How to Write a Book Review

Writing a quality book reviews sounds simple... until you need to do one. Learn how to write a book review that will seriously promote the book you read, from someone who writes book reviews for a living.

One of my favorite pastimes is reading. I literally devour books, up to 6 per month. As I am reading, I often realize that what the author is sharing is a profound truth that needs to be realized, and implemented, by more people in our world.I do not have enough reading friends (to tell about the book) to feel satisfied that I played my part in spreading this truth. The solution? I write reviews online.When you write a book review online, you are spreading the news about it. You are creating awareness, and promoting the book.

As people see and read your review, they will most probably be enticed to read the book (if it’s a good review) and the message of the book is spread further and wider.The only question that remains is “How do I write a successful, high-quality book review?” I hope to answer that in the rest of this article.Firstly, a set recipe for creating a book review is not necessarily a good idea. Organic is the new way. People like to read something from the heart, something natural and authentic. Something organic. Therefore, let your emotions and your heart be your guide. Write about books that you feel passionate about (why in the world create a buzz about something you dislike?), but also write the review in a way that communicates your strongest emotions on the subject matter.

Secondly, use short, sharp sentences and paragraphs of four or fewer sentences. Reading an online review is something that you are supposed to enjoy. Fancy, difficult-to-grasp words, complicated sentences or paragraphs that look like pages hardly ever contribute to my enjoyment of reading anything online.

I prefer lots of white space, and writing that communicates FAST.
As a third point, I will consider adding a section on how the book read. You will agree with me that some books read easier than others. Is this book long? Did you need to fetch the dictionary once or twice? How long are the pages? What is the font size used?How many footnotes were used? Did that distract you? All these things are factors contributing to the reading experience. And where better to talk about a reading experience than in a book review?Fourthly, I would consider making the main aim of my review to share the main message of the book. What sells a book is its message, or topic. Share with your readers what this is, in your opinion, and share with them why you are excited about this message.

I prefer never to write about books that I am not excited about, or that I would like to criticize. I am not a criticizer… I just want to promote quality, useful books. Books that will make a difference in other people’s lives.Finally, add some structure to your review. Share your main thoughts in the first few paragraphs, while making sure you introduce the book thoroughly. End the review with a Conclusion, maybe right after telling readers what the book meant to you personally.What better proof is there of the fact that a book is life changing than the testimony of someone who read it? Go on, share your story. Tell those readers how and why this book made a positive impact on your life.

Good reviews conform to certain accepted length guidelines. I would call a 300 word review short, an 800 word review solid, and a 1,300 word review long.So, there you have it. My advice for writing an online book review. What do you do once you have completed it? Good question. You can post it on your own blog, or website.If you are going to publish reviews on your own site or blog, consider rating the reviews. Five stars to a good review and four stars to a fair review. If a book deserves less stars than that, I will not write about it.You can also post reviews on the Amazon website.

Or, you can post it at one of the numerous free article directories. Here you are sure to get the word out, as webmasters and newsletter authors will pick up your review publish it.Have fun reading! And then next time you discover one of those real life-changing books, why don’t you take a bit of time to do a review on it? It might just be a blessing to someone who really needs it.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dries Cronje is the Founder and Webmaster of http://www.BookDisciple.com. He reviews and recommends quality Christian books and other media. To read some of his reviews, visit http://www.bookdisciple.com/christian-book-reviews.html.Dries also writes about his life and ministry on his blog, http://carboncopy.typepad.com. You can follow his posts, or subscribe to the blog’s feed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/CarbonCopyDriesCronje.

How Not to Review a Book

Dear Mr. Ilesanmi:

Dismayed. Disappointed. That was exactly how I felt after reading your review of Mr. Mike Uzor’s book, How to Buy and Sell Shares in Nigeria, published in Financial Standard of December 20, 2004. I should have said that I was dismayed, but not disappointed. Because that was my first time of reading your “review.” For I do not know if you used to write masterpieces. Perhaps, you wrote the said “review” on your “bad” day.

In one of my published books, How to Write a Best-seller, I wrote that the author that would write an error free manuscript has not been born. That includes myself.

Great writers like Miguel Cervantes who wrote Don Quixote and James Joyce the author of Ulysses made mistakes. Bill Clinton’s book, My Life, is said to be short on editing. And Tom Clancy himself pays an editor $2.50 per word to proof read his works.

So, writers are susceptible to slips, errors. In that review, however, you not only betrayed a shocking ignorance of the rules of English grammar but also an abysmal incompetence about how to review a book. The review reads part biographical and part lazy student’s book summary.

You don’t start a book review by devoting five long opening paragraphs in a twenty paragraph work to announce the degrees and honors garnered by the author. That is not the first thing the reader wants to know. In fact, that blaze of glory biography; that “I hail thee” guitar in hand introduction, passes you off as a paid praise singer, not a book reviewer. Not that I detest paying book reviewers to do reviews. But there must be “a method to the madness” according to the bard, William Shakespeare.

If your method is to first give your readers a long list of the author’s degrees and awards, I think that you will be at a loss if you were to review literary greats like Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, and many others. Because they had no degrees.

