Ava Pennington is a clear, concise, and gifted writer. Maybe that's because she is a clear, concise, and gifted speaker. With a background in Human Resources, she has led the employment direction of many firms, some international. Ms. Pennington also provides guidance to women of faith through Bible studies, and in the process, explains the everyday practices of a faith-based life.
But why does He have so many names? Used as a daily devotional, the reader discovers, over the course of the year, just how God fits into their life in so many ways. This study goes further by de-codifying the Bible for the average reader. What do the Apostles mean when they relate a story about Him? What does it mean to the reader?
Through Ms. Pennington, the Lord has reached out His hand to you, the reader, and offered a personal escort to His door.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Genius in All of Us, by David Shenk, a book on tape
Nature versus nurture? The question has been on the tip of scientists' tongues since it was first coined by English Victorian polymath Francis Galton, cousin of the famed Charles Darwin.
Shenk challenges this simplistic philosophy that has been used and abused by scientists, politicians, and the media. And instead asks, “How smart can you be?” With annotations to studies, scientific trials, and educating facts, he highlights the public frenzy to recognize "geniuses" and the fallacy behind the heredity-versus-environment controversy.
Creating dynamics between the two is not as simple as it looks. In an attempt to map the human genome on the double helix, scientists are learning what mental or physical characteristic each determines - or are they? According to Shenk, a protective coating around each, called an epigenome, can be changed by environment and affect the characteristics. The resultant characteristics can be passed on, thus changing future generations.
Shenk uses his voice to make a complicated subject understandable. Heady stuff in this day and age. Shenk puts it so simply, I wonder if life will change as we simply know it.
If you like to listen to books on tape, this is a good one to try while you are in the middle of a mundane task. Both will fly by!
Shenk challenges this simplistic philosophy that has been used and abused by scientists, politicians, and the media. And instead asks, “How smart can you be?” With annotations to studies, scientific trials, and educating facts, he highlights the public frenzy to recognize "geniuses" and the fallacy behind the heredity-versus-environment controversy.
Creating dynamics between the two is not as simple as it looks. In an attempt to map the human genome on the double helix, scientists are learning what mental or physical characteristic each determines - or are they? According to Shenk, a protective coating around each, called an epigenome, can be changed by environment and affect the characteristics. The resultant characteristics can be passed on, thus changing future generations.
Shenk uses his voice to make a complicated subject understandable. Heady stuff in this day and age. Shenk puts it so simply, I wonder if life will change as we simply know it.
If you like to listen to books on tape, this is a good one to try while you are in the middle of a mundane task. Both will fly by!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues by Blaize Clement
Ms. Clement has succeeded in the fun-romantic-mystery genre.
Think Sue Grafton - the main character is always on the move, being dragged by or chasing the bad guy. Cross it with Charlaine Harris - stuck in a woe-is-me situation. Add a little Janet Evonovich - poor gal has two guys after her.
The story moves at a fairly good pace. Though clues are obvious, they aren't so obvious that it spoils the fun.
The main character, Dixie Hemingway, is a cat sitter. Had I known you could make a living at it, I would have tried it a long time ago. But Dixie isn't just any cat sitter. She's a cat sitter that used to be a cop. Why, you ask? Because of tragedy, I say. What cop can stay a cop when she can no longer hold a gun with confidence? Not Dixie.
So here she is - a cat sitter. Can she help it if taking care of cats leads her right back into the thick of things she shouldn't be in? Shouldn't she have known better?
If you want a fast read with not too much thinking involved, this is your book. A friend of mine calls it a "bubble bath book." And truthfully, I would read more of her books because sometimes, I just enjoy a good bubble bath.
Think Sue Grafton - the main character is always on the move, being dragged by or chasing the bad guy. Cross it with Charlaine Harris - stuck in a woe-is-me situation. Add a little Janet Evonovich - poor gal has two guys after her.
The story moves at a fairly good pace. Though clues are obvious, they aren't so obvious that it spoils the fun.
The main character, Dixie Hemingway, is a cat sitter. Had I known you could make a living at it, I would have tried it a long time ago. But Dixie isn't just any cat sitter. She's a cat sitter that used to be a cop. Why, you ask? Because of tragedy, I say. What cop can stay a cop when she can no longer hold a gun with confidence? Not Dixie.
So here she is - a cat sitter. Can she help it if taking care of cats leads her right back into the thick of things she shouldn't be in? Shouldn't she have known better?
If you want a fast read with not too much thinking involved, this is your book. A friend of mine calls it a "bubble bath book." And truthfully, I would read more of her books because sometimes, I just enjoy a good bubble bath.
