Book with a View August 2012

  Title: Created to Live a Balanced Life: 8 Steps to Holistic Transformation
Author: Reverend Dieuner Joseph
Publisher: CreateSpace (June 20, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-1470085483
Reviewer: Dana Micheli
It’s a constant challenge to achieve balance in our fast-paced society. Our days fly by in a blur of obligations, a depressing 24-hour news cycle, and an increasing demand for immediate gratification. When we are pulled in so many different directions, it is hard to give our all to anything, and every aspect of our life suffers. We are out of balance. In his new book, Created to Live a Balanced Life: 8 Steps to Holistic Transformation, Reverend Dieuner Joseph shows us how to restore balance and recalibrate our lives for health, love and success.
There is no shortage of self-help books out there, or books on connecting with God. What makes Created to Live a Balanced Life stand out among them is its unique approach to healing. With the same skill and compassion he shares through his newsletter and radio show, Reverend Joseph brilliantly weaves theology with no-nonsense guidance on how to change each area of our lives, day by day and step by step. Whether you are struggling with a troubled marriage, a health concern, or a problem with your boss, this book has the answer. Reverend Joseph’s advice is simple, but not a free ride. Each method in the book involves soul-searching and hard work, and while he doesn’t promise instant gratification, he certainly promises positive change for those who stick with it. In short, Created to Live a Balanced Life is an answer to our prayers.
Reverend Dieuner Joseph is the CEO of the Holistic Transformation Center, as well as the founder of Imani Temple Baptist Church and Disciple Maker Ministry. He is the author of “Restoring Honor to an Honorable Vocation” and the writer and editor of the blog, “A Pastor’s Reflection”. He also produces an online weekly devotional called “The Wednesday Word” and hosts Reverend Dieuner’s Community Call, an interactive radio show on Talkshoe.com. Reverend Joseph holds a Bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College, as well as Master’s Degrees in Divinity and Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has also studied at the University of Strasbourg in France.
Title: The Sum of Random Chance
Author: Lee Chambers
Publisher: MISFP (July 12, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-0986494352
Reviewer: Dana Micheli

After reading a great book, I often wonder whether the author will be able to pull it off again. I admit to feeling this way after reading Lee Chamber’s Pineville Heist. With his new novel, The Sum of Random Chance, Chambers proves he has not only the talent, but the longevity, to succeed in a business where one is only as good his latest idea.
Cole Wilkes is an inexperienced but ambitious young reporter trying to prove his worth, but the stars seemed aligned against him at every turn--not to mention a materialistic girlfriend and a backstabbing colleague. Cole finds himself relegated to covering the most mundane stories in a mundane town, and despite his efforts, is unable to make anyone happy, least of all himself. Then, one day, fate lands him at the right place at the right time: he is in the local Super Mart when it is held up by two men armed with a baseball bat and a hunting knife. While everyone else cowers in fear, Cole notices a petite blond woman with a peculiar smile on her face. He watches in disbelief as she stops the thieves in their tracks, all without laying a hand on them. It is as if she has some sort of mystical gift. With a reporter’s eye and opportunist’s heart, Cole knows he has found his story, and her name is Sara Mackay. Determined to learn about—and exploit-- her secret powers, Cole begins following her around town. But instead of a sorcerer, he finds a woman with rare gifts and an even rarer empathy for those around her.
The Sum of Random Chance is a deeply personal story of two people whose “accidental” meeting changes their lives forever. It is also, however, a social commentary on our modern society. We have become a people of instant gratification, whether it’s a Google search or an instant promotion. Nowhere do we see this more in the twenty-something generation, and Cole Wilkes personifies his generation’s self-centeredness, as well as its capacity for evolution and growth. At the beginning of the book you may think Chamber a cynic; by the end you realize he is quite the opposite. Either way, he is an excellent storyteller.