Read This! says Keeks

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To synchronize your Goodreads account with your BookLikes webpage, follow these two steps:

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2. Enjoy shelving and reviewing books on BookLikes and have them published on both sites.

 

BookLikes -> Goodreads synchronization includes:

• adding books to shelf,
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Once you do one of those things on BookLikes, they will be published on your both sites: here on your BookLikes webpage and on your Goodreads profile. Please note that during this process we're dependent on Goodreads technology and some synchronization delays concerning adding books on your Goodreads shelf and posting a review may occur.

 

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The synchronization will be active from the moment you connect your GR account on BookLikes. If you would like to fill up your BookLikes profile with your past book entries from Goodreads, you can do that by importing your csv file from Goodreads with your book collection, bookshelves, reviews and ratings in Settings/Import. If you have any questions, check our FAQ site or write to us. 

from 'The Great Gatsby'

The book lover's dilemma.

Ignites your soul, introduces you to the enormity of whimsy, and shows you the beauty of saying yes. ***Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob GoffWhimsical.Joyful.Two words to describe not only the book Love Does, but its author Bob Goff. Bob Goff's book invites readers to move beyond concept and into action.Each chapter in the book shows love doing and the beauty and life it brings. It also gives us Bob Goff and his incredible stories. Some readers may remember meeting Bob Goff in the pages of Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. If you were like me, you were intrigued and fascinated with this man who has chosen to live his life in such an atypical way.In Love Does you will find yourself delighting in each story and caper Goff recounts. He has a way of making you want to use words like whimsical and caper. He has a way of making you excited about life. About living. About enjoying adventures with Jesus.I read this book two weeks ago. In the span of 24 hours I read, I highlighted text, and I wrote in my copy. I shared my book with a friend. She read the book in one day and also highlighted and wrote in the margins. As of today, I am rereading Love Does. This book has gripped me. This man's way of doing life has gripped me. And I am excited to see what capers and adventures are to be had with Jesus. I will continue sharing this book, sharing the joy of one's man incredible journey, and sharing the message - love is all about doing.This book is a must for everyone. I mean everyone. This is such a great, fun read parents will have an incredible opportunity to share and discuss with their children. It is a book for young and old. It is a book for the generations. Never has a non-fiction book so captivated my imagination. This book will teach you and compel you to show in your life that love, indeed, does.(For more book reviews, visit www.theycallmekeeks.com)Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Vile, witty, and pretty ridiculous.

Living with Less: An Unexpected Key to Happiness is geared toward teens and young adults. I found this easy-to-read book both educational and insightful.“Minimalism is not a decision to live with nothing. It is a decision to live with only the essential.”Joshua Becker and his family are rational minimalists. In Living with Less he shares his learning about minimalism and then their unfolding journey. The book seeks to clarify and debunk some myths associated with minimalism. Minimalism is different for each person, each family.“And if we were going to become minimalists, it would have to be a style of minimalism specific to us.”In this book he not only shares his story of minimalism, but how this story is very much part of his faith. He writes about Jesus, about living counter-culturally, about having less stuff and experiencing greater satisfaction.“Jesus holds a far different view on possessions than the world. I believe he holds a far different view on possessions than many churches. And I believe he holds a far different view on possessions than many Christians.”Here are three reasons to get yourself a copy of Living with Less:1) Are you stressed? Discontent? Surrounded by clutter and unused things?In Living With Less, you are shown the benefits of living with less. Less stuff means less maintenance. By choosing to not engage in excessive consumerism you find contentment outside of stuff and have less stuff coming into your home.2) Are you fed up with living paycheck to paycheck? Do you want to be a generous person?Joshua Becker encourages readers to make better financial decisions, to give away stuff, to live differently. In the pages of this book, you will find a benefit of living with less is you can be a more generous person. You are less focused on self and more focused on others.3) Are you tired of living just for yourself?This book encourages us to lean in and listen to God. To trust God to bring us true freedom and satisfaction. To believe God has more in store for us than simply things.This book has a life-changing message.

Review to come!

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen is a light, quirky read. It has a dash of whimsy and a healthy dose of magic. This is my second reading of this Garden Spells. Allen’s writing is easy and breezy. I am amazed at how quickly I reach the end of her stories. This book is enchanting.The story revolves around the weird Waverly sisters. The two sisters and the town and everyone they meet is affected by their unique gifts and talents – hair styling and food catering.I would recommend this as a great summer beach read.For other reviews, visit www.theycallmekeeks.com

I am rereading this book for the fourth time. This book is so brilliantly constructed! I keep discovering it new each time I open it! (06/26/2010)OMG! OMG! It was like this book was written for me!!!! Read it, read it, read it!!!

Composed by Rosanne Cash is a memoir of the firstborn of Johnny Cash and his first wife Vivian.Rosanne is a singer, songwriter, and writer. And fascinating.I was given this book by my hilarious, wise friend and mentor Tammy.This memoir chronicles her life from childhood into adulthood. Her writing is flawless. Her insight impeccable. Rosanne Cash is every bit authentic. Her writing rings true in a way that rarely happens for me while reading memoirs. I will be reading her other books and listening to her songs. My world is ever-expanding.Here is the note I jotted in my journal when I finished Composed: Her words open doorways and I continue to walk the halls and worlds described even with the book now finished, cover closed, back on the shelf.***Favorite Quotes For me, art is a more trustworthy expression of God than religion. Loss is the great unifier, the terrible club to which we all eventually belong. I have learned to be steady in my course of love, or fear, or loneliness, rather than impulsive in its wasting, either lyrically or emotionally.***For other reviews, visit www.theycallmekeeks.com and choose Book Reviews from Categories.

