Book: “The Last Little Blue Envelope” By Maureen Johnson

In Stores on: April 26, 2011

Read so far: Finished

(Missed Part 1? Check it out!)

I’m not sure what I expected of the sequel to “13 Little Blue Envelopes”, but what I got certainly wasn’t it. It was ten times better than anything I could have imagined, and really that was a key point made in the narrative.

Ginny embarked on an all-new adventure in Europe, and not one thing went as she may have expected it to go, and in the end that was all right.

Sometimes circumstances lead us down paths that we aren’t expecting, and the adventure we planned becomes something completely different. Ginny had no idea what her aunt had in store for her the first time around, or even the second for that matter. Her aunt Peg, ultimately, had no idea what she was signing Ginny up for.

Sometimes, most times, the truth is a difficult thing to bear. It’s often something we avoid because it’s not always pleasant, and who wants to face something unpleasant?

Ginny is faced with many an unpleasant truth in “The Last Little Blue Envelope”, though in facing those truths she also comes to know many valuable things not only about her aunt but also herself.

I enjoyed embarking on this final part of the journey that all began with the first little blue envelope, and I am certain that you will to when this book hits stores April 26.

Book: “The Last Little Blue Envelope” By Maureen Johnson

In Stores on: April 26, 2011

Read so far: 107 of 213

The first book I ever read by Maureen Johnson was “13 Little Blue Envelopes”, and once I had I was hooked. If you haven’t read it, and have an issue with spoilers, then don’t read this because in order to get an accurate idea of what “The Last Little Blue Envelope” is about, the ending of it’s precursor must be spoiled.

Though honestly a book is so much more than it’s ending, so the idea of ‘spoilers’ doesn’t really make sense. You may, after reading a ‘spoiler’ know a plot point, but you have no idea of what has lead to that plot point. A story involves the journey between plot points.

With that said, “The Last Little Blue Envelope” picks up months after “13 Little Blue Envelopes” left off. As you, hopefully, know the last of the thirteen envelopes was lost as the end of the first book, so as this book begins Ginny receives a mysterious e-mail from someone who has not only found her envelopes but also managed to track her down.

Obviously, the only thing for her to do is return to England, retrieve the letters, and complete whatever task her Aunt has left for her in the thirteenth envelope.

This plan seems much easier than it turns out to be of course… The first fly in the ointment appears when Ginny learns that sometimes the intention to surprise others can result in unforeseen surprises of your own.

The second fly in the ointment arrives in the form of the individual who found, and offered to return her letters. The question becomes, to what lengths will Ginny go to complete the final task left to her by her Aunt?

… Part 2 coming in the next couple days!

(Missed Part 2? Check it out here)

Book: “Live Sent” by Jason C. Dukes

In Stores on: April 5, 2011

Read so far: Finished

I just finished reading Live Sent by Jason C. Dukes, and it is definitely a book that challenges you to rethink the way that you’ve come to know, and understand the concept of ‘church’.

Is church a place you go on prescribed days of the week, or are we ourselves the church?

This is a fundamental question posed and pondered by Dukes in “Live Sent”.

In large part, the book illustrates the point that to live sent means to love unconditionally. To live sent is to be a letter sent by God to those around you, and in order to do that you must be prepared to delve in, and to love everyone, literally.

You can’t be selective; you can’t choose only to show love and kindness to those that are easy to love. Love everyone, live sent to everyone.

“Live Sent” is a very well written book about what it means to be a Christian in today’s society, and I would truly recommend it to anyone. Whatever stage of belief you find yourself in, whether you’re a ‘new Christian’, you’ve been a Christian all of your life, or don’t consider yourself a Christian at all…

Dukes presents some very solid ideas in “Live Sent” that are definitely worth delving into. It was a fantastic read that will stay with me for quite some time and I personally look forward to buying a physical copy when it’s out in stores on April 5.

(Missed Part 1? Check it out here!)

Book: “Live Sent” by Jason C. Dukes

In Stores on: April 5, 2011

Read so far: 83 of 200

Part of living sent, according to Dukes is sharing love through your talents. For instance, he shares the story of a man named Malcolm, a gourmet cook. Once he caught on to the idea of living sent, he learned to use his talent for cooking to minister to those around him in time of need.

Dukes notes a change in Malcolm once he has, “read God’s letters”, other words known as those who showed him God’s love through their friendship.

In this next section Dukes challenges the reader to re-think the definition of church. He postulates that church has begun to be thought of as merely an event or series of events during the week. People have begun to think of church as a building and a place rather than a who.

