Balance 2011

During 2011 I read, watched and reviewed the following:

January

Books:

- "Possession" by Rene Gutteridge. Read my review.
- "Voices of the Faithful - Volume 2" by Beth Moore. Read my review.
- "Sun Stand Still" by Steven Furtick. Read my review.
- "Mauria" by Steve North. Read my review.

February

Books:
- "Flight Plan" by Lee Burns and Braxton Brady. Read my review.
- "The Shelter of God's Promises" by Sheila Walsh. Read my review.
- "Nana - The Four Crystals" by Guillermo Romano. Read my review.
- "Dragons of the Valley" by Donita K.Paul. Read my review.
- " Journey to Riverbend" by Henry McLaughlin. Read my review.

March

Books:
- "The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R.Tolkien. Read my review.
- "We Be Big" by Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey with Don Keith. Read my review.
- "Time with God for Fathers" by Jack Countryman. Read my review.
Movies:
- "The GrandFathers" EGM Film - 2011. Read my review.

April

Books:
- "Thriving at College" by Alex Chediak. Read my review.
- "The Final Summit" by Andy Andrews. Read my review.
- "When the Soul Mends" by Cindy Woodsmall. Read my review.
- "Max On Life" by Max Lucado. Read my review.
- "The Invisible World" by Anthony Destefano. Read my review.

May

Books:
- "Galileo" by Mitch Stokes. Read my review.
- "Spain" a Travel Guide by Lonely Planet - Anthony Ham et al. Read my review.
- "The Trigger" by Hon S. Hoh. Read my review.
- "Venice & the Best of Northern Italy" a Fodor's Travel Guide by Peter Blackman et al. Read my review.
- "The Great Mogul Diamond" by G.P.Taylor. Read my review.

 June

Books:
- "A Reluctant Queen" by Joan Wolf. Read my review.
- "Golf for Dummies" by Gary McCord. Read my review.
- "WE x ∞" by Charlie Pedersen. Read my review.
- "Switzerland" a Fodor's Travel Guide by Kati Clinton Robson et al. Read my review.
- "When Lightning Strikes" by Kay and Bobby Brunson. Read my review.
Softwares:
- "Italian Instant Immersion Levels 1, 2 & 3" from Topics Entertainment. Read my review.

July

Books:
- "Indelible" by Kristen Heitzmann. Read my review.
- "Essential India" a Fodor's Travel Guide by Vidya Balachander et al. Read my review.
- "Billy Graham in Quotes" by Franklin Graham with Donna Lee Toney. Read my review.
- "The Complete African Safari Planner" a Fodor's Travel Guide by Claire Baranowski et al. Read my review.

August

Books:
- "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn. Read my review.
- "Boston" a Fodor's Travel Guide by Bethany Beckerlegge et al. Read my review.
- "Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)" by Brian Jones. Read my review.
- "Flash Mobile - Developing Android and iOS Applications" by Matthew David. Read my review.
- "Prophecy of the Sisters" by Michelle Zink. Read my review.
- "Average Joe" by Troy Meeder. Read my review.
Other Products:
- "Ravensburger Puzzle Store" by Ravensburger. Read my review.

September

Audio-books:
- "A Trick of the Light" by Louise Penny. Read my review.
Books:
- "Your 100 Day Prayer" by John I.Snyder. Read my review.
- "Life Application Study Bible Devotional". Read my review.
- "Enemies of the Heart" by Andy Stanley. Read my review.
- "Ascent from Darkness" by Michael Leehan. Read my review.
Other Products:
- "Drinkwell Hy-Drate Dog Ice White". Read my review.

October

Audio-books:
- "Only Time Will Tell" by Jeffrey Archer. Read my review.
Books:
- "Android Application Development in 24 Hours" by Lauren Darcey and Shane Conder. Read my review.

- "Discover Peru" a Travel Guide by Lonely Planet - Carolina A. Miranda et al. Read my review.
- "The God Pocket" by Bruce Wilkinson with David Kopp. Read my review.
- "Windows Phone 7 Programming for Android and iOS Developers" by Zhinan Zhou et al. Read my review.
- "Bible Stories for Preschoolers" by B.Swanberg et al. Read my review.
- "Hope Underground" by Carlos Parra Díaz. Read my review.
- "The Book of Man" by William J.Bennett. Read my review.
Movies:

- "A Horrible Way to Die" (2010). Read my review.
Other Products:
- "T225 Universal Bluetooth Car Speakerphone" by Motorola. Read my review.

November

Audio-books:
- "The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout" by Jill Abramson. Read my review.
- "Glow (Sky Chasers)" by Amy Kathleen Ryan. Read my review.
Books:
-"Raised Right" by Alisa Harris. Read my review.
- "The Grace Effect" by Larry Taunton. Read my review.

Other Products:
- "Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 with Nine Programmable Controls". Read my review.
- "Remington D3710 Ceramic Fast Finish Dual Fan Turbo Hair Dryer, 1875 Watts". Read my review.
- "Logitech Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad 2". Read my review.

December

Books:
- "The Mirror of the N'de" by L.K.Malone. Read my review.
- "The Gospel Story Bible" by Marty Machowski. Read my review.
- "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived" by Steven K.Scott. Read my review.
Movies:
- "13" (2011). Read my review.
Other Products:
- Product "Simplehuman Sensor Pump for Soap or Sanitizer, Brushed Nickel, 13-Ounce". Read my review.

Balance of December

During the month of December, I read/watched and reviewed the following:

Books:
- "The Mirror of the N'de" by L.K.Malone. Read my review.
- "The Gospel Story Bible" by Marty Machowski. Read my review.
- "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived" by Steven K.Scott. Read my review.
Movies:
- "13" (2011). Read my review.
Products:
- Product "Simplehuman Sensor Pump for Soap or Sanitizer, Brushed Nickel, 13-Ounce". Read my review.

Product "Simplehuman Sensor Pump for Soap or Sanitizer, Brushed Nickel, 13-Ounce"

About the Product: It's touch-free: place your hand under the sensor to dispense soap or sanitizer automatically.
Volume control: easy-to-use buttons control how much soap, lotion or sanitizer to dispense.
No messy spills: wide opening makes refills fast, easy and mess-free.
Clear soap chamber: shows soap level at a glance.
Requires 4 aa batteries (not included).

My Review: This soap dispenser has a very elegant design and it has a very nice feature that allow us to adjust how much soap the unit dispenses every time the sensor is activated. The clear soap chamber is also a plus, as we are not caught by surprise, with dirty hands and no soap... I have read some reviewers complaining about the life of the batteries. I am using this device daily for about a month still with the first set of batteries and so far they do not seem to be fading.

Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this product for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!

