Savvy Thinker » Non-fiction http://savvythinker.com thinking about life, playing with makeup Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:15:26 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Getting through the day if you are dealing with hard times http://savvythinker.com/getting-through-the-day-if-you-are-dealing-with-hard-times/ http://savvythinker.com/getting-through-the-day-if-you-are-dealing-with-hard-times/#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:56:08 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=7540

Someone once said that grief is self-centered.

Having been there, done that, I have to disagree. For me, if it was self-centered, it wasn't self-imposed. I don't ever want to grieve again as deeply as I did ever ever, if I have a choice.

How do you get through? in my own words in no particular order (and you may have other ways):
- don't listen to ones who say really strange things to you in the name of trying to help
- be good to yourself every day
- hang onto the lifeline of spirituality and God
- make choices for happiness -- choose small things that make you happy
- look for any good that you can find
- recognize the smallest happiness/good and multiply it, if you can
- do this day by day, without fail, and somehow you get down the road a piece...
- don't fault yourself for grieving (you have two problems if you lay guilt on yourself)
- honor your feelings, they are valuable, even to God
- don't listen to others who tell you that their way is better/you are at fault
- use your life experiences to help others, if possible
- do something to take your mind off yourself -- visit with a friend, read a book, get out into nature, volunteer your services...

How are you getting through or how did you make your way through?
or how have you seen others make it through?
To some extent, each has to find and do what it takes to get through. Know you are not alone. And somehow, we do get through, as hard or as impossible as it seems.

Here's a book that sounds interesting:

In the book The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times Stephen G. Post tells how he got through a relocation crisis and how others can get through hardships or disappointments.

Be bold if life throws you a curve ball or you are forced to make changes in your life.

Throw yourself wholeheartedly into the journey...with a full heart...ready to give of yourself with compassion and forgiveness, never seeking the hidden gifts but finding them just the same. Stephen G. Post

Buy: The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times

Buy: (Kindle Edition) The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times

Karin
www.savvythinker.com



Originally posted 2011-02-08 07:14:18.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/getting-through-the-day-if-you-are-dealing-with-hard-times/feed/ 0 Review: Read My Pins by Madeleine Albright http://savvythinker.com/review-read-my-pins-by-madeleine-albright/ http://savvythinker.com/review-read-my-pins-by-madeleine-albright/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:28:53 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=6976

I'm not sure how I missed this book when it first came out, but if you are fascinated by jewelry and like a good read, I highly recommend this book. I couldn't put it down, once I started it.

And while it is available for Kindle, only buy it in hard cover. There must be several hundred full color photos, and you would miss a lot by seeing it only in black and white.

I must have been sleeping during the entire time Albright was Secretary of State, because I never knew anything about her wearing pins to send a message or to relay how she was feeling about sensitive talks. During the time she served in this position, once she began wearing pins there was even a website dedicated to watching what pin she wore and what it might possibly mean. I would have liked to have followed that, if I had known about it!

She fills the book with interesting vignettes of her life. I never knew she was born in Czechoslovakia or that her father was a diplomat or that she went to Wellsley and married into the Guggenheim family. It must have been a great advantage to speak and understand more than English in her political life.

The pictures in the book take your breath away! Many of the pins are gemstones and expensive, but there are many that are antique costume pins. She speaks about buying, at full price, some of the pins that were gifted to her in diplomatic negotiations.

When the Russians bugged her office, she wore a HUGE gemstone cockroach as a pin. It is beautiful, and tremendously savvy, but nothing I could ever carry off.

She began to wear pins when Saddam Hussein called her a snake. She happened to have a gorgeous gold snake pin and she wore it in the meeting she had with him.

She is a smart, aware woman, and to be able to send a message that is both pointed and subtle is quite a forte.

