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One more book review from the boy this week.  This one is “God Gave Us Heaven” by Lisa Bergren.

I’d recommend this one to folks with kids in the 4-5 age range.  It’s an easy way to start up some interesting, important conversation with a kid.  I read it with Brett.  Here’s a portion of our discussion.

Brett Davis: That book’s good.  I like that book.  Isn’t that one a good one?

Ron Davis: Yes, it was.

BD: And I really like it.

RD: What’s it about?

BD: Heaven.

RD: What about heaven?

BD: All about heaven.  I like the pages.  They have polar bears on them.

RD: What did the polar bears learn?

BD: About heaven.  There’ll be lots of stuff there for them to do.

RD: What will they do?

BD: Umm..walk around.  Worship Jesus.  And they’ll play too.

RD: How do they get to heaven?

BD: They go across the bridge.

RD: Who is the bridge?

BD: Jesus is.  See. (points to picture of the bridge)

Here’s my son Brett’s 2nd book review of the week.  This time it’s “When God Created My Toes” by Dandi Daley Mackall.  We read the book and then had the following conversation:

Ron Davis: So what did you think?

Brett Davis: I liked that.  It was a good book.

RD: Yeah?

BD: Yeah because the cat wasn’t happy.  That was the best part.

(There was a picture of a sad cat. I’m not sure why he liked the sad cat.)

RD: What is this book about?

BD: When God created you.

RD: What about when God created you?

BD: He made all of you.

RD: I see.  Did you like the pictures?

BD: I like the picture where the girl does the flip.  Maybe after you take a shower, we can do that.  Not now though.  Now you stink.

(I had just finished mountain biking, and I really did stink.)

RD: Not tonight.  It’s time for you to go to bed.

BD: Ok.  Bring my blanket.  But don’t make it stink.

Tune in tomorrow night for Brett’s final book review of the week.

I am really excited about this.  I got 3 books in the mail that are for kids.  And since my 4 year old son Brett loves a good bedtime story, I decided to let him offer a review for them.

This, the first of 3 reviews he’ll have for you this week, is a review of “God Loves Me More Than That” by Dandi Daley Mackal, illustrated by David Hohn.

Ron Davis: Did you like this book?

Brett Davis: Yes. I want to read it again tomorrow night.

RD: Did you like the pictures?

BD: Yeah, they were cool.

RD: Which picture did you like the best?

BD: (long pause) I like the one in the space suit and the one of the boy riding on the bee.

RD: (finds picture of the boy on the bumblebee) This one?

BD: Yes. I love that part when the boy rides on the bee.  I like bees, but not when they sting.  Bees are not cool when they sting.

RD: So what is this book about?

BD: God loves us a lot.

RD: How high is God’s love?

BD: Really high.

RD: How deep is God’s love?

BD: Really, really deep.

RD: How heavy is God’s love?

BD: Really, really heavy.

RD: Like how heavy?

BD: Like 100 pounds!

So there you have it, folks.  It’s got a good story, the kid liked it, and the pictures are great.

When I started this blog, the last thing that I thought I’d be posting (except for porn) would be book reviews.  Those of you who know me well are probably more baffled than I am about the appearance of book reviews on moreron.com.  I got invited to be a part of blog tours for some book releases, and I figured I’d go for it.  Either I’d expand my horizons a little and start reading something other than technical documentation, or my wife would get a new free book to read.

So today I’m posting a review of a book called “The Healing Choice” by Brenda Stoeker and Susan Allen.  This is a book that’s written for women, but I read it myself because it has to do with moving meyond betrayal when a husband has a sexual addiction.  Since I spend my days protecting children and families online, the subject matter here got my interest.

The book has two parts (aptly labeled “Part 1″ and “Part 2″).  The first part is about a woman restoring her relationship with God after her mom dies.  The second part is about restoring a relationship with an unfaithful husband.  There are some interesting comparisons drawn between the two stories that I thought were very different turned out to be very similar when viewed from the eyes of the women in the stories.

Overall, I’d say this is a pretty good book.  It’s definitely more for women, so guys probably shouldn’t jump to go read this one.  And, ladies, I’d caution against reading it unless you’re in the midst of a struggle with God or unless you’ve got an unfaithful spouse.  I could see how parts of Part 2 would make some women question every move their husbands make.  That probably wasn’t the intent, but you might want to keep that in the back of your mind when reading this one.  You can pick it up at Amazon.com here.

The publishers sent me 2 extra copies of the book to give away to my blog readers.  If you’d like one, send me an email (ron-at-moreron-dot-com) and I’ll hook you up.

I got another book to review for the blog.  This time it’s Gary Chapman’s new one called “Love As a Way of Life.”

Gary Chapman is the guy who wrote the books on the five love languages.  My wife got all caught up in that for a while.  Honestly, I’m not sold on the love languages, and since this new book sort of builds on the love language books, I’m not so crazy about it.  It might be good for you to read; he’s certainly got some good points, but this just isn’t my thing.