However, if church is begun to be thought of as a who, a collective of people, than it becomes possible to be engaged with church all through the week. The weekly gathering ceases to become a place to refuel, but rather it becomes the post office, where God’s messages go and then leave to continue spreading their messages.

He explains this really well in the book. It’s a really apt and clever metaphor.

Dukes goes on to delve into spiritual maturity and what it really means to be spiritually mature. How would you define spiritual maturity? Have you used the phrase “strong Christian” to describe someone? What qualified them for that title in your mind?

This however is not to imply that Dukes is condemning the church as we understand it. It is important to gather together according to Dukes, however it is also important to know the motivation behind gathering. Are you gathering together because the calendar said it was Sunday, or are you gathering to encourage one another, to prepare to be sent out and spread the message of God’s love to those you encounter during the week.

Dukes illustrates that we are all sent to be messages for Christ, and not only for those who do not already have an existing relationship with Him but also as encouragement for our peers who are likewise sent.

At one point in this section of the book Dukes writes, “Wasn’t the church intended to exist for more than self?” which I believe is a very defining quote for the book, or at least the book thus far.

…Part 3

Book: “Live Sent” by Jason C. Dukes

In stores on: April 5, 2011

Read so far: 42 of 200

What is right and wrong? How do you define these two terms? I can imagine many of you rolling your eyes at me as I type, berating me for asking so broad a question, because how could you possibly have an answer when you have nothing specific to base your answer upon?

Though perhaps there are those of you willing to play along with me here. Maybe you have an answer. More often than not people would say that perceptions of right and wrong depend on the individual and their belief system and morals. Perhaps that answer would serve me right, a vague answer for a vague question.

I’m sure as you’re pondering this question you’re thinking in terms of actions; things that is it right to do or wrong to do. In his book, Live Sent, Jason C. Dukes considers this question of right and wrong.

He challenges the perception that we often get mired in when looking at right and wrong, noting that we “…tend to be selfish in the way we think of right and wrong… We think in terms of whether we are right or wrong, rather than in terms of whether we are doing people right or wrong by our choices” (Dukes 26).

He goes on to examine God’s charge to us to ‘Love thy neighbor’. But then who is your neighbor? Dukes offers up the idea that humanity is your neighbor, not only is the person living in the house next to your literally your neighbor, but so to are the billions of other inhabiting the earth your neighbors. He asserts that when we consider right and wrong in relation to others, we must consider them in terms of love.

What would you do for love? What would love stop you from doing?

In order to love our neighbors in the way that God intended, Dukes asserts that we must be willing to “live life beyond ourselves” and successes should be measured not by our own personal gain but rather by the successes of those around us as a result of the life that we are living.

Jesus came to die for our sins in the ultimate act of love, so in this way Dukes notes that God has a value system of “lose to win”, where-by personal gain is sacrificed so that the “interests of others {are} more important than self” (Dukes 27).

But the books called “Live Sent”, what’s that all about?

In “Live Sent” Jason Dukes is presenting the idea that each of us are messages for God. We live out His message for the world daily in our lives. In the second chapter Dukes presents the story of Ted, who is a part of his church, and Ted’s neighbor who are surfing buddies. I don’t want to spoil the story, but ultimately is serves to illuminate Dukes point that church is not about going to a building certain times of the week and participating in services or rituals.

Rather Dukes illustrates that people are the church, and to live sent a believer must be willing to be the church. They must be willing to love without judgment.

…Part 2

It may or may not be common knowledge that when I began this blog I was attending Michigan State University and freelancing/blogging for The Spartan Edge. (http://www.spartanedge.com)

I did not return to Michigan State this school year, and therefore kind of let this blog fall to the wayside.

As part of this re-launch I want to shake things up a bit. I want to do something a little bit edgy. This may have been done before somewhere, although it’s not something I’ve run across but I thought it was worth a shot here.

I thought I’d tweak the reviewing process a bit. Rather than waiting until I’ve read a book all the way through to write a ‘review’, I thought it might be interesting to review it as I read it. Ultimately what I would end up doing is reviewing in parts.

I believe that this process would allow for a fresher review and one that is truer to the book that I am reviewing. It feels like all too often as I’m reading I run across thoughts and ideas, and think ‘Oh wow, how cool is that?’ and regardless of whether I mark it or not I can’t remember what was so poignant about that thought by the time I reach the end of the book.

This way also, if it takes me a week to read a book, you’re not left hanging for that entire week.

So this re-launch is an experiment. It’s time to dive into uncharted waters, and I hope you’ll take the plunge with me.