One could see how you were desperately reaching your hand into your vocabulary bag to qualify the out of this world author who “bagged his first degree”; was “founding business editor”; reported for “both local and foreign publications”; is “concretely grounded in management consulting”; has “become a renowned financial analyst / investment adviser”; is “a regular commentator on macro-economic policy matters”; and now “managing director / chief executive.” Thank heavens! I thought it wouldn’t end. Even the Nobel Prize winners didn’t get that citation. Ask your brother, Professor Wole Soyinka.

A prose work should be lively, jazzy. But when I finished reading the excellent biography, and went into the “review,” I was confronted in every paragraph by the following sins of literature: repetition (the word sub-concept was mentioned seven times); redundancies ( “According to this author on how to become a shareholder, you can either become a shareholder . . .”); ineffective sentences (“On a how to beat inflation, this author didactically illuminates that with inflation rate rising and interest rate falling under heavy government pressure on banks as we have seen over the past few years, if you are earning less than inflation rate on your money, then you run the risk that the real value of your savings is being washed off by rising consumer prices”); disjointed paragraphs ( one long sentence per paragraph as the one above); meaningless words (“didactically illuminates”); quoting a bad sentence (“For many people who are quite interested in share INVESTTING”); circumlocution (“ In addition to these 15 basic chapters, there is another section, a textual appendage of sort.”)

I was ashamed reading through those sentences. In the name of the muses, what do these mean? “The sub-concepts of what a share is”; “the sub-concepts of what you should know”; “this author nationally x-rays the sub-concepts of the possibility of risk in share-making”; “this financial analyst examines the sub-concepts of the basic nature of unit trusts”; “the concepts of what to consider”; “the sub-concepts of starting to invest”; “the simplicity of conceptual presentation.” You actually have a romantic attachment for that word, sub-concept.

Then toward the end of the “review,” you played smart by trying to correct a few grammatical errors in the book. Like telling us that presently (American) should have been currently or at present (British). That was good editing—straight from the 6th edition Oxford dictionary (page 919 box).

The point is that it is not necessary for a reviewer to make a list of the badly written words of the author and publish it on the pages of a newspaper or magazine. You can do that if the review is for the eyes of the author only.

Not many writers like it—especially if the reviewer has been paid to do the work. He could simply say in his review that the book needs editing. You know the saying about those who live in glass houses that take delight in throwing stones.

That old saying became poignant to me as I read the next sentence explaining the reason for your correction: “to achieve a high level of GRAMMATICALITY.” To tell you the truth, when I read that sentence, I thought that a stray missile had just come from the Middle-East and landed on my desk. I docked. Grammaticality? Where did you get that?

I don’t know what the author of the book must have done after reading the “review.” I guess he must have been full of thanks to you for letting his “great” book appear in your newspaper. If so, he got it all wrong. You did him a great disservice.

The book was about buying and selling of shares. Now, let me answer your question: “Do you aspire to make money through buying and selling of shares?” My answer is yes, but not by reading the book that you have just “reviewed.” You killed it!

There are some things that good editors and reviewers do. First, they cross check facts with other editors. Second, they read good reviews in respected newspapers and magazines. You can find excellent book reviews in London Review of Books and The Spectator.

Those of us who are in the writing business should have the humility to learn. There is more to editing than sitting in swivel editorial chairs behind huge mahogany desks, looking through tinted glasses like mine, and giving deadlines to less privileged reporters. Writers should know that their writings are read by authorities in the language—and that includes the native speakers. So, there is need for us to strive for perfection—to write living, meaningful prose.

In those good old days, students learnt English by reading newspapers and magazines. "Not anymore," according to Raven the bird. These days, everyone is a writer and an editor. I remember a principal lamenting that an English graduate job applicant couldn’t write an application letter. It is as bad as that.

But I am happy that there are a few humble ones. Not long ago, I was discussing editing with the head of the English department of a prestigious university. I was surprised when she admitted to me that she gives her works to a junior lecturer, who she says is good in the language, to edit for her. When I heard that, I thought I was transported to the ideal world of Sir Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis. And my respect for her grew from that day on.

If you like truth, your prose was drab, breathless, dead. Just to tell you how bad it is, you never for once mentioned the title of the book in your "review." What I kept seeing were references like: "According to this author, the production of the book"; "Structure-wise this book is segmented into 15 chapters"; "Chapter two of this book"; "Stylistically speaking, this book is a success." I kept asking myself, Which book is he referring to?

I could only find the book's image, not an existing book title that was being referred to. You just wrote dangling modifiers. The GRAMMATICALITY of the “review,” therefore, is hopelessly wanting.

Writing is not a crossword puzzle. Or a game of charades. Good prose should be clear-- devoid of ambiguities. There should not be sentences like: "The witches said to Macbeth." Because what they told him has two meanings.

There is one thing about truth--it is hurtful. It is not the same as drinking a cup of honey. This letter will test your humility because truth has been a relative “concept” ever since Pontius Pilate asked Jesus Christ, “What is truth?” And I will tell you another truth: you could do better.

Enjoy your writing.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur Zulu.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arthur Zulu is an editor, book reviewer, and author of Chasing Shadows!, How to Write a Best-seller, A Letter to Noah, and many others. For his works and free help for writers, goto:
http://controversialwriter.tripod.com
mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com

Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind – Book Review

Wizard’s First Rule is the first Terry Goodkind book in the Sword of Truth series which is also the basis for the ABC television series Legend of the Seeker. This is a review of this remarkable book.

