Giant George

I received a copy of Giant George by Dave Nasser with Lynne Barrett-Lee from NetGalley in exchanged for an honest review.

With his big blue eyes and soulful expression, George was an irresistible puppy. But Dave and Christie Nasser's "baby" ended up being almost five feet tall, seven feet long, and 245 pounds. Eager to play, and boisterous to the point of causing chaos, this big Great Dane is scared of water, scared of dogs a fraction of his size and, most of all, scared of being alone.

GIANT GEORGE is the charming story of how this precocious puppy won Dave and Christie's hearts and along the way became a doggie superstar. In 2010, George was named by Guinness World Records as the Tallest Dog in the World-ever. He appeared on Oprah, and even has his own global fan club. But to Dave and Christie, this extraordinary animal is still their beloved pet, the one who has made them laugh, helped them through difficult times, and continues to make them incredibly happy.

I really enjoyed this book.  I'm an animal lover so this was my kind of story.  I grew up with big dogs and have a spot in my heart for them.  I'm glad to see that couples who have large dogs before they have children will keep them after children come along.  Way too many times the child is choosen over the dog even after being with the cople for years. 

Hollywood In Heels

I received a copy of Hollywood in Heels by Charity Gaye Finnestad from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Hollywood in Heels is the true story of a working model struggling to make it as a writer AND find meaningful relationships in a city where sex is the primary commodity and illusion the name of the game.

Sexy, smart, shockingly honest and wickedly hilarious, this memoir chronicles the life of Charity Gaye Finnestad, a small town girl from Oregon on a quest to make it in Tinsel Town.

From sipping on five-hundred dollar bottles of champagne in celeb-filled mansions in the hills to cruising the aisles of the 99 Cents Only Store to stock her fridge, Charity's adventures are like nothing any dreamer could've imagined. While the landscape may differ from where many call home everyone will relate to the dating highs, hopes and heartbreaks she encounters along the way. Join Charity on her journey to catch her writing dreams and find the true love of her life to fly beside her.

This book was very different than I expected it to be.  Shockingly honest is an understatement in some of the chapters.  Charity tells her story in detail of how she makes it in Hollywood.  She finds many new friends and men along the way.

Five Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter

I received a copy of Five Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter by Vicki Courtney from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the cradle to college, tell your daughters the truth about life before they believe the culture's lies.
For mothers with girls newborn to eighteen, Five Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter issimply a must-have book. Youth culture commentator Vicki Courtney helpsmoms pinpoint and prepare the discussions that should be ongoing in their daughters' formative years.
To fully address the dynamic social and spiritual issues and influencers at hand, several chapters are written for each of the conversations, which are:
1. You are more than the sum of your parts
2. Don't be in such a hurry to grow up
3. Sex is great and worth the wait
4. It's OK to dream about marriage and motherhood
5. Girls gone wild are a dime a dozen-dare to be virtuous
The book is linked to online bonus features offering invaluable tips on having these conversations across the various stages of development: five and under, six to eleven, twelve and up.

This is a book every parent of a girl should read. There are great bouns features that will make the conversations much easier. We all know how our American culture has changed since we were little but do we realize what impact it has on girls as they grow up?

By Faith, Not by Sight

I received a copy of By Faith, Not by Sight by Scott MacIntyre from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.
A moving story of hope, faith, persistence and the power of dreams.
A piano prodigy, a nineteen-year-old college grad, a Marshall scholar, and an
American Idol finalist. This guy had it made. He could sing.
He could ski blind. What couldn’t he do?
Even if you saw him in concert, you might not believe that Scott MacIntyre is
blind, and you’d never guess that at nineteen, he faced a diagnosis that rocked
his family and nearly took his life.
So how did he do it? How did he overcome the odds?
This is Scott’s story, but he’d be the first to tell you that it’s not really
about him. This is the story of how God used a dedicated family, a selfless
acquaintance, hardship, and a host of characters to give him life, faith,
determination, and experiences most can only imagine.
Peek behind the scenes to see how he learned to overcome his disability, how
he made it in the music industry, how he found the love of his life, and how God
taught him that in all things, we can truly achieve our dreams By Faith, Not
by Sight.
This is a very inspiring story. Scott by the age of 23 had indured more than most people twice his age. It helps to put things in your life into perspecive and helps you to realize you can rely on God for everything.

All That Glitters

I received a copy of All That Glitters by John Gapper and Nicholas Denton from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The definitive, classic account of the fall of the House of Baring, the oldest merchant bank in London, in 1995 and the ultimate rouge trader, Nick Leeson, who brought down the venerable institution with speculative investing.

John Gapper, associate editor of the Financial Times, and his coauthor Nick Denton, now founder of Gawker Media, interviewed all the major players involved in the collapse of one of England's oldest banks.

All That Glitters reveals the Faustian deal struck between the whiz-kid derivatives traders who seemed to be bringing in huge profits and the old guard who were happy to pocket them without asking too many questions. Gapper and Denton present a thrilling, in-depth account of Nick Leeson's motives and methods for hiding the unauthorized speculative trading as well as the final days of Barings and the last-ditch attempts by politicians and bankers to save the bank.

This book is very in-depth going into the back ground of the House of Baring. I didn't enjoy the book as much as I had hoped. One reason is it's all about happenings in England that I can't relate to much.