Soaking in, I'm soaking in what I've just read. It's only a mere 200 pager book and it took me more than 3 weeks to accomplish it. Never have I read a Tozer book before and this is my first. It's so RICH and COMPACT with so much to learn and dwell into how the Lord moves him to write as he writes.
Although the book cover and title pressing on the topic of Faith, however how Tozer start off with how a Christian is ought to live in the manner of Faith from God's perspective instead of men. It started from how carnal Christian looks at Faith and how lowly our thoughts that never would comprehend what God's original purpose of mankind in this world.
The gradual pace in each chapters from the creation of man in God's image crescendo to the all so ineffable majestic of God has been profoundly described with great points and arguments. I just can't control myself from saying how mind-blowing this book has brought me. In which, it leads me to ponder and dwell into it for so long, that I can't stop myself from enjoying this book even more.
You know how when a reader reads a book and a special quotes pops out and say "Now that's a great quote!" In Tozer's book, I practically wretched the book with yellow highlights, handwritten notations, brackets after brackets of my favourite discussion or arguments AND endless written "AMEN" in this book.
It is ever easy to read but it has so much to consume. I wouldn't call myself a staunch Christian but this book had me THINKING. I do have serious thoughts of being a Christian for the past 22 years and it is not a joke when it comes to the REAL definition of Salvation. What is it to be a Christian with Faith. God's perspective of Faith not men.
So many pointers to share and how wonderful it is to let someone knows the beauty of God's purpose behind all of His perfect plans for us. This book and genre is my first and I'm really liking it so far! Tozer, you're my new found hero in this genre!
Ratings: 5 out of 5 stars
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I love it, I just love this book. Call me a nerd, geek or whatever, I just love how this book was written. So much fun and it's so interactive that you are able to visualize what has been described. It has so much elements from the 80s and I can't seem to stop myself from falling in love over and over again.
The writing is simple to get yourself into the world that was created. What holds me back is when something famous or familiar has been mentioned and I can't seem to stop myself from the Google-ing habit by searching all of the stuff mentioned. Ahh... Memories.
Plot wise. OMG, it's like a roller coaster ride! It goes up with so much anticipation, and you were let down with some stupid "I-should-know-better-than-to-get-myself-into-this-mess" kinda situation. Then it went back up again, and it goes down until it reaches the end. The end was so good to the point where you would say the book ended just right. No more no less.
"The OASIS was an online utopia (Virtual Utopia), a holodeck for the home. And its biggest selling point? It was free." -- Parzival
Never in my fiction reading life have I read about stuff in the far future has the words UTOPIA in it. In today's context of the future are all written with a dystopia world. Come on! There are at least some good world out there to talk about and this has lives up to it's expectations by portraying AT LEAST a virtual utopia. This very sentence itself caught my attention and made my day by making the right choice to read this book. There, I've said it. Too much Dystopia genre already... Enough already! I'm a really mean reader...
I would argue that masturbation is the human animal’s most important adaptation. The very cornerstone of our technological civilization. Our hands evolved to grip tools, all right—including our own. You see, thinkers, inventors, and scientists are usually geeks, and geeks have a harder time getting laid than anyone. Without the built-in sexual release valve provided by masturbation, it’s doubtful that early humans would have ever mastered the secrets of fire or discovered the wheel. And you can bet that Galileo, Newton, and Einstein never would have made their discoveries if they hadn’t first been able to clear their heads by slapping the salami (or “knocking a few protons off the old hydrogen atom”). The same goes for Marie Curie. Before she discovered radium, you can be certain she first discovered the little man in the canoe. -- Parzival
Well-said, honey, well-said.
Talk about songs being mentioned, to name a few (Sorry, I just can't help myself):-
1) Midnight Oil - 1987 - Beds Are Burning
2) The Plimsouls - 1983 - A Million Miles Away
3) John Waite - 1985 - Change
4) Def Leppard- 1987 - Pour Some Sugar on Me
5) Schoolhouse Rock - 1973 - 3 Is A Magic Number
6) AC/DC - 1976 - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
7) Rush - 1982 - Subdivisions
Moreover, recently I've read that Steven Spielberg has already signed on to direct this movie. Please please please don't screw this up. This is such a good book, please don't screw this up for the sake of the readers.
Ratings: 5 out of 5 stars
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I'm really humbled. She is still in connection with most of her fans and readers. She's none other than Victoria Schwab!
Hahaha!!! The FIRST name of Wesley Ayers has been revealed! The author never fails her readers when it comes to descriptions. The sounds, the thought & the ideas are all well-written with so much depths. Although, this may be one of the shortest love story that a writer could give, but many would find it really satisfying.
Guilty pleasure read of what Victoria has teased. Now, my question for her is 'When will we be getting the 3rd book?'
