The Power of Kabbalah by Yehuda Berg

Author: Yehuda Berg
ISBN: 0-340-82668-1
Genre: Non Fiction
Pages:255
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Hodder Mobius

"Previously shrouded in secrecy, its teachings were passed down orally from generation to generation to only an elite few. Now, Rabbi Yehuda Berg has created a user's manual for today's world, in which its wisdom is conveyed in a practical form. In this book, these secret teachings are brought to bear on the real world issues faced by us every day - in our careers, with family and friends and in our innermost personal thoughts. Rabbi Yehuda Berg sets out a practical collection of principles and instructions for improving our lives, helping us to get where we really want to be emotionally, spiritually, financially and creatively in all aspects of life."


I got this book a few years ago, as I became interested in the teachings of Kabbalah. Being someone who doesn't follow any specific religion, I wanted to find out what it's all about, and I'm open to all beliefs. I found this book really interesting and it did answer some questions for me. Some parts I found a bit heavy, but it was very enjoyable to read and mind provoking. It's one of those books you go back to for inspiration. It has helped me on my 'spiritual' path, and I do go along with some of it's beliefs. This little book however, cannot tell you everything about Kabbalah, but it does give you a good idea. So I will be on search for more books of this subject.

I sum this book up as a good spiritual read for those in search of some answers, and those interested in this religion.

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

Author: Philippa Gregory
ISBN: 978-0-00-719033-1
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 518
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harper.


"The year is 1539 and the court of Henry VIII is increasingly fearful at the moods of the ageing sick king. With only a baby in the cradle for an heir, Henry has to take another wife and the dangerous prize of the crown of England is won by Anne of Cleves. She has her own good reasons for agreeing to marry a man old enough to be her father, in a country where to her both language and habits are foreign. Although fascinated by the glamour of her new surroundings, she senses a trap closing around her. Katherine is confident that she can follow in the steps of her cousin Anne Boleyn to dazzle her way to the throne but her kinswoman Jane Boleyn, haunted by the past, knows that Anne's path led to Tower Green and to an adulterer's death"

Being a fan of Philippa Gregory's novels, I was really looking forward to reading this book. I always find her Tudor novels a treat to read, and know I'm in for something special.
I enjoyed reading about Anne of Cleaves and Katherine Howard, I hadn't read a novel with them in it before. Another thing I liked about this book, was we got to see another side to Jane Boleyn. I actually felt sorry for her in this book, while in The Other Boleyn Girl I hated her.
Kathrine Howard in this novel I did find a little irritating, as her immaturity got to me, but I know the author was trying to show how young she was and her immaturity compared to the grown up court.

As I've read Philippa's Tudor novels, I've learnt more about history by going on the true historical facts. Henry VIII was not a nice man at all, he was to be feared and thank god those times are past.

So, here I get to sum the book up and I have to say I did enjoy it, although I was irritated a little by Katherine Howard. It's not my favourite novel in the Tudor series, it comes third to The Other Boleyn Girl and The Constant Princess. The Virgins Lover and The Queens Fool, follow.

House of Echoes by Barbara Erskine

Author: Barbara Ersikine
ISBN: 0-58-351149-X
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 421
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Collins


"When Joss, who is adopted, decides to trace her natural parents, she finds her deceased mother has left her a country mansion in her will. Joss and her family are thrilled to start a new life, but gradually they begin to understand the house's terrible past."

I was really looking forward to reading this book, after hearing that some people really enjoyed it but, sadly I hated it! I had to slug through the last pages and basically rushed through the book to finish it.

I thought I was in for a good horror story, but I didn't find it scary and I was sick to death of reading about the whining from the two sisters Joss & Lyn. Whine whine whine!!!! I couldn't connect with any of the characters either. This book just didn't keep me interested. I found that I didn't really like Joss. I'm not sure if it was her character or the way the author writes? As even some things Joss husband (Luke) said to her, just didn't seem right in the book to me? There was just too much whining going on and not enough action and there didn't seem to be any atmosphere to this book.

I wouldn't even compare this book to 'Jame Herbert's The Secret of Crickley Hall', which imo was 100 times more exciting and scarier than this book.

This was my first Barbara Erskine book, I have Sands of Time sitting on my shelf, but that will be going way down on the list! Sorry to all those who like her, I know this book has been highly recommended else where. But I just didn't like this book.

My Rating: Obviously disappointing.

Randomness

I found this over a Rhinoa's Blog , who is tagging anyone who wants to do it, and I'm doing the same too!