Have you read this book?
I give this 5 out of 5 stars. While I borrowed it from the library, I would like it to be in my library. I expect I will be buying it.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Paypal US $8.99 52m
Kindle e-reader as is use for parts Plus charger Model d00901 Kindle e-reader as is use for parts Plus charger Model d00901 Paypal 3 Bids US $6.50 15h 50m
New Pink Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Pink Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
New Red Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Red Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
New Clear Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Clear Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Paypal US $8.99 22h 10m
Amazon Kindle 3 E-Reader w/ 3G + Wifi + Free Leather Book Cover w/ Reading Light Amazon Kindle 3 E-Reader w/ 3G + Wifi + Free Leather Book Cover w/ Reading Light Paypal 0 Bid US $139.99 1d 15h 43m
NIB Amazon Kindle 2nd Generation e-reader and Leather cover also NIB NIB Amazon Kindle 2nd Generation e-reader and Leather cover also NIB Paypal 0 Bid US $170.00 2d 9h 20m
New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $7.95 2d 15h 42m

No items matching your keywords were found.


Originally posted 2010-06-25 09:15:04.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/review-read-my-pins-by-madeleine-albright/feed/ 0 The Third/or Fourth Man Factor http://savvythinker.com/the-thirdor-fourth-man-factor/ http://savvythinker.com/the-thirdor-fourth-man-factor/#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 02:20:29 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=5178

The Third Man Factor is an interesting concept. Evidently it should be The Fourth Man Factor, but

It was [Sir Ernest] Shackleton’s experience that inspired the term “Third Man factor” (although for his group it was actually a “fourth man” — T.S. Eliot misremembered the number when he wrote his poem The Waste Land, which popularized the idea). Geiger

The new book out by John Geiger sounds like a fascinating read.

Plus you can get this book for your Kindle.

The Third Man Factor is an extraordinary account of how people at the very edge of death experience the sense of an unseen presence beside them who encourages them to make one final effort to survive. This incorporeal being offered them a feeling of hope, protection, and guidance, and left the person convinced he or she was not alone. There is a name for this phenomenon: It's called the Third Man Factor.

If only a handful of people had ever encountered the Third Man, it might be dismissed as an unusual delusion shared by a few overstressed minds. But over the years, the experience has occurred again and again, to 9/11 survivors, mountaineers, divers, polar explorers, prisoners of war, sailors, shipwreck survivors, aviators, and astronauts. All have escaped traumatic events only to tell strikingly similar stories of having sensed the close presence of a helper or guardian. The force has been explained as everything from hallucination to divine intervention. Recent neurological research suggests something else. Amazon

You can read a long excerpt from his book here. One of the stories he relates is of Ron DiFrancesco who was the last person to make it out of the South Tower alive. He felt such a presence. It came to him as a voice, telling him what to do, encouraging him to survive, changing the direction in which he headed.

One of the interesting things to me was to learn this phenomena has existed in many places. I suppose I would prefer to think of the man as an angel or of Christ. It reminds me of the Biblical story of the three men thrown in the fiery furnace, but witnesses saw a fourth man walking.

He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Dan 3:25

Do you find this interesting?
Do you find it as interesting as I do to have a kind of substantiation of the Bible story by modern day experiences? I take things on faith, but it is good to have proofs of a sort anyway, not that all the proofs in the world would change someone's mind that is already made up.

I can't say I've ever felt a presence per se, but I have had words come to me as thoughts. I have never been in any extreme survival situation.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2009-10-19 21:31:14.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/the-thirdor-fourth-man-factor/feed/ 2 Forced to be family http://savvythinker.com/forced-to-be-family/ http://savvythinker.com/forced-to-be-family/#comments Sun, 16 Oct 2011 01:58:39 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2008/05/19/forced-to-be-family/

I appreciated the title and subtitle of this book for its cleverness: Forced to Be Family: A Guide for Living with Sinister Sisters, Drama Mamas, and Infuriating In-Laws. The author has also written a number of other books.

I enjoyed looking through this book, reading whatever caught my eye. It has some good strategies, most of which are common sense, and a lot of stories from real life.

If you've lived any of these scenarios, you know there isn't a one size fits all for the subject at hand. You may have already found a path that works for you, but if you would like other insights, this book might be an interesting place to start.

Karin

No items matching your keywords were found.


