Phil Lemons

The story is okay. I like the concept of introducing a young person to what the gang was like back in the day. The story is fairly basic, as the name says. I like the artwork. I like that the characters look less exaggerated.

I don't know that I can give this book a worthy review. What the people of Freedom House did and endured to do it is at once awesome and awful. If not for the ignorance of racism, they would be hailed American heroes with documentaries and public awareness. 

May we all treat each other with dignity and respect. Not for who they are and what they can do for us, but because we are all God's children, loved by the creator. Furthermore, may we all stand up and speak out when ignorance and prejudice raise their voices with disdain and disrespect. 

This book has a fascinating concept and message. The story was dark and at times brutal. In places more than was good for me. The message gets 5 stars. My emotional response gives 3 stars. I didn't fall into this needing to hear more. Overall, a good book if you like a good philosophical debate/discussion. 

There is no greater truth than the reality that is God's love. You have to experience it to know it. That said, Manning explains it as well as I have heard, encouraging the reader that this love can be experienced, even when one is at their worst, ugliest state. 

This is a much easier way to read a serial newspaper comic story than a little each day. The stories were fairly simple for this reason. The reader has to be able to follow on a daily basis.

What I liked:
Some interesting story ideas that could be developed into good episodes.

The writer captured the character personalities fairly well.

What I didn't like:
Monday's were usually a rehash of Sunday. At first it was almost a black and white reprint of the last three panels from Sunday. They did get better toward the end of the book, as the author found creative ways to refresh the plot in a less repetitive way.

Later comics tried to phonetically reproduce Chekov and Scotty's accents in a way that made reading more annoying than adding to the flavor.

I gave this a three because I did enjoy the stories. Probably more from a nostalgic reading. Not worth buying, from my perspective, but was glad to get it from the library. There is apparently a second volume. Should I see it in the library, I'll borrow it, but this volume wasn't good enough to spend much effort trying to find the second, in my opinion.

The Grand Finale

The final installment of this series took a turn I didn't expect. Perhaps in reading it in the future I will have a greater appreciation for it. Still, it was a fun read. I simply wish it had come away with more to think about.

What I liked:
- The story is an interesting look at the idea of free will in a universe ruled by God.
- I liked the way Lawhead presents how a person resists the call to live a life of love and charity while others embrace it.

What I didn't like:
- The story felt a bit too stretched out in the end. This may be a reflection of my mood, but I got tired of all the detailed description.

Today I consider it four stars because I lacked the euphoric feeling I had at the end of the previous books in the series. A fantastic adventure, none the less.

After years of watching Murder, She Wrote and other televised Agatha Christie stories, I have finally read my first book written by her. Check that off the “someday has never come” list. Update I have previously listened to an audio book written by Christie. I guess for those purists who don't count audiobooks, the previous statement hold true....***

This was a slow starter for me and at first I had some challenges keeping characters straight. However, once about a third of the way through, the story grabbed hold and took off. I tried to guess the ending as I went along, and even when I disagreed with Charles on a suspicion, like Charles, I was surprised by the ending and saw all the clues were there.

I like that this book got me thinking with its complexity but wasn't so complex that I needed a notebook to keep everything straight. I will definitely look into more Christie books.

This is a silly book that shows how there are words that have the same pronunciation, and sometimes spelling, but mean different things.

My boy did not read yet, but as I explain the different words meanings he has found there book more amusing. Tonight we were both laughing out loud while reading.

The artwork is good, but it's the silliness that brings this book above average.

It has been a while since I have anticipated the next book in a series as much as I've anticipated the next Bright Empires novel. Lawhead continues to weave a tale that keeps me wanting and looking for more. I almost don't want it to end.

In this latest installment, The Shadow Lamp, Lawhead brings to light a Christian perspective of intelligent design and the freed of choice in God's universe. The story takes more turns and leaves a lot of questions unanswered about several characters, once again leaving me chomping at the bit for the next installment.

This is a real tangle of a tale that leaves a number of items unresolved. I suppose that's the way a book two out of three goes. Overall, this sticks to the Firefly storytelling fashion. 

This book is like a slap in the face followed by a cold drink of water. I believe Coughlin intentionally starts off with some strong language to slap the nice guy in the face. I interpret this to be a bit of a test to see if the reader wants to recover from the nice guy syndrome. Those who are can't see past being nice simply won't continue to find the treasure this book offers.

Coughlin's writing style matches his message. It is straight up what he believes to be true. Better than that, he provides solid reasoning for the message.

This is the second time I've read this book, separated by some years. I picked it up again because I needed to hear the message again. Being nice is not being good. Being nice is often being dishonest with one's self and with others. Coughlin illustrates various ways Christian men play “nice”. There are parts of this book that still hurt to read. There are sections where I cry because someone understands what I don't want to tell anyone else and the reading feels like locks being opened in my soul. Choosing to take on the good life and to leave the nice life behind is hard because of the history that doesn't want to let go of me. The fear of what others will think and how they will react to my new choices.