Book "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived" by Steven K.Scott

In the process of transferring our blog to a brand new domain, this archived post has been adapted to BooksCrier.com

About the Book: In this short, powerful book, multimillionaire and bestselling author Steven K. Scott reveals King Solomon’s breakthrough strategies to achieve a life of financial success and personal fulfillment.
Steve Scott flunked out of every job he held in his first six years after college. He couldn’t succeed no matter how hard he tried. Then Dr. Gary Smalley challenged him to study the book of Proverbs, promising that in doing so he would achieve greater success and happiness than he had ever known. That promise came true, making Scott a millionaire many times over.
In The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, Scott reveals Solomon’s key for winning every race, explains how to resolve conflicts and turn enemies into allies, and discloses the five qualities essential to becoming a valued and admired person at work and in your personal life. Scott illustrates each of Solomon’s insights and strategies with anecdotes about his personal successes and failures, as well as those of such extraordinary people as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, and Steven Spielberg.
At once inspiring and instructive, THE RICHEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED weaves the timeless truths of one of our greatest works of literature into a detailed roadmap for successful living today.

About the Author: Steven K. Scott is the best-selling author of The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, Mentored by a Millionaire, Simple Steps to Impossible Dreams, and A Millionaire's Notebook. After failing nine jobs in his first six years after college, he learned the laws of life success by studying the book of Proverbs. As a result, Scott and his business partners built more than a dozen multimillion-dollar companies from scratch, achieving billions of dollars in sales. He is the cofounder of The American Telecast Corporation, Total Gym Fitness, and Max International. Scott is a popular international speaker on the subjects of personal and professional achievement and the application of biblical wisdom to every area of life.

My Review: This is a very well written book, inspirational for the lives of many of us who at a certain point in life started procrastinating doing things and gave up our dreams. In sixteen chapters the author covers all the wisdom contained in the book of Proverbs, giving us strategies for succeed in many areas of our lives, like business, marriage etc, through the learning of five qualities that makes the whole difference if we know how to use and develop them.
The author talks about greedy, pride, hope, importance of communication, kindness, truth, partnership, graciousness, honesty and many other important topics, and he makes all the connections from those topics to the book of Proverbs and how King Solomon dealt with them and which is the advice of the wisest man that ever lived.
I recommend this book to the permanent library of any person who wants to shake his life and succeed in what he/she is trying to achieve. Very easy reading, it took me around 9 hours to read the whole book.
This book was written by Steven K.Scott and was published in February of 2006 by WaterBrook Multnomah Books. The publishers were kind enough to provide me a copy for reviewing through their Blogging for Books Program.

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts and give a feedback about this review using the link below.

Movie "13" (2011)

About the Movie: A naïve young man assumes a dead man's identity in order to join a underworld game of Russian Roulette. The stakes are high, but the payout is more than he can resist. His only collateral is his life and however long his luck can hold. Are his odds any better than any other player in this most deadly game?

My Review: This is a very intense and entertaining movie. The plot is simple: an young electrician (Sam Riley) overhear a talk while doing a work in a house, about a clandestine job that can potentially pay a huge amount of money. As he and his family are in deep financial crisis, having to pay for medical bills after his father suffered an accident, he decided to take the identity of the person planning to attend the job, as the person died of overdose. But he does not have any idea of what waits for him. Following the instructions, he finds himself in a huge mansion, where people are betting on life and death in a Russian Roulette tournament. There is no way out of the deal and the rounds are increasingly challenging and there can be only one winner. The movie is very well filmed, some characters are played by excellent known actors, like Mickey Rourke, Curtis Jackson, Jason Statham and Ray Winstone.
I recommend this movie to those who love to watch a movie on the edge of their seats. Although it is slow in action, the psychological thriller is intense and worth watching.
The movie is directed by Gela Babluani, it was released in DVD in September 2011 and Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this copy for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

Length of Movie: 90 minutes

If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!

Book "The Gospel Story Bible" by Marty Machowski

About the Book: Can a Bedtime Story Actually Change Your Life? It is easy to forget Jesus in the midst of frantic schedules, family squabbles, and conflicting priorities. But the truth is that he is the hero of every story, including these ordinary ones. This is why Marty Machowski puts God's plan of salvation in Christ on continuous display in The Gospel Story Bible. The easy-to-read storybook introduces your family to many captivating people, places, and events from the Bible's Old and New Testaments, showing how each one ultimately points to Jesus. As you share these Bible Stories together, you and your family will meet Jesus and learn a new, life-changing way of recognizing Christ as the hero of every story. Vibrant illustrations by A. E. Macha, child-friendly discussion questions, and Scripture references accompany each narrative to help you lead your family in exploring the Bible. You will be delighted to discover how easily even a young child can understand the original text of a story that he or she has already come to love. Ideal as a storybook for your preschooler, a devotional for your grade school student, a refresher for the adult believer, or an introduction for the new one, The Gospel Story Bible is also a companion to Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God and the forthcoming Gospel Story Sunday School curriculum.

About the Author: Marty Machowski is the Family Life Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, a Sovereign Grace Ministries church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, where he has served on the pastoral staff for twenty-three years. Marty leads Promise Kingdom, the children's ministry of Covenant Fellowship. He is the author of the forthcoming Gospel Story Sunday School Curriculum and the companion Gospel Story Children's Bible. He and his wife Lois and their six children reside in West Chester Pennsylvania.

My Review: This book is a piece of art. Very well written and beautifully illustrated, this could be a magnificent gift to any children. I just wished I had received one when I was a kid. 

Mr. Marty Machowski has a talent to communicate the Gospel in an easy way, captivating the attention of young audience. He divided the book in two parts: 78 stories of the Old Testament and 78 stories of the New Testament. Each full story is one page long, with an additional page with an illustration related to the topic, and a "Let's Talk About It" with three questions about the story. The ideal scenario is for an adult to read one story per night and then talk to the child asking those questions to make sure the attention was there and the concepts were understood. I cannot stress more how beautiful the illustration on the whole book is, being a big part that makes this book an instant success among the children. The illustrator is A.E.Masha. This is a must have for the permanent library of any Christian family.

This book was written by Mr. Marty Machowski and illustrated by A.E.Masha and it was published by   New Growth Press in December, 2011 and B&B Media Group were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their blogger book review program.

If you are reading this review, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.

"The Hidden Gifts of Helping: Do Good Things for Others This Holiday Season" by Stephen G.Post

The Hidden Gifts of Helping:
Do Good Things for Others This Holiday Season

Article by Stephen G. Post,
Author of The Hidden Gifts of Helping,a Wall Street Journal bestseller
(www.StephenGPost.com/HiddenGifts)

Ebenezer Scrooge begins in The Christmas Carol with a “Bah humbug!” He is both miserly and miserable. As the story unfolds, he eventually discovers the “giver’s glow,” as I like to term it. He is dancing on the streets in the enduring joy of his newfound generosity of heart. I compare the giver’s glow to a glow stick that children get at parades and fairs. These are the translucent plastic tubes containing substances that when combined make light through a chemical reaction. After the glass capsule in the plastic casing is broken, it glows. The brokenness is part of the process. Give and grow, give and glow. Scrooge discovered this before it was too late.

Human beings are wired to give of themselves for noble purposes, regardless of circumstances. Recently, I delivered a sermon in an African-American Baptist church in Coram, New York. The subject was how we benefit when we love our neighbor. Afterwards, a wonderful elderly woman, who was full of vitality, said to me, “You know, that giver’s glow is how we African Americans have been getting through hard times for two centuries!”

