Friday, November 30, 2012

Dreams and Visions by Tom Doyle

I didn't realize how powerful this book would be! I was a little skeptical at first based on the title of the book thinking it would be more sensationalism but it was nothing like that at all. I didn't want to put this book down. Each chapter covers a different person's testimony of how he or she had a dream or vision of Jesus and how it spurred them to seek out more information. They were often led to another believer and they would share Scripture with them and usually give them their own Bible to read. I liked how the book was broken up geographically to show it's happening all over the Middle East. The passion Mr. Doyle has for Muslim's is inspiring. I think he presents great material and useful information on how to love Muslim's and realize that a very large percentage are born into the religion, not converted. The statistics he gives in the end were staggering to me. I think this is a fantastic book that everyone should read. I love what God is doing in the world! I think it's so valuable for us to hear these stories. I also like how he encourages us to pray for the people in his book as they are real live people, not just stories.

I received this book free from booksneeze.com in exchange for my review.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Radio Theatre: Oliver Twist

I thoroughly enjoyed this audio presentation of Oliver Twist! It had been a long time since I read the book so I didn't really remember any of the details of the story. The voices were great, the sound effects were just right to keep our attention. We listened to this on a couple road trips as a family and the kids loved it just as much as we did. The recommended age is 12 and up and my kids are younger than that so there were a couple of places we fast forwarded because they were frightened, but that says to me it was great voices and sound effects! I loved this presentation and would recommend it to anyone. It was a great way to "read" a great classic Dickens novel.

I received this audio CD free from Tyndale publisher's in exchange for my review.

The Girl in the Glass by Susan Meissner

This story has so many levels to it. When I started out I struggled to relate Nora's story to Meg's story but once she ended up in Florence it began to come together. Using a third character, Sophia, it really added to the experience. I really enjoyed the development of the character's struggles and the realizations in the end. It did seem quite poetic. I appreciated the artistic value it brought as well. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys art, Italy, a flavor of romance and mystery as well.

I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for my review.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Soul's Gate by James Rubart


I found this book quite interesting as well as entertaining. It definitely kept my attention. It dealt with the spiritual forces that we battle against. This is the first of a series so this book does a good job of establishing each of the main characters. They were all extremely different and likeable. They each have their own struggles that they are battling and I loved how they helped each other with their struggles. The whole battling inside someone's soul was strange but well done. I am glad that the author made a point in the end to say he doesn't believe that someone can actually enter someone else's soul. If you like reading fantasy, adventure and the spiritual realm, then you will enjoy this.  I really enjoyed the book and I look forward to reading the other's in the series.

I received this book free from booksneeze.com in exchange for my review.