Kindle 3 Kindle 3 Paypal US $75.00 6d 18h 4m

Originally posted 2008-05-19 08:36:55.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/forced-to-be-family/feed/ 0 Review The Omnivore’s Dilemma http://savvythinker.com/review-the-omnivores-dilemma/ http://savvythinker.com/review-the-omnivores-dilemma/#comments Mon, 12 Sep 2011 01:39:51 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=6239

$8.00 in Kindle.

$9.99 in Kindle

These books were given to me as Christmas presents. They are not easy reads, but they have information that everyone should have some knowledge of, if they don't already. I had some awareness before I read these books, but I had no single book that would be a reference book on the subject.

The young reader's edition is like a Reader's Digest take on the adult book. The book is an abbreviated version, but it includes all the highlights. It is not something I want either my teen or pre-teen (or maybe even Book Girl) to read. Suffice it to know a bit about it, without reading it.

The author claims that those who are vegetarians begin to eat meat again, after reading his book, or conversely, those who eat meat become vegetarians.

He talks a lot about how corn has taken over, and what that means even for a cow's digestion.

He takes us from cattle ranching to small, green type farms that are self-sustaining. He helps on the latter for a period of time and on the day that chickens are processed. This particular farm was very interesting to me. I definitely recommend reading this section -- how the chickens are brought into the pastures where the cows had been a couple of days earlier. They clear the manure of eatable bugs, adding food to their diet and clearing the pasture for the safety of the animals. The systems of moving the animals is very interesting.

He finds large packing plants won't let him in. He describes in detail how a cow is killed for food, humanely.

These are not easy books to read, but they might be necessary for one's education.

Have you read either of these books?

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2010-01-25 12:08:48.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/review-the-omnivores-dilemma/feed/ 0 Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil http://savvythinker.com/kabul-beauty-school-an-american-woman-goes-behind-the-veil/ http://savvythinker.com/kabul-beauty-school-an-american-woman-goes-behind-the-veil/#comments Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:23:47 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=1049

Deborah Rodriguez has written a must-read book for those interested in other cultures and the fate of women world-wide. She has changed the names and stories, but the stories are true.

I've wanted to read this book ever since I heard of it, but never got around to having the time to do so.

My questions would be how endangered are any of the women she helped as a result of her book? and how accurate is the telling? I don't think identities could be withheld that thoroughly, and the stories are enough similar than any abusive husband could suspect it is his wife they are talking about.

Rodriguez has led an interesting life by anyone's standards. In 2002 she traveled to Afghanistan with a humanitarian group. Not only did it given her the opportunity to flee her second husband who was abusive and she later divorced, but she found her niche. A hairdresser by trade, she doesn't realize how much her skills would be welcomed.

She contacts Paul Mitchell who donates truckloads of product. Then she has to figure out how to get them, not only in her garage and away from her husband, but to Afghanistan. Another western woman in situ has also been moving in this direction and the two of them work together to establish a beauty school in Kabul.

Meantime, Rodriguez learns of the daily tragedies of Afghan women who are subjugated in many ways, including being beaten by their fathers or their husbands with impunity, groped on streets, made to serve in prostitution or worse, in a society that has generations of patriarchy behind it and no male incentive or desire to change.

Marriages are arranged to men often double digit older than their wives-to-be, men who go back to the lives they led in Europe who then divorce this wife, leaving her to her fate, or bring her to the foreign country where she disappears from her family. (The preparation for a wedding is interesting, including such things as waxing all body hair from both the bride and groom.)

Women are little more than chattel. They must prove their virginity, even after marriage to another; be subjugated to their husbands and their in laws; and etc.

Rodriguez finds herself loving the country and the women in a unique time when many men are unable to find work so they are willing, albeit with pressure, to allow their wives to learn the skills in order to support the family.

It is not a pretty picture, but it is one we would do well to heed. Unless we want the fate of women to deteriorate to such a state, we must hold the line with laws and regulations in countries outside of this culture where these women are brought to live -- even with second or third wives in the home country. (Men will visit every couple of years so these women become pregnant again.)

