Friday, September 26, 2014

The Bible: Fiction vs Nonfiction

Is the Bible fiction or nonfiction? For believers, it's clearly nonfiction, but nonbelievers would call it pure fantasy. The argument has raged for centuries, with no sign of stopping anytime soon, but while theologians duke it out, that leaves bookstore owners and librarians in a quandary: Where should they shelve their Bibles without offending anyone on either side of the debate? 

Mega-retailer Costco found itself in the midst of this debate last year when a pastor visited one if its stores in California and found a copy of the Bible amidst the fiction books. The pastor Tweeted about it, and the story became a national debate. Meanwhile a 7th grade student at a California school brought a copy of the Bible to school when his teacher said students were supposed to read a nonfiction book. When the teacher told him the book was fiction, all hell broke loose. Well, not all hell, exactly. But a bunch of folks had to sit down with the principal, which is essentially the same thing if we remember correctly from our school days.

Regardless of whether the Bible is fact or fiction, it has definitely inspired a great deal of literature of both the fictitious and factual variety. In nonfiction aisles at your favorite bookstore you'll find a variety of titles that help people interpret the Bible, such as The Everyday Life Bible: The Power of God's Word for Everyday Living, how the Bible's teachings can help people live their lives such as What the Bible Says about Love, Marriage, & Sex: The Song of Solomon, and of course inevitably there's The Bible for Dummies.

The Bible is also responsible for spawning a number of fiction titles. Some focus on particular characters from the Bible, including Desired: The Untold Story of Samson and Delilah and My Name is Lazarus. Some stories are based on parables in the Bible, which are fictional stories that Jesus told in order to teach lessons to his followers. One example is The Power of Parable: How Fiction by Jesus Became Fiction about Jesus.

Whether you believe the Bible is fiction or nonfiction, there are plenty of books out there to feed your interest in the book. Happy reading!

Friday, September 19, 2014

How to Talk to Hot Guys: The 9 Secrets of Getting and Keeping the Guy of Your Dreams by Mehow with David Crowther

How to Talk to Hot Guys: The 9 Secrets of Getting and Keeping the Guy of Your Dreams by Mehow with David Crowther

Link to buy How to Talk to Hot Guys: The 9 Secrets to Getting and Keeping the Guy of Your Dreams

Story Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Review:

So apparently there's something called the "pickup community," and there are actually people who call themselves "pickup artists." Who knew? Mehow, the author of How to Talk to Hot Guys, is one of that community's best and brightest. It would be interesting to learn whether most members of this community identify as such, and whether they have a formal, organized group, kind of like the National Rifle Association with condoms instead of ammo. But I digress….
How to Talk to Hot Guys is designed to help women attract men. It's for readers who want to talk to hot guys in order to start relationships, as well as those who are looking for a one-night hookup with Mr. Sexy at the end of the bar. The techniques are essentially the same. You zero in on the man of your dreams – or at least a guy who doesn’t physically repel you – and engage in witty banter designed to keep the guy interested and a little off balance. In the process, you have time to determine if this is a guy who you'd like to spend time with. If he is, you can use your sense of humor to turn him into your helpless sex toy. Or the father of your children. Whatever. At that point, it's your call.

It's a great premise for a book. With the right zingers, the most desirable man is putty in your hands. Mehow even offers some suggestions for screening men to make sure you're getting a good one. After all, how many sane women want to embark on a drunken, drama-filled adventure with a non-famous, not-as-attractive version of Charlie Sheen? He also offers tips for women to help them avoid turning off decent guys. After all, how many sane men want to embark on a drunken, drama-filled adventure with a non-famous, not-as-attractive version of Lindsey Lohan?

This book has some flaws, though. First off, the conversation scenarios demand comedic timing and wit that most people don't have access to on the spur of the moment. Sure, if you're writing a book and you have months to think up clever come-backs, it looks easy. It probably wouldn't come as easily during real life conversations. Also, there are all sorts of rules and situations that were impossible to keep straight. Like when's the right time for "tease stacking" versus "sass" versus "harsh implied frames"? And what are "calibration" and "emotional value" again?
Finally, some of the recommended techniques seemed like they wouldn't attract a man so much as make him think you're either out of your mind or a total bitch. For instance, if a guy you've just met tells you, "I stopped playing football after college," a recommended response is, "Is that when you grew a vagina?" Now, that might be a good response for someone you already know fairly well, but walking up to a stranger in a bar and saying that might instead elicit a WTF? response from a lot of guys. Of course, if a man is put off when you talk about his late-onset vagina, then perhaps it's better to know that upfront before wasting too much time on him.

Reviewed by Peter

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Review: Sprouted Soul: Whole Souled Poems by Doobie

Sprouted Soul: Whole Souled Poems by Doobie 



Review:

Sprouted Soul Whole – Loved Poems by Doobie is a collection of rather short poems that describe the soul that learns to hurt and love over and over again. These poems range in descriptions from the use of sight all the way through various forms of weather. There is not a whole lot of description that can be given without giving away the poems.

