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Showing posts with label Book Beginnings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Beginnings. Show all posts

Friday, September 16, 2016

The Wealthy Barber Book Beginnings and Friday 56

The Wealthy Barber Book Beginnings and Friday 56

This week, I am reading The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton.  The particular edition I am reading is the third edition, which came out back in 1998.  http://amzn.to/2bMat0T

I purchased this book for only 50¢ from our local Friends of the Library.  

There is a more updated version of the book called The Wealthy Barber Returns : Dramatically Older and Marginally Wiser, David Chilton Offers His Unique Perspectives on the World of Money.  

This version is from 2011 and, judging from the prices for used copies listed on Amazon, you will probably want to see if your library can get it for you through inter-library loan. 


As anyone who has read this blog probably knows, I do not normally read fiction.  This book reads very much like a story, so any of you who would not normally read a book on personal finance will still enjoy this book.


Therefore, without further eloquence, here is the Book Beginning;

I LOVE APRIL.  I WOULDN’T trade it for two of any other month.  Except perhaps for October.  Two Octobers would mean twice as many birthday presents-and Oktoberfests!
Why April?  Weather-wise, it offers neither the best of summer nor the best of winter.  It certainly doesn’t provide the beauty of the fall months.  Is it because at least to poets and romantics, it symbolizes a new beginning, a kind of rebirth?

No

Since I am reading out of a paperback book rather than on an ereader, I get to actually go to page 56 and type the Friday 56 in this week. 

“You didn’t let me finish!”
Roy continued on.  “Well, I’ll give Dave the benefit of the doubt and say you are both correct.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are indexes.  They are supposed to represent the market-but they don’t invest in every stock, just a few.  The Dow Jones invests in thirty stocks-thirty market leaders to be more precise. Dave, how many stocks do you think the S&P 500 invests in?”

“Is that a trick question?”  I shot back. “Five Hundred?”
“Your mind never ceases to amaze me.
This is a book on building wealth but it is a great book for people who get bored reading a lot of technical jargon.  We are making this part of the suggested reading for our upcoming How to Manage Your Monkey course that we hope to kick off October 3rd 2016.

From the Amazon Editorial Review section on the book’s page:

Review
" . . . quite simply the best financial self-help book."
--Money Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club
From the Inside Flap
." . . quite simply the best financial self-help book."
--Money Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club

In this new and updated edition of one of the biggest-selling financial-planning books ever, David Chilton simplifies the complex puzzles of personal finance and helps you achieve financial independence. With the help of his fictional barber, Roy, and a large dose of humor, Chilton shows you how to take control of your financial future--slowly, steadily, and with sure success. Chilton's plan (detailed in an entertaining story) is no get-rich-quick scheme, but it does make financial independence possible on nothing more than an average salary. 

This third edition has been updated with assistance from the Arthur Andersen Corporation, and covers the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and other recent developments.
Even if you consider yourself a financial "basket case," Chilton explains how you can easily put an effective financial plan into action.

I really think this is a great book for anyone who would like to learn more about taking control of their finances.  Even those readers whose eyes would normally glaze over when reading a book on financial matters will probably get something out of this book.

If you never read any other book on personal finance, you will want to read this one.

 
Please Visit My Child Bride Suzanne's Blog







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Friday, September 9, 2016

Call Me Luciano Book Beginnings and Friday 56

Well, here we are on Friday, again.   My, but the week has flown by.  As you all know, I don’t normally read fiction.  There are times when what we normally do and what we do are not the same thing.

This week, the book I am reviewing is Call Me Luciano by Lauren Mariah.  This book is geared more towards young teens, but I think even us older people can enjoy this book. 

Here is the excerpt from Amazon:

A lighthearted fantasy novel for Young-Adults... however old! Call Me Luciano follows the journey of Wilfred, heir to the Baron of Oselisle.