This isn’t your typical epic fantasy book. Yes, it has all of the normal trappings you would expect such as an epic sized quest, plenty of conflict, and of course a dragon or two. This book has all those things but it has significantly more. In Wizard’s First Rule Goodkind shows us more than just an epic adventure story where our hero attempts to save the world from ruin.

Our hero is named Richard Cipher and we adventure with him on a journey to becoming a seeker. A seeker’s role is to find the truth in things and a seeker’s sword has the word “Truth” engraved on it. And it is in this journey to find truth that Goodkind takes this story from just a story to a real exploration of truth and the nature of good and evil. There are many conversations and situations that explore the bipolarity of good versus evil and the grey area that lies between the two. Doesn’t it make sense that even the evilest of men believes that what he is doing is righteous? Yes it does and Goodkind takes a good hard look at this. He raises questions in your mind about the whole nature of truth and the real commitment it takes to find the real truth. This is an intelligently written book that gives you more than just a story. It gives you lots of food for thought.

Unique Twist on the story

A typical and effective tool that a writer will use is to put our hero on a time limit -as time counts down the tension builds. It is very effective writer’s tool and in this novel Goodkind puts a nice spin on this. He puts the evil bad guy on a timer. Our protagonist (Darken Rahl) has a very specific time limit if he is to achieve his personal goals that will bring ruin down on the world. And our hero, along with a small group of companions can foil it all if they can just hold things off long enough for time to run out. It’s a wonderful reversal of the usual time limit based story.

The Story and Writing

The story and writing are superb. There are some interesting and surprising plot twists and things that happen. In other words you go along for quite a wild and exciting ride. And there are some unique fantasy themes and ideas like the Boxes of Orden and the Book of Counted Shadows which are both central to the story and quite unique.

Avoiding some of the Pitfalls of typical epic fantasy

One of the biggest problems I run across with epic fantasy series is the complexity they often contain. Many series of books have enormously complex worlds with a cast of characters that numbers in the scores if not hundreds. This complexity can get very confusing as various factions, lordships, families, and bloodlines partake in the story. In Wizards First Rule there is none of this. We are introduced to the central characters early in the book and as the story progresses we meet a small number of new characters that are central to the story. It all flows very smoothly and it all stays on target. You won’t have to take any notes to keep track of all the characters.

Theme and Reading level

This book is not for children or for the faint of heart. There is some graphic violence and an extended torture scene that you will find unsettling. I found it uncomfortable to read and this is exactly the point that Goodkind was trying to make. If you want to carefully study the ethics and morals of the battle between good and evil you have to fully show both sides of this coin – both the good in all its goodness and the evil in all its dark and unsettling reality. The only real way to defeat evil is to first see it and acknowledge it.

Wizard’s First Rule is an intelligently written and exciting epic fantasy story that goes beyond just a story. It is also an examination of ethics, values, morals, and the perpetual battle between good and evil. It will make you think about the nature of the struggle and the real purpose of the hero.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For a guide to lots of great information about fantasy on the web visit his site at: The Fantasy Guide – Your guide to Fantasy Books

If you want to learn more about the television series Legend of the Seeker which is based on The Sword of Truth: Legend of the Seeker

How to Get Her Back for Good - Review

How to Get Her Back for Good - Review

Nearly everyone has an ex-lover’s story to tell. Right at this moment, you may be going through a painful break up. You have dreamt of spending of spending your entire life with your girlfriend and suddenly you see that dream fading away. The reason for the break up may be that your girlfriend just needs some space. Perhaps, she wants to move on in her life. You may agree with her decision at the time and try to get on with your life too. But some way or another, you are unable to forget her and want her to be back in your life.

You may find many people coming up to you and advising you to get over her. However, you still cannot forget about the relationship that you shared with your ex-girlfriend and are not ready to give up on the bond you’ve shared. For people like you, there is a solution to get your ex-girlfriend back and the solution is in the form of an e-book titled How To Get Her Back For Good.

The author of the book is Dr. George Karanastasis, a physician by profession. He wrote his book based on his own broken relationships. He wanted to teach other people the correct ways to get back their ex-girlfriends back in their lives. How to Get Her Back for Good helps people realize why all the methods that they had used to get back their ex-girlfriends failed. The author also explains that promising to change will not help you bring your partner back.

Dr. Karanastasis also covers the pain that people suffer after losing their lovers for the second time after starting the past relationship afresh. In the e-book How To Get Her Back For Good, Dr Karanastasis shares the secrets of using women psychology along with five different positive ways to get your ex-girlfriend back in your life.

The e-book is based on the author’s personal experiences and knowledge along with some well-researched techniques. Dr. George Karanastasis has made an in-depth study of thousands broken relationships and studied the methods that people used to get their ex-lovers back. By doing so, the author came to know about several common mistakes that men do while trying to get their ex-girlfriends back. How To Get Her Back For Good may help you to get your lover back in your life and put your relationship back on track.

Erin Segarra, an independent reviewer of downloadable products, has reviewed the e-book How to Get Her Back for Good. For more reviews, go to how-to-get-her-back-for-good

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"The Memory Keeper's Daughter", by Kim Edwards, a Book Review

Sometimes you find a book that fits everything you've ever thought a book should be.