I debated on whether to give this book a four star or a five star rating. Ideally, I would give it 4.5. Like many others, this book is only as valuable as one is willing to listen to what Coughlin has to say and give it a chance. As for me, I agree that it is better to make a difference for good in the world around me than to simply have the world around me think well of me while I fear I wi be found out for who I really am.

Murderstyles of the rich and famous is back looking at the politics and jealousy of the writing world. 

One of the things that sells this book is the performance of the reader. The story is compelling, though it has elements I don't look for in my reading. It's a fun mystery and I find that I like the main characters. 

Our world has been mostly patriarchal societies throughout history. Many of the books collected in The Holy Bible are written from those who wrote from that perspective in their times. However, even when the original writers did not ascribe God with a gender, or describe God with female and motherly attributes, translators have chosen or have been pressured or edited toward a male bias in describing God. 

This preamble is likely longer than the entire book. This is a children's book, not a theological deep dive. However, those who are willing to look will find the characterizations of God in these pages do, in fact, exist in the pages of our Holy Bible. I like that this book takes time to teach our children that he made both male and female are made in God's image. 

I'm not a boxing fan, but this is a fun little short story. I like stories where the little guy guy comes out ahead.

This is a book about nine principles by which Orel Hershiser credits the success of his career and life. The book is written in a conversational tone and reads easily and quickly. He does a good job of illustrating these principles with stories from his baseball career as well as his personal life.

I believe it is important to judge the principles of the book on their merit rather than how well the person has stuck to them. I have not tried to research Hershiser to see if he continues to demonstrate these principles in his life.

What I liked:
I liked the conversational tone of the book. Because the premise of the principles is based mainly on his own experience, it is important not to consider this a researched conclusion, one size fits all solution. That being said, I thought the principles were well thought out. The presentation got me thinking about what they would look like in my life. Books that get me thinking get a star just for that. Hershiser also acknowledged that following these principles is challenging and takes practice. I like that honesty.

What I didn't like:
The last two or three chapters felt a bit rushed and didn't have the meat the previous chapters did. That being said, they were the principles that are more difficult to write about–especially using stories about one's self. It can easily turn into self-praise.

For the most part, this book kept my attention and I didn't struggle to come back and pick it up. This can be a real challenge for nonfiction for me.

I have to say that the references to which issues the story references is a cool idea. Overall, this ends as a fun read, but I don't imagine I'll come back to it again.

What can I say? This installment was fun and I'm looking forward to how the story will resolve. 

This was a different take on the Sherlock Holmes universe that I did not anticipate and very much enjoyed. 

I really like James Scott Bell's characters and the characters in this book are fantastic. There is something about a nerd turned cage fighter who baffles people when quoting classic literature and philosophers that puts a smile on my face.

Secondly, I like the story telling in this book. I thought of Doomsday Book by Connie Willis toward the end. The dialogue and story telling flow so well, much like I found with Willis.

This is a quick moving, fun read. I had a couple of moments when I thought that perhaps the author was channeling a perspective of political parties through the main character. I had to remind myself that this is a fictional story, not my Facebook feed, though a lot of that is fictional these days. Without giving any spoilers, neither party is given a preference or characterized as that of good or evil.

This is a book I would not hesitate to come back to for a second read. Thank you, James Scott Bell, for bringing Mike Romeo to life to speak truth while struggling to figure out what truth is.

This is a dark, dystopian story that makes one's soul ache. I love the cultural setting that is organic, not stereotypical. I like the look into what it means to be different from the majority and how one can try to become like the majority to survive, even at the cost of losing one's own identity. These are concepts most of us struggle with on some level. I cannot imagine the pain and struggle one would face because of their skin color or race they were born with. That which is one's very identity without choice. It reminds me that I want to acknowledge every person's value, regardless of their identity or origins. 

A good chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the art and design used to bring The Mandalorian season two to life. I enjoy reading what the artists have to say as to how they came up with their designs and how and why they evolved into the final product. Also, I love the big pictures of art, such as we see at the end of every episode. I think the print quality of the two page spread pictures were not as good as those from the season one art book. Don't know if that is a matter of the image being blown up so much to fit the pages or if the copy I got just didn't print as clearly as it should have been. Either way, this is a beautiful book. 

This was a fun book! Similar in style as Captain Underpants, but with a VeggieTales style message. The boy is definitely interested to hear more about the squirrels, as am I. This is a solid start to a series hat looks like it has good promise.

I like that Dekker is bringing the concepts of the five seals to kids. This series seem like a good introduction to the Circle universe, which could transition to the YA series, then the adult novels.

As I read these, I know that they are still too dark for my boy. They would have been too dark for me on the bottom end of the suggested age range. This is not a criticism of the book, simply an observation of myself and my boy.

The story moves quickly and illustrates the points of the seals simply, a good base for kids who don't have the understanding or experience to understand them in depth.

I don't identify with the characters much, but that may be in part because of how far removed I am from that age group.

This book was much fun to listen to. I look forward to listening to it again. 

This short story raises the question of how one chooses to live life. Do we let life happen to us or do we live intentionally? Dellosso does a great job of illustrating this question. Rearview is a great addition to the Seven Hour series bringing yet another angle on Thomas Constant and his offer of another seven hours before death.