1. “Have A Little Faith” by Mitch Albom

At some point in our lives, most of us feel like we are searching for something. There are some instances in which we know what we are searching for, and there are others where we feel uncertain. “Have a Little Faith” by Mitch Albom is an honest look into the lives of two men who are in some ways drastically different, and yet that difference connects them. It’s a story about the healing capacity of faith and the bonds that it can build.

2. “Mr. Darcy’s Great Escape” by Marsha Altman

This is the third book in a series. The first book is called “The Darcy’s and The Bingley’s”. Altman originally wrote these stories online at Fanfiction.net. They are based originally on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” I really enjoy the series and the way that Altman has managed to make the characters her own as well as seamlessly introducing characters of her own. These sequels are really well written. I highly suggest giving the series a chance if you’re a fan of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”

3. “I Know this Much is True” by Wally Lamb

What does it mean to truly love another person? More often then we’d like, love equates into sacrifice of some kind, be it joyful sacrifice or grudging. This is a novel about two brothers, twins in fact. One struggles with Schizophrenia while the other is healthy. It ‘s a novel about the guilt over being the one spared, the dedication that comes with a family bond, and the resentment that can lead to noxious self-hatred. The reader is drawn to the concept of redemption as Wally Lamb plays on the heartstrings and draws you into this amazing story of struggle and resolution.

4. “Girl At Sea” by Maureen Johnson

Clio Ford doesn’t want to spend the summer out at sea with her father. She’d much prefer to stick at home where she would be free to pursue her artistic interests, but at seventeen she doesn’t have much choice in the matter. However, the summer turns out to be much more than she originally bargained for when she learns that someone is keeping secrets. This is definitely a fun beach read.

5. “Clockwork Angel” by Cassandra Clare

This book isn’t out yet, and won’t technically be out until the end of the summer. But it’s definitely worth a look. Are you familiar with Cassandra Clare’s previous series? It’s not necessary to have read that series in order to understand this new one, but the ideas are similar.

Tessa discovers that she is not necessarily the person she believed herself to be, but in fact is a downworlder with the capabilities to transform herself. Those that fall into the category of downworlder are werewolves, faeries, warlocks, and vampires. She finds herself aligning with Shadow hunters and is torn between the task of searching for her lost brother or helping her new friends in their quest to make the world a safer place. I’m definitely looking forward to checking this book out when it is released at the end of August.

Thelma and Wayne Owens live on an Island known as Cape Refuge where they run a bed and breakfast that they open up to individuals who are trying to get back on their feet.

When they are murdered the town, as well as their two adult daughters are shocked. Who would do such a thing to two such kind people?

“Cape Refuge” by Terri Blackstock is a murder mystery. It’s a story that attests to the redemptive power of forgiveness and the clarity that can come out of tragedy.

This is what happens to Will Grayson in “Will Grayson, Will Grayson”. John Green and David Levithan collaborated on this novel, taking turns, each writing alternatively from the perspective of their own Will Grayson.

“Will Grayson, Will Grayson” is a definite coming of age story. It’s the story of two teens of the same name that are each trying to come to grips with who they are in the greater scheme of things.

The Will Grayson that we meet in the odd numbered chapters has theory for life. He believes that there particular rules that one must follow in order to keep things simple and to get by. These rules are simple: first and foremost, don’t allow yourself to care too much, and remember to shut up.

But what happens you find someone worth breaking all the rules for?

The Will Grayson we meet in the even numbered chapter’s faces the dilemma of self-identification. He isn’t certain who is, or rather, whether he should assert who he is. He must learn to accept himself before he can embrace the world around him.

Overall this was a very interesting look into what it means to love those around you, as well as yourself. I definitely recommend giving this book a look.

No, Jane is in love with Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”, or rather Mr. Darcy as depicted in the BBC adaption of the book.

More than love though, it’s an obsession, and she’s begun to worry that her obsession is the reason that she has remained single for so long. After all, who can compare to the one and only Mr. Darcy?

Jane however is in for a surprise when a wealthy relative leaves her something quite unexpected. She’s been granted a trip to a resort in England dedicated to bringing the fun Austen experience to those obsessed with Jane Austen and her world.

Jane is convinced that this resort will help her once and for all kick her obsession. But is possible that she could find love? Could she really find her own Mr. Darcy… or more?

If you’re as Jane Austen obsessed, as I am I definitely recommend checking out this book. It’s a fun and witty story about love, and being careful what you wish for. You should always be prepared for the possibility that your wish may come true.