No one told me about "The Memory Keeper's Daughter," by Kim Edwards. But I knew I was about to undertake a grueling several days and I wanted a good book to escape to. So I walked into Borders, and strolled right to the book in question and bought it.

My days would be taken up with an Advanced Cardiac Life Support course coupled with oral and written tests, plus having to know things I already knew but needed to feel more confident about knowing, such as the recogniton of cardiac rhythms, knowledge of cardiac drugs in the event of sudden cardiac arrest, stroke or collapse.

The book immediately reveals the story line, most all of the characters, and pulls you in by the end of the very first chapter with poetically beautiful narrative.

Throughout the book, the author brings all five senses and mixes them with nature images and mind dreams to illustrate points, develop the character and story line.

The book begins with a young married couple deeply in love and nine months pregnant, going into labor in the middle of an unexpected and rare snowstorm in Kentucky.

The husband is an Orthopedic doctor. When his wife goes into labor, they arrange to meet the Obstetrician at the husband's Orthopedic clinic. The Ob doctor crashes in the snow storm and the husband must deliver the baby.

His nurse is also present to assist in this momentous occasion.

The first chapter ends dramatically when the mother delivers not one but two babies. One is a healthy baby boy, the other is a girl with Down's, or Trisomy 21.

The year is 1964.

This is a moment that changes the course of everyone's lives; the doctor, his wife and nurse for the doctor decides the baby girl must go and live in an institution and he gives the baby to his nurse to take the baby there.

He tells his wife that the baby is dead.

The nurse cannot follow through with leaving the baby at the institution, so she leaves town with the baby and raises her.

All this in a few short pages.

Much has changed since 1964. Now we perform a marker test for Downs between 16 and 19 weeks. If the baby does have the marker, an amniocentesis is offered. If this is definitive for Downs, the parents have the choice to terminate the pregnancy.

Markers in early pregnancy have also been developed but most health insurance carriers will not pay for this expensive test.

If parents decide to keep the baby, they have time to prepare mentally, spiritually and psychologically for what is sure to be a challenge.

This book is about a secret that hangs like a thunder cloud, following these pivotal characters throughout the book.

Mom knows subliminally but does not know consciously.

Her husband becomes distant and unreachable from the time he tells his wife this lie throughout their entire marriage.

Demons, shadows, nightmares.

I spoke to a former head of Pediatrics who is now retired. He said years ago, when a Downs baby was born, the Pediatrician routinely counseled the family to give the child immediately over to an institution.

Usually the husband made this decision often over the wishes of the mother. My friend said this caused huge conflict in families, and many of these couples eventually divorced, at a time when divorce was not popular.

Conflict, angst, total sadness and great loss.

So our character in The Memory Keeper's Daughter acted as others acted at the time and made a decision that was commonly made.

At this point, we could discuss such ethical issues as eugenics, abortion, and infanticide, but these are beyond the scope of this article.

As a Labor and Delivery nurse, I also serve on what is called the Bereavement Committee, serving those parents whose babies have died.

We have more than our share of pregnancy losses, premature babies who teeter on the edge between life and death, and yes, several Down's babies are born every year, as well.

The main concern is whether a family has the resources to care for these beautiful and loving children.

Do they have the family support, dedication and committment?

Waldorf educational methods are tailor made to help special needs children.

Walforf education was developed by Rudolf Steiner in Europe in the 1920's. There are currently more than 500 Waldorf schools worldwide, and Waldorf has been in North America for 75 years.

Waldorf is based on the view that the human being is a being of body, soul and spirit. The Waldorf approach to education attempts to bring together all elements of a child's development: intellectual, artistic, and spiritual.

Its goal is to produce individuals who are able to function independently and create the meaning for their own lives themselves, and not have to rely on others to do this for them.

Waldorf educational methods are diametrically opposed to those that forms the basis for most public school systems.

Waldorf education is intended to preserve the integrity of the individual student; not to turn them into conformists. Waldorf educational methods are effective for all students but are particularly helpful in the case of special needs children.

Special needs children will have strengths in areas not developed in the standard public educational systems. Waldorf methods will address these strengths, and child will experience significant increases in self-esteem as a result of their success. Special needs children often have very limited experience in being successful in a school environment and respond rapidly and positively when they are given a chance to demonstrate their competence.

But the most profound benefit of using Waldorf educational methods to help special needs children is that they encourage the children to develop as independent, self-reliant individuals, able to function and meet life on their own terms, rather than passively looking to others for guidance.

This paves the way for a lifetime of successful self determination for the special needs child taught by Waldorf educational methods.

On the East Coast, Beaver Run and Spring Valley Waldorf Communities serve Special Needs People from youth to old age and death. What a wonderful alternative to an "Institution."

This is an enlightened alternative to an otherwise bleak life of dependence.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter was alive and wonderful. Read it if you haven't already.

And In-Joy!!


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Kate Loving Shenk is a writer, healer, musician and the creator of the e-book called "Transform Your Nursing Career and Discover Your Calling and Destiny." Click here to find out how to order the e-book:
http://www.nursingcareertransformation.com Check Out Kate's Blog:
http://www.nursehealers.typepad.com
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Top 5 Books to Learn Magic Tricks

I’m often asked by both adults and kids about where they can learn more about the Art of Magic. In this article, I’ll recommend top 10 magic books a newcomer to the Art of Magic should consider. The good news is the majority of these books are available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble bookstores.

