What I "learnt" from Floki (addendum)

Recently I posted about the character Floki from the TV show VIKINGS.  There was a time he told his lovely wife Helga that he did not want to be with her because she made him happy and he did not want to be happy.

 Why would a person not want to be happy?  For the VIKING character Floki he was busy being a Viking and being happy was not necessarily going to make him a better Viking. The Viking community was built on violence and rage and  generally not giving a f#&k about anything.  If Floki was happy it might not be as easy for him to go about his Viking duties that required worshipping the Viking gods and  setting up plans to foil the people Floki didn't care for.

Why would someone in the modern world today not want to be happy?  If someone is unhappy and becomes happy they may have to give up a large part of the muck they have been mucking around in that has become comfortable and a way of life for them.  If a person is happy there is no longer an excuse to keep participating in some of their favorite bad habits. People use their past pain as an excuse to not change to a better way of life.    

What I "learnt" from Floki

Floki is a character in the History Channel television show VIKINGS.  His talents lie in designing and building the fast long boats the Vikings need to explore and conquer the world with.  He is tall, lanky, and pale and wears heaps of black eyeliner.  He has a wife named Helga that adores him and is good to him.

In spite of her love for him Floki pushes his wife Helga away from him by not coming home.  Helga is desperate for answers and goes to town to beseech Floki to return home with her.  Floki tells Helga he doesn't want to be around her because she makes him happy. Floki then tells Helga he does not want to be happy so he can't be around her. 

If someone happens to break up with you by using the "it's not you, it's me" theme you should believe them.  It is not that you were lacking in any way, it may just be that person, like Floki, just doesn't want to be happy.

FOUNDATIONS OF DRAWING : A Practical Guide to Art History, tools, techniques, and Styles

Compiled and written by Al
Gury, FOUNDATIONS OF DRAWING:  A Practical Guide to Art History, Tools, Techniques, and Styles is entertaining as well as educational.  It is chock full of art history that is beautifully illustrated with gorgeous pictures in color.  I read the print version and I loved it!  The book is made of good solid materials and paper which makes the experience with it even more enjoyable. 

Gury fills this book with knowledge of Art History, the tools one may need to work with, and some background on different styles of drawing and how to achieve them.  It's a book that both young and old can relate to and it will inspire many people to continue learning and growing in their artistic endeavors. 

I received this book fro Blogging for Books via the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I chose this book for review as I enjoy looking at art and I have some family members and friends who are very artistic.  It is a book that will be looked at over and over with new facts and new realizations noted at each use.

*image provided by publisher.

Lisa McInerney's GLORIOUS HERESIES

People who enjoy the television show
SHAMELESS (UK) or SHAMELESS(US)  will like the novel GLORIOUS HERESIES. It also reminds me of the British Soaps such as CORONATION STREET and HOLLYOAKS.  The story is set in Ireland during the financial crash almost ten years ago.  McInerney exhibits extreme writing skills as she is able to combine the profane Irish street vernacular with some of the biggest and most beautiful words I have ever read.  GLORIOUS HERESIES was published in Ireland previously where it had won a very big award and is now being released in the USA.  It speaks to changing attitudes on giving birth and women's choice, different vices and crimes, and serves as an coming of age story.  It also speaks to how strong the Catholic Church and Christianity is in Ireland and so there are things considered heresies in the story.  What do people do when the economy is so bad as to leave them with only a series of not so good choices?

Ryan is fifteen and in the throes of first love while dealing with an abusive, alcoholic father.  This propels him to an early career dealing drugs.  Georgie is a young woman whose boyfriend turns her into a prostitute.  Maureen is a grandmother who kills an intruder to her home but is unable to go to the police as they may investigate her gangster son's business.  Some of the characters seem lovable while some of them come across as despicable. It's all an excellent study of human nature.

I read the book straight through in a little over a 24 hour time period on a holiday weekend.  I chose the book for review because I enjoy literature and media from Ireland and England.  I liked this story and will see about getting the sequel when it becomes available.  This book was provided to me free of charge via the publisher and Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. 

Book cover image provided by the publisher  via Blogging for Books.          

 

Fortune Cookie

image credit: Onward

Terry McMillan's I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT YOU

Georgia is a educated professional getting on in years who decides she has a good life but that it can be better. Also Georgia and her friends are hot messes.  She thinks a lot about her past college years and wonders if one of the men from her past is someone she should be with now.  Georgia was quite promiscuous at one time but that was fairly common in 1980's culture.

McMillan writes with a modern day profanity slang.  Her colorful style of writing can only be compared to her own and she is the author of WAITING TO EXHALE  and HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK.  Those were two very successful works for her as those two books were made into movies.  This book, I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT YOU  has been on the bestseller lists and now has been released in paperback.  It will be interesting to see if it will be made into a movie as well. 

The character of Georgia seems somewhat self absorbed to me, but I suppose that makes for good drama.  I chose this book for review because I realized a family member had actually never read any black authors. I had read HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK years ago when it came out as well as watching the movie by the same name later on.  At the time my brother had bought me the book to read because he felt like I was reading too many religious books and that I need something secular to read.

In the book I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT YOU the author makes fun of the singing group Celtic Women.  This irritated me as I felt the character of Georgia was educated enough to know that many folks enjoy Celtic Women as an ethnic type thing as they are from Ireland and sing popular songs and ballads.  

The ending of the book was a little slow to me after it was revealed who she would most likely end up with.  I did enjoy the book and read it in about three days. I received this book for review via the publisher and Blogging for Books who gave me a free copy of the paperback version in exchange for a review.  I will probably pass my copy of the book on to someone else to read.

*cover image provided via the publisher an Blogging for Books.