Received from Rose State for Book Club

This is the second book in the Matched trilogy. The Matched trilogy is about a Society that chooses your mate, your work, and your time of death. It centers primarily around Cassia and Ky and their experiences in this society. These are YA (young adult) novels set in a dystopian world. Below is a brief synopsis of Crossed from the series website: In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky – taken by the Society to his certain death – only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake. Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border.The story is told by Ky and Cassia in alternating chapters.In short, this is the bridge book that gears up at the end for the big finale in the third and final book.I’ll be waiting anxiously for the last book.I’m invested in these characters and their story.I’ve heard it compared to Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games trilogy, but I think it’s best to end their likeness at both being set in Dystopia. Just enjoy the reading.Author Ally Condie creates a suspenseful story of two very likable characters. Universal themes paint the pages: cost of personal freedom for the betterment of society, sacrifice, love and loss, and choosing to join or reject a call to action. Condie’s perspective of a controlled society is well drawn and stays with you even after turning the last page.***Quotes I enjoyed from Crossed: “In the end you can’t always choose what to keep. You can only choose how you let it go.” “I decided that it was the thoughts in your own mind that mattered more than anything else.” “You have intuition, too. The Society says it doesn’t really exist, but it does.” “We have all been carved out by our sorrow. Cut deep like canyon walls.” ― Ally Condie, Crossed#finishyearTo read more, visit www.theycallmekeeks.com

I've been on a Paul Newman kick. It started with the movie Cool Hand Luke. And then Hud. And if I ever quit watching Luke, I'll eventually watch every movie the guy has been in. I'll be a pseudo-expert on his filmography!I picked up Paul Newman (People Tribute: The Life of a Movie Legend) at my local library.Honestly this book read like a yearbook - heavy on photos, easy on text. But it provided a quick overview to his movies, his life, his purpose. It has provided a launching pad into other books about Paul Newman's life. I'll be reading more about him in the near future, I just know.A couple of cool facts:■Paul Newman was married to Joanne Woodward for 50 years. What an incredible legacy that is - see it can be done in Hollywood!■Also, Paul began Newman Own's brand - and there is some incredible good work and efforts being done even now (100% goes to charity). I will picking up more of Newman's Own just to help out the cause.Favorite quotes:“A man with no enemies is a man with no character.” ― Paul Newman“We are such spendthrifts with our lives, the trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you can muster. I’m not running for sainthood. I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer, who puts back into the soil what he takes out.” ― Paul Newman***If you'd like to read more of my book reviews, visit www.theycallmekeeks.com

As a part of #FinishYear, I will be reviewing books I read in 2012.Unexpectedly, I loved Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast.I fully expected to grit my teeth and grimace my way through my reading.Why did I read this book, you ask, if I was anticipating a torturous reading? This summer my crazy family is traveling and one of our destinations will be Key West. Key West! Where Hemingway lived at one time. My turbo-charged nerdiness is coming out. I love to visit where authors have lived, slept, wrote. It is inspiring. I consider it a very holy experience.Anyway.This book read as a brilliant collection of essays. I forgot I was reading. Instead, I found myself walking with Hemingway. Walking the Parisian streets. I sat next to him in the cafe and peered over his shoulder as he wrote and drank.Feast is written by an older Hemingway and yet it did not feel that way.Hem (it’s what I call him now) wrote this book in the late 1950s and finished it in the spring of 1960.A Moveable Feast is Paris for young Hemingway in the 1920s.His voice young. His perception young. He stayed true to his younger days.This is simply Hem in Paris. In the 20s. In love. Out of work. Out of money. Writing.With his words, Hem fleshes out authors, poets, and artists: Ezra, James Joyce, Fitzgerald, Picasso (to name a few).Some of his descriptions left my mouth hanging open or made me laugh aloud or made me pause in sympathy.I can say I’ve been to Paris now:“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” – Hemingway to a friend, 1950***Favorite quotes “My,’ she said. ‘We’re lucky that you found the place.’ We’re always lucky,’ I said and like a fool I did not knock on wood. There was wood everywhere in that apartment to knock on too.” “I had learned already never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.” “For a poet he threw a very accurate milk bottle.” “We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warm together and loved each other.” “I’ve seen you, beauty, and you belong to me now, whoever you are waiting for and if I never see you again, I thought. You belong to me and all Paris belongs to me and I belong to this notebook and this pencil.”To read more, visit www.theycallmekeeks.com

Okay, I'm going to be completely honest, this book wasn't as captivating as I was hoping (insert a sad face here). This may be because I have visions of the different movie versions running in my mind. I did not like the animated Disney cartoon, but then I fell hard for the Tim Burton version. I digress.Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was truly, truly imaginative. Some of the words the author use gave me pause and put a smile on my face.The story made me wish to be a child again so I could read the story as a child and be awash in all the impossible possibilities.I will be reading the other Alice books and in my nerdiness I may research the background of Lewis Carroll and Alice.I must also include that the edition I read of Alice had the most uncanny and dreamlike illustration. Camille Rose Garcia is an amazing illustrator. Her artwork added so much to the telling of the story - much how I think Carroll intended it to be.*****Favorite quotes:“Why it's simply impassible! Alice: Why, don't you mean impossible? Door: No, I do mean impassible. (chuckles) Nothing's impossible!”***“‎You're not the same as you were before," he said. You were much more... muchier... you've lost your muchness". — Mad Hatter”***“Curiouser and curiouser.”***“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." "I don't much care where –" "Then it doesn't matter which way you go.”***“She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it).”***“I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass***To read other book reviews, visit www.theycallmekeeks.com