Recently Read: Me, Myself, & Bob

What do MTV, Walt Disney, and Star Wars have in common? They all had an influence on the life work of Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales.

In his book, Phil shares how he came to create Bob and Larry, and his company, Big Idea. He also gives a pretty good cursory history of how the art of computerized animation has evolved over the years.

While this book is about Bob and Larry (and the other Veggie characters), it's also about dreams, learning to let go of them, and what can happen when we do. I think this is a good read for anyone interested in VeggieTales, computer animation, or figuring out how to find the path God has planned for them. Vischer shares his own life experiences in a straightforward and often humorous way.

Rating: A

These opinions are entirely my own. Neither the author nor his publishing company even know I exist.

Recently Read: Two Kisses for Maddy

I started reading Matt Logelin's blog (matt, liz and madeline) shortly after his wife died only one day after giving birth to their daughter. It was nearly three years after the unexpected death of my father in a house fire, and while I had the support of TheHusband and many great friends to help me with my grief I was still drawn to see how others dealt with the grief of unexpectedly losing someone they loved. I was also drawn to his story because Matt & Liz were both from Minnesota.

When his book came out, I thought I wouldn't be buying it because I "knew" the story. I had been reading the blog nearly since the beginning (three years) after all. I'm not sure why I changed my mind about buying the book, but I'm sure glad I did. The book not only memorializes the life Matt and Liz shared, it follows his journey through the grief of losing his wife and the joy of being a new parent. It also shows how a bunch of strangers became a community and how that community helped change one man's grief into hope for others (in the form of the Liz Logelin Foundation).

This is not a "how to survive your grief" book, or even a "how to help someone else through their grief" book. It's just the story of one man, his grief, and his joy, so that his daughter may know her mother and also know how much he loves them both.

Rating: A

These opinions are entirely my own. Neither the author nor his publishing company even know I exist.

This is what happens . . .

. . . when your very perceptive husband (well, mine anyway) picks up on your not so subtle clues as to what you want for your (meaning mine) birthday!

Yup! I have entered the Nook world, and so far I'm liking it. I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about reading a book from a screen, but the contrast is fairly decent and I love that you can change the size of the text and the font type (there's several options) to help make the reading experience customized.

What I really love about it is that it can hold so many books and will never get heavier. Our actual book collection is quite large and with us not knowing where the good Lord will take us once TheHusband graduates seminary, the idea of adding even more books that we will end up having to move was not a happy thought. Also, in regards to the weight issue, I think it will be great for those days when the spondylitis/arthritis is really bothering me and I don't want to stress my hands out even more with the bulk of an actual hardcover book.

So, now that I've entered the Nook world, any suggestions for e-books I should read? (I've read one so far and am working up a review to share with you all).

Recently Read: The Postcard Killers

I'm a huge James Patterson fan, so when TheHusband picked up The Postcard Killers for me I was quite excited to read it.

The basic story line is Jacob Kanon, a NYPD detective, travels across Europe attempting to track down a pair of serial killers, who happened to kill his daughter and her boyfriend while vacationing in Rome.

He is able to get the assistance of local police, with seemingly little problem, and Dessie, a Swedish crime reporter (and his romantic interest in the book) who received one of the postcards the "Postcard Killers" send after they have killed.

Sadly, I was a bit disappointed in this book. And you can tell that because instead of reading it in one weekend, it actually took me a couple months to finish. I didn't feel like this was up to Patterson's usual standard. I'm not sure if it was because he had a co-writer or if it was something else, but I wasn't really rooting for the main character like I have in most of his other books, and while completely despicable, his antagonists weren't all that compelling either.

Overall, I'd give the book a C. It's not the worst piece of dreck I've ever read, but it's certainly not up to my usual high expectations of Patterson.

Rating: C


These opinions are entirely my own. Neither the author nor his publishing company even know I exist.