When ordered to marry by his overbearing father, Wilfred finds himself accidentally transported to the fairest of them all. The fairest is delighted, he's to busy being just to find the long-lost heir to the throne of Meloberg himself. 
  Wilfred knows nothing about questing?  No problem. The fairest of them all stoops to injustice and sends his horse along. The problem there? Luciano declares himself the greatest voice in six centuries. Far be it from him to be either pleasant or helpful.
  So begins the journey to find the lost Princess and rescue Meloberg from the tyrannical reign of the usurping King Verllin. The young man who can't do anything learns how to take care of himself, fights bandits, rescues a fair maiden from death, evades the man who wants him dead, and most unexpectedly finds himself.
  An entertaining, wholesome read, Call Me Luciano keeps people laughing to the last page! 



Let’s now take a look at the book beginnings
http://www.rosecityreader.com/

The young man slipped furtively through the back door and closed softly it behind him.  He looked quickly in each direction before crossing the hall and creeping up the back stairs.  Noiselessly and hurriedly, he stole down the carpeted hallway until he came to the fifth door on the left.  Pausing, he glanced around again, opened the door and stepped quickly inside, shutting it silently behind him.



Now we will look at page 56 in the paperback book.
http://www.fredasvoice.com/
Wilfred finally found a bush with edible berries.  He crouched down and began hungrily stripping them off the stems.  This was the most food he had eaten since breakfast the day before.  He had skipped yesterday’s lunch to avoid Arthur, who lingered for a very long time in the dining room.

I have enjoyed this book.  I know you will, too.  It is full of action, adventure, and a little comedy. Read the book and let me know what you think. Order your copy today!

You can read my review of the book on this blog if you like. 


Please Visit My Child Bride Suzanne's Blog

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http://www.rosecityreader.com/2016/09/book-beginning-chasing-portraits.html

https://worthgettinginbedfor.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-21/

http://fuonlyknew.com/2016/09/09/the-friday-56-118-doggone-it/

http://sandranachlinger.blogspot.com/2016/09/chestnut-street-bookbeginnings-on.html

http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2016/09/friday-meets-09-september-2011.html










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Monday, August 29, 2016

Sea Purrtector series.


Hello, everyone, and welcome to my weekly book post.  There are so many fascinating books on our To Be Read list that I hardly know where to start. 

We will start off with this week’s Book Blogger Hop question.

Book Blogger Hop
Aug. 26th - Sept. 1st - Can you say this sentence describes you? READING IS MY PASSION. (Submitted by Elizabeth)

The answer to this question is, maybe.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to read.  I enjoy it a great deal.  Our family is made up of people who really enjoy reading.  However, there are other things that I enjoy doing as well. 

Whereas I do enjoy a good book, a lot of my reading in the past has been some very dry academic sort of reads and so, when I have to plow through those, I can’t say that I enjoy that. 

Also, we have been given tons of books free through the Kindle Direct Publisher’s program.  Authors give their Kindle Books away free with the hopes that someone will read it and post a favorable review.  Many of these books are great.  Some, however, are books that the author has cranked out like working on a bad assembly line, just to get the money with no real thought to the end user.  I don’t enjoy books like that either. 

I do enjoy a good how to book and I also enjoy a few works of fiction.  I like
the works of Zane Grey and John Grisham.  My kids loved the Warrior books when they were growing up.  They even convinced Suzanne and me to read a few of them.  I often made the deal with them that if I read a book they chose for me to read, they would read a book I chose for them to read.  Our Marine, David, Jr., loved that challenge, so he would pick out books he did not think I would really read.  I will share some of those books in later posts. 


This week, in the spirit of the Warriors, I want to share a few books by an author who is also a fellow blogger and the mommy of probably the coolest cat I have ever read about. Jeanne Foguth is writing a series of books about a cat named Xander who is the Sea Purrtector. 

Xander and his cohorts are sort of like James Bond and his spy friends.  These cats appear to be just like your typical cats but, in reality, they have a spy network that puts any human spy network to shame.


Let’s look at the Prequel to The Sea Purrtector Files, Latitudes & Cattitudes.  The beginning of the book starts out like this:

Xander strolled into the kick-boxing arena, to scattered cheers for "Kamakazi!" and few derogatory meows from those who favored Seattle's local favorite, Bruiser, a muscle-bound brute from the docks. A moment later, Bruiser, sauntered into the arena. The yowling doubled in volume, then doubled again, until it was impossible to hear anyone cheering "Kamakazi". Soon, it sounded like the only thing cats could scream was, "Bruiser, Bruiser, Bruiser, Bruiser, Bruiser." Xander swallowed and tried to remain calm as he turned to meet his opponent.

