Book Review: The Shack

The Shack
By William P. Young
(audiobook)

Not exactly sure how I feel about this book. It definitely wasn't one of my favorites. I had heard how popular this book is and it was hard to find a negative review on iTunes, so I figured it must be pretty good. However, I didn't think it was that great; the story part of it was interesting enough (I liked how the ending tied everything up), but the deep spiritual parts of the book didn't hold my attention very well (is that bad? :). For people who are already religious and have a deep belief system already in place, it isn't as "aha" or "eye-opening" as all the reviews make this book out to be. I didn't agree with all of the doctrine it talks about, but there were some instances when it did help me see certain things in a new light.

I find it kind of sad that so many people felt that this book was, in a way, their new bible - that for the first time in their lives they understood the things of God more clearly. But at the same time, I think it's great that this book brought so many people closer to God and left them pondering their own relationships with Him. But for me personally, I didn't find the book "spiritually uplifting" in that sense, rather a somewhat interesting work of fiction. I most likely won't ever read it again and wouldn't necessarily recommend it - but it wasn't awful (how's that for a compliment?!); as an audiobook it was difficult to hold my interest.

It's a good thing...

...that Brandt got work-out stuff for his birthday.

I guess the cupcake wasn't good enough with frosting on just one side -
he had to tip it upside down and put extra frosting on the bottom.
Oh dear...

You can see why I only make German Chocolate Cake once a year.
Like I said, it's a good thing he works out. :)

24

24 is...
*A popular TV show on Fox (that we've never seen)
*The number of hours there are in a day
*2 dozen
*The number of cupcakes I made today

*How many minutes it took my finger to stop bleeding after cutting it while making aforementioned cupcakes (grrrr)

*The number of candles on the cupcakes
*How many different ways you can use the Gold's Gym Circuit Training System
*How many sets of push ups, chin ups, and crunches Brandt will need to do everyday for the next month to make up for all the crap he will consume due to leftover birthday treats and his request for me to double the recipe for the German Chocolate Cake Frosting
*The age at which Brandt and I officially feel "old"
*My hubby's birthday number today!

Happy 24th Brandt!

Book Review: The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol
By Dan Brown

I Absolutely LOVED this book! It's been awhile since I've read a book that I just couldn't put down and was this excited about. This was one of my Christmas presents and I was so excited to start reading it. However, I had to wait a few days because when I was at work one day, Brandt got bored and started reading it, and even he couldn't put it down.

This is Brown's third book using symbologist Robert Langdon; this time it's through the streets of Washington D.C. with tons of masonic legend and history to go along. There is a huge twister in the plot that left my head spinning - I never saw it coming (Brandt did, but he's a smarty pants). How does Dan Brown come up with this stuff?! What an amazing storyteller - definitely one of the best. Usually Brandt and I aren't in to the same books, so it was fun after I got done reading it to discuss it with him; this book definitely gives you a lot to ponder. I wouldn't say the book is perfect (I don't know if there is such a thing), there were definitely some things when I got done reading that didn't quite add up, but nonetheless a great story. I give it five stars and a MUST read!

Next Projects: Ford County by John Grisham (another Christmas present - Thanks Jill!)
and The Shack by William P. Young (audiobook)

Season Premiere!

You all know where I'll be tonight (and tomorrow night as well)! Sitting on the couch in my sweats with a bag of popcorn (exciting I know!) watching American Idol Season 9 Premiere. I love Ellen and I'm excited to see how she does on the show, but I'm disappointed that Paula won't be there. I just love Paula. And now we know that this will be the last season for Simon as well. So many changes; oh well, good things don't always last forever. Now I'll just pray that the bunny ears work in my favor tonight and I can get a good picture - gotta love free digital TV.

Book Review: The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones
By Alice Sebold

I bought this as an audiobook for $6.95 (killer deal as far as audiobooks go) on iTunes for my new iPod. This was an experiment for me in reading a brand new book for the first time as an audiobook. I've listened to books before, but they were always books that I had previously sat down and read first (ex: New Moon and Eclipse).

The idea behind this book is so interesting: a young girl is murdered and watches from Heaven while her family and friends continue living and adjusting to life without her. Overall, I thought the book was good, but I did struggle a little bit with it being an audiobook. I think it will take some practice in concentration before I can listen to books while multitasking and not spacing out here and there.

The one complaint I have about the book is the ending. It wasn't very satisfying for me; I felt like while I was listening, I was waiting for some big climax that never came (actually for me the last tenth of the book was the worst - and a little bit dirty). It seemed like the author just ended the book when she ran out of ideas to write about. But kudos to her for the originality of the story. They made this book into a movie and it comes out next week. I've included the trailor below - it is intense!

Christmas Day

And now on to Christmas Day. This year Christmas was with the Hines family, although we did sneak over to my dad's house for an hour in the morning to open presents with my brothers and sister. It's convenient that my dad is only a stone's throw away from Brandt's parent's house, so it didn't take us long to get there and back. We got my dad a Sport's Illustrated football book and Lori got an ice cream bowl and topping set. After some yummy cinnamon rolls, it was time to head back to the Hines' where we got to open more presents! My favorite gift: my Dan Brown book (this was the only thing I asked for, and since I was the one who bought it, it wasn't too much of a surprise ;) Brandt's favorite gift: his fly-tying supplies (which was NOT the only thing he asked for, but nonetheless the majority of his Christmas this year; and since he also bought most of it, he wasn't too surprised either. We figure it's better to get what you want rather than be surprised with a bunch of stuff you don't want - makes sense right?)

After presents, we had Christmas lunch. This is still something I'm getting used to. Christmas lunch? With my side of the family, holiday meals are in the late afternoon, usually around 4 pm. This was hard for Brandt to adjust to because his family always eats at 12 pm sharp on holidays. But regardless of the time, it was super yummy and of course we all ate too much. Brandt's sister Sheena and her family came by so we were able to spend the rest of the day hanging out with them and I kicked butt at the electronic version of Monopoly. Later that night we stopped in to see Grandma and Grandpa Manning.

Brandt's other sister Allison came the week after Christmas for a couple of days, and luckily Brandt had those days off work, so we came down to Burley again so we could see her and her family. It's always fun to see family and spend time together.

So now we are back home, the decorations are all put away, and the house looks blah. One of the more stressful things about the holidays is figuring out where to put all of the gifts we've gotten. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE our presents, but every year it's very tricky trying to rearrange things in our tiny apartment to make room for the bigger presents we get. Yet once again, I was victorious in cleaning out our pantry and finding just enough room for our huge George Foreman grill - I get a little thrill from making it work - don't judge me for that - I know I'm strange.

And now it's on to a new year. Here's to a great 2009 and an even better 2010!!