On the inside cover of a copy of The Book of Common Prayer, given to me in 1986 by the Rev. William B. Eddy of Tarrytown, New York, is an accumulating memorial list of twenty people I have known closely as models of kindness and generosity over the years. To get on the list a person must have passed on and, by all accounts, remained generous even in their final days. These are people who understood that happiness is not to be found just in the getting, but in the giving, and they taught by example. Have you noticed the warm glow in your heart that comes when you act kindly? They had a deep sense of common humanity, and they all had a certain happiness about them—a sort of gaiety that comes with a life well-lived and rightly inspired.

In my most recent book, The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times (Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint), I describe a bit of an upheaval in my own life, and how helping others got me and my family through the inevitable tough times that come everyone’s way.

“After twenty years of being ‘at home’ in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, my job disappeared. Maybe we were too attached to Cleveland, and maybe God wanted us to move on. But as a family we never anticipated just how challenging up-rootedness is, especially when it is not something that you would have opted for in better times. So in June of 2008, we sold the house and moved east on Route 80 from Ohio to the George Washington Bridge, landing in Stony Brook. What a great place! But still, we just had not quite imagined how stressful such a move would be and how hard we would have to work to find renewed peace of mind and heart.

“Suddenly cut adrift from friends and community, we felt painfully uprooted—out of place, stressed out, disoriented and at odds with each other. Most movers suffer from a lack of companionship and intimate friends, at least temporarily, and doing this repeatedly is really tough. Fortunately, we had those twenty good years in Ohio. We struggled to find our footing with the move, determined to recreate the good life of community and friendships we all so keenly missed. The key turned out to be something we knew quite well, but learned to remember daily in our upheaval: the healing power of helping others. The medical prescription is this—Rx: Helper Therapy.

“Simply put, helping others helps the helper. Research in the field of health psychology, as well as all the great spiritual traditions, tells us that one of the best ways to get rid of anger and grief is to actively help others. Science supports this assertion: Giving help to others measurably reduces the giver’s stress; improves health and well-being in surprising and powerful ways; renews our optimism about what is possible; helps us connect to family, friends and lots of amazing people; allows the deep, profound joy of our humanity to flow through us and out into the world; and improves our sense of self-worth. These are valuable gifts anytime and particularly in hard times. If there is one great secret to life, this is it.”

After all was said and done, this move worked out. My wife found a grade school where she could continue her work as a teaching assistant for especially needy children, my son Drew volunteered at the hospital and I started working with families of individuals with autism. We eventually realized that wherever we are, we are at home when we can contribute to the lives of others. We got back in touch with the things that matter most, and maybe that is what hard times are for. We helped others in ways that we felt called to, we used our strengths so as to feel effective and we shared our experiences with family, faith community and like-minded others.

Eventually, of course, everyone stumbles on hard times, and no one gets out of life alive. Today, even those who had considered themselves protected from hardship are being touched and their lives changed by volatile economic markets, job uncertainty and the increasing isolation and loneliness of modern life.

Here are four things to keep in mind. First, as Washington Irving put it so well: “Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.” Second, love often does beget love, just as hate usually begets hate, and so good givers need to be good receivers. Third, we should never count on reciprocity because this is sure to be frustrating and ultimately small-minded. Better to take joy when those upon whom our love is bestowed do not “pay it back” to us, but rather “pay it forward” to others as they move through life remembering our good example. Or to bring this to the kitchen table, as I heard one Italian mother in Cleveland tell her son, “Love and forget about it!” And fourth, in I Corinthians Paul linked “faith, hope and love,” and he proclaimed that “love never fails.” What is faith but having confidence that no matter how harsh a particular scene in the drama of our lives or of history might be, it is love that wrote the play and love that will be revealed in the final act.

Do a little good this holiday season. The 2010 Do Good Live Well Survey,released by United Healthcare and VolunteerMatch (www.VolunteerMatch.org), surveyed 4,500 American adults. 41 percent of Americans volunteered an average of 100 hours a year. 68 percent of those who volunteered in the last year reported that volunteering made them feel physically healthier. In addition:

89% reported that “volunteering has improved my sense of well-bring”
73% agreed that “volunteering lowered my stress levels”
92% agreed that “volunteering enriched my sense of purpose in life”
72% characterized themselves as “optimistic” compared to 60% of non-volunteers
42% of volunteers reported a “very good” sense of meaning in their lives, compared with 28% of non-volunteers

How wise it is to do what one can to contribute benevolently to others!

Some individuals on my The Book of Common Prayer list were well known and others lived quiet lives out of the limelight. Some were appreciated and some not. We might prefer to think that loving servants of goodness would, after a long and successful life, die peacefully in their beds and all people would speak well of them at their funerals. But this is too simplistic. Everyone on my list experienced an enduring joy as a by-product of their generosity. Thus, the motto of my independent Institute for Research on Unlimited Love (www.unlimitedloveinstitute.com), founded with the help of Sir John Templeton (who happens to be on my list!), is “In the giving of self lies the discovery of a deeper self.”

To request permission to post this article or for review copy and interview information, contact:

Audra Jennings
Senior Media Specialist
The B&B Media Group
1-800-927-0517 Ext. 104 - ajennings@tbbmedia.com

__________________________________________________________________________

Since 1987, The B&B Media Group, Inc. has used its broadcasting, marketing and advertising experience to provide the specialized and strategic publicity necessary to achieve the public relations goals of each client. The Barnabas Agency, a division of The B&B Media Group, Inc., is a proven provider of exceptional public relations and personal management services for authors, speakers, ministries and organizations.

Book "The Mirror of the N'de" by L.K.Malone

About the Book: In the mythical city of N’de lives thirteen-year-old Hadlay and her people, the Ramash. Scorned and abused by the unloving and absent Emperor, the Ramash are poor people, placed second to the ruling class of the Oresed. Young but bold, Hadlay rages against the injustice in her city. When she is chosen for the honor of serving the Prince in the Tower, she hopes to find a way to right the wrong... but soon discovers that things are worse than she believed.
While Hadlay works to better her people’s condition, she struggles to abide with the abusive Oresed and understand the meaning of her dreams in which a fantastical white horse appears to her and speaks in riddles. When Hadlay stumbles into one of the Tower’s secret rooms, she discovers a hidden mirror that doesn’t just show her reflection, but reveals much more: the horse’s name is Sirach and he has a plan to save the children of N’de, if only Hadlay can bring them to the mirror. Hiding her knowledge of Sirach from the Prince, Hadlay sets out to do Sirach’s bidding. But when Sirach’s presence is revealed, Hadley’s life is in danger and the only way to save her is for Sirach to give up his own.
Crafting powerful narrative and creative characters, author L. K. Malone spins a compelling tale that combines exciting entertainment and the Christian story. In The Mirror of N’de, readers will empathize with the desires of an oppressed people, will anger at the affliction of a cruel adversary, and ultimately rejoice with the revelation of a Savior.
Take a look at the video trailer clicking on the link below:

About the Author: As a child, L.K. Malone liked to make up episodes of her favorite TV shows when she was supposed to be napping. Today she is an insatiable reader who devours nearly a book a day when she isn’t writing. Favorite genres include political thrillers, historical fiction, romance, and fantasy. Some of her favorite reads include the Hunger Games series and the Harry Potter books, which inspired her to try her hand at fantasy with a Judeo-Christian twist. Malone is a Colorado native with a large extended family, which includes two lovely young women who graciously let her mentor them through the Denver Kids program, and a handsome menagerie of pets.

