finding a treasure. Through a string of omens he finds what he needs to set about following his dream. Over the span of two years, he grows into a man who learns the value of listening to one’s heart whether literally or metaphorically. Although he loses everything several times over during his quest, Santiago discovers that if you are following your true dream, you will always have what you need, doors will open, and you will find yourself fulfilling your dream.

The funny thing about traveling the world to find your treasure (or yourself), is that it can lead you right back to where you started.

This story uses omens quite a bit. While I quite like the idea of omens, I do fear that they can be easy to miss, misinterpret, and even make false assumptions that something might be an omen, when in fact, it isn’t. The question that keeps coming back to me is: How do you know if something is an omen or simply a coincidence? Are there such things as coincidences? Maybe it is as Coehlo often repeats, Maktub. It is written. And when it is written, there simply is no way of getting around it. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78100269 to: The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment (Hardcover) by A.J. Jacobs
bookshelves: memoir-biography
Loving it.

Later note: Loved it. He experiments on himself and then writes about it. What would happen if he spent a month saying nothing but the truth (radical honesty)? What if he tried to behave by George Washington's list of morals? What if he let his wife completely take charge of him for a month? And more, much more.

An editor of Esquire, he takes on these mini-experiments, then shares the personal effects in his short, entertaining essays.

What can I say? It's educational and fun. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78100319 to: Five Cities that Ruled the World: How Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York Shaped Global History (Hardcover) by Douglas Wilson
bookshelves: nonfiction
This isn't a bad book, it just wasn't for me. I was expecting more of a social history and a socio-geographical discussion of the five cities and how they shaped the world (there was some of that), but instead I got a lot of religious history which isn't up my interests alley.

If you like ancient history as well as religious history, this book is for you. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72890222 to: The Giver (The Giver, #1) by Lois Lowry
bookshelves: youngadult
I read this as challenge to myself--read more banned/challenged books.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a fast read that is packed with 'what if' scenarios as a young boy finds his utopian society turning less and less utopian the more he sees behind the curtain. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76823776 to: ePublish: Self-Publish Fast and Profitably for Kindle, iPhone, CreateSpace and Print on Demand (Paperback) by Steve Weber
bookshelves: writing-books
This is a must-have book for anyone who is considering self-publishing either electronically or on paper. It's only 100 pages, but there is so much info, it will be sure to pay off for you. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76692196 to: King by Right of Blood and Might (Paperback) by Anna Walls
bookshelves: fantasy-scifi
An interesting story about a young prince who needs to learn how to become a king and pull his kingdom together. I've met Anna online and feel that she has great potential as an author--she's one to watch. This isn't my usual genre choice, but she had me rooting for the hero and enjoying the story, twists and obstacles that stood in his way. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76691953 to: Something Blue (Paperback) by Emily Giffin
bookshelves: chicklit-romance-womensfiction
This one takes off after 'Something Borrowed' and shows Darcy's side of things. While you might not have liked Darcy in the other story, she grows on you due to Giffin's fantastic characterization. ]]>