The rules are simple. In the following list of a hundred books, bold the ones you've read, mark in blue the ones you want to read, mark in red the ones you don't want to read , italicise the ones you've never heard of, and leave the rest alone.

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens) - just over half way through this
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Well, as you can see I need to be doing a lot more reading! I hadn't heard of a lot of those! Think I need to get my butt in gear! hehehe

Read Print

I'm not usually one for online books, but I came across this site a while back called 'Read Print' and book marked it. I've decided I'm going to have a go at reading some of the books on here. They're all Classics. My first I think will have to be Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol.

Here's the link if anyone else is interested. My library is closed atm, so this is going to come in really handy.

Read Print

The Cosmic Ordering Service by Barbel Mohr.

Author: Barbel Mohr
ISBN: 0-340-93332-1
Genre: Self help - Non Fiction
Pages:102
Format: Paperback
Publisher: HODDER MOBIUS

" The Cosmic Ordering Service is the new self-help phenomenon. It is recognised as the book that turned TV presenter Noel Edmonds' life around. Bestselling author Barbel Mohr teaches you how to fulfil all your wishes -- just by placing an order with the universe. She has used the Cosmic Ordering Service to gain her dream job, the ideal man, money, health -- even a castle to live in! Mohr has taught hundreds and thousands of others how to listen to your inner voice, place your order, sit back, and let marvellous things happen."


I first heard about this book in the paper when Noel Edmond's show ' Deal or No Deal' first came onto our screens. He kept having these tattoo's on his hands, and in the paper he mentioned the book and said he followed the authors system. So, my sister went and bought the book, she loved it and then my mum got me a copy. I had picked it up a little while ago, but forgot about it until this weekend, when I picked it up and finished it. I seem to have forgotten about my spiritual books, after reading so much fiction. So have dug them all out.

This really is a little book all about positivity. It's about asking the universe for things you desire and the universe delivering them. It starts with explaining about the author and how she found herself arguing with her friend about ordering from the cosmos, and how she made a list of orders not expecting to get them at all, and then she's amazed when she did. She then goes on to show you, how you can make orders and gives some exercises for you to follow.
Barbel, also talks about the spirit world, and gives you an exercise to follow to get in contact with the 'other side'. I found this to be really peaceful and I enjoyed it.

I also loved all the positive quotes that are in the back of this book, they really make you feel good about yourself and help to put you into a positive mood, raising your self esteem.

Overall though, even though I enjoyed this book, I didn't think any of it was 'new' information. As asking the universe for things is something I've done all my life, we all do it in one way or another. It also reminded me of Prayer, Spells and Reiki. All these things are getting in touch with your higher self and spirit. It's the sort of book you keep by your bed at night and read for a little inspiration and confidence boost.

My Rating; Filled with Positive Energy.

The Little House by Philippa Gregory

Author: Philippa Gregory
ISBN: 058351149X
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 360
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Collins



"It was easy for Elizabeth. She married the man she loved. It was harder for Ruth. She married Elizabeth's son and then found that, somehow, she could never quite measure up. This thriller examines what women want and what they fear, as Ruth confronts the shifting borders of her own sanity."


Philippa Gregory does it again, as she delivered this fantastic moving novel!
I was gripped from page one. After reading this book I have come to a conclusion that Philippa Gregory is my most favourite author, she's my number one. Not only can she write Tudor fiction, she can also write thrillers. This book had me wanting to jump into the story and help Ruth, and wanted me to open Patrick's eyes!

Basically the story is about how a daughter in-law cannot live up to her Mother in-laws expectations. Nothing she does is right, and when it comes to her having a baby, she can't even do that right. There is something sinister going on behind the scenes, the Mother In-law (Elizabeth) has other ideas for Thomas, her grandchild. She wants to bring him up and Ruth doesn't fit into her family. Ruth's in-laws threaten to have her put into a mental institution. But I can't tell you anymore, as you'll have to read it. I was so sure how this story was going to end but, I was surprised with a shock ending!

My rating: Totally gripping and very moving!!

BTT

Booking Through Thursday

1. Do you cheat and peek ahead at the end of your books? Or do you resolutely read in sequence, as the author intended? No I never peek. I always read the book as it is meant to be read. I think reading ahead would spoil the book, although I know some people who do read the last page first.
   
2. And, if you don’t peek, do you ever feel tempted? No I don't, I don't see the point as I want to enjoy the book, not spoil it for myself.