My Review: This is a wonderful book, very well written and with a deep message to the young adults in our lives. The plot of the story is simple to follow. There is a place with heavy social injustice (sounds familiar?) called Turris, where the Oresed are the ruling class and the Ramash are the oppressed ones. A legend of a better place called N'de is transmitted through generations and hope is the only thing that remains for the Ramash. Our heroine Hadlay and her friends are from families persecuted (Ramash class). She has dreams about this place and in her dreams she sees a wonderful thing that has the image of a Being that talks to her. She and her friends are tested on patience, obedience, loyalty and discretion in order to be accepted to work for the king, which is consider to be a very high honor. Hadlay and her boyfriend Nomish are selected and they have to move to the Tower, the place where the king lives with his son. Over there they start their training on different arts, including using "magic" that seems very tempting, as they can control powers to do some tasks for them. But a series of events will show them that things are not as bright as they look, and soon they will have to face decisions that change their lives forever.
This is a very easy reading that will get you involved from the beginning, cheering for your favorite characters. And the theological message behind the scenes is tremendous and will touch you deeply. Loyalty, forgiveness, friendship, trust, treason are concepts worked on every page of this book. I recommend this book to a permanent library of any reader that enjoys a very good fantasy book.

This book was written by L.K.Malone and was published in October of 2011 by Kregel Publications. Litfuse Publicity Group was kind enough to provide me a copy for reviewing. Opinions expressed here are my own.

Litfuse is promoting a Blog tour for this book. Take a look at their Blog Tour Schedule.

If yo want to buy this book, click on the link bellow:



If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.

Balance of November

During the month of November, I read/watched and reviewed the following:

Audio-books:
- "The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout" by Jill Abramson. Read my review.
- "Glow (Sky Chasers)" by Amy Kathleen Ryan. Read my review.

Books:
- "Raised Right" by Alisa Harris. Read my review.
- "The Grace Effect" by Larry Taunton. Read my review.

Other Products:
- "Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 with Nine Programmable Controls". Read my review.
- "Remington D3710 Ceramic Fast Finish Dual Fan Turbo Hair Dryer, 1875 Watts". Read my review.
- "Logitech Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad 2". Read my review.

Product "Logitech Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad 2"

About the Product: Technical Details:
- Fold-up keyboard and stand for iPad 2: Compact fold-and-go design holds your iPad 2 at the ideal angle for typing and taking notes.
- Full-sized Bluetooth keyboard: More comfortable and easier than typing on small, folio-style wireless keyboards.
- USB charging: You never need to replace batteries.
- Auto on and off: Power-conserving keyboard automatically wakes up when unfolded and turns off when closed.
- Works with your Smart Cover: Fits your iPad and cover-on the go when your keyboard is folded and at your desk when it's unfolded

My Review: This product is a great addition for your iPad2, probably not for a full time use, but whenever you need to answer a bunch of e-mails or have to type for navigating on Internet. The keyboard looks great, has a nice and soft touch and it is conveniently small and splits in two, allowing it to fold into a space below the overall structure. Very light, it does not compromise the weight, and you have to keep in mind that you do not need to use it all the time. When you are done typing, you fold it and take your iPad away, so you can again have the flexibility that you love of rotating your iPad and use it in portrait, instead of landscape orientation. The angle for the iPad is not adjustable, but it is close to what I believe most users would adjust it into anyway.

Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this product for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!

Book "The Grace Effect" by Larry Taunton

About the Book: “Simply defined, the ‘grace effect’ is an observable phenomenon—that life is demonstrably better where authentic Christianity flourishes.”
What does Christianity give us beyond televangelists, potlucks, and bad basketball leagues? Not much, according to the secular Left. The world, they say, would be a better place without it.
Historian and Christian apologist Larry Taunton has spent much of his career refuting just this sort of thinking, but when he encounters Sasha, a golden-haired Ukranian orphan girl whose life has been shaped by atheistic theorists, he discovers an unlikely champion for the transforming power of grace.
Through the narrative of Sasha’s redemption, we see the false promises of socialism; the soul-destroying influence of unbelief; and how a society cultivates its own demise when it rejects the ultimate source of grace. We see, in short, the kind of world the atheists would give us: a world without Christianity—cold, pitiless, and graceless.
And yet, as Sasha shows us, it is a world that is not beyond the healing power of “the grace effect.” Occasionally infuriating, often amusing, but always inspiring, The Grace Effect will have you cheering for the courageous little girl who shamed the academic elitists of our day.

"This highly readable book is a collection of powerful insights into the long-term consequences of spiritual indifference and, above all, a remarkable example of how to conquer it."
— Dr. Olivera Petrovich, research psychologist, University of Oxford

"What would a world without Christianity look like? We don't have to guess because such a world does exist: it exists in the current and former Communist bloc. Through the inspiring story of a little girl born in Eastern Europe and now living in America, Larry Taunton draws a sharp contrast between the life-giving influence of Christianity and the worn out theories of atheism and radical secularism. The effect--The Grace Effect--is nothing less than powerful and moving."
-- Dinesh D'Souza, former White House policy analyst, fellow of the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, and current president of Kings College

About the Author: Larry Alex Taunton is Founder and Executive Director of Fixed Point Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to the public defense of the Christian faith. Fixed Point has captured the attention of BBC, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News Network, The Christian Post, The Times (of London), Spectator Magazine and many others.
Mr. Taunton has personally engaged some of the most vociferous opponents of Christianity, including Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Peter Singer. In 2007, he organized “The God Delusion Debate,” on the merits of Dawkins’s arguments against Christianity as set forth in his bestselling book, The God Delusion. The lively discussion was heard by over a million people worldwide. In 2008, he chaired two follow-up debates at the University of Oxford.

Taunton and his family reside in Birmingham, Alabama.

My Review: This is a wonderful book that tell us the story of Sasha, a Ukrainian orphan girl who is adopted by the author's family and has a deep everlasting effect on their lives as well as on the lives of those surrounding them. The author narrates in full details all the incredibly difficult saga of the adoption process in Ukraine, a society governed by corruption and still impregnated with socialism culture of atheism. And at the end, that is the proof that a world without Christianity is a cold world, where people do not care about their orphan children and where there is no grace at all.
I was very happy and full of hope after reading this book, for finding people that still try to live according to the word of God. Congratulations to Mr. Larry Taunton and his family for giving us this wonderful example of life and resolution. And example is the best way for educating people.

This is a very inspirational and powerful book. I recommend this book to be in the permanent library of all Christians and they should read constantly to remind them on the importance of Christianity in society.

This book was written by Larry Alex Taunton and published by Thomas Nelson in November of 2011 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program.

If you are reading this review, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.