Rodriguez manages to open the school, standing up to officials and husbands. She finds a way to bridge the cultural gap to explain the logistics of hair coloring, by finally describing the underlying color as Satan that must be obliterated in order for the color to take effect. Then she allows the woman who grasps this concept to teach it to the other women.

Along the way she gathers a third husband, Afghan, in an arranged marriage, that she allows herself to be swept into, while at the same time realizing she needs the protection of a man in order to resolve some of the issues. The story of this marriage is woven into the book. She also knows she is the second wife. His is still married to his first wife who lives in another country with their children -- and has another child while Rodriguez is married to the same man.

She touches on the various ethnicities that are represented in Afghanistan; the compounds in which people live; the difficulties of having a beauty school when electricity and water are issues; and much more.

I understand the school is now closed and she may be living outside the country. I don't know details, but would be happy if someone could provide them.

Have you read it? I give it a 3.

Karin

Originally posted 2008-07-26 10:09:55.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/kabul-beauty-school-an-american-woman-goes-behind-the-veil/feed/ 1 Review: have a little faith by Mitch Albom http://savvythinker.com/review-have-a-little-faith-by-mitch-albom/ http://savvythinker.com/review-have-a-little-faith-by-mitch-albom/#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:55:55 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=7151

I thoroughly enjoyed have a little faith ... a true story. A friend loaned me her copy yesterday, saying I would love it. She was right.

Albom also wrote Tuesdays with Morrie and other books.

Albom was raised in the Jewish faith. But he had drifted away, making more and more time for work and less and less for any sense of religion, except he would go back home and sit with his parents in his seat in the synagogue for High Holy days. He never joined a temple where he lived.

During one of his visits, the only rabbi he ever knew as his rabbi, the one from his childhood, asks him if he would write the eulogy for his funeral, not that he is dying, but he is in his 80s.

And so begins the true story of a return to faith.

Albom feels he must get to know the rabbi better, so he begins to fly in on weekends and ask him questions, the large questions of faith, interviewing him. Do you believe? Why do you believe? How did you survive the loss of your 5 year old daughter? How did you reconcile it to your faith? Do you believe in heaven? What about forgiveness? What comes after this life? Will we meet again?

And about the same time he meets a Detroit pastor, ministering to the poorest of the poor, who himself had been a convict, drug user and who-knows-what-all-else. For a long time Albom doesn't trust that the man is real. His before-story seems so beyond belief, to come from that into this.

The book is written not quite in alternating chapters, but close. One chapter will be the story of the rabbi (Albert Lewis) as it unfolds. Then a chapter will be of Henry Covington. And occasionally there will be excerpts from Lewis' sermons.

I felt it was a privilege to walk the path of faith with these three men. After all, each of our faith walks is different, but all of value to God.

Have you read this book?
I give it 4 stars out of 4 stars.

It is also available for Kindle:

Karin

Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Paypal US $8.99 52m
Kindle e-reader as is use for parts Plus charger Model d00901 Kindle e-reader as is use for parts Plus charger Model d00901 Paypal 3 Bids US $6.50 15h 50m
New Pink Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Pink Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
New Red Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Red Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
New Clear Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Clear Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Paypal US $8.99 22h 10m
Amazon Kindle 3 E-Reader w/ 3G + Wifi + Free Leather Book Cover w/ Reading Light Amazon Kindle 3 E-Reader w/ 3G + Wifi + Free Leather Book Cover w/ Reading Light Paypal 0 Bid US $139.99 1d 15h 43m
NIB Amazon Kindle 2nd Generation e-reader and Leather cover also NIB NIB Amazon Kindle 2nd Generation e-reader and Leather cover also NIB Paypal 0 Bid US $170.00 2d 9h 20m
New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $7.95 2d 15h 42m


Originally posted 2010-08-25 15:24:56.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/review-have-a-little-faith-by-mitch-albom/feed/ 0 Review: eat pray love by Elizabeth Gilbert http://savvythinker.com/review-eat-pray-love-by-elizabeth-gilbert/ http://savvythinker.com/review-eat-pray-love-by-elizabeth-gilbert/#comments Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:50:14 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/2009/02/10/eat-pray-love-by-elizabeth-gilbert/

A friend loaned me her copy of the book eat, pray, love, because she liked it so well and felt I would too. I knew by the first few pages that I wanted a copy of my own.