1. Mark Wilson’s Complete Course in Magic by Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson’s book is the modern equivalent of a condensed version of the Tarbell Course in Magic series. Wilson’s book introduces readers to a wide variety of magic ranging from card tricks, coin tricks, rope magic, mental magic, impromptu magic and even stage illusions! It teaches the fundamentals of magic technique and is well illustrated.

2. A Book of Magic for Young Magicians : The Secrets of Alkazar by Allan Zola Kronzek

This is one of the best books on handling key cards and has excellent presentations for classic magic effects. It is written as a kids book but it has a lot of great tips and handling for common magic effects. In one lesson Alkazar demonstrates an entertaining magic trick and a boring magic trick. Both use the same method yet the book explains the importance of presentation.

3. Now You See It, Now You Don’t Lessons in Sleight of Hand by Bill Tarr

Bill Tarr’s book provides a well illustrated introduction to sleight of hand. If you want to learn how to make cards, coins, and silks disappear and reappear, this book provides an excellent introduction. He also wrote a second book called The Second Now You See It, Now You Don't.

4. New Modern Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo

Coin magic is a lot of fun to perform since coins are readily available, fit in your pocket, and can be borrowed to perform mysterious and entertaining feats of prestidigitation. Bobo’s Modern Coin Magic provides an excellent resource on all the key vanishes, retentions, concealments and sleight of hand required to perform coin magic. The book also has several chapters dedicated to various classic effects in Magic such as Coins Across, The Miser’s Dream, and Coin Boxes. Bobo’s Coin Magic a must in any magician’s library!

5. The Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue

The Royal Road to Card Magic is an inexpensive book that is jam packed with card magic. Beginners and experienced magicans can benefit by reading the Royal Road and reviewing the different concepts and ideas on sleight of hand card magic. One of my magic mentors recommends that every magician – experienced and new – should review the Royal Road to Card Magic as it acquaints the reader with the fundamentals of card magic.


These books aren’t the only magic books I’d recommend but for the magic newbie, these are great books to start learning about the art of magic. There are thousands of books, DVDs, and articles available on the Art of Magic. In future articles, I’ll explore a few more useful resources to learn about Magic.

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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_556832_32.html

In addition to his day job as an IT manager, Andy Makar is a freelance writer, instructor and a life-long Magic enthusiast. He started Learn Magic Tricks at http://www.kapoof.com as resource for parents, kids, and hobbyists to learn more about the art of Magic. He can be reached at andy@kapoof.com

http://www.kapoof.com

Thank you Dr Seuss for Fantastic Children’s Books

Yes, Dr Seuss was a real person though his name was Theodor Seuss Geisel and he was called Ted. He wrote over 40 children’s books and all of them remain popular to this day because he made reading such fun. His success is attributed to his controlled use of vocabulary, simple text, humor, repetition, rhyme, his choice of words, imaginative illustrations and original characters. The books teach the skills that young readers need and inspire them to continue their reading journey.

Theodor Geisel first wrote under the name Seuss when he was a student at Dartmouth College. A party thrown by Ted and his friends resulted in Ted being asked to give up all his extra-curricular activities. He was editor-in-Chief of the College’s humor magazine at the time, so to continue to contribute to the Jack-o-Lantern without the administration’s knowledge, he began signing his work with the pen-name Seuss (which was his mother’s maiden name as well as his middle name).

After Dartmouth, Ted went to Oxford and it was during one of his classes there that his doodling caught the eye of a fellow American student named Helen Palmer and she suggested that he should become an artist instead of a professor. He found that he liked her advice and began to work as a cartoonist. (He liked more than her advise because they later married!)

Ted worked in advertising for 15 years but was a regular contributor to humor magazines, writing under the name Dr Seuss. With the arrival of World War II, Ted sought a commission with naval intelligence where he made animated movies relevant to the war effort.

In the latter years of the war, he began writing children’s stories, beginning with “And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street”.

His turning point came when he was asked to write a children’s primer using 220 new-reader vocabulary words. While schools were reluctant to adopt “The Cat in the Hat” as an official primer, children and adults showed no such restraint and clamored for copies.

The success of “The Cat in the Hat” elevated Dr Seuss from a pioneer in the field of writing and illustrating children’s books to a respected authority, a position he has held ever since. His book “Green Eggs and Ham” came about when his publisher, Bennet Cerf wagered that he couldn’t write a book using 50 words or less! Cerf had the vision to see that Ted was going to turn the children’s book world upside down and he created Beginner Books. His relationship with Dr Seuss as publisher and close friend lasted many years.

Ted, or Dr Seuss as we think of him, enjoyed writing entertaining books that encouraged children to read. However he was also concerned with moral and environmental issues and his book “The Lorax” has the theme of someone building a profitable business for themselves at the expense of a natural resource and those who depended on it for their survival.

Ted loved funny hats. He would wear them when he had writer’s block and often also at dinner parties at his home. If guests didn’t arrive wearing one, they were loaned one from Ted’s collection!

Dr Seuss received many honors for his work, not least a Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, given to an author or illustrator whose books have made a substantial contribution to and lasting impact on children’s literature.

Over the course of his long career, Ted Geisel wrote over 40 books, mostly under the name Dr Seuss, but over a dozen as Theo. LeSieg and one as Rosetta Stone. Nearly 30 of his Dr Seuss books have been adapted for television or video.