Product "Remington D3710 Ceramic Fast Finish Dual Fan Turbo Hair Dryer, 1875 Watts"

About the Product: Frustrated with spending all your time blowing your hair dry before work? Don't waste more time than you have to! With Remington's Style Solutions Fast Finish Hair Dryer you'll have your hair dry in half the time of other top selling dryers. With two turbo fans powered by a high-torque motor, and 1875 watts of enhanced air flow, you can be assured that this is the fastest dryer to hit the market. This power-loaded tool has three heat settings, two speed settings, plus the option for turbo speed in case you are in a real hurry. A few minutes with this dryer, followed by a blast of its cool air button will have your hair dry and styled in no time. With Remington's Style Solutions Fast Finish Hair Dryer, you'll have more time for fun!

My Review: This is a very powerful tool. It does the job better than  advertised. A little bit heavier than I would like, but it does not compromise at all the overall performance. The 3 levels of heat adjust are great, because I can even use it to dry my dog's fur after a bath and adjust it to the middle setting, as my dog is not that tolerant to heat air flow on her. Even just the air flow without heat is great for that purpose (and I have a labrador retriever that loves to get wet...). Now in less than 15 minutes I can have her dry and not smelling like a wet dog.

Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this product for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!

AudioBook "Glow (Sky Chasers)" by Amy Kathleen Ryan

About the Book: If a violent battle destroyed the only world you’ve ever known, would you be brave enough to save who was left? Would love be strong enough to survive the fight? Either way, there’s no turning back.
The Empyrean is the only home 15-year-old Waverly has ever known. Part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, she and her boyfriend Kieran will be pioneers of New Earth. Waverly knows she must marry young in order to have children who can carry on the mission, and Kieran, the handsome captain-to-be, has everything Waverly could want in a husband. Everyone is sure he’s the best choice. Still, there’s a part of Waverly that wants more from life than marriage, and she is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.
Suddenly, Waverly’s dreams are interrupted by the inconceivable – a violent betrayal by the Empyrean's sister ship, the New Horizon. The New Horizon’s leaders are desperate to populate the new planet first, and will do anything to get what they need: young girls. In one pivotal moment, Waverly and Kieran are separated, and find themselves at the helm of dangerous missions, where every move has potentially devastating consequences, and decisions of the heart may lead to disaster.
Pulse-pounding and addictive, GLOW begins the most riveting series since The Hunger Games.

About the Author: Born in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Amy Kathleen Ryan is a graduate of the New School Creative Writing Program. She lives in Colorado. Visit her website at: www.AmyKathleenRyan.com.

My Review: This audio book comes in a 8-CD compilation, read by Ilyana Kadushin and Matthew Brown, with a running time of 10 hours (unabridged).

This is a very well written book, telling us the story of an expedition headed to the new earth in a far away galaxy. Two spaceships are traveling to this new world. One of them solved the problem of procreation on space while the other claims sabotage when receiving the information about this solution, that prevent their females to produce eggs. This causes a major conflict between the two spaceships and from there the story unfolds in a series of unexpected twists. Brilliant overall, you have all the ingredients to captivate the attention from the beginning and you really start cheering for your personal heroes. You have the love triangle, you have traitors, heroes, greedy people etc, that guarantees the success of the story. My only complain is that the continuation of this story is not published yet.

The narration of Ilyana Kadushin and Matthew Brown makes this listening very entertaining. Excellent option for a long commuting.

This is a must have in the permanent library of any  science-fiction lover.

This audiobook was published by Macmillan Audio in September 2011 and Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this audiobook for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!

AudioBook "The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout" by Jill Abramson

About the Book: An instructive and marvelously entertaining chronicle of a puppy's first year, by the executive editor of The New York Times. One sparkling summer day, Jill Abramson brought home a nine-week-old golden retriever named Scout. Over the following year, as she and her husband raised their adorable new puppy, Abramson wrote a hugely popular column for The New York Times's website about the joys and challenges of training this rambunctious addition to their family. Dog-lovers from across the country inundated her with e-mails and letters, and the photos they sent in of their own dogs became the most visited photo album on the Times's site in 2009. Now Abramson has gone far beyond the material in her column and written a detailed and deeply personal account of Scout's first year. Part memoir, part manual, part investigative report, The Puppy Diaries continues Abramson's intrepid reporting on all things canine. Along the way, she weighs in on such issues as breeders or shelters, adoption or rescue, raw diet or vegan, pack-leader gurus like Cesar Millan or positive-reinforcement advocates like Karen Pryor. What should you expect when a new puppy enters your life? With utterly winning stories and a wealth of practical information, The Puppy Diaries provides an essential road map for navigating the first year of your dog's life.

About the Author: Jill Ellen Abramson (born March 19, 1954) is the executive editor of The New York Times. Assuming the position in September 2011, she became the first woman in this role in the paper's 160-year history. A native of New York City, Abramson received her high school diploma from Ethical Culture Fieldston School and a B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard University in 1976. While a student at Harvard, she worked at Time magazine from 1973 to 1976 and subsequently spent nearly a decade as a senior staff reporter for The American Lawyer. In 1986, she was appointed as editor in chief of Legal Times in Washington, D.C., serving for two years. From 1988 to 1997, she was a senior reporter in the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal, eventually rising to deputy bureau chief. She became the chief of The New York Times Washington bureau upon her move to the newspaper in 1997. Abramson was the Times' Washington Bureau chief during the turbulent period of Spring 2003 during the run-up to the war in Iraq and the Jayson Blair scandal, which led to the resignation of Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd. Abramson was named to the news Managing Editor position (with co-Managing Editor John M.Geddes) by Raines' successor Bill Keller. In 1995, Abramson and her The Wall Street Journal colleague (and Fieldston alumna) Jane Mayer co-authored Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas, which detailed circumstances surrounding the confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas. Maureen Dowd would later write of having bonded with Abramson during that time. From 2000–01, she was a professor at Princeton University. She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001. In February 2007, Abramson testified in the perjury trial of Scooter Libby, United States v. Libby. She was called as a defense witness to undercut the credibility of Judith Miller. On June 2, 2011, it was announced that Abramson would become the executive editor of the Times in September 2011, replacing Bill Keller who would step down from the position to become a full time writer. An unabashed dog lover, she has long been fascinated by the complex relationship between dogs and their owners. She, her husband, and Scout live in New York City and Connecticut.

My Review: This audio book comes in a 4-CD compilation, read by Beth MacDonald, with a running time of 5 hours (unabridged).
This is a very well written book, telling us the story of the first year of Scout living with her new owners. It begins with the initial accommodation after being separated from her mother, but still living in a farm environment in Connecticut. Later the adaptation to live in New York City. The author describes in all details all her struggles to make their lives proceed with this new family member. Sometimes being very comical, sometimes sarcastic, she tells about all the services available for dogs in NYC that mimic services for humans, sometimes being even more expensive for dogs than the equivalent ones for humans. All training efforts are very well described and all the worries about health care and vet also are presented in this book. She also describes the interaction between Scout and the other dogs in the neighborhood and her personal interpretation on many situations lived by them.
The narration of Beth MacDonald makes this listening very entertaining. Excellent option for a long commuting. If you have to drive for about one hour, this should last for a week's worth of entertainment.

This is a must have in the permanent library of any dog lover.


This audiobook was published by Macmillan Audio in October 2011 and Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this audiobook for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!