It took me quite a while to work my way through the book, but in that way I could savor it. It's a rare book that is so enjoyable.

Gilbert has a wonderful way with words.

And the good news is that it is being made into a movie with Julia Roberts. That should be interesting! [edited: Here is my review of the movie -- it was interesting! I am currently re-reading the book after seeing the movie.]

The book is her chronicle of searching across Italy (where she eats her way, while learning Italian), India (where she is in an Ashram searching for God, finding herself in silent devotion and in words and communion with others), and Bali (where she finds love and helps a woman buy a home.)

Along the way we see her work through the angst of her difficult divorce. She moves from a sense of no belief to profundity. It is by turns funny, touching, endearing, sad...

If you've read it, how did you like it?
And if you haven't, treat yourself.

I rate it 4 out of 4 stars.

It is available for Kindle.

Her second book is about marriage. I have not read it. This is the Kindle link:

And, of course, now it is out as a movie with Julia Roberts.

Karin
previously published in August 2009

Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Paypal US $8.99 52m
Kindle e-reader as is use for parts Plus charger Model d00901 Kindle e-reader as is use for parts Plus charger Model d00901 Paypal 3 Bids US $6.50 15h 50m
New Pink Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Pink Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
New Red Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Red Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
New Clear Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Clear Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $8.95 17h 57m
Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Leather Case Cover for eReader Amazon Kindle 3 - Pink Paypal US $8.99 22h 10m
Amazon Kindle 3 E-Reader w/ 3G + Wifi + Free Leather Book Cover w/ Reading Light Amazon Kindle 3 E-Reader w/ 3G + Wifi + Free Leather Book Cover w/ Reading Light Paypal 0 Bid US $139.99 1d 15h 43m
NIB Amazon Kindle 2nd Generation e-reader and Leather cover also NIB NIB Amazon Kindle 2nd Generation e-reader and Leather cover also NIB Paypal 0 Bid US $170.00 2d 9h 19m
New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader New Black Silicone Soft Cover Case Compatible w/ Kindle 4 Tablet eReader Paypal US $7.95 2d 15h 42m




Originally posted 2010-08-18 08:00:36.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/review-eat-pray-love-by-elizabeth-gilbert/feed/ 0 Review 120 Days of God’s Diet (no) Devotional (no) Restoration Routine … http://savvythinker.com/review-120-days-of-gods-diet-no-devotional-no-restoration-routine/ http://savvythinker.com/review-120-days-of-gods-diet-no-devotional-no-restoration-routine/#comments Sat, 28 May 2011 14:40:04 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=7795

Cathy Barton's book is a sheer joy to read. The full title is a mouthful, which may be as it should be since it concerns a (non)diet Diet Book: 120 Days of God's Diet (no) Devotional (no) Restoration Routine for Plump Gals That Want to Better Themselves.

You do not have to be a plumb/chubby/fatso chick (none of these are my words, but trust me they are not used disparagingly) to enjoy this book. If you want change and transformation, no matter the subject, this book is for you. And if you need (no) would like (no) to lose weight, but it is too difficult for you to even contemplate (yes) for a multitude of reasons (yes), read the book just for the joy of it and forget that it has anything to do with (not) losing weight.

If you just want to (learn to) love yourself (for the first time ever) (more), then this book is for you. If you need to feel you are (worthy of being) loved, read it.

I recommend you order a copy today (I have no affiliation, but I must admit I know Cathy and she is as much fun, and as deep, in person as this book is. Plus our husbands were both going through very difficult times at about the same time.) Order a couple for friends. It has everything and nothing to do with weight -- how about weight of the heart? order one for you, then order for gifts when you realize what a wealth it is.

If you want to feel good and feel good about yourself, you will love this book. She is quick to admit she is no Bible scholar, but what the hey! she does a fantastic job.

