I’ve always liked the books from Barbour Publishing, back to the time many years ago when I worked in Christian retailing. They produce very good informative books at great prices.

Anyway, on to the review!

Pride and Pestilence is a Maxie Mouse Mystery, a series about life in the fictional town of Melnik, Nebraska, the home of Maxie, the world’s largest field mouse. Now Maxie has been dead for many years, but is stuffed and is a source of local pride.

A stranger comes to town, and all sorts of strange and humorous things start to happen. Since it is a mystery, there is murder and death, but without the ghoulish emphasis of many mysteries. There’s also a bit of romance woven in, but not so much that this reviewer is turned off from reading it.

However, after some twists and turns, a positive solution results in the main characters moving forward. Overall, it was a very satisfying book, a fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This is the story of Partners Worldwide, a Christian ministry which seeks to link North American businessmen with entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They partner together to find solutions for economic growth that restore hope and dignity to people around the world.

The book begins by talking about the vision for Partners Worldwide and how the ministry got started. The real strength of the book comes after that, as the authors tell stories of the vision of the ministry being carried out.

Stories from entrepreneurs in Kenya, Nicaragua, Uganda, Haiti, The Philippines, Zambia and North America are shared with honesty, the successes as well as failures being discussed. But the book shows the overall concept of the ministry’s vision is workable and works well in many situations.

The book ends with a discussion on how to make your business your mission with more information being shared about Partners Worldwide.

Partners Worldwide is the publisher of this book and I was not familiar with this ministry before reading this book. I purchased the book after it was recommended by a friend. If you want to be jolted out of “business as usual” and how you can use your business in an innovative way to make an impact worldwide, then this book is for you!

I received this book free of charge from the Thomas Nelson book review program. I’ve always followed the career of George Foreman with fascination, as he has done well in the boxing ring and in business, in particular with his grill. I was anxious to read his thoughts on being an entrepreneur and I found that this book did not disappoint. Well crafted by veteran co-writer Ken Abraham, Foreman spins stories about his life interlaced with principles of business, entrepreneurism and his faith.

George Foreman has not lived life timidly, and that is apparent throughout this book. He encourages the reader to not just stand by and let life pass them by, but to be willing to take risks that are based on sound principles.

I also like his emphasis on giving back, which he writes about extensively. However, he has not only written about, but he has also practiced it in life.

And that leads to another point. This is not an ivory tower, pie in the sky type of book, but it is a practical book where Foreman shares what has worked for him and yes, even where he has failed.

This is a very readable book, with a good number takeaway points for those who are seeking to be Christians and entrepreneurs. I highly recommend it!

Take Your Best Shot Cover

This book was provided to me free to review by the Thomas Nelson book review blogger program.

Nine year old Austin Gutwein became concerned about the number of children who were dying of AIDS in Africa. But unlike most of the rest of us, he actually did something about it.

Now 16, Austin started the Hoops for Hope organization to help raise money and hope for the AIDS children in Africa.

This book is the story of that journey, with challenges throughout the book for the reader to rise up and do something bigger than yourself, whether it’s joining in with the Hoops for Hope effort and doing something else you feel led to do.

It’s interactive in format, with easy to read chapters, that would make a great study for a group of teens or others who wanted to consider how to do something bigger than themselves.

Austin took an act that’s very simple- shooting free throws- and turned it into a “vehicle” to raise over a million dollars for AIDS children in Africa. Groups have taken Austin’s challenge to shoot free throws and the movement is growing year by year.

Take Your Best Shot is highly recommended as a motivating and inspiring book to read by yourself or with a group of people.

I did find some things I wanted to study more in depth, so the quick reading was helpful in that respect. I would recommend having a plan to read the Bible through, but probably not in 90 days!

Right now I’m reading through the Bible in the New Living Translation. I’ve read through the Bible in several other translations, but never the NLT. I originally hoped to finish in 90 days, using the plan promoted by Zondervan, but I got off track during our vacation this summer and didn’t make it. I’m still plugging along, but it’s been over 120 days. I’m going to make it!