Review: Pre: The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine by Tom Jordan

Pre: The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine by Tom Jordan





rating: 4.5/5.0






Book Description:

The story of America's greatest running legend.

For five years, no American runner could beat him at any distance over a mile. But at the age of 24, with his best years still ahead, long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine finally lost. Driving alone at night after a party, Prefontaine crashed his sports car, putting a tragic, shocking end to the life and career of one of the most influential, accomplished runners of our time.

More than 20 years later, Pre continues to influence the running world.

From his humble origins in Coos Bay, Oregon, Pre became the first person to win four NCAA titles in one event. Year after year, he was virtually unbeatable. Instead of becoming one of the new breed of professional track athletes, Pre chose to stay amateur and fight for the adequate funding he felt American amateur athletes deserved.

A man of incredible desire and energy, Pre trained relentlessly. In his drive to be the best, he spurred others to do their best. As one racer said, "He ran every race as if it were his last."

But Pre not only touched runners; his exciting technique as well as his maverick lifestyle made him a favorite of the fans. A race with Prefontaine in it was automatically an event.

His brief but brilliant life is the tale of a true American hero.

This is his story.

"Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative."--Steve Prefontaine

This was an amazing book. Since I have started running I have heard of "Pre" but didn't really know anything about him. So I picked up this book. I learned so much about track and field and also about this man whose life was cut much too short.

It's a very inspiring book and it made me want to go out and run immediately after I finished it. And Pre's story will always be in the back of my mind and I have a huge respect for all people involved in track and field on the national and international level. It takes a great deal of dedication to do what they do and what Pre did and I really admire that.

If you enjoy inspiring stories or running I suggest picking this up. The author doesn't pull any punches, he knows at times Pre wasn't loved by everyone, but he attempts to find what made Pre really tick and I think he does.
Binding: Paperback
On-sale Date: 3/15/1997
Publisher: Rodale Books
Pages: 176

BBAW Giveaway #3: Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction by Laura Berman Fortgang

I'm on a roll so let's have a third giveaway and it's the next non-fiction book on my tbr pile. I've been looking forward to reading this but just haven't found the time, and now I will make the time and then pass it on to a lucky winner!

A clear and utterly practical 90-day program for discovering a new direction for your life

In Now What? pioneering life coach Laura Berman Fortgang shares the process that she has used so successfully to help hundreds of clients make major changes in their lives. Whether it's moving on from a dead end job, discovering an entirely new creative outlet, or answering the age old question "What am I meant to do with my life?" this book provides a clear and infinitely practical 90-day program that can help you make major changes in your life.

For anyone who feels drawn toward a life-changing move but is not sure exactly what to do or how to move forward, Now What? provides a concrete process for finding and pursuing a new path in life. Full of inspiring and empowering exercises and tools, this book guides readers-day by day and step by step-through a 90-day process that will lead to true life satisfaction and fulfillment.

So my second giveaway of the week is a gently used copy of Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction by Laura Berman Fortgang. This giveaway will go through Monday September 21st and draw on Tuesday. So if you would like to get a chance to win this book, please comment. Rules are simple for this week:

• +1 for comment with email
• +2 for each way you follow (twitter, email, rss feed/blogger/etc.)
• +3 for tweeting (1 entry for this per day)
  

Thanks for stopping by.

ARC Arrival: Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe

I received this through 1-ARC-Tours and I can't wait to read it.

Cass McKenna much prefers the company of ghosts over "breathers." Ghosts are uncomplicated and dependable, and they know the dirt on everybody... and Cass loves dirt. She's on a mission to expose the dirty secrets of the poseurs in her school.

But when the vice president of the student council discovers her secret, Cass's whole scheme hangs in the balance. Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees.

As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim's life, she's surprised to realize he's not so bad--and he needs help more desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it's time to give the living another chance...

Review: Vision in White by Nora Roberts

Vision in White by Nora Roberts





rating: 4.0/5.0






Book Descripiton:

Wedding photographer Mackensie “Mac” Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be’s brother…an encounter that has them both seeing stars.

A stable, safe English teacher, Carter Maguire is definitely not Mac’s type. But a casual fling might be just what she needs to take her mind off bridezillas. Of course, casual flings can turn into something more when you least expect it. And Mac will have to turn to her three best friends—and business partners—to see her way to her own happy ending.

In typical Nora Roberts fashion, this was a great book. With trying all these new genres and my current addiction with young adult fiction, I had forgotten how much I love romances. And true to a Nora Roberts romance, the characters are wonderful. I understood Mac and I was in love with Carter. It's a great story and romance. I loved the background for this quartet of the wedding business that the four friends are involved in. I found it fascinating. I also found their friendship to be very normal - they have their ups and downs but when it comes down to it they have each other's backs.

So sit a spell and enjoy a wonderful romance with Vision in White. I'm eagerly awaiting Bed of Roses out soon.

Binding: Trade Paperback
On-sale Date: April 28, 2009
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Pages: 352

Review Copy Arrival: Christianish: What if We're Not Really Following Jesus at All? by Mark Steele

Christianish: What if We're Not Really Following Jesus at All? by Mark Steele

I received this from Audra Jennings at The B&B Media Group.

Somewhere between cold faith and hot pursuit lies lukewarm spirituality. And in the media between the wide path and the narrow road we find the middle ground of the spiritual walk. It’s something not quite Christiania. More like…Christianish.

Christianish tells the story of one man’s journey to move from the in-between to a life centered on Christ. To move forward, author Mark Steele goes back to the beginning, to examine Christ’s life and words. Through stories and insights that are sometimes profound, often hilarious, and always honest, Mark delivers a compelling look at what our faith is all about.

