The Prodigal (Abram's Daughters) by Beverly Lewis
Book 4 in the Abram's Daughters series. The only problem is our library doesn't have book 5, The Revelation, so I am stuck with listening to it as an audiobook, or scrounging around for a used copy.
Financial Peace: Restoring Financial Hope to You and Your Family by Dave Ramsey
I'd been listening to David Ramsey's radio show and really enjoying it, so I must say this book was a bit of a disappointment. Mr. Ramsey talks about financial peace, and a hodgepodge of other issues such as investing and getting a good bargain on the things you buy. But he really does not go into detail on his "baby steps" (one short chapter at the end of the book), debt snowball, and other advice he is famous for, such as budgeting (another short chapter). I'm hoping his more recent books will be more usefull.
Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D.
If you've read The Millionaire Next Door, you know the basic setup for this book. It is a sociological approach to wealth; if the average millionaire is frugal, drives old cars, and drinks cheap domestic beer, do the same and you will get rich, too. In Millionaire Women, the author examines the ways in which female millionaires are different from male millionaires. This book had some good points, but way too much discussion on the relationship of women to their husbands and their parents. Frankly, I found the book boring and way too long.
Give Me a Break : How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media... by John Stossel
I read Stossel's Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity and really liked it (but haven't blogged it yet). Give Me A Break is ok, but not great. As Stossel explains, he wrote the book in order to say the things that, because of producers, advertisers, and lawyers, he couldn't say on ABC's 20/20. I don't agree with all his conclusions, but he does a great job at exposing commonly held myths and gets to the truth - although sometimes the truth is more complicated than he makes it out to be. I'm recommending this book, but you should skip it and read Myths, Lies instead.
Can She Be Stopped? : Hillary Clinton Will Be the Next President of the United States Unless . . . by John Podhoretz
Three thoughts on this book:
1) This book is a roadmap for the Republicans on how to prevent Hillary from getting elected. Now, is it really a good idea to come up with a strategy and then publish it for everybody, including the Democratic strategists, to read?
2) Mr. Podhoretz just doesn't make a good case against Hillary. He seems to be writing to an audience that is already convinced that she is the anti-Christ. While I am wary of a Hillary presidency, it's not because of anything he wrote in this book. He could have done a better job at the outset of building a case against her.
3) His ultimate solution, if you don't want to read the book, is that Rudolph Giuliani needs to run against her, and change his position on abortion to a pro-life stance (he maintains that every politician is entitled to change their position on this issue once and only once).
I'm recommending this book, because it is an interesting read, but only marginally.
The Sacrifice by Beverly Lewis
The Betrayal by Beverly Lewis
Books 2 and 3 in the Abram's Daughters series. I can hardly wait to read books 4 & 5 (tomorrow is library day. Yipee!).