Doobie provides very short poems that feel rather incomplete. These poems seem to just give a glimpse into the writer’s soul and what they feel when writing the poem. The best poetry comes from the heart and when a poet allows that emotion to shine so does the poem that they have written. Many of these feel as if the writer has forced the words to come forth making the poems lack the impact that the writer wants to convey. However, with all of that said it is obvious that Doobie has talent that as they write will come through so keep your eye on this poet. This particular set of poems receives a 3 out of 5 score simply because of the budding talent that is shown in these poems.

Reviewed by Unrequited Spirit

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Review: All You Need Is Less by Madeline Somerville

All You Need is Less: The Eco-Friendly Guide to Guilt-Free Green Living and Stress-Free Simplicity by Madeleine Somerville

Link to buy All You Need Is Less: The Eco-friendly Guide to Guilt-Free Green Living and Stress-Free Simplicity

Rating: 4 out of 5

At the beginning of Madeleine Somerville's All You Need is Less: The Eco-Friendly Guide to Guilt-Free Green Living and Stress-Free Simplicity, the author says that there should be more emphasis on the "reduce" segment of the environmentalists' "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" war cry. To that end, she focuses on strategies designed to help people acquire and use less stuff. Some of those strategies are more realistic and practical than others.

Everything lands on Somerville's chopping block, from personal care items, to home cleaning supplies, to clothes driers. The idea is that all the everyday products we purchase at the grocery store can be replaced with less expensive, more environmentally friendly alternatives. For instance, you can shampoo your hair with baking soda, shave with coconut oil, clean your home with vinegar, and hang your laundry on a clothesline outside to dry.

It almost goes without saying that Somerville is an advocate for rain barrels, backyard gardening with heirloom seeds, and cloth diapers, but she goes a step further with a chapter about how to improve your relationships and "green" your pets. It's all written in a friendly, easy-to-read style that usually tries to avoid inflicting crushing guilt trips on readers. 

A few things particularly stood out about this book:

1) The author is deeply infatuated with vinegar. She uses it for everything from first aid to housecleaning to hair conditioner. She admits that after using apple cider vinegar as conditioner, her hair might smell a little vinegary if it gets wet and you stick your nose in it, but she believes it's a small price to pay for not having to buy actual hair conditioner that's full of chemicals.

2) Some of the author's ideas are excellent and entirely possible for some people. Drying clothes on a line outside, for example, would work fine during dry, warm weather for people who have backyards with clotheslines. People living in apartments and/or in Minnesota in January are still going to need a drier. Plus there are plenty that are beyond the realm of how much trouble the average person will go to. For instance, traditional leg waxing is out. Instead, you're supposed to mix up a concoction of hot, sticky sugar and reusable cloth strips. Uh, no.

3) This book isn't just about using less stuff – it offers a new lifestyle. A reader can pick and choose which specific techniques work for him/her, but an environmental zealot can use the book to transform every aspect of his/her life.

As thorough and interesting and potentially useful as this book it, it did have a fundamental flaw. Many of the tips and techniques don't actually result in using less stuff; they just change which stuff you're using. For instance, let's say you want to use a skin moisturizer. Somerville says that instead of buying moisturizer which is specifically for that purpose, you should use coconut oil. And if you've got a cat, you shouldn't buy regular cat litter, but instead either buy the more expensive natural kind or make your own using shredded newspaper that you wet then mush together then dry in a process that takes 1-2 days.

Basically, you're not reducing anything. You're still buying and using stuff. You're just using stuff that's not as good as the stuff that you used to use. It's not necessarily even cheaper. Take coconut oil, for example. It's expensive and it comes in jars that you have to throw away, just like the skin lotion that it's supposed to be replacing. So why bother? I've tried to use coconut oil as a skin moisturizer. It's greasy and it gets oily spots on my clothes. The author advises readers to avoid that problem by toweling themselves off after using it, but that adds another step to my post-shower routine. And I smell like coconut, which isn't bad exactly, but it's not as nice as the fragrance in my skin lotion. So, to recap, people are supposed to stop buying expensive skin lotion which moisturizes their skin and smells nice. Instead they should buy expensive coconut oil, which moisturizes skin but leaves a greasy residue that needs to be removed and smells like coconuts. What exactly is being saved here? Especially if the skin lotion you already use is a natural kind that doesn't contain parabens or test on animals.


Overall, All You Need Is Less contains a lot of excellent tips. It's helpful to keep it in perspective, though, and remember that every little bit you do will help the planet. You don't have to follow all these guidelines to make your life a little greener. Realistically, there are a finite number of hours in the day to grow your own food, make your own baby wipes, and give your partner deep tissue massages instead of buying him/her anniversary gifts. And as for me, life's too short to have hair that smells like vinegar.

Reviewed by Peter