Foguth, Jeanne. Latitudes & Cattitudes: Prequel to The Sea Purrtector Files (Kindle Locations 73-77). Jeanne Foguth. Kindle Edition.

Then, we need to look at the Friday 56 portion of this post.  Since I am
reading this on my Free Kindle Reading App, we will look at 56% of the book:

Xander cringed. The tom was obviously demented and it was his bad luck not to have noticed the defect before he’d followed him onto that rotten dock. Assuming he was alive, they were balanced on flotsam and within a whisker of death. And now, he was moving away from land and at the mercy of a potentially homicidal tom. Had the guy killed his sister?

Foguth, Jeanne. Latitudes & Cattitudes: Prequel to The Sea Purrtector Files (Kindle Locations 239-242). Jeanne Foguth. Kindle Edition.

Just as a way of disclosure, we got Latitudes & Cattitudes free through Amazon.  Foguth gave us copies of the other three books free with the understanding that we would give an honest review of the books. 

Now, a review of Latitudes & Cattitudes.

Latitudes and Cattitudes is the prequel to the Sea Purrtector series.  This is a very quick read that introduces Xander as well as his pal Merlin and helps readers of the series to get a little of the back story to the Sea Purrtector.  Readers get to read about the kick boxing tournament that helped to set the stage for other adventures throughout the series.

This is a very short read, but is entertaining.  In this prequel, we haven’t gotten to the James Bond similarities yet, but we do see some of the similarities to the Warrior series and maybe a little Bruce Lee and Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles in the mix.

Purrsonally, I think this is a good, clean form of entertainment and a great read when you have a little time on your hands and want to get a little more information on the Sea Purrtector.  Like the other Sea Purrtector books I have read so far, I give this one five paws up.



And now, I will turn our attention to the first book in the series, The Red Claw.  Here is the Book Beginning:

Xander supervised his humans, Mike and Ginny de Hunter, as their dingy circumnavigated Flamingo Cay, a lifeless piece of Bahamian rock, which wasn't home to any birds, let alone something as exotic as a flamingo.


And now, since I read this in a PDF version of the book, I can give you an
excerpt from page 56 for the Friday 56.


Xander tried to look like he was merely chatting about a casual topic. “Who or what is Clive?”

“The Rastaman, who lives there.” She pointed to the mangrove-covered area where Valentine had first spoken to the thin dogs. His attention narrowed on the grove, but he was too far away to see anything the dogs didn’t want seen. That area was something he’d have to investigate after he sorted out Simon’s situation. “

Clive goes around looking for lost or abandoned puppies, then he takes them back on that.” Sharkey indicated an odd flat thing fashioned with long circular yellowish pipes of varying diameter, each half in the water, a green plastic stacking bin was attached to the wider end. A similar yellow rod lay across its narrowest end.



And here is my review:


Let me preface this review by stating that I rarely read fiction.  That being said, I am concerned with spoiling this excellent story by revealing anything of a plot.

This is a wonderful story.  It reminds me in a way of the Warriors series by Erin Hunter that my children were in love with years ago.

This book is sort of a Warriors meets James Bond.  There are high tech gadgets, espionage, and lots of adventure.  This is an excellent story that tells the story of life from a cat’s eye view.  

If you are one of those people under the misconception that people own cats, this book might not make much sense to you.  As most cat people know, cats actually own the humans.

This is such a refreshing book to read.  So many that I have read recently have been poorly written.  The few fiction books I have read recently have had plot holes or jumps.  This book gives plausible explanations along the way for all that takes place.


I would have to give this book five paws up.  It is an excellent read for people of all ages.  I can see that it would be a wonderful book for young teens, young adults, and, yes, even 54 year-old men like me.

The author of this book is a friend and gave me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.  I would not post a review that did not give my honest opinion.