At the time of his death in September 1991, 200 million copies of his books, translated into 15 different languages had been sold and sales continue to climb as children (and adults) the world over discover and re-discover his delightful tales and at the same time learn important lessons in tolerance because, despite their differences, all of his characters are portrayed as being just as important as any other, as he says “A person’s a person, no matter how small” (from Horton Hears a Who).

Thank you Dr Seuss!

I hope you have found this article of value. Reading to my own children and grandchildren has been one of the bright spots in my life. I firmly believe reading to children helps to create a strong bond between you that lasts for a lifetime.
For more information on the best children's book to read to, and with, your young child, please visit my website at http://www.fabfamilies.net or email me on

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16 Christian Book Reviews

For those of you are who are looking for some good reading covering a wide variety of topics, here is a list of some very good books covering some very interesting topics. Each one of these authors are truly anointed in their teachings and you cannot go wrong with their specific teachings on the subjects they are discussing in each of these books.

1. "Approval Addiction: Overcoming Your Need to Please Everyone" by Joyce Meyer

I believe Joyce Meyer to be one of the very best Bible teachers we have in the Body to-date. In this book, she gives you very good commentary and insight on the problem many of us have today in trying to please anyone and everyone. Many people have been set free from her teachings and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has this particular problem in their thinking and how they relate and interact with others.

2. "Battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyer

Another very solid book from Joyce Meyer. The Bible tells us that we are transformed by the renewing of our "minds." As a result, our minds are the battlefield between God, the devil and our flesh. Each Christian has to learn to how to walk in the Spirit and the ways of our God and stay away from wrong type of thinking that can eventually lead us into trouble that can end up bringing down major misfortune and trouble into our lives.

You are what you think. You can become what you think. That is why the devil and his demons will always try to go after your mind and your thought process - in order to try and seduce you into their dark ways of living in this life as versus the Lord who will try and to lead us into His ways of thinking and living in this life. This is one of the best books she has ever written and she discusses one of the most important areas of spiritual development in a believer's life.

3. "Be Anxious For Nothing: The Art of Casting Your Cares and Resting in God" by Joyce Meyer

In the fast-paced, high-stress world in which we now all live in, many people are having a hard time in finding any true peace. They are worrying about anything and everything. One of the greatest commands given to us by our Lord is to learn how to be anxious for nothing. Joyce does a very good job in covering the appropriate Scripture verses on this command and some of the ways you can learn how to do this in your own personal life.

She gives very good examples of how she learned how to do it for herself as she used to be constantly worrying and complaining about everything. Once she was able to grasp this powerful revelation and truth from God's Word, and then learn how to really get it worked into her mindset and way of thinking and living in this life, she was then able to settle down and enjoy this life much more fully.

4. "Your Best Life Now" by Joel Osteen

This book has become a national bestseller. This man truly flows with knowledge and revelation from the Lord and you cannot go wrong with any of his solid biblical teachings. He has one of the biggest churches in America.

I know some have criticized him as being too seeker-sensitive in some of his sermons, but I believe this man is truly anointed by the Lord and this book will give you much practical, down-to-earth knowledge and wisdom on how to get the most out of your life in the Lord with what He is calling you to do for Him.

5. "God's Generals: Why They Succeeded" by Roberts Liardon

For those of you who would like to learn about some of the saints in the past who have walked with higher levels of the anointing such as Smith Wigglesworth, Kathryn Kuhlmann, Aimee Semple Mcpherson and Marie Woodworth-Etter - this book will give you all of the basic fact of their ministries, how they all got started and some of the incredible things that had occurred in their ministries for the Lord.

This book is a fascinating read into saints who were not afraid to push the envelope with God and how they learned how to walk with some of the highest levels of the anointing that any human has ever walked before. There is much to learn from both their successes and some of their failures. This is the only book I know that goes into very good basic detail into all of these people's lives.

6. "The Holy Spirit" by Billy Graham

A very good, solid book on the Holy Spirit from one of the greatest evangelists of all time. He goes into the 9 gifts and 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit, along with showing you how the Holy Spirit convicts and leads sinners to the Lord for eternal salvation. This book is solid teaching from start to finish covering everything from who the Holy Spirit is and how He will work to lead us into a deeper and closer walk with the Lord. I believe this book to be one of the best teaching books on the Holy Spirit and the personal ministry that He has with each one of us as we journey through this life.

7. "Maximizing the Moment: God's Action Plan for Your Life" by T. D. Jakes

T.D. Jakes is without question one of the greatest teachers and pastors we have in the body to-date. To those of you who have seen him preach and teach on his regular TV show, he is one of the most anointed speakers in the area of motivating the saints to become everything that God is calling them to become in Him in this life. This man is one of the most intense and on-fire teachers you will ever see.

This book goes into very good detail on how to maximize with whatever God is calling you to do for Him in this life. He covers how to get released from your hurtful past and how to face and overcome obstacles and roadblocks that will come your way once you fully submit to God and start to walk in the divine destiny that He has set up for your life.

8. "Loose That Man and Let Him Go!" by T. D. Jakes

Another great book - especially geared for men. Like the book above, he gives very good insight and commentary on how to break free from your past, no matter how bad it may be, into the divine destiny that God has set up for you to follow in Him. Another great motivational book on getting the saints of God out of the dugout and into the real game of life - which is God's call and individual plan for your life.