Recovering from the War by Patience H.C. Mason
When I read a book, I like to sit in a comfy spot, put my legs up, and disappear into the plot. But then, I usually read fiction.
Patience Mason’s book is a documentary. Well written, it narrates the accounts of Vietnam vets when they are finally able to talk about it - thirty years after their return. Mason interviewed by mail, email, phone, and video whoever would respond to her queries. Various vet centers helped by asking for participants.
It’s not an easy book to read. I found myself picking it up and putting it down. The descriptions were graphic, the atrocities horrific, their treatment a crying shame.
I am married to a Vietnam Veteran - a veteran of an undeclared war, a police action. I knew a little about what went on. I had listened to a few stories and watched from the safety of my home while a generation was abused and used for political ends, but nothing prepared me for the depth of the trauma. So much corruption, So much blood. So much bullshit. And so little human consideration.
Mason tells it like it is. What she went through with her husband - a helicopter pilot. What other vets revealed to her. She quotes from their books as well.
The first half of the book recounts different incidents described by these heroes. What psychological nightmares they lived - and couldn’t get out of. Then she goes on to paint a picture of PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. A natural reaction to the unnatural horror they lived. Finally, she describes the methods of help and healing for the vet and his family.
If you are at all curious about this time period, read this book. Read it even if you are not. It goes a long way to explain the difference between this war and WWII. This war and WWI. This war and the Korean War.
You probably know parts of it if you have watched a Vietnam war movie or read a Vietnam war book.
But this is the rest of the story.
Patience Mason’s book is a documentary. Well written, it narrates the accounts of Vietnam vets when they are finally able to talk about it - thirty years after their return. Mason interviewed by mail, email, phone, and video whoever would respond to her queries. Various vet centers helped by asking for participants.
It’s not an easy book to read. I found myself picking it up and putting it down. The descriptions were graphic, the atrocities horrific, their treatment a crying shame.
I am married to a Vietnam Veteran - a veteran of an undeclared war, a police action. I knew a little about what went on. I had listened to a few stories and watched from the safety of my home while a generation was abused and used for political ends, but nothing prepared me for the depth of the trauma. So much corruption, So much blood. So much bullshit. And so little human consideration.
Mason tells it like it is. What she went through with her husband - a helicopter pilot. What other vets revealed to her. She quotes from their books as well.
The first half of the book recounts different incidents described by these heroes. What psychological nightmares they lived - and couldn’t get out of. Then she goes on to paint a picture of PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. A natural reaction to the unnatural horror they lived. Finally, she describes the methods of help and healing for the vet and his family.
If you are at all curious about this time period, read this book. Read it even if you are not. It goes a long way to explain the difference between this war and WWII. This war and WWI. This war and the Korean War.
You probably know parts of it if you have watched a Vietnam war movie or read a Vietnam war book.
But this is the rest of the story.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert gives us an amazingly honest account of both a very painful time in her life and a time of discovery. The progression from pain to discovery is illuminating and rewarding for Ms. Gilbert.
When she finds herself lying on the floor of her bathroom crying her heart out, she understands that something must be done. Though she hasn't yet vocalized the decision to make a change, she has taken the first step. Major life changes are traumatic in themselves. Add to that the chemical malfunctions of the brain, as in depression, and you have a recipe for annihilation. But Ms. Gilbert finds help deep inside herself and is able to take the first steps toward recovery.
Accepting her own limitations, she leaves her marriage, choosing to keep the details private. How honorable. She could have used the written word to present herself as the aggrieved, but she didn’t. Instead, she chose to tell readers that it wasn’t the time or place. She moves on. After another failed relationship, and much contemplation, she realizes that she really doesn’t know much about Elizabeth Gilbert, but she intends to find out in a journey of self-discovery.
She takes a year off from her job - lucky her! What she would like to do is learn Italian, pray in an ashram, and find balance. So, for the first four months, she learns not only Italian, but Italian eateries. She searches out the best places to eat. Not as in fancy or well known, but as in “Wow! That’s good!” I really wished I had been there. The food sounded heavenly, especially the Margarita Pizza.
Ten pounds and four months later, she braves a scorching sun to find spiritual contentment in an ashram in India. Besides an enlightenment to die for, she makes colorful friends and finds a deep peace.
When she leaves India, she heads for Bali, returning to a country and a memorable medicine man-cum-fortune teller she had met on an earlier trip. While the gentleman was her motivation, the real connection comes with a woman in a position similar to hers - divorced. But in different circumstances - the repressed land of Bali. Through that connection, Ms. Gilbert meets the love of her life.