As you can see, this is an interesting series.  I have actually read more of the series than I tell you about here.  Soon, I will share more of the series with you.  Let me know what you think.


Also, coming soon, we have our How to Manage Your Monkey course.  We plan to offer it free so, watch our blogs for the announcement to let you know when it is finally available.  We are working on some frugal recipes so, if you have any you wish to share, send them on.

Please Visit My Child Bride Suzanne's Blog
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http://msmartin-media.blogspot.com/2016/09/friday-memes-diplomatic-immunity-by.html

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Monday, August 22, 2016

It's Monday What Are You Reading, Book Blogger Hop, Book Beginnings Friday 56 One of the Few

Week of August 21-27

Today in my weekly book review post, I am reviewing One of the Few by Jason Ladd.

But first, let’s answer the Book Blogger Hop question of the week..

Book Blogger Hop - Coffee Addicted Writer


Book Blogger Hop

According to the Book Blog Hop calendar, this week's question is:


Aug. 19th - 25th - Do you read via eBook and if so which one/ones and why? (submitted by Teri)

Years ago, we bought a Kindle Basic.  I love my Kindle Basic.  I can put about 880 books on it at a time.  This means I have a lot of great books at my fingertips.  Also, it connects via Whispernet.  This means I can download books anywhere there is ANY cell signal.

Since I was so happy with the Kindle Basic, I bought a Kindle Fire.  This was a terrible investment.  It was a problem from the beginning. I went through several deregisters and reregister and rebooting and resetting and then I got a warranty replacement. This went from bad to worse.  Now, you can’t even open a book on it.  It makes a decent paper weight, but that is about as far as it goes.

Now let’s turn to the meme It’s Monday What Are You reading?

This week, I am discussing the book, One of the Few by Jason Ladd.  Ladd is a Marine fighter pilot.  Mr. Ladd sent an invitation to my child-bride Suzanne inviting her to review this book on her blog, Stitchety Do Da.  He offered to send Suzanne a copy of the book free for review.  Suzanne got to looking on our Kindle Device Manager and found that we had obtained a copy of this book free when Mr. Ladd offered it free as a promotion through Kindle (November 2015).  He had given these books free hoping people would provide reviews for him.

Well, there are 52,394 books on our combined To Be Read (TBR) list.  When we heard he is a Marine, of course his book went immediately to the top.  When you are a Marine family, EVERY Marine is family.  This is true in the Navy, too, but not as much as it is for the Marines. Our son has made it into the Marines and become one of the Select Few to make it. 

Let’s go back and get the Book Beginnings. Normally, I don’t list the introduction as my book beginning.  I liked this one so, I thought I would.

Everyone dies. Young or old, whether by accident, murder, natural disaster, or illness, death comes to every human being, and only rarely does the dealer show his hand. When the flame of life is extinguished, we exit the realm of time and enter into eternity. For centuries, the great thinkers have labored to understand man’s purpose. Can there be true meaning and significance in our lives now if there is no ultimate, objective meaning and existence after death? If our species is just a cosmic blip of evolved energy and matter, then will it matter what we were when our energy runs out?  Human beings are either very special or very deluded. What do you believe about God? Your answer will lead to a worldview that shapes your thinking about humanity, the world, and what exists beyond. This question is a matter of life and death. A life pursuing the answer is well spent. While this book will connect strongly with parents, it will benefit a wide group of readers. It will help the student struggling to make sense of the world. It will encourage men on a mission to find their faith and women desiring to share their convictions. It will help seekers exploring the concept of faith and Christians struggling with doubt. It will help older Christians understand the new generation of skeptics and the youth to understand the faithfulness of their elders. It will help anyone tired of floating through life without direction, purpose, or hope.

Jason B. Ladd. One of the Few (Kindle Locations 71-76). Boone Shepherd.

