A change of pace: Healing is a Choice

Change to this blog:
To spice things up this year, I'm going to try and dedicate Fridays to NBC TV. I already catch up on Hulu every Friday and go on and on to my boyfriend about all the episodes I watch. I figure it would be cool to broadcast it, since I think my blog needs to get a little more entertaining. I'll also space the posts out by network (Wednesdays will be Fox shows, Thursdays for ABC). So from now on, look forward to recaps of the latest episodes of the shows I watch:

• The Office
• Parks and Recreation
• 30 Rock
• The Mindy Project
• Modern Family
• Raising Hope
• New Girl
• (MAYBE) The Walking Dead

Now, onto an old book review I should've done a long time ago for booksneeze.com. 

Author: Stephen Arterburn

Pages: 480

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Summary (from publisher):

The power to heal—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually—is in God’s hands. But the choice to be healed is yours. Everyone, at some level, needs healing. You may have prayed for healing many times, for many years. Perhaps you have lived with your brokenness so long that you have become accustomed to it. Maybe you wonder just when God is going to take all the hurt away.

He can. But you also must choose to let the hurt go and let the healing begin.

In this special edition of Healing Is a Choice, author Stephen Arterburn offers a unique combination of book and workbook, outlining ten choices crucial to receiving healing. Embracing these choices means rejecting the lies we often tell ourselves. These are not hoops God requires you to jump through to earn your miracle; they form, instead, the journey He desires for you. He can—and will—walk with you. But you must put one foot in front of the other and choose to let the hurt go and let the healing begin.

Thoughts:

This is targeted towards Christians. I had just signed up for BookSneeze at the time and going through a broken engagement, so seeing this book seemed like a sign at the time (especially since it was for free). When I got this book, I was shocked by its size. It's a thhiiiccckk book. Upon inspection, I realized that it's because after every decision, there's a workbook you can complete, so that takes up about half of the book. They are 10 decisions, a workbook section for each one, and a final commentary on the entire process and God. On page 186, Afterburn says," This book is about healing choices." He's not promising your problems to be gone. Rather, he's suggesting to explore inwards and see why exactly you've been holding onto baggage and why it's time to let go. It's a guide to how to get closer to getting the closure or healing you desire. I like that he made it more personal by talking about his own struggles in divorce. It's a great tool to those who need it. 

'til next time, stay classy! ♥

-M

Gossip Girl: Nobody Does It Better

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 231

Summary (from publisher):
The uptown girls are headed downtown as Serena and Jenny take on their new fabulous roles as rock-star model girlfriends of New York's hottest band, The Raves. Meanwhile, Dan is to busy drowning his sorrows in empty bottles to notice a mysterious French beauty who has a penchant for dirty, Jim Morrison-wannabe lead singers. Blair takes residence at the Plaza to think about her future. Will she become a gun-toting international spy or Manhattan's snobbiest society hostess? Decisions are so difficult! Sounds like everyone needs a day off at the spa. And Senior Spa Day promises to serve up further doses of scandal for New York's busiest private-school vixens.

Thoughts:
It's getting harder and harder to get excited to breeze through the series. The books start off well and then are stagnant for a majority of the time then have one buzz-worthy event that keeps you there. If anything, I'm still around this far because 1) I said I would in honor of GG's last TV season and 2) I compare TV and print. I think the comparing is the only fun I have right now. I'm not saying they aren't well written because in this book, Von Ziegesar was writing descriptions as well as the first book; it's just getting a little too predictable for my taste. This one wasn't as cheesy as the sixth because it didn't have any of that annoying try-hard singing but it did have some unexpected things going on. I didn't ever imagine that Vanessa and Blair would end up being roommates. Jenny is getting a little too adventurous for my taste because it reminds me of try-hard girls when I was growing up but it was entertaining, I suppose. I guess what's really gnawing at me is the whole unrealistic band thing with the Raves. Quick read only if you're bored I guess. 

'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Gossip Girl: You're the One That I Want

Finally a topher(two-for-one) this week! Thanksgiving break felt extra long, lol.
Here we go:

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 224

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Summary (from publisher):
Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where my friends and I live in gorgeous apartments, go to exclusive private schools, and make Manhattan our own personal playground. It might look hard to be this fabulous, but for us it's as easy as sleeping with your best friend's boyfriend. (A little generic, right? Even the publisher's are getting lazy)

Thoughts:
It was a quick read and did have some good stuff happening. I was dying to see who got into what college already! The way Von Ziegesar chose to reveal it was also pretty well executed. Some of the Gossip Girl narration is starting to get really cheesy but this point in the series. I understand she's supposed to be sassy or whatever but I think there's a line between being topically witty and try-hard cheesy. Just my opinion, by the way. I also wish there was more cohesion between the story lines of each characters. I'm surprised at how fast Georgina was in and out of the series; it's really hard to not compare it with the tightly knit cast on the show. They might hate each other in the show but they're always together or calling each other or running into each other every where. In the book, it happens a lot less often. It feels like a compilation of several stories in one book than a group of teenagers growing up together.