Book Reviews

A Burden of Silence

by Larry Hehn on February 4, 2012

Speak about AIDS today, and you may still encounter much ignorance and fear.

Think back to 1988, a time when AIDS was even more misunderstood.

Imagine finding out that your mother was infected with the HIV virus through a blood transfusion, and was slowly dying of AIDS.

Imagine choosing to keep her battle a secret in order to avoid her being ostracized.

Imagine watching your mother suffer for years in silence.

This is Nancy Draper’s story. A story that needs to be heard.

A Burden of Silence not only brings us face to face with the realities of a family member battling AIDS, but also with the misperceptions and social stigma that have followed this disease.

Ultimately, though, it is the story of a daughter’s love for her mother, and how finally breaking the silence can transform one woman’s battle into a blessing for countless others and their families.

I received a copy of this book from the author, along with a request for review. I was not required to write a positive review. As a rule I only post reviews of books that I enjoy, and that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Embedded in this review is an affiliate link to Amazon.com. If you follow the link from here and buy a copy of this book, Amazon will award me a 4% commission on the purchase.

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Heaven is for Real

by Larry Hehn on January 5, 2012

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine…heaven.

Are there animals? Does everyone there have a halo? A harp? Wings?

What does Jesus really look like?

Well, maybe you should ask Colton Burpo.

See, while Colton was undergoing emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix at age three, he made an unlikely trip to heaven and discovered the answers to those questions firsthand.

Heaven is for Real documents the incredible story of Colton’s life-threatening illness and how, months later, his family discovered that more went on during his surgery than they could have imagined.

I admit, I approached this book with a great deal of skepticism. But I’ve officially been blown away.

From the careful, non-leading way in which Colton’s parents drew information from him about his experience, to the uncanny similarity between his observations and scriptural descriptions of heaven, I’m convinced that this is not something simply fabricated by a young imagination.

And while scripture gives us descriptions of heaven and much of what we have to look forward to if we accept Jesus as our savior, seeing it all through the eyes of a child in these pages has made it that much more awesome.

Want to answer all those questions you have about heaven?

Well, maybe you should read Heaven is for Real.

Believe me, you’ll be glad that you did.

What do you think heaven is like?

This book was bought with my own hard-earned cash. It was not a freebie, so I felt no obligation to endorse it. I was not required to write a positive review. As a rule I only post reviews of books that I enjoy, and that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Embedded in this review is an affiliate link to Amazon.com. If you follow the link from here and buy a copy of this book, Amazon will award me a 4% commission on the purchase.

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Finding Your Blogging Mojo

by Larry Hehn on September 15, 2011

Are you a blogger?

Have you ever had trouble answering the question, “What’s your blog about?”

Have you ever felt that your blog could use some tweaking, but didn’t know where to begin?

Have you ever lacked confidence in your blog?

Have you ever struggled to engage your audience?

When author and blogger Bryan Allain ~~begged~~ invited me to review his new eBook 31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo, I had no hesitation.

After all, they say that the best way to navigate a minefield is to follow the footsteps of someone who has already made it across.

Which begs the question: who are they, anyway? Why are they choosing to walk across a minefield in the first place? Who planted these metaphorical mines? What does that have to do with blogging? And what the heck is blogging mojo?

Well, the blogging world can be a lonely place full of questions, if you let it. Without anyone to guide you as a blogger, it’s entirely possible to spend weeks, months, even years wallowing in doubt and insecurity, and winding up nowhere.

But who wants that?

Bryan Allain has walked the proverbial blogging minefield, and shares his gleaned insight with a generous dose of humor. In 31 manageable steps, he will teach you how to find your blogging mojo – to start “writing about things you are passionate about for people who share your passion.”

Focusing on three core elements: audience, perspective and content, Allain gets you thinking about your blog in ways that will have you focused and blogging with more confidence than ever before.

This will very likely be the funniest, most accessible book on blogging that you will ever read.

No need to tiptoe through the blogging minefield any more. Pick up this gem of a guide, and get ready to find your blogging mojo!

I received a free review copy of this eBook from Bryan Allain. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Embedded in this review is an affiliate link to Amazon.com. If you follow the link from here and buy a copy of this book, Amazon will award me a 4% commission on the purchase. Hopefully Bryan will get at least 5%. After all, he did most of the work!

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The Year of Living Biblically

by Larry Hehn on July 15, 2011

I have a confession to make.

Though I’ve made a few attempts, I have yet to read the entire Bible within a year.

If you have, I salute you.

Reading the Bible from cover to cover takes a fair bit of discipline. I find some of those Old Testament books to be tough slogging. All those rules…

Which is why I’m so impressed with what A.J. Jacobs did.