Chapman goes through the seven secrets to love:

• Kindness
• Patience
• Forgiveness
• Courtesy
• Humility
• Generosity
• Honesty

Then he gives some practical application for using those secrets in marriage, parenting, and at work.  He had some good points, and some of it made me stop and think about things.  It’d actually make a pretty decent sermon series.

Overall, I guess it was an ok book.  It wasn’t theologically wrong or anything like that, but it didn’t do a whole lot for me.  I’ll pass it on to my wife and see what she thinks about it.

Once again, I was asked if I wanted to be a part of a book review blog tour. This book that didn’t interest me, but my wife wanted to read it. Here’s her review:

“With Endless Sight” is the third installment in a trilogy called Crossroads of Grace which, rather than being the story of one person or family carried through several books, are based on the common theme of the dangers that fell on single women out in the Wild West. This book in particular dwells on themes of forgiveness and compassion.

Fifteen year old Belinda and her family are leaving their plush business and home in the east and setting off on a journey to Wyoming because their father is secretly trying to save their family from the shame of a ruined reputation due to bankruptcy. The father tries to make the journey as painless as possible by booking them on a stagecoach rather than going in a wagon train. Though the journey starts well many circumstances arise in Belinda’s life that could have left her bitter toward God and all men in general. Her strong faith carries her though some very dark times and she allows God to work through her to bring healing and spiritual life to those around her. There are many who wronged this innocent teenage girl, but she chose to forgive each and every one and leaned on God to carry her through many tragic situations.

When she finally escapes her captors she lands in a brothel where she was protected because of her age and youthful appearance. The three ladies there shower her with affection, but it becomes clear to her that if she stays her beliefs will be compromised to a life of prostitution. Once again she allows God to lead her out of her present circumstances and into much more uncertain ones and once again she is called on to show forgiveness and compassion to those she could have blamed for every unfortunate event she had suffered through.

If you are looking for an answer to why bad things happen to good people, you probably will not find it in this book. However, if you want to know how to respond when bad things happen to good people then this book is a great place to start.

Related Links:
“With Endless Sight” on Amazon.com
Allison Pittman’s web site

After I participated in Andrew Peterson’s blog tour for “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness,” the publisher asked if I’d be willing to participate in future reviews.  I figured I would go for it because if the book to be read didn’t appeal to me, my wife (or one of her reading friends) would probably be willing to do a guest review on the blog.  That was the case with Gayle Roper’s new book “Fatal Deduction.”  My friend Heather was kind enough to read it and review it for me.  It sounds like a good one:

This is a well- written book that easily envelops you from the first paragraph.  It is set in the modern day, making it easy to follow and relate to.  Throughout the story you find yourself in the middle of relationships that easily translate into your own relationships: sibling rivalry, single mother raising a daughter, single father raising a daughter, relationships with exes, and more.

A fun twist in the book involves solving crossword puzzles to find clues to the story.  The crosswords are an integral part of the story for the characters, and because you have a chance to complete them, you find yourself becoming one of the characters yourself.  The crosswords are fun but challenging, and the answers are in the back of the book for those of you who just can’t resist a peek!  In all, this is an easy read that is hard to put down. 

Related Links:
Gale Roper’s site
“Fatal Deduction” at Amazon.com
Heather’s Creative Memories site (in case you need scrapbook supplies)

I don’t read. I don’t have a good reason why I don’t read - I just don’t read. Sure, I’ve got a list of blogs and web sites that I check daily, but even then, if the posts get lengthy, I just skim. I don’t know why I don’t read…I guess it’s just not my thing.

In addition to not reading, I don’t do fantasy. Winged goats soaring through the heavens in search of the legendary caves of some unheard of world? No thanks. It’s not my thing.

So being the fantasy-avoiding, book-hating freak that I am, I read a fantasy book. I’ll be honest here: the only thing that made me even consider reading “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness” is that its author is a friend of mine. That’s sad because had I not known Andrew Peterson, I may never have read this wonderful book.

I won’t give too much detail about the story…no spoilers here…I will say that there are no winged goats (maybe in a sequel?). It’s a story about the adventures of a family - 2 brothers and their sister who live with their mother and grandfather in a small town on the edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (thus the title).

From the beginning, I could tell this was Andrew’s work. His sense of humor, his love for a good story, and his love of an adventure are obvious. I found myself fighting to put down the book. The story is quite captivating.

Fans of Andrew’s music may find some similar themes between his music and the book. No Peterson story about two boys would be complete if it didn’t bring to mind “Little Boy Heart Alive.” The story as a whole reminds me a bit of common themes throughout Andrew’s CD “The Far Country.” And though this similarity is a bit of a stretch, I found myself thinking of “Matthew’s Begats,” comparing the amazing details of the Great Story to the amazing details (many in the footnotes) of this story.

Bottom line: Of books, fantasy, and Andrew Peterson, I usually only care for one of the three. Give it a shot. If you like any of the three, you’ll probably enjoy “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness” as well.

Related Links:
“On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness” at Amazon.com
Andrew Peterson’s web site
The Rabbit Room