Teaser Tuesday #7

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Mizb at Should Be Reading.  To participate, you need to:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers
• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser

This week's teaser comes from:

"Cho was indeed there, but he was not alone. Behind the diminutive form of the man who had trained me in three forms of martial arts and dozens of different ways to kill demons and vampires stood another man dressed almost entirely in black."

Giveaway: The Job by Craig Davis

The author has graciously decided to give away 3 copies of his book, The Job.  In case you've not read my review of this book, you can click here to see it.

The giveaway will be open from now until January 25th at which time three winners will be chosen and notified via email.  The winners will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen in your place.  Please read the following carefully ...

I am opening this giveaway up internationally, but there are some conditions: 

1.)  If the winner is a U.S. or Canadian resident, the winner will have their choice of a paperback copy or an ebook copy from Smashwords

2.)  If the winner is in a country other than the United States or Canada, only an ebook copy from Smashword will be available.

I'm going to make entering the giveaway simple ... simply leave a comment below with your email address.  That's it!  Winners will be randomly selected by me.  Good luck everyone! =)

Review: The Job by Craig Davis

ISBN #: 978-0-9829567-0-0

Page Count:130

Copyright: 2009

About the Author:

(Taken from back cover)

After earning bachelor's and graduate degrees at the University of Missouri, Craig Davis toiled for 20 years at newspapers, and has spent a lifetime in biblical scholarship.  An amateur musician, he was once wrestled to the ground by a set of bagpipes.

Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

Joe B. enjoys the sweet life as a vice president at Universal Whirligig.  Then one day he arrives at his job only to find he's been demoted to the mail room, with no explanation or warning.  Joe B. downsizes his hope right into the circular file as he tries to meet with the Big Boss, and receives advice from some of the worst friends ever.  The Job tells a modern parable of ancient troubles and truths.

My Review:

The first thing I noticed when I began reading this was the naming of the various offices within the main character's company, Universal Whirligig.  The naming of the various offices, and company itself, was generic, exaggerated and humorous all rolled into one.  For example, the main character's office was named the Development of International Integration of Core Technological Orientation (Emerging Nations Division).  This office sounds believable, but it also sounds slightly ridiculous which, in itself, is humorous.

As I continued to read and get into the story itself, I started realizing that there were subtle messages in this story.  Messages that intermingle with each other and that we all could apply to our own careers. 

The most obvious is the fact that we all have Big Bosses who make decisions we don't understand.  Sometimes, those decisions affect us or someone we know.  If they do affect us, many times we don't understand why.  Our job is not to question the Big Boss.  Instead, our job is to do our job ... to the best of our abilities.  The Big Boss does see all of his/her employees whether those employees realize it or not.  It seems like a 'Big Brother' situation, but it's true.  And, if we continue to do our job to the best of our abilities, the Big Boss (or Bosses in some cases) will notice it and good things will happen. 

Herein lies another message ... we should always do our jobs to the best of our abilities ... despite our confusion, our despair, our anger, etc.  Doing your job the best of your abilities will make the company look good, yes, but it will also give you a sense of satisfaction and self-worth whether you realize it or not.  So what that there are bumps along the road (and I'm speaking to myself as well as you), those are to be expected in every area of life ... we just need to keep pressing on and doing what's right.

Now we come to the third message ... No matter how you feel, you should always treat people with respect and dignity.  Yes, you might get aggravated at a co-worker or customer.  That doesn't mean it gives you permission to treat them rudely.  You never know what people are going through in their personal/professional lives so it's always best to be understanding and patient.  Yes, this may take some practice and you may not get it right away, but keep trying.  Treating people with kindness will make you feel better about yourself too.  Besides ... what goes around, comes around right?  One day, you're going to be the person aggravating a co-worker or vendor ... don't you want them to treat you with kindness and respect?

I'm amazed that I gathered so much from such a little book ... more than I expected to.  I really think it would benefit most, if not all, people to read this book ... just for the enlightenment it'll bring as you're reading.

In My Mailbox (#9)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi, The Story Siren.  This meme was began so we could all share what books we received the previous week ... whether it was in the mail, from the library or what we bought at a store.


Lodestone Book Two: The World of Ice and Stars by Mark Whiteway - The desperate race to save a world continues. Washed up on a distant shore on the unknown side of her planet, together with the Chandara Boxx, the orphan Kelanni named Shann must uncover the fate of her companions, whilst searching for an artifact hidden there in the distant past. As she journeys farther into this new land, she will encounter strange sights, come up against new enemies and meet new friends, until finally coming face to face with the truth of her own past.


Blue-eyed in Luhya-land by Gunilla Fagerholm - A rather normal middle class Swedish couple in their fifties left their suburban life in Sweden in search of something new - a contrast to the secure Swedish Welfare State.  They sold their small house, packed their belongings in a shipping container, and left Sweden behind.  They went to Africa.

This book tells the true story of how they, during five years, lived as the only Europeans in a small village at the edge of one of the last rainforests in Kenya.  They moved from a stressed life to a simple one, a clay hut on a maize field in Western Kenya, without any of the modern conveniences.  On their own, they built a small rainforest hotel as the start of a new life.  But life turned out difficult; corruption, tribal traditions and witchcraft hindered the blue-eyed couple in their efforts to help the suffering villagers.

The story reflects this turbulent time with a lot of positive and negative experiences, arising in the meeting of contrasting cultures and traditions; Swedish meeting tribal Kenyan.

Spring Cleaning Giveaway

I know it's a little early for spring cleaning, but I've been doing it anyway around my house.  As I was looking at my overflowing bookcases, I decided to part with several books.  I wanted my followers, and their followers, to have a chance at winning these books before I took them to the local used book store.

Here's how I'm going to do this ... First, there are 10 different books I'm giving away.  Some are new, some are used.  For each title I will pick a winner.  That way more people have a chance to win a book instead of one person winning 10 books.  I'll post the books below that are available and you will have a chance to tell me which book, or books, you would like a chance to win.  Whatever somebody doesn't want is going to the local used book store.  Simple as that.

I will make this giveaway an international one.  It will be open from January 16th until February 28th.  Upon closing the giveaway, I will randomly select winners for each title.  I will contact the winners via email.  The winners will need to acknowledge their wins within 48 hours to me or another winner will be chosen in their place.

Ready?  =)  Here are your options:

1.) Aesop's Fables - Listed as one of the 1001 books to read before you die
2.) The Seventh Compass Point of Death by Richard Sanders - I originally received this from the author for review
3.) Bending Toward The Sun by Leslie Gilbert-Lurie - I originally received this from FSB Media for review
4.) Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier - I originally received this from FSB Media for review

5.) Know Your Bible: All 66 Books Explained and Applied - There will actually be two winners for this book as I have two copies to give away
6.) Shade's Children by Garth Nix - Listed as one of the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000 - 2009
7.) The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende - Listed as one of the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000 - 2009 and as one of the 1001 books to read before you die

8.) The Appeal by John Grisham - This is a hardback book that I got while I was in one of those book clubs
9.) 7th Heaven by James Patterson - Another hardback book that I got while I was in one of those book clubs
10.) Dark Muse by BrokenSword - I received this from the author for review

I really enjoyed some of these books, but I probably won't get the chance to read them again.  So, what better way to get rid of them than to give them to someone who wants them?  Fill out the form below for your chance to win.