Now, let’s flip over to 56% on our Free Kindle Reader App” for Friday 56.
I think of how my high school football coach tied moral standards to team membership, and I think of a squadron commander who skillfully excised misconduct like a tumor while leaving his Marines’ spirit intact. I think of a Top Gun graduate who held Bible studies in his transient quarters while overseas. I think of business executives with the conviction to remain firm in the face of public scrutiny. I think of our nation’s Presidents, most of whom have been Christians (though obviously no less susceptible to sin). I think of the Apostles who kept their faith in the risen Lord in the face of certain death. According to church tradition, Matthew was cut down by the sword in Ethiopia. Mark breathed his last breath while being dragged through the streets of Alexandria. Luke’s neck snapped in a noose strung upon an olive tree in Greece, and Peter was crucified upside down in Rome. James the Greater was beheaded at Jerusalem, and James the Less was thrown from the temple roof and clubbed to death. Philip was “imprisoned, scourged, and crucified.” 9 Bartholomew was alive when his skin was peeled from his body. Andrew preached his last sermon from the cross. Thomas was impaled by a lance, and arrows pierced the body of Jude whereupon he gave up his spirit. Matthias was stoned and decapitated while John was boiled alive but managed to escape. He died in Ephesus at the age of 94. Barnabas was stoned to death at Salonica, and the apostle Paul was beheaded in Rome.

Jason B. Ladd. One of the Few (Kindle Locations 2315-2318). Boone Shepherd.

Again as a way of a disclosure, the author offered a free copy of this book to my child-bride Suzanne in exchange for her unbiased review of this book.  We already had a copy of this book in our To Be Read pile; we just moved it to the top.  We are a Marine family and Mr. Ladd is a Marine.



So here is my review:

This book is great. As a boy, I consumed anything there was to read about fighter planes and fighter pilots.  The first president of the Lion’s House Children’s Home was a former Air Force Fighter pilot. 

Mr. Ladd tells many stories of his adventures as a fighter pilot in training and later on in engagement over Iraq.  The book has been very interesting.  When the book got to Chapters 13 & 14, my eyes kind of glazed over as Mr. Ladd got into a little more intellectual stuff.

The book is an account of how Mr. Ladd went from an unbeliever to being a Christian and why this came about.  If you are a part of a military family, you will possibly appreciate that he uses military terms in his discussions and comments.  If you are not a military person or part of a military family, you will probably still enjoy this book because Ladd explains the military terms in civilian terminology. 

I have not completed this book yet, but I am enjoying it.  So far, I would give it four paws up. 




One of the Few: A Marine Fighter Pilot's Reconnaissance of the Christian WorldviewOne of the Few: A Marine Fighter Pilot's Reconnaissance of the Christian Worldview by Jason B. Ladd




Book ReviewOne of the Few by Jason Ladd


First of all, as a way of disclosure, our family is a Marine family. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Any part of a Marine family is family.

Mr. Ladd contacted us and asked us to review his book. He offered to send us a copy free for review. However, we already had a copy that he had given away free through a Kindle promotion.

I give this book five stars with a little reservation. Mr. Ladd takes his readers on a great journey as he goes from non-believer in Christ to a born-again Christian. The reservation comes from chapters 13 & 14 where the book got rather tedious and seemed more like a master’s level tome than a good read. Once we got past that, everything got better, for the most part.

Mr. Ladd takes on the Brony community and My Little Pony discussing things he clearly does not fully understand. Perhaps he is correct in some of his assessment, but not in all of it.

Other than that, this book is a great read. If you have ever read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book A Study in Scarlet, you are used to a surprise ending like the one in this book. If you are not familiar with that, you are in for a treat.

In spite of the two negative aspects listed above, I would have to suggest anyone who is curious about religion to read this book. It is a great read for someone who is already a Christian. It also uses some military comparisons to help someone who is questioning their faith, or lack thereof.

If you are questioning faith, or are just curious about religion, this book may help you.




View all my reviews



Also remember, we are in the process of preparing a course. Part of this course touches on how to stay on budget and frugal living.  A part of the frugal living plan is cooking on a budget.  If you have any frugal recipes, that is, recipes that don’t cost a lot to prepare, please send them my way. Thanks.



Please Visit My Child Bride Suzanne's Blog


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http://www.fredasvoice.com/2016/08/the-friday-56-with-book-beginnings_25.html


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