9 "Called to Be God's Leaders" by Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby

A great insightful book into Joshua and how and why he became so successful in everything that he accomplished for the Lord as he was the leader that led the Israelites from the wilderness into the Promised Land. This is a great book for all saints who who called by God to enter into any type of leadership position in the Body. The two subtitles of the book are "Lessons From the Life of Joshua" and "How God Prepares His Servants for Spiritual Leadership." Joshua was one of the greatest men in God with everything that he accomplished in his life and these two authors do a great job in isolating the specific factors that were some of the reasons for his major success in the Lord.

10. "The Devil's Door" by John Bevere

John Bevere is another great author and teacher in the Body today. In this great book, he covers how the saints need to stay out of the dark side of this life and what can happen if we do not stay on our side of the fence with the Lord. He also covers whether or not a Christian can lose his salvation in the Lord. Just because we have been saved does not give us the right or license to keep on sinning. Very good practical insight on living a good and righteous life for the Lord.

11. "Elijah" by Charles Swindoll

This man has written several powerful books on some of the greatest saints of the Bible. This one is on Elijah, who probably walked with one of the greatest anointings that any man has ever walked with in both the OT and NT. Probably one of the best books ever written on Elijah's life and what we can all learn from this saint's amazing journey and adventures with the Lord.

12. "Joseph" by Charles Swindoll

Another great book from Mr. Swindoll, with this one being on the life of Joseph. You have all heard your pastors talking about Joseph going from the pit to the palace. This books goes into very good detail on everything that occurred in this Joseph's life and how we all need to hold fast to the Lord like Joseph did even in the most trying of circumstances - and if we do, then sooner or later we will be rewarded by the Lord.

13. "Paul" by Charles Swindoll

This book from Mr. Swindoll is on the life of Paul. I believe Paul to be the greatest of all of the NT apostles and this book gives you all of the basic facts of this man's journey and adventure with the Lord. Again, there is much to learn from his story in the Lord and much we can incorporate into our own personal walks and journeys with the Lord.

14. "David: A Man of Passion and Destiny" by Charles Swindoll

King David ended up becoming the greatest of all of the kings of Israel. God gave this man two of the highest compliments when He said that David was a man after His own heart and that David was a man who would do all of the will of God for his life. Mr. Swindoll once again goes into very good basic detail on the main parts of this man's life in the Lord and why he ended up becoming one of the greatest saints in the OT.

15. "Handbook of Todays' Religions" by Josh McDowell

This is a fantastic reference book for those of you who would like basic information on not only on all of the major false religions of the world, but also on the many different areas of the occult and New Age Movement. This book even goes into some of the basic secular areas such as atheism, Marxism and secular humanism. Very solid book that provides a wealth of information and knowledge right at your fingertips on all of these different areas. To be forewarned with knowledge is to be properly armed - especially in the type of world we live in with so may people falling into some these heavy demonic areas.

16. "Sparkling Gems From the Greek" by Rick Renner

This book is an excellent daily devotional. Rick Renner is one of the very best teachers in the Body of Christ. In this gem of a book, he has a specific teaching for every day of the week. What is unique in his teaching style is that he will translate words from the original Greek that the New Testament was written in.

In the 365 daily devotions that are in this book are more than 1000 in-depth Greek word studies so as to help you understand the specific words being used in each of the Scripture verses he is teaching on. Rick covers a wide variety of topics in this very anointed book. You simply can't go wrong with any of this man's solid biblical teachings. The Bible tells us to grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord and Savior - and you will definitely grow in the knowledge of God if you meditate on many of this man's and teachings and writings.

Article written by Michael Bradley, where you can get 20% off retail on the above books at his online Christian Bookstore.

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A Review Of The Magnetic Sponsoring Book

Magnetic Sponsoring is a physical book that teaches network marketing distributors how to generate leads and cash flow for network marketing businesses.

Mike Dillard, the founder of the Magnetic Sponsoring series and Better Networker community forum claims that his ‘funded proposal’ system will help network marketers in any business opportunity to build a ‘hands-free’ name list on autopilot and generate cash from those leads even if they do not join you in your downline.

Traditional network marketing prospecting methods are often criticized of being obsolete, filled with flaws and ineffective at best. Prospecting methods such as cold calling strangers and dead beat leads is one of them. Other forms include running expensive opportunity meetings in the hotel and pestering your close friends and relatives to participate in your business by ‘supporting’ you.

People frown upon these prospecting techniques because they fear rejection, are not easily duplicated by the downline in the network and often resort to hard selling methods in order to ‘close’ the prospect. Practitioners of the traditional methods are often faced with insurmountable challenges and often, at the cost of friendships being destroyed in the process.

Mike Dillard uses the Magnetic Sponsoring method differently. As he outlined in his Magnetic Sponsoring book, he believes that by using the principle of attraction marketing, distributors are able to turn the tables by becoming the hunted instead of the hunter. What this means is that distributors will be able to easily attract prospects to them simply by virtue of leveraging on their credibility and expertise without hard selling those prospects at all. The result? Branding the distributor as an expert in the field where they draw prospects to them by getting the prospects to ‘raise their hands’ first.

