The Miracle of Mercy Land Book Review

I have been so excited to be involved in Waterbrook Multnomah's Blogging for Books program. I love blogging and I love books and as a Tightwad I certainly love getting books for free so this program is literally MADE for me!

I recently received my second book to review. The book is "The Miracle of Mercy Land" by River Jordan. The book was received as a gift but the opinions are all mine.

Here are my thoughts on my most recent book:

I wanted to read this book because the premise seemed fascinating. The writing in the book was excellent. The description was great and feeling like you were right there with the main character, Mercy was very well done.

That being said I thought the book started slowly and it was very hard to get into. While the character was great and her situation was believable the action was slow to begin. The "book" that came to Doc Philips happened early in the book but then just sort of sat there. I had expected more interaction or more story of what happened while they were “in the book”. The foreshadowing was excellent, the wondering what was going on kept me reading the book.

Once the character, John Quincy was introduced, the book took on a new level of wondering who he was and what would happen. I very much enjoyed the building up of this character and the relationship between John and Mercy. All of the characters questioned if the book they had could change the past and how their choices affected one another.

Since I often like suspense novels I enjoyed the overarching sense of something evil or that something bad was going to happen. The author is very good at portraying that eerie feeling that something isn’t right, that something awful has happened or will happen. However, the “evil” didn’t seem fully realized. The premise was so good but not fully drawn out. I kept waiting for something awful to happen based on what I had been presented with but nothing really did.

Having completed the book I still have questions. There are things I still don’t understand and would have liked to. I believe the book is very character driven which is good but leaves the plot wanting. It is written well meaning it has “pretty prose” and a great Southern charm but my overall impression of the book was confusion.

If you enjoy character-driven books you will like this book because you will love Mercy and her relationship with Doc and her Aunt Ida but if you prefer plot-driven action this wouldn’t be the book you would enjoy. Because of that I have to give this book just 3 stars.

Book (and above image) can be found at Amazon.com

Challenge Your Giving

I didn't intend to take a week off from blogging but it just kind of happened that way :) I just haven't done a lot of shopping this week. I did get to Harris Teeter once more before Super Doubles end but it wasn't till Tuesday. I also hit Walgreens for their great diaper deal and Target for some cheap Wheat Thins (I was already going there I just added it to my list - I certainly do not advise running from store to store to save a dollar - I save so much at Harris Teeter I'm happy to pay the extra dollar from time to time - after all they're in business to make money and I'd like to keep them around if I can!!)

So, what have I been doing?

I've been reading one of the best books ever on money. It's Randy Alcorn's Money, Possession and Eternity. Want to challenge your perceptions on giving? Read this book. Wow! We already tithe 10% but Randy's challenge is to go above and beyond. God sees what you give away but He also sees what you keep and what you do with it.

What are we building for God's kingdom? What are we sharing with the world? Even when we are broke or cutting pennies we still have more money than most of the world.

Want to challenge your spending and your giving? Then read this book. It's changing my life and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Want to read more? Check out Amazon

Book Review

Lately I've been reading all the books I can on saving money, getting out of debt but mostly about grocery shopping for less. So, when I saw this book I just had to have it! After some waiting and budget um, fixing I found a way to buy the book and I found the information quite fascinating.

Of course a lot of it was how to save money at the grocery store by using coupons. Since the Grocery Game does this for me I don't have to figure out another method but he certainly lays out why to use coupons and how to use them to get the best deal. He explains the easiest method to file the coupons and what all the different sales and terms mean.

But the better part of the book and the real reason I wanted it is because the author used to be an advertising executive and he gives you all the reasoning behind coupons. So interesting. By the time I reach the check out I am just excited to see what I save but some little tiny part of me feels bad for using all those coupons (it's a very small part) - I mean I sometimes wonder how they make money. The author explains that coupons are the best means of advertising new products - you try them, you like them, you keep buying the item. Makes sense. Also keeps the companies competing with each other.

He also shared a tip that I thought were too good not to pass on:

- when getting an item for free hold that item till last so that the checker doesn't have to scroll back through an entire list to find the price - maybe I'm the only one who didn't think of this but it just helps the cashier and they like you better :) I asked this week before he scanned my free gum and he agreed that it would be helpful. I also held out the rainchecks for the same reason and made him aware of it before he rung it up - just keeping in the good graces while he's scanning my mound of copuons!

Read more about the authors book at his website: www.grocerydiscounts.us or check out Amazon to order.