Product "Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 with Nine Programmable Controls"

About the Product: The sculpted, ambidextrous Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 is the perfect first gaming mouse for anyone who wants more control and easier gameplay on their PC. You get:
* Nine programmable controls
* Three onboard memory profiles
* Easy-to-use configuration software, including automatic game detection
* Gaming-grade 2500 dpi optical sensor for accurate tracking on a wide variety of surfaces

My Review: This is a very nice mouse, beautiful design and fits perfectly in our hand. It is perfect for my family, as each one can create its own profile, programming the controls according to our preferences. Add that to the fact that my wife uses her left hand and I use my right hand to control the mouse. We do not play that much those fancy games, but this mouse works fine for regular use also.  My only "complain" is that our main computer at home is an iMac and this mouse works fine as a regular 3-button mouse, but we lose the capability of using the programmable buttons. But as it is so comfortable to handle, we decided to let it stay connected to our iMac and move it to our Windows based laptop when we need to play some game that uses those capabilities. As it uses a simple USB connection, the transfer is done with no pain.
I recommend this mouse mainly to any house that have users that use different hands to control it.


Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this product for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!

Book "Raised Right" by Alisa Harris

About the Book: Meet the new breed of Christians shaping our culture.
Alisa Harris grew up in a family that actively fought injustice and moral decay in America. She spent much of her childhood picketing abortion clinics and being home-schooled in the ways of conservative-Republican Christianity. As a teen she firmly believed that putting the right people in power would save the nation.
But as she moved into adulthood, Alisa confronted unexpected complexities on issues that used to seem clear-cut. So, she set about evaluating the strident partisanship she had grown up with, considering other perspectives while staying true to the deep respect she held for her parents and for the Christian principles that had always motivated her.
Raised Right is not only an intriguing chronicle of Alisa’s personal journey; it also provides a fascinating glimpse into the worldview of a younger generation of faith––followers of Christ who believe that the term “Christian” is not synonymous with a single political party or cultural issue.
Whether you are moderate, conservative, or progressive, Raised Right will prompt you to consider more deeply what it means to affirm Christ-like justice, mercy, and righteousness in the current cultural landscape. And it will give you a deeper understanding of how the new generation of Christians approaches the intersection of faith and politics.

About the Author: Alisa Harris is a journalist living in New York City who enjoys writing in quirky coffee shops. A 2007 graduate of Hillsdale College, she has worked as a college instructor in writing and journalism. Her writing has been published in WORLD, the Farmington Daily Times, Albuquerque Journal, and Detroit Free Press.

My Review: This is a remarkable book from a young lady who decided to share her view on how she was educated by her parents on a strong Christian basis, with links to politics being the way to redeem the world for Christ, and how she was disappointed when leaders of her home church began criticizing her because she started thinking on her own way, trying to discern the voices whispering in her ear. She writes about immigration, the poor, abortion, big government and politics.

This book is a quick and easy read. It took me around 8 hours to finish this book. I recommend it to all young Christians who are idealistic about politics saving this country through a faith proposition. This book should bring them more close to the reality that political ideologies are usually intoxicating, but far away from the true meaning of Christianity. Do not let your political beliefs become a substitute for your faith and your political party become your god!


This book was written by Alisa Harris and was published in September of 2011 by WaterBrook Multnomah Books. The publishers were kind enough to provide me a copy for reviewing through their Blogging for Books Program.

If you read this review, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts and give a feedback about this review using the link below.

Balance of October

During the month of October, I read/watched and reviewed the following:

Audio-books:
- "Only Time Will Tell" by Jeffrey Archer. Read my review.
Books:
- "Android Application Development in 24 Hours" by Lauren Darcey and Shane Conder. Read my review.
- "Discover Peru" a Travel Guide by Lonely Planet - Carolina A. Miranda et al. Read my review.
- "The God Pocket" by Bruce Wilkinson with David Kopp. Read my review.
- "Windows Phone 7 Programming for Android and iOS Developers" by Zhinan Zhou et al. Read my review.
- "Bible Stories for Preschoolers" by B.Swanberg et al. Read my review.
- "Hope Underground" by Carlos Parra Díaz. Read my review.
- "The Book of Man" by William J.Bennett. Read my review.
Movies:
- "A Horrible Way to Die" (2010). Read my review.
Other Products:
- "T225 Universal Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone" by Motorola. Read my review.

Book "The Book of Man" by William J.Bennett

About the Book: New York Times best-selling author William J. Bennett uses stories, essays, historical vignettes, and contemporary profiles to explore and explain what it means to be a man. Fashioning men has never been easy, but today it seems particularly tough. Boys need heroes to embody the everlasting qualities of manhood: honor, duty, valor, and integrity. Without such role models, boys will naturally choose perpetual childhood over the rigors of becoming a man - as many women, teachers, coaches, employers, and adults in authority can quickly attest. Too many boys and men waste time in pointless and soulless activities, unmindful of their responsibilities, uncaring in their pursuits. Have we forgotten how to raise men, how to lead our boys into manhood?
In The Book of Man, Bennett charts a clearer course, offering a positive, encouraging, uplifting, realizable idea of manhood, redolent of history and human nature, and practical for contemporary life. Like his classic, The Book of Virtues, Bennett uses profiles, stories, letters, poems, and myths to bring his subject to life, defining what a man should be, how he should live, and to what he should aspire in several key areas of life.
Chapters include:
Man in War
Man at Work
Man in Play, Competition, and Leisure





Man in the Polis





Man with Woman and Children





Man in Prayer and Reflection

About the Author: William J. Bennett served as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George H. W. Bush and as Secretary of Education and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities under President Reagan. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from Williams College, a doctorate in political philosophy from the University of Texas, and a law degree from Harvard. He is the author of such bestselling books as The Educated Child, The Death of Outrage, The Book of Virtues, and the two-volume series America: The Last Best Hope. Dr. Bennett is the host of the nationally syndicated radio show Bill Bennett's Morning in America. He is also the Washington Fellow of the Claremont Institute and a regular contributor to CNN. He, his wife, Elayne, and their two sons, John and Joseph, live in Maryland.

My Review: This is a superb piece of literature from Mr. Bennett. Very well written, this book is inspirational, making us stop from what we are doing and think about to where humanity is heading nowadays.
Mr. Bennett put together in this volume a collection of stories, essays, vignettes and profiles, all commented out by his vision of experienced person, adding new reflections and leading us to think about the importance of the basic moral concepts of manhood, like honor, duty, valor and integrity, as the role model for becoming a man.
Many of those values were lost during recent years and Mr. Bennett makes a huge effort trying to rescue them back into our society. Some stories touched me deeply, like those selections from Middlemarch by George Elliot.

This is a powerful book. I recommend this book to be in the permanent library of all Christian men and they should read constantly to remind them on the importance of being a man like God want us to be.

This book was written by William J. Bennett and published by Thomas Nelson in October of 2011 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program.

If you are reading this review, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.