THE MOTH PRESENTS: ALL THESE WONDERS

If you are looking for something new and different to read try THE MOTH PRESENTS:  ALL THESE WONDERS.  There are around forty-five personal stories in this book told by people from all walks of life. These stories are so good I will go back over some of them again to make sure I didn't miss something.  Etched on the cover it says TRUE STORIES ABOUT FACING THE UNKNOWN.  And indeed that is what they are! These stories were first told out loud onstage at Moth events across the country.  Now the best stories have been compiled into this book with as little changed as possible from the spoken words of the tellers on stage. If I were to state it glibly I would say it is a CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL  sort of thing that meets "Ted Talks".   There is a forward written by popular author Neil Gaiman so that tells you he is a fan of THE MOTH.

Some of the stories are told by semi-famous and famous people but others are not.  In one story a former child soldier from Africa tells of adapting to adoption and high school life in the United States.  In another story a scientist works through miraculous steps on a project to view the planet Pluto up close.  There are stories included in the book told by a concentration camp survivor, a refugee, and other immigrants.  The title of ALL THESE WONDERS is taken from one of the stories in the book. 

I don't agree with some of what is expressed in every single story but all the stories are informative and interesting. It is a book you will want to keep but also share with others. It is edited by Catherine Burns and published by Crown Archetype.

I selected this book for review because it sounded like a great book.  I enjoyed reading it because it was entertaining as well as full of details to learn and ponder. It made me think about what my own Moth stories might be.


* cover photo provided by the publisher and Blogging for Books. 
I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. 

And She Traveled On

image credit Onward
and Color Odyssey
Kappa Books Publishers LLC

The Hum of Angels by Scot Mcknight

THE HUM OF ANGELS by Scot McKnight is a new book soon to be published.  It deals with the biblical definition of angels and not what the popular media and movies make angels out to be. A little bit of artistic license is used for the title but other then that it is right on target with biblical scripture concerning the subject of angels.

What Angels are not:

Angels are not humans who are deceased.

What Angels Are:

Angels are a complete and separate entity of their own created by God.

So okay I just had to get that one out there as that is something that irks me when people assume otherwise.  McKnight provides plenty of scripture to back this up.  He also provides a few stories people have told him about how they were helped or rescued by angels. I don't want to give away the whole contents of the book and I also don't want to discourage anyone from reading it.  It could be very important information for someone.

Do you believe in angels? Chances are you do believe in angels and if you don't believe in them you may wish to believe in them. If more people shared experiences they had with angels with each other it could change the world for the better.

I chose this book for review as I am interested in this subject. One of my favorite books is a book Billy Graham wrote on angels back in the 1970's.  I first found Graham's book at a thrift store and then was delighted to find out a few years later that a great grandmother had had a copy of her own.  McKnight cites Billy Graham's book on angels as one of his sources so that is good.  Graham's book on angels has a focus on end times while McKnight's book on angels speaks more to human redemption.

Scott McKnight is a well known author who has published many books on similar religious subjects.  I received this book as an uncorrected proof from Blogging for Books via the publisher in exchange for a honest review. I plan to share my copy with others.

*book cover image credited to the publisher.

Off the Top of My Head: PEOPLE OF THE SECOND CHANCE

People of The Second Chance is a movement, a non-profit organization, and now a book. Mike Foster is the person behind all three of these things. The non-profit part seems to primarily deal with encouraging prisoners and ex-convicts to not give up on in their rehabilitation journey.  That part is not anything new really and many religious organizations do much the same as Christianity is redemption based at heart.  That being said, I was initially a little bored the first few chapters of the book.  However, when the book changed over to more personal matters it caught my full attention.  So read on!

Mike Foster quickly gets personal in PEOPLE OF THE SECOND CHANCE.  He not only gives recommendations on loving others but also gives recommendations of how to be kinder to yourself.  Some of these things are general knowledge type things but I feel he included them because someone asked him to include them.  They are also subjects that help him be more transparent. However, we all have different needs in our daily and work lives so use your own judgment how transparent you might need to be.

SOME SUBJECTS INCLUDED ARE:

BANISH FEAR, BE BRAVE WITH YOUR STORY, THE WONDERFUL IN THE WEIRD.

One article I saw called it a Manifesto.  I assume that person decided to label it that because it was about Christianity and Jesus.  If that is why they called it a manifesto, then manifesto on baby...
The book is full of stories about people they have met along the way in ministry.  Lots of Bible stories and scriptures  included.
There are even stories included from my home state of Kentucky. 

The actual full title is:  PEOPLE OF THE SECOND CHANCE:
A GUIDE TO BRINGING LIFE-SAVING LOVE TO THE WORLD.  Online resources are secondchance.org, secondchance.org/party.  The actual physical aspects of the book I heartily approve of.  The book is sturdy and compact, not too big or too little. The paper is such good quality paper! Which good paper is a book lovers dream...

I received this book free of charge for review from Blogging for Books and from the publisher Waterbrook. I selected this book for review because I felt it fit in with my blog in the interest of learning and moving Onward. 

Many churches are about loving people.  I can attest to this having grown up in church. Many pastors truly are "people of the second chance."  That is not always the message people feel at church as churches are still social organizations and can be in a constant state of flux. I also feel many people just often resist friendliness and love these days. It may not be considered cool to be seen talking to the square Cristian who doesn't drink or party, no matter how friendly that Christian may be. It may get on some people's nerves if someone is always being cheerful or giving encouraging words to people.  WHERE IS THE LOVE?  Many people just don't want it. 

That last paragraph is mine and doesn't have anything to do with the book!  Check out the book and let me know what you think on this subject.   



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