You will have to read the book to find out who! You won’t be sorry. Ms. Gilbert is a wonderful writer. Hilarious at times, but real.
Julia Roberts stars in the movie, Eat, Pray, Love, that has just been released. If it is anything like the book, it should be pretty good!
The Whole Hog by Michael Kenyon
Michael Kenyon, in 1967, shows the American fixation with the Cold War Era.
His main character, Arthur Appleyard, is a swine nutritionist. When his experimental hogs start to act differently, he and his staff go on alert. Believing they may have found a new metabolic renewal for astronauts, they buckle down to study the results.
Arthur is approached by the FBI, encouraged to continue his work but keep it quiet and tell no one. When one of Arthur’s staff dies mysteriously in the lab, the police move in to protect the group. Which is now just Arthur and his pretty analyst, Liz Salucka . . . and, of course, the swine.
But when one of the swine, Humphrey - as in Bogart - is kidnapped, the experimental study is jeopardized. Arthur tries to puzzle out the mystery of who is real and who is a spy. He suspects someone in the department at the college where he works, but he can’t be sure.
Complicating and confusing to both Arthur and the investigation is a blooming romance between Arthur and Liz. Shy and unsure, he vacillates between the mystery of the swine and the mystery of his feelings. But after having confirmed the attraction between them, he forgets the Inspector’s instructions to stay together as she leaves to get paperwork.
A scream verifies the worst. Suddenly, Arthur is alone. Without his true love, he no longer cares about himself as he goes looking for the culprit.
Nothing motivates like a good whodunnit and Michael Kenyon, again, keeps his reader turning the page. His British take on American life is an eye opener. Remember, this is 1967. His sly references to the paunched people who drink Coca Cola were an astute observation ahead of its time. His references to deciding animal feed by its cost rather than its nutrition were prophetic. The idea that a supplement could make people last longer on jobs is downright scary when you think of the economic situation today. His narrative is not without political comment. Frequent references to the Space Race show his disdain for our priorities. Sometimes, it takes an outsider to show us ourselves.
May You Die In Ireland by Michael Kenyon
This first of Michael Kenyon’s books, written in 1965, weaves a tale of spies in the Cold War era.
Oddly enough, the hero, William Foley, is an American who ends up far from home because of a Tail Male - a funny business where property is bequeathed to the first son of the first son of the first son, that is unless the first son happens to die first. In that case, things can get complicated and soon a bachelor-mathematics professor from a small town in Minnesota finds himself in Ireland.
Before he can click his heels, turn around three times, and recite, “There’s no place like home,” he is attacked and robbed of every possession he has with him, including the clothes on his back. While the hotel has managed to provide him with the basic necessities (pants, shirt, shoes), he soon finds himself face to face with the muggers - aka, Russian Spies - who have yet to find what they are looking for. When he discovers an acquaintance has ties to the CIA, Foley finds himself a target not only of the Russian spies and Irish Guardia, but the CIA as well.
But what is suspense without romance? Enter his lawyer’s daughter, a beautiful, caring nurse with no prospects of her own, until a severely beaten Foley shows up on her father’s doorstep.
Kenyon’s characters chase one another through the rolling green hills of Ireland as Foley decides between duty to country and the love of a good woman.
Kenyon’s talent for mystery and sleuth is his hallmark. In these early works, he portrays the police - the guardians of our safety - as not so capable. Instead, his characters find an inner strength that ultimately carry them through the crisis.
Oddly enough, the hero, William Foley, is an American who ends up far from home because of a Tail Male - a funny business where property is bequeathed to the first son of the first son of the first son, that is unless the first son happens to die first. In that case, things can get complicated and soon a bachelor-mathematics professor from a small town in Minnesota finds himself in Ireland.
Before he can click his heels, turn around three times, and recite, “There’s no place like home,” he is attacked and robbed of every possession he has with him, including the clothes on his back. While the hotel has managed to provide him with the basic necessities (pants, shirt, shoes), he soon finds himself face to face with the muggers - aka, Russian Spies - who have yet to find what they are looking for. When he discovers an acquaintance has ties to the CIA, Foley finds himself a target not only of the Russian spies and Irish Guardia, but the CIA as well.
But what is suspense without romance? Enter his lawyer’s daughter, a beautiful, caring nurse with no prospects of her own, until a severely beaten Foley shows up on her father’s doorstep.
Kenyon’s characters chase one another through the rolling green hills of Ireland as Foley decides between duty to country and the love of a good woman.
Kenyon’s talent for mystery and sleuth is his hallmark. In these early works, he portrays the police - the guardians of our safety - as not so capable. Instead, his characters find an inner strength that ultimately carry them through the crisis.
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