Product "T225 Universal Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone" from Motorola

About the Product: Part of the Essential Series, the Motorola T225 Universal Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone reduces road noise for hands-free calling. The Motorola T225 features one mic noise reduction, powerful 2-watt speaker, 45 hours talk time and 5 1/2 months standby time, and voice prompts for spoke updates.
Product Features
- Loud and Clear- World class echo and noise reduction with one microphone, and powerful 2-watt speaker ensure you'll hear and be heard over the road noise.
- Most Talk and Standby Time- Industry leading talk and standby time so you can talk for miles without charging. The longest standby time with up to 5 1/2 months, and the most talk time with up to 45 hours.
- Speaks to You- This speakerphone tells you when you are connected, battery level and if mute is on with audible voice prompts.
- Connects to 2 Phones- Take calls from up to two phone lines at the same time, so more than one passenger can use the speakerphone. Also save up to six phone connections, so the whole family can use.
- Choose "ships from and sold by Amazon.com" product to ensure new, authentic Motorola product. Motorola retail packaging includes- Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone, Car Charger, Quick Start Guide.

My Review: This is truly a universal product. I have a 5 years, old fashioned cell phone from Samsung provided to me by Verizon, which was never happy with any other Bluetooth device. It worked with this one like a charm. Very easy to pair and connect, almost like plug-and-play. The product itself has a very beautiful design and speakerphone is very powerful. Even if you drive with your windows open, you can clearly hear the voice from your call. Battery lasts a lot. This is an excellent deal for the price.
I am extremely happy with this product and I recommend it to all users who experienced problems with other Bluetooth devices in the past.

Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this product for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.


If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!

Book "Hope Underground" by Carlos Parra Díaz

About the Book: "God has never left us down here"
Thirty–three miners – trapped beneath the Chilean desert. _their situation, at first, seemed hopeless. Yet instead of abandoning hope, the miners, their families, communities of faith, the Chilean government and rescue workers united in an effort to achieve the impossible. What drove these people to defy failure and persevere against all odds? How did a small, white butterfly, a wayward probe, and a '34th miner' all play a significant role in the unfolding of this incredible story? While most reports of this stirring drama focus on what human effort can achieve, Hope Underground reveals the spiritual nature of the miners' experience, highlighting amazing details of how God's providence turned a potential tragedy into the most successful mining rescue of all time.
RELIGION / Christian Life

About the Author: CARLOS PARRA DÍAZ was serving as an ordinary pastor in northern Chile when, on August 5, 2010, the San José Mine collapse occurred. Eager to serve wherever there is a need, Parra suddenly found himself becoming one of the most influential spiritual leaders in the most publicized and successful mine rescue in history. His active participation at Camp Hope, the temporary residence of the miners' families and rescuers, allows him to share unique insights into the miraculous chain of events which led to the triumphant liberation of the miners. This experience not only changed his life forever, but deeply touched the whole nation of Chile. Parra has since been invited to share this inspiring story in countries around the world. Today, Pastor Parra and his family live in Asunción, Paraguay, where he serves as a regional pastor and missionary.

My Review: This is a superb book, a very well written history about all the drama involved in the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners that got trapped inside the San José Mine, at 700 meters below the surface, in the Atacama Desert, Northern of Chile, for 69 days. The narrator is Pastor Carlos Parra Díaz, an Seventh-Day Adventist pastor who God placed at that site acting as the chaplain of Camp Hope, where the family of the trapped miners were waiting for their rescue.
His testimony is very touching. He starts telling about his life and how he ended up being at that place, at that time, when the mine collapsed trapping the miners inside. Then he goes over the roller-coaster of emotions on the news when the first drill missed the place where the miners could have been waiting, and when a second drill reached their place and first communication came from them stating they were all alive and well, after 17 days of the initial collapse of the mountain. And from there, he narrates all the combined efforts of the rescue group created by Chilean government, with the help of the entire world experts in mining accidents and other fields, as well as all prayers that his group and the entire world contributed as a decisive factor for the final result.
This is a story of true hope, and clearly shows that for God nothing is impossible. Like it is written in Mark 10:27, "Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God"".


I recommend this book to the permanent library of any serious Christian reader who needs a boost on his/her faith through the powerful testimony of a God's person describing God in action.

This book was written by Pastor Carlos Parra Díaz and it was published by Imago Dei Books in September, 2011 and B&B Media Group were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their blogger book review program.

If you are reading this review, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.

Book "Bible Stories for Preschoolers" by Swanberg, Kustra and Chalecki

About the Book: Bible Stories for Preschoolers, written by a team of preschool church education experts, makes the Bible come alive for young children. The dynamic, high-energy, vibrant illustrations featured on every spread will capture children’s imaginations while giving them a lifelong love for God’s Word. In addition to the retellings, each story includes fun, easy activities that parents and kids can do together. The activities help kids remember and relate to the stories!

About the Authors: The text of this book was written by Monika Kustra, adapted by Betty Free Swanberg and illustrated by Andrzej Chalecki.
No information on Monika Kustra was found or supplied by the publisher, as well as for Andrzej Chalecki.

Betty Swanberg was born and raised in northern Illinois. She received a bachelor of arts degree in education from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and did graduate studies in early childhood education at National-Louis University in Evanston, Illinois.
For 25 years Betty was editor of preschool and elementary Sunday school curriculum for David C. Cook Publishing Company. In 1995 she became editor of children's books at Tyndale House Publishers.
Betty is the author of Day by Day, a book of devotionals for preschoolers, and Quiet Moments for Caregivers, a book of prayers to encourage those caring for loved ones. She also assisted Mr. George Beverly Shea in writing How Sweet the Sound.
In 2002 Betty married a childhood friend, Dave Swanberg, and moved to Southern California. She continued to edit for Tyndale until her retirement in 2006 and currently serves as an on-call editor.

My Review: This is an incredible result from the combined effort of three persons, producing a wonderful book for kids ages 4 to 8. The most important stories of the Christian Scriptures (Old and New Testaments) are told here in a language that is easy to the young children to understand and assimilate. After every story was told, there is what is called a Family Time, with activities like Talk, Do and Remember. This is a great orientation for your children to learn and grow in the right path (as it is written, "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it" - Proverbs 22:6). The illustration is monumental, one of the highlights of this book. The whole production was very carefully executed and the final result is really a masterpiece.

This book was written by Monika Kustra, adapted by Betty Free Swanberg and illustrated by Andrzej Chalecki and was published by Tyndale House Publishers in August 2011 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their blogger book review program.

If you are reading this review, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.

Book "Windows Phone 7 Programming for Android and iOS Developers" by Zhinan Zhou et al.

About the Book: Learn to develop for the new Windows Phone 7 platform.
With a special focus placed on the new Windows Phone 7 (WP7) design guidelines and technologies, this reference helps you extend your knowledge so that you can learn to develop for the new WP7 platform.
The book covers the exciting new technology of Windows Phone 7 (WP7) and serves as ideal reference for Android and iPhone developers who are eager to get started programming for the WP7.