Dillard also teaches distributors about the execution of the funded proposal system by using the Internet to generate leads into the sales funnel. Most network marketing reps run out of business leads when building their network marketing business after awhile. They write a name list of their friends and family and once their list runs out, they are at a loss what to do next. Magnetic Sponsoring teaches reps how to generate cash flow while building that list and it is a list of targeted, qualified prospects that are genuinely looking for a business opportunity or a way to change their finances.

At the end of the day, the Magnetic Sponsoring book outlines a step-by-step attraction marketing blueprint to change the mindset of typical network marketers to think more like a leader than a sleazy salesperson.

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Author: Kathering Skywalker

Book Reviews on End Times and Revelations

For those of you who are looking for good bottom-line knowledge on end time events as specifically prophesied to occur by our Lord through His Word, here is a list of some of the best books on this hot topic.

All of these authors are true experts in this field and you cannot go wrong with all of their teachings on this subject. Many people have a hard time in understanding the Book of Revelation, but all of these authors will help you interpret and understand this most important book in our Bible.

I believe we are truly living in the end times and each Christian should have some of this bottom-line knowledge under their belts so they can help explain this to both other Christians who do not have much knowledge on this subject, and also to other nonbelievers who are too sensing something in the air with the way many of the end time events are now starting to come to pass. 1. "Are We Living in the End Times?" by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins

The co-authors of the best-seller "Left Behind" series have written a very good factual book on all of the main end time events that will be occurring leading up to the visible return of Jesus back to our earth. Tim LaHaye has written several good non-fiction, factual books on end time events and I believe this to be one of his better books. Goes into very good detail on all of these end time events along with all of the Scripture verses to back it all up.

2. "Revelation Unveiled" By Tim LaHaye

Another very good solid book from Tim LaHaye. This book in particular is the best I have seen from him to-date. Besides going into the end time events that will be occurring leading up to Jesus' 2nd coming to our earth, he goes further into all of this showing what is going to happen in the 1000 year millennium kingdom when Jesus will literally rule this earth from the city of Jerusalem - and then what we will get with the final ending to all of it - the New Heaven and New Earth. This is not only the best book he has done to-date, but it is one of the best books on this topic we have to-date in the Body of Christ. I can't recommend this particular book highly enough.

3. "The End Times Controversy" by Tim LaHaye

Tim has written another good book on end times, but this one is to answer some of the critics who have a hard time in interpreting the Bible from more of a literal point of view. There is a big debate whether or not there will be a rapture, whether or not a real antichrist will really come, etc. Tim answers many of these questions in this book. Highly recommend this book if you want answers to some of the debates going on with this topic.

4. "The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy" by Tim Lahaye and Ed Hindson

Another very good solid book from these 2 authors. This is a beautiful hard-bound book that covers specific topics in alphabetical order so you can find what you may looking for at a very fast glance. I would highly recommend this book for those of you who are really wanting to have a firm and solid grasp on all of the basics on this topic. I consider this to be one of the better reference books on this topic. At a very quick glance, you will be able to locate very good Bible commentary on the specific end time events that will be occurring. This book is one of my personal favorites and I refer to it quite often in my studies on end times.

5. "The Late Great Planet Earth" by Hal Lindsey

This book started it all! Written back in the 70's, this book is still considered a classic. I believe Hal Lindsey was one of the first men that God anointed in our day and age to be able to understand and then explain all of these end time events to the rest of the Body. He is one of the most anointed men in the Body of Christ on this topic. 6. "Prince of Darkness" by Grant Jeffrey

Author Grant Jeffrey is another highly anointed man of God in this area. This man is one of the best in this area and this book in particular goes into very good and easy to understand detail on all of these end times events. This book is a paperback, but it is 350 pages in length, and it is LOADED with an incredible amount of knowledge and revelation in this area. This book is also another one of my personal favorites and I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to further their education in this area. He goes into the New World Order that will be coming and some of the things that are occurring right now that will allow the Antichrist a world platform in which to step up on.

7. "The Jerusalem Countdown" by John Hagee

Brand new book from noted pastor, author and Bible teacher John Hagee. As you all know, the country of Iran is emerging as the next major world threat with their intentions of wanting to develop nuclear weaponry. John has ties in with some of higher ranking leaders in Israel and he gives you some very good insight as to what is really going on behind the scenes with Iran and Israel. This book has been flying off the shelves at some of the bookstores I regular frequent where I live. This is a very, very good book bring you real live up-to-date information on this building crisis in the Middle East.

8. "101 Most Asked Questions About the End Times" by Mark Hitchcock

Mark Hitchcock is another solid anointed man of God on being able to understand and teach on end times. This book is a bit different in that he gives you some of his knowledge and expertise in this area by specifically answering some of the most asked questions on this topic. He is another very good author and teacher on this topic and he has a very good way of explaining everything to you so that you can fully understand all of it.

9. "Iran: The Coming Crisis" by Mark Hitchcock

Another very good book just released on the current crisis we now have with Iran. Mark gives you some good historical insight into Iran and how we have got to this point with them now wanting to literally conquer the entire world through their new president. This book, and the above book from John Hagee on this building crisis, are two of the best current books we have to-date on this unfolding dilemma.

Article written by Michael Bradley, where you can get 20% off retail on the above books at Christian bookstore offering a wide selection of bibles and christian books.

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