Dystopian Giveaway Hop

Dystopian Giveaway Hop

November 1st to 7th

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & My Shelf Confessions

Winner will receive a choice of one of the following Dystopian novels:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Signed R.L. Stine Book Giveaway

So I am having this awesome giveaway on my other blog as part of a giveaway hop hosted by MamaNYC. I thought perhaps some of you might like to enter too so here it is.

I'm giving away a Leaves scented candle, a large ad space, and this Goosebumps book that I got R. L. Stine to sign!

. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Time Pullers (Book Review)

Title: Time Pullers
Author: Horton Deakins
Publisher: 4RV Publishing
Source: Bought

Goodreads Summary:
Time Pullers may forever change the way people think about UFOs, but here, readers will find no reference to alien craft of any kind.What do Napoleon Bonaparte, an Osage Indian dancing and singing to the stars on a lonely hill on a dark night, and a semi-trailer truck trying to run a gate on a US Air Force Base have in common? Only Time Pullers will tell.

Thoughts:
This book starts off very slowly and with a lot of technical physics words. In some ways this helps to make this science fiction idea seem more real, but it is a bit excessive at times. However, once I discovered that the story makes just as much sense if I simply skimmed over these sections instead of trying to read the whole thing, I began to really enjoy the story.
It is not the kind of novel that I usually enjoy: the story is more developed than the characters and I usually prefer the opposite tilt, but this story was so creative and engaging that I couldn't help but enjoy it.
The idea is very unique and is presented in a very realistic fashion. You really could almost imagine this story being true. 
The only major complaint I have, and I hate to say this because I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but the cover is horrible. Obviously, if you are reading this than you have already seen it. It looks to me as if a five-year-old did the design work. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this could really hurt the book as it is so intelligently written but you would never guess that from looking at it.
I would definitely recommend this book and suggest that if you are getting lost in the beginning, stick with it because it is definitely worth your time.

Rating: 3.5/5

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween

Top Ten Books to Get in the Halloween Spirit

Goosebumps by R. L. Stine. 

(Come back on the 25th for the chance to win a Goosebumps book that I had personally signed by R. L. Stine)!

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling.

Carrie by Stephen King

 

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwart

The Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allen Poe

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

The Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney

 

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

The Corridors of the Dead by Jonathan Allen

The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfield

Teaser Tuesday: Time Pullers by Horton Deakins

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Williams, how is it that you heard all this and I didn't?"

"Well, since you asked, maybe it's because I was paying attention to Mr. G, while you were concentrating on a certain someone."

Time Pullers by Horton Deakins

Wizards, Wardrobes and Wookies (Book Review)

 Title: Wizards, Wardrobes and Wookiees: Navigating Good and Evil in Harry Potter, Narnia and Star Wars
Author: Connie Neal
Publisher: IVP Books
Source: From author for review

Goodreads Summary:
Luke Skywalker. Lucy Pevensie. Harry Potter. For millions of children and adults alike, these names and stories are as familiar as those of close friends and family. We read and watch their adventures over and over again. We feel their fears and betrayals. We are inspired by their courage. And perhaps we wish we could live in their worlds, fight important battles and have our chance to become heroes.In these pages Connie Neal shows that we too--in our seemingly ordinary world--have a call on our life that's just as powerful, just as adventurous. While we won't run into Darth Vader or the White Witch on the street, we face villains as formidable as they. And though we don't have Obi Wan Kenobi or Dumbledore to mentor us, Wizards, Wardrobes and Wookiees reminds us of the Helper who teaches and guides as we walk through each day. By highlighting adventures from Star Wars, Narnia and Harry Potter, as well as true stories from Scripture and her own life, Neal shows us the way to victory over evil in the battles we face.This hope-filled, encouraging book takes us into mythical worlds we love in order to help us live wisely and well in our own so that our stories, in turn, can inspire all who see and hear.

Thoughts: 
This is an interesting book that brings together Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter in order to talk about the Bible and the hero journey in our own lives. I was definitely skeptical going into it because so much as already been said about Harry Potter and the hero's journey as well as Harry Potter and Christianity. (I know the same is true for Star Wars and Narnia as well but I haven't personally read anything like that about these works before). However I think that this book has a very good take on the subject.
There are a few things that bothered me a bit about this book. The first is that there are a few times when the author compares being a Democrat to being evil. Now, I certainly think that there are plenty of relevant topics if you want to compare these works to politics. But the author states that not believing in the non-existent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and not believing that Voldemort had returned to power are the same and that that implies that those who didn't think we should have gone to war in Iraq are sinners. That argument doesn't follow.
There are also quite a few inaccuracies in the book. There are many little things I noticed about Harry Potter specifically, but as I know more details to Harry Potter than the average person, I was able to over look most of these since they didn't take away from the message of the work. There were some time-related discrepancies that did bother me. For example, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets can't be a reflection of life after September 11, 2001 because it was published well before then.
Having said all that, I think this book did a very good job of making the Bible more exciting and interesting by relating it well to pop culture. And as this is the main aim of the book, I would say that overall this book is a great success.

Rating: 4/5

Reviewers Wanted: Influenster

A friend of mine recently told me about this really cool site that allows good reviewers to try out a bunch of really cool products and share their reviews with others. Since I know many of you who read this blog love to review, I thought I would let you know about it. It's called Influenster. It's become really popular and is now invite only. I still have a few invites left if you're interested! Just send me an e-mail at katherinehschneider at gmail dot com.

(Note: I am not being compensated for this post, I just thought I would share this cool site)