May 31, 2012

"The Chronicles of Narnia" by C. S. Lewis

At this point, chances are that you are familiar with The Chronicles of Narnia because of the major motion picture or have heard your friends incessantly talk about it; after all, it was written more than 60 years ago by none other than C. S. Lewis.

While many people learn a bit about it, they often tend to simply see it as another stereotypical fantasy novel and just forget about it. Well, it is true that this kind of story is not necessarily for everyone, the land of Narnia is much more than the cookie-cutter fantasy worlds you generally find.

May 28, 2012

"Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World" by Michael Hyatt

When it comes to running a successful business you basically need to have two things: a product worth promoting and a good method of advertising yourself. Needless to say, with the recent rise of people who have tried to go into some kind of business making yourself heard and stand out from thousands of competitors is no small task. 

While there really isn’t one magical trick or piece of advice that will unquestionably allow you to draw everyone’s attention, there are still various tips and instructions which you could benefit from.With this in mind, Michael Hyatt sat down and wrote his book titled Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World.

May 26, 2012

"The Omnivore’s Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Over the centuries the food available to the average Joe has increasingly expanded, thanks in no small part to globalization. Today, we find people eating the most varied meals from a number of different cultures; all the choices available to us beg for the question, “what ought we to eat?”. 

Michael Pollan has decided to look into the matter in his book titled The Omnivore’s Dilemma by taking a close look at the various food institutions which deliver us the goods, tracing the entire process starting from the source itself to when the food finds its way on the table.

May 24, 2012

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth

While Veronica Roth may not be a world-famous author, quite recently she burst on the writing scene with the first chapter in her futuristic trilogy, Divergent. The story in her book takes place in a dystopian future Chicago, where society has been split into five different factions, each one being specialized in the harvest of a virtue.

There are the Amity (peace), Erudite (intelligence), Candor (honesty), Dauntless (brave), without forgetting Abnegation, who cultivate selflessness.Whenever a person in that society reaches 16 years of age, they are forced to make a choice as to which faction they are going to join and devote the rest of their lives to.

May 22, 2012

"Beautiful Disaster" by Jamie McGuire

Human relationships are a very complicated concept to grasp, so much so that an entire branch of the field of psychology was dedicated to studying them. Somewhat unfortunately, most of the books, movies and television shows these days portray human relationships in a simplistic matter, and more often than not it is far too perfect to even be believable. 

In reality, there are countless elements factoring into a human relationship; stress and tension are often just as present as love and affection.In any case, Jamie McGuire chooses to explore a dysfunctional human relationship in his book Beautiful Disaster.

May 19, 2012

"Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson

While many may not have heard of it, operation Red Wings, which happened in late June 2005, ended up being the largest loss of life in Navy Seal history as every single member of the team, save for Marcus Luttrell, ended up dying, mostly at the hands of the Taliban.

Marcus Luttrell, being left all alone after being blown unconscious over a cliff from a rocket grenade blast, had only begun the fight. Even though he was presumed dead, Al Qaeda sent six assassins to finish him off, all of which ultimately failed at their task.

May 17, 2012

"Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden" by Peter L. Bergen

Osama Bin Laden may very well be the most famous criminal in recent history as tragic the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, which cost the lives of more than 3000 people, were claimed by him. Ever since that dark day, the American Government and its people have vowed revenge and set out on a search to eradicate the terrorist. 

Peter Bergen, American author who had actually once interviewed Osama Bin Laden, wrote a book titled Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden in which he extensively covers the man’s life from the 9/11 attacks to the moment where he was found in a cave in Abbottabad.

May 15, 2012

"The Loyalty Leap" by Bryan Pearson

Most marketers who have been swimming in their business for a year or two have probably looked into various methods of collecting information about their clients, and some of them may have even put some methods to work. While most marketers end up finding some kind of way in which to collect data about their audience, they simply have no idea what to do with it. 

After all, once the data has been collected it also needs to be analyzed, discussed and interpreted before it can actually be of any use to you. A marketer needs to be able to use that collected information in order to develop a closer link to the client. 

May 13, 2012

"The Innocent" by David Baldacci

The Innocent by David Baldacci (Book cover)
Many people carry on with their daily lives in the great United States of America without even realizing the kinds of games which are played at the top.

As it turns out, America happens to have a lot of enemies targeting it, and sometimes official channels, such as the police, the FBI, the CIA, and even the military aren’t capable of getting the job done.

May 11, 2012

"I Am America (And So Can You!)" by Stephen Colbert

Good Job! By making it past the title, you have been awarded with three patriotism points. If what you are looking for is to increase your level of patriotism, then I suggest you stick around and read this text entirely; every word read makes you 1% more American. Most of you are probably already familiar with Mr. Stephen Colbert, who has his own show, The Colbert Report. 

If you are not familiar with him, chances are you've been living under a very un-American rock for the past decades; if there is one person who is not afraid to speak his mind, his most controversial opinions openly without any sense of shame, guilt and regret, then that one person is sure as hell Stephen Colbert.

May 9, 2012

"The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein

As most dog owners can testify, their animal is more than just a pet. A dog is a faithful companion which is often a member of the family just as much as anyone else; they may not be human, but that doesn't mean they can’t experience love, affection and happiness. 

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?) dogs are not capable of communicating in the same language as us, which often leaves us to guess as to what they are thinking, and in some cases barking about. Interested by such a puzzle, Garth Stein undertook the task of writing a book titled The Art of Racing in the Rain from the viewpoint of Enzo, a lab terrier mix.

May 6, 2012

"Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon

Practically every famous writer in history has distinguished him or herself from their peers in one way or another, whether it is the amount of thought they put in their descriptions, the length of their stories, recurring peculiarities among characters, etc…etc… 

In recent years, Diana Gabaldon has become one of the most popular writers in North America, and she mainly distinguishes herself by writing long books, often over 600 and 700 pages, all while managing to make them very fast and entertaining reads. One of her most widely-acclaimed books which demonstrates this quality the best is Outlander.

May 3, 2012

"Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese

While many people write books, novels and stories set in fictional universes where the characters undertake epic journeys to accomplish grandiose goals, there aren’t too many out there who are willing to examine the most important thing in most people’s lives: family. 

Nobody wants to see or hear about some family is going through internal conflicts because deep down, we do not even like to think of such things. Three years ago Abraham Verghese, a doctor and a writer, rolled up his sleeves and decided to write a fictional autobiography titled Cutting for Stone, in part based on his own life and experiences. 

May 1, 2012

"I’ve Got your Number" by Sophie Kinsella

Poppy Wyatt is a young woman whose life seemingly couldn’t get any better. She is engaged to a handsome, practically ideal man by the name of Magnus Tavish. However, good things never last (or else there wouldn't be much of a story) and Poppy has the misfortune of being caught in the hotel’s fire drill, during which she loses her engagement ring. The problem is that the engagement ring has been in her future husband’s family for three generations, and on the same day his parents are coming over, she manages to lose the ring.