About the Authors:
- Zhinan Zou is a senior software engineer with 10 years of professional experience in the R&D of mobile applications and wireless communications. He has a rich hands-on experience in mobile-platform development on Android, Windows Phone, and J2ME. He is also an author of numerous cited publications on IEEE and ACM journals and conferences.
- Robert Zhu is a principal development lead with Microsoft, developing Windows Phone software products, providing hands-on design in computer engineering, such as kernel, device driver, and board support packages, and driving the technical partnership whit mobile carriers and OEM partners.
- Pei Zheng is a senior software architect with 10 years of experience in the mobile wireless industry. He is the author of two books in the mobile computing area, Smart Phone and Next Generation Mobile Computing from Morgan Kaufmann and Professional Smartphone Programming from Wiley/Wrox, as well as numerous cited publications in IEEE journals and conferences.
- Baijian Yang is currently an associate professor in the Department of Technology at Ball State University. He has extensive industry and academic experience in mobile computing, distributed computing, and information security.

My Review: This is an excellent join effort from fours authors, all experts on mobile development field. But that does not make this book easy to use if you are new into this area and trying to develop your fist application ever for a smartphone. I have developed an application for iOS named "Bible Names", using a book called "iPhone Application Development for Dummies" from the "for Dummies" series. What I think this book is missing is more examples going deeper into details of the code for many scenarios. I personally like to code by example, but that is just my style.
But the comparison between Android and iOS and WP7 is really interesting and presented in a very academic way. The book goes over what is new in Windows Phone 7 (WP7), the development environment, fundamentals, user interfaces, application data storage, WEB services and push notifications, leveraging location and maps, graphics, multimedia and much more, but always at a high level, showing some snippets of code, never going into details that would be so useful for a novice, although they never claimed the book was for novices, and that is why I give the book a four star out of five.

Overall it is a very useful book, that I recommend if you have some experience developing applications for Android or iOS platforms and want to start playing with WP7 platform.

This book was written by Zhinan Zhou, Robert Zhu, Pei Zheng and Baijian Yang and was Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc on August of 2011. Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this book for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!

Book "The God Pocket" by Bruce Wilkinson with David Kopp

About the Book: God wants to put a face on giving – and the face he has in mind is not yours, but his.
What if you could take something out of your pocket today that would make God wonderfully personal and absolutely real to someone who, only minutes earlier, had been secretly calling out to God for help, for an answer, for any shred of evidence that He cares?
Discover the incredible resource that’s small enough to fit in your wallet or purse, yet big enough to change someone’s life – starting with yours. In The God Pocket, Bruce Wilkinson tells you what that little something is, explains how to deliver God’s provision to someone in need, and shares how God is ready to reveal Himself through you.
The God Pocket Prayer: Dear God, today I ask to be sent to show Your love and deliver Your funds to the person You choose. I carry Your provision in my God Pocket, and I am ready and willing. I am Your servant, Lord. Whenever You nudge me, I will respond! Here am I – please send me!

About the Author: Bruce Wilkinson is recognized as one of the world's foremost Christian teachers and speakers. But he is best known as the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller, The Prayer of Jabez, and other bestsellers including A Life God Rewards, Secrets of the Vine, and The Dream Giver. He is the founder of WorldTeach, a global initiative to train Bible teachers in every nation. Wilkinson also founded Dream for Africa, a humanitarian agency that has taken on AIDS, orphan care and hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. Bruce and his wife, Darlene, have three children and six grandchildren. They live outside Atlanta.

As founding editor of Christian Parenting Today, David Kopp was the writer of the award-winning column “Inside View.” He also served as Bruce Wilkinson’s writing partner for The Prayer of Jabez and Secrets of the Vine. Heather Harpham Kopp is a writer and editor whose books include The Dieter’s Prayer Book and Lost Boys and the Moms Who Love Them. Together, they are the authors of the Powerful Prayers series, as well as the parents of five young adults

My Review: The concept described in this book is something that can change the face of this world. Through seven steps you can start this wonderful journey of creating your own God Pocket. Decide, Devote, Deposit, Depend, Deliver, Declare, Disciple. What a powerful message in such a small book.
The author did a superb job writing this book. You can almost read it in one sit. It took me about two hours to read the book and since I read it I have been praying to make a difference in this world. Mr. Bruce Wilkinson describes a concept that we carry some amount of money that really belongs to God. We separate this money and devote this money to be delivered to someone in need. This person will be indicated by God through a "nudge", that is a inner push that direct us toward a person, a place or an action. It is a signal from God that unexpectedly focuses our attention on someone, directing us to something God wants done. And we do it in His name, for His glory.
I recommend this book to any Christian that wants a new perspective in his/her life, that wants to really make a difference in this world, acting as "God's partner", delivering help to people in need.

This book was written by Bruce Wilkinson with David Kopp as contributor and was published in October of 2011 by WaterBrook Multnomah Books. The publishers were kind enough to provide me a copy for reviewing through their Blogging for Books Program. Thanks, Mr. Wilkinson, for this wonderful book.
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Book "Discover Peru" a Travel Guide by Lonely Planet - Carolina A.Miranda et al.

About the Book: Experience The Best of Peru: Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, the enigmatic Nazca Lines – we’ve selected the most iconic sights and incredible places so you can enjoy the real Peru with the minimum of fuss. Highlights reveal the must-see attractions and unbeatable experiences. Itineraries make planning your trip simpler than ever. Local Experts recommend what not to miss. Easy-to-use Maps make getting around simpler than ever. Our Promise: You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, so you can rely on us to tell it like it is.

About the Authors: Carolina A.Miranda is the coordinating author for this book. Born of a Peruvian father from the Chiclayo area, Carolina has spent her life making regular sojourns to Peru to wander around the Andes and eat as much ceviche as is humanly possible. when not experimenting with pisco sour ratios (three parts of pisco, one part lime juice, simple syrup to taste), she makes her living as a writer in New York City. She has written articles for Time, Budget Travel and Travel + Leisure, and is a regular contributor to WNYC, New York Public Radio. She blogs about culture at C-Monster.net and can also be found on Twitter (@cmonstah).
Other authors are Aimée Dowl, Katy Shorthouse, Luke Waterson and Beth Williams.

My Review: This is a travel guide that should be able to fulfill all your needs for information on what to do, how to do, where to go, etc... when you are visiting Peru. The authors did a magnificent job putting together this excellent travel guide.

The book starts with a chapter called "This is Peru", followed by Peru's map and "25 Peru's Top Experiences", highlighting the most incredible places, foods, drinks, cultural activities etc that you cannot possible think about missing when going to Peru. Following this chapter you have "Peru's Top Itineraries" where the authors suggest a 5-days, a 10-days and a 2-weeks itineraries, that you can use as a baseline depending on your availability. After that you have a "Peru Month by Month" with a calendar with the regular activities that happens around the year. Then you have a "What's New" and a "Need to Know" with general information on currency, language, driving, tipping, internet access etc.
After this initial introduction, the authors start describing places to visit, starting with Lima, followed by Nazca, Arequipa & the South, Puno & Lake Titicaca, Cuzco, Machu Picchu & Around, Huaraz, Trujillo & the North, and finally Iquitos & the Amazon Basin. For each segment there is an introduction with the history, a map and beautiful photos, highlights, where to eat, what to visit, where to stay, costs for attractions, hours of operations, etc

This is an outstanding result for a combined effort from five different authors and it was published by Lonely Planet in July 2011. I recommend this book for those who are serious about planing their trips and also for those who want to remember details on previous travels, while wishing they can return to Peru some day in the future.

Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this book for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not request to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.

If you read this review, fell free to leave a comment!