Excerpt from Christianish:

©2009 Cook Communications Ministries. Christianish by Mark Steele. Used with permission. May not be further reproduced. All rights reserved.

This is the difference between Christianish and Christ-follower. We have trained ourselves to cope well on a Christianish path: a path where we please the right godly people and don’t feel guilt when our failings are seen by the world at large. Yes, our methods work on this path—but it’s the wrong path. It’s not the approach to Jesus that we are supposed to take—that we are created to take.

So, we fall into confusion over why life doesn’t work and why our faith doesn’t feel right and why nothing true is coming from our so-called Christianity. We attempt to fix it by refining our current method. But here’s the catch: The method won’t work on the right road, because it is a method built for the wrong road.

We cannot change the dysfunction of our Christian walk by simply trying to become better at the wrong we are already living.

We must switch roads. And, in switching, we must discover the new method of living that truly works on the right road.

There is only one way for me to discover the right way to travel the right road.

The way is not a church.

The way is not an ideology.

The way is not a Christian.

The way is Jesus.

In my path of becoming functional in a dysfunctional faith, I crashed and burned quite often. I became and remained the lukewarm that gets spit out. The vomit to which the dog returns. The goat that was separated from the sheep. I nodded and even verbalized amen at each and every one of those stories, tsk-tsking internally at the target of the moral, never once interpreting that the antagonist might just be me.

I was at risk of becoming the one at the pearly gate whom the very Jesus I thought I was serving says He never knew. I lost the plot altogether, grasping at the path toward eternity that fit most nicely into my temporal goals.

FROM CHRISTIANISH TO CHRIST-FOLLOWER

So, the question begs: How does the transformation begin? From Christianish to Christ-follower. What is the road? And what is the method? It is certainly a painful road. A gravel-laden path that requires going back to the very beginning and digging deep into Jesus’ words and actions during the time He walked and breathed on planet Earth.

When you look at the New Testament from the Jesus perspective, it breaks down quickly into eleven key components of His history:

1. How He came into the world.

2. How He was tempted.

3. How His enemies responded to Him.

4. How He ministered to the common man.

5. How He made His living.

6. How He responded to His enemies.

7. How His friends responded to Him.

8. How He loved.

9. How He performed miracles.

10. How He died.

11. How He left.

The truth is here—not merely in the verses we have memorized, but in the manner in which the Savior spent His days. For me to become the true definition of a Christian, it will require breaking His thoughts down—and being willing to transform my own behavior into what I discover. It will require facing the music—and then doing something about it. It will require unlearning and baby steps. I have no idea what that sort of experiment will entail.

But I’m going to find out.

I now set out to find the right road.

The functional method.

I will be a Christ-follower.

And leave the stench of Christianish behind for good

BBAW Giveaway #2: A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve

It's time for my second giveaway and it's the next book on my tbr pile. I finished Ring of Fire at lunchtime and it's good so go enter my giveaway for that here.

Margaret and Patrick have been married just a few months when they set off on what they hope will be a great adventure-a year living in Kenya. Margaret quickly realizes there is a great deal she doesn't know about the complex mores of her new home, and about her own husband.

A British couple invites the newlyweds to join on a climbing expedition to Mount Kenya, and they eagerly agree. But during their harrowing ascent, a horrific accident occurs. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Margaret struggles to understand what happened on the mountain and how these events have transformed her and her marriage, perhaps forever.

A Change in Altitude illuminates the inner landscape of a couple, the irrevocable impact of tragedy, and the elusive nature of forgiveness. With stunning language and striking emotional intensity, Anita Shreve transports us to the exotic panoramas of Africa and into the core of our most intimate relationships.

So my second giveaway of the week is a new copy of A Change in Altitude courtesy of Miriam Parker at Hachette books. This comes out on Tuesday so I will make this giveaway through Monday September 21st and draw on Tuesday. So if you would like to get a chance to win this book, please comment. Rules are simple for this week:

• +1 for comment with email
• +2 for each way you follow (twitter, email, rss feed/blogger/etc.)
• +3 for tweeting (1 entry for this per day)
  

Thanks for stopping by.

Book Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (1 ARC Tours)

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater





rating: 4.5/5.0






From Amazon.com:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

My Review:

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. I signed up to read it with 1-ARC-Tours because I had heard wonderful things about it. I have read plenty of vampire paranormals but never really liked the werewolf angle, but decided to give it a shot due to the wonderful reviews. I am so glad I did. There is so much more to this book than the paranormal angle. It covers the female teen experience with friends and boys well, the first love aspect is sweet and touching and the history given behind Sam keeps you turning pages.

I especially enjoyed how this was told from both Sam and Grace’s point of view. It was nice to see both sides and how they felt about each other and about the things that were going on in the town and in the woods. I also liked the aspect of Grace’s parents, as unfortunate as Grace was to have them as her parents (they were self-absorbed), I think this is true of a lot of parents of this current generation. Not all (as I have children) but a lot. I think this speaks to the fact that we should pay attention to our children. You feel for Grace because of her family situation, but you never feel she is pathetic. She comes across as a fairly strong heroine who knows what she wants even though she has the typical teenage problems.

A wonderful storyline and back story of the wolves, plus great characters. I wanted this book to keep going when it ended. I want to know more about the characters. Shiver is a lovely young adult novel that will touch your heart.

Binding: Hardcover
On-sale Date: August 1, 2009
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 400