She let her Bible open at random (is it really random!) to hear what God might say to her (and us.) Then she writes a short (max of 2 pages altogether) non-devotional. Well, it is a serious devotional, couched in a lot of humor, a whole lot of heart, and a mess of good ideas, written in a colloquial style that will have you in stitches while she manages to plug into your heart a whole lot of good thoughts.

The book is meant to be read and carried forward, day by day, but to tell you the truth, I just want to keep reading. I've even got my trusty pencil doing quite a bit of underlining. So my recommendation is read the whole thing; read as much as you can handle in a sitting; read some more; underline; skim the darn book; laugh your way through; then go back and do it day by day -- or re-read the whole book.

It is not available for Kindle, but we can hope.

Order your copy here:
http://www.publishamerica.net/product41205.html

Here's where you can go to see her daily (new) devotional as she works through the book herself:
http://www.120daysrestorationroutine.com/.

Make no mistake, she is a beautiful woman, within and without, and I love her. She is awesome!

I rate it 5***** and I'm only to page 47 of 255. Plus I'm going back to underline. I hope she writes a second book. She is also making herself available to give talks. Check her out! BTW I bought my own copy, but I'm gonna have her sign it -- and I'm going to ask her if I'm in the book anywhere. (Of course as one of the wonderful, awesome, thin [no] happy ones!)

And believe me, I want to be in her first audience. I might even invite a few friends over.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/review-120-days-of-gods-diet-no-devotional-no-restoration-routine/feed/ 0 Review Flipping Brilliant A Penguin’s Guide to a Happy Life http://savvythinker.com/review-flipping-brilliant-a-penguins-guide-to-a-happy-life/ http://savvythinker.com/review-flipping-brilliant-a-penguins-guide-to-a-happy-life/#comments Tue, 10 May 2011 04:34:33 +0000 Karin http://savvythinker.com/?p=6330

Flipping Brilliant is a short little inspirational book based on penguin life, but it is filled with wonderful, wonderful pictures of penguins.

It is also available as a Kindle book for $6.39. But I'm not sure you'd want it as an ebook yet, because you would lose the color photos. I don't think black and white would be quite as good, despite the majority of penguin color being black and white.

I had no idea there are 17 different kinds of penguins!

Ever wonder why the Emperor Penguins march so far from the sea before making their nests? This book has the answer -- because when the ice begins to melt, if they are too close to the sea, the entire colony would be lost.

I rate this book 5 star for the photos, and the inspirations drawn from them are better than I expected.

Have you read it?

Trollbead/Pandora/Chamilia/etc. penguins
BTW, for those of you who collect trollbead bracelets or Pandora, there are plenty of different styles of penguins to choose for your bracelet. Barbara Maria has one (she designed TB geese) that is really cute.

Another management book: Our Iceberg Is Melting by John Kotter

If I had time right now, I'd read this book among the first of the books I have to read. But it will be on a later agenda, even though it is an approximately 45 min read. It looked very interesting at the book store. Additionally, you can find it at $9.99 for your Kindle. This fable is about a penguin colony faced with a potentially fatal problem. Along the way, the author teaches 8 insights into how to understand and manage change.

Have you ever thought that change either comes too quickly -- or not soon enough.
Managing change, the unexpected kind, might be a good thing!