He didn’t just read the Bible in a year. He lived it for a year.

And wrote a book about it.

Say what?

Yes, The Year of Living Biblically is an eye-opening, often hilarious look at Jacobs’ attempts to follow the rules of the Bible as literally as possible for a full year - from following the Ten Commandments, to eating crickets, building a hut in his living room, and even using a pebble to “stone” an adulterer.

As an agnostic from a secular background, Jacobs admits to being Jewish “in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant. Which is to say: not very.”

One of his purposes behind this quest was to see what he was missing.

In these pages Jacobs explores and experiences the Bible with fresh eyes, seeking advice from a multitude of sources: Amish, Orthodox Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Samaritans, evangelical Christians, even serpent handlers.

As he admits, you can’t immerse yourself in the Bible for a year and remain unchanged. While still an agnostic at the end of the year, Jacobs is now ”a deeply different kind of agnostic.”

I appreciated seeing the Bible from his perspective, and those he consulted as well. You are sure to come away from this shared experience with a new appreciation for the Bible, its contents, and what it takes to live them.

And you won’t have to eat crickets to get there.

What part of living Biblically do you find most intriguing?

This book was borrowed from my mother-in-law. She even wrote her name on the inside flap to make sure I returned it. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Embedded in this review is an affiliate link to Amazon.com. If you follow the link from here and buy a copy of this book, Amazon will award me a 4% commission on the purchase.

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The Book of Awesome

by Larry Hehn on April 28, 2011

A few weeks ago, my wife and I were touring one of my favorite book stores (ok, Costco). Right beside a stack of Rob Bell’s Love Wins was a book that really caught my eye. It was Neil Pasricha’s The Book of Awesome.

Based on the award-winning blog 1000 Awesome Things, The Book of Awesome points out dozens of everyday things that are…well…just plain awesome! More than just a grocery list, Pasricha brings life to each entry with a masterful touch of nostalgia and humor.

Prepare to smile and nod knowingly, have a few “aha!” moments, and maybe even add a couple of things to your bucket list.

The Book of Awesome is the ideal bathroom reader or coffee table book. The largest entries are only three or four pages long, and all stand alone. It’s the ideal book of fun and encouragement for those who may have limited reading time.

Here are just a few of my favorite awesome things from the book:

Old, dangerous playground equipment
Popping Bubble Wrap
Waking up before your alarm clock and realizing you’ve got lots of sleep time left
Peeling an orange in one shot
When you’re really tired and about to fall asleep and someone throws a blanket on you
Hearing a stranger fart in public
Laughing so hard you make no sound at all
Using Q-tips the way you’re not supposed to use them
Successfully moving all your clothes from the washer to the dryer without dropping anything
Playing with a baby and not having to change its diaper

Yep. Awesome wins.

What are some of the things on your Awesome list?

This book was bought with my own hard-earned cash. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Embedded in this review is an affiliate link to Amazon.com. If you follow the link from here and buy a copy of this book, Amazon will award me a 4% commission on the purchase.

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How you – and I – really feel about book reviews

by Larry Hehn on March 29, 2011

A big thank you to all who completed our book review survey!

I was amazed at how much I learned from your responses.

Here’s what you had to say about book reviews:

78% of readers had at least a mild interest. 22% were not interested.
83% of those interested in reviews preferred to see them either biweekly or monthly.
63% wanted to see a mixture of fiction and non-fiction. The rest wanted strictly non-fiction.

So, based on your feedback, here’s the plan: new book reviews posted every 2-4 weeks, covering mainly non-fiction but also fiction. Yes, book reviews will still be part of Christian in the Rough.

And here’s the part I’m really excited about:

Some of you went the extra mile and left some very helpful comments, with words like “timely” and “progressive”. Those did not fall on deaf ears! We’ve made some changes that should make the Book Review section a lot more interesting:

I no longer subscribe to any publisher-sponsored book review program. While it’s a great way for bloggers to get free books, it also limits the reading list. They have stuffy rules about how to structure and write your review. Plus if I want to get my next free book, I have to post a review whether I liked the previous book or not. Which brings up the next point…
From now on, I will only post positive reviews. I don’t enjoy writing and posting negative reviews. And I’m sure that not many people like reading them either. Life’s too short to read crappy books and then have to write a post about them. I’d rather just let you know about the ones I think are good.
This isn’t gonna be your grandma’s kind of book review. Ok, the stuffy guidelines are out the window. Let’s add some flavor and character to the reviews. And let’s find some fun, quirky stuff to review. Let’s face it – Max Lucado and John Maxwell don’t need me to review their next book, and neither do you.

I can’t wait to get going with this! I hope you’re as excited as I am!

While we’re at it, what else can you think of that would add to your book review experience here?

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