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Authentic Pandora Silver Purple Enamel Charm 491EN13 Authentic Pandora Silver Purple Enamel Charm 491EN13 Paypal 19 Bids US $48.07 12m
Authentic Pandora Sterling Silver Charm Angel Authentic Pandora Sterling Silver Charm Angel Paypal 2 Bids US $21.90 41m
Genuine Pandora Lion Head Bead / Charm 790443CZY Rare - Retired Genuine Pandora Lion Head Bead / Charm 790443CZY Rare - Retired Paypal 13 Bids US $125.51 1h 12m
Genuine Pandora Swan or Ugly Duckling Bead / Charm 790319 Rare - Retired Genuine Pandora Swan or Ugly Duckling Bead / Charm 790319 Rare - Retired Paypal 3 Bids US $49.14 1h 22m
Genuine Pandora Red Seeing Spots Murano Bead / Charm 790633 Rare - Retired Genuine Pandora Red Seeing Spots Murano Bead / Charm 790633 Rare - Retired Paypal 0 Bid US $52.34 1h 41m
Pandora Ring Double Bubbles SZ 6 1/2 Pandora Ring Double Bubbles SZ 6 1/2 Paypal US $48.00 3h 15m
AUTHENTIC Valentine 2012 PANDORA Open your Heart Charm/Bead 790964 AUTHENTIC Valentine 2012 PANDORA Open your Heart Charm/Bead 790964 Paypal 5 Bids US $29.00 3h 18m
.925 Sterling Silver Pandora Charm Bracelet Only NEW 14kt clasp .925 Sterling Silver Pandora Charm Bracelet Only NEW 14kt clasp Paypal 16 Bids US $58.99 3h 35m
Pandora Charm Bracelet ONLY NEW No Charms .925 Sterling Silver Gold Plated Pandora Charm Bracelet ONLY NEW No Charms .925 Sterling Silver Gold Plated Paypal 16 Bids US $60.00 3h 37m
AUTHENTIC PANDORA Dangle Hearth Charm/Bead w/Original Pandora Box - 790276 - AUTHENTIC PANDORA Dangle Hearth Charm/Bead w/Original Pandora Box - 790276 - Paypal 3 Bids US $23.51 3h 37m

Authentic Trollbeads Retired Julian Glass Bead Authentic Trollbeads Retired Julian Glass Bead Paypal 0 Bid US $70.00 4h 44m
Authentic Trollbeads Austria World Tour Amadeus Authentic Trollbeads Austria World Tour Amadeus "Piano Keys" Silver Bead Paypal 0 Bid US $60.00 4h 44m
Authentic Trollbeads Baltic World Tour Lithuania's Bead Glass Bead Authentic Trollbeads Baltic World Tour Lithuania's Bead Glass Bead Paypal 0 Bid US $50.00 4h 45m
Trollbeads beads, RETIRED, authentic, Baby Carriage from Anniversary Brclt, NEW Trollbeads beads, RETIRED, authentic, Baby Carriage from Anniversary Brclt, NEW Paypal 0 Bid US $70.00 5h 51m
Trollbeads beads, RETIRED, authentic, Polar Bear 1153, NEW Trollbeads beads, RETIRED, authentic, Polar Bear 1153, NEW Paypal 0 Bid US $50.00 5h 52m
Trollbeads beads, RETIRED, authentic Trollbeads, Lilla Ribbon 61145, NEW Trollbeads beads, RETIRED, authentic Trollbeads, Lilla Ribbon 61145, NEW Paypal 0 Bid US $99.00 5h 54m
AUTHENTIC TROLLBEADS RETIRED CORAL BUBBLES 61393 TROLLBEAD AUTHENTIC TROLLBEADS RETIRED CORAL BUBBLES 61393 TROLLBEAD Paypal 4 Bids US $23.50 6h 16m
AUTHENTIC TROLLBEADS LUCKY CLOVER 61249 TROLLBEAD AUTHENTIC TROLLBEADS LUCKY CLOVER 61249 TROLLBEAD Paypal 1 Bid US $19.99 6h 17m
AUTHENTIC TROLLBEADS CLEAR CORAL STRIPE 61434 TROLLBEAD AUTHENTIC TROLLBEADS CLEAR CORAL STRIPE 61434 TROLLBEAD Paypal 0 Bid US $19.99 6h 18m
AUTHENTIC TROLLBEADS OOAK CORAL BLINDS TROLLBEAD UNIVERSAL UNIQUE AUTHENTIC TROLLBEADS OOAK CORAL BLINDS TROLLBEAD UNIVERSAL UNIQUE Paypal 0 Bid US $29.99 6h 18m

Originally posted 2010-02-07 19:53:11.

Online Stores ]]> http://savvythinker.com/review-flipping-brilliant-a-penguins-guide-to-a-happy-life/feed/ 0