Ratings: 5 out of 5 stars
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You know what they say about a book sequel? Trust me, this book did not disappoint at all. I was hesitated to pick this one up but I didn't realize the plot was intriguingly captivating. Victoria Schwab, a master storyteller of it's own in the YA Fantasy genre never ceased to fail many of her readers. I must say, she's got me all shook up when it was beginning to turn messy!
Mackenzie Bishop, she made me so frustrated all the time when she's hiding a secret that PLEADS a lending hand from any trusted party. The problem with her is that she doesn't trust anyone. Many of whom that she knows are giving (throwing is more likely) themselves to help her, she went solo. In the end... You've got to read this book. I'm not gonna tell you! Shoo! Go!
We are being introduced with many of her peers in this new school where her parents think that it's a good change for such a traumatic events that they've all been through. Nevertheless, comical moments were still present in their day-to-day school lives. Chemistry of friendship and love were subtle, however it leaves the reader tingly for wanting more. However, I have come to realize that Lindsey was mentioned in the beginning and was missing towards the rest of 3 quarters of the book. Funny! (She's not much of a significance I guess... Sidelined!!!!)
Many gripping moments and a sense of violence was there. It has brought The Archived series to a whole new level. I thought we are gonna stick to PG until a snap! Literally cringe worthy til my spine went numb. Interrogations were bad, slamming and fighting were really well-written! I guess I have to say, everyone who's in the verge of giving up the YA genre, give this a go! You might want to re-consider of giving the YA genre another chance after this. I know I did.
Ratings: 5 out of 5 stars
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I've chosen this book because I am buddy reading this with a booktuber named Kamil from @WhatKamilReads
I love this book! I love where the premise was set in Malaya. The message. The history. The beautiful landscape of Cameron Highlands. The usage of WORDS! It is so eloquent and articulate, I can't even praise it enough to justify. This book is so rich that I have submerged myself into the history of Malaya with the advantage of me being in Malaysia myself. I did not even see the beauty of my country in that manner. I'm ashamed of myself!
The book is written in a back and forth manner between 1940s and 1980s separated by chapters. You'll kinda catch on as you're reading it progressively. It started out from the heart of Kuala Lumpur and stayed on at Cameron Highlands through out the book. I do not really want to go into the plot as this book is meant to be a journey of pain, anger, forgiveness, restoration & love. Elements of emotions are subtle but it's loudly banging in your head that these thoughts of frustrations are meant to be out there for readers like us.
'You've forgiven the British?' He subsided from his seat. For a while he was silent, his gaze turned inward. 'They couldn't kill me when we were at war. And they couldn't kill me when I was in the camp,' he said finally, his voice subdued. 'But holding on to my hatred for forty-six years... that would have killed me.' -- Magnus Pretorius
This message is common to many but coming from a prisoner of war, I find this very powerful. Holding such grudge for more than what is expected would have killed you mentally. Humanly speaking, you'll be so bitter that no one is able to communicate with you anymore!
'... but I realized that much of the women's laughter and singing rising from the slopes was bitter with the harshness of their lives.' -- Teoh Yun Ling
Some might observe the harshness of live after the war but then again, people move on with laughter and singing. Although bitterness is shown but it's performed with a sense of melodramatic bitterness with great depth to it. As the saying goes, each person has it's own story to tell.
Following the example of the old men in the shop, Frederik poured his coffee into a saucer and blew on it. 'My mother used to scold us if we did that,' I said. 'Low class, she called it.' 'But it tastes so much better like this.' He picked up the saucer and slurped noisily from it. 'Try it.' -- Frederik Pretorius
The act of drinking coffee through a saucer! My grandma used to teach me how to drink coffee like that. Low class wasn't an issue back then but GOOD coffee tasting is what we appreciated most during the hay days of me being an ignorant boy who doesn't care about who his surroundings are.
He turns to me and gives me a bow so deep I think he is going to topple over. Straightening up again, he says, 'I am sorry, for what we did to you. I am deeply sorry.'
'Your apology is meaningless,' I say, taking a step back from him. 'It's worth nothing to me.' -- Teoh Yun Ling & Yoshikawa Tatsuji
'We had no idea what my country did,' he says. 'We did not know about the massacres or the death camps, the medical experiments carried out on living prisoners, the women forced to serve in the army brothels. When I returned home after the war, I found out everything I could about what we had done. That's when I became interested in our crimes. I wanted to fill in the silence that was stifling every family of my generation.' -- Yoshikawa Tatsuji
These 2 quotes reminds me of a feud between China and Japan on the matter of what is taught in the history lessons in Japan. Many Japanese of today will NEVER know the cruelty that has happened back in World War II. It has been wiped out from their education system. WWII is a sense of pride in Japan instead of shame. So when some Japanese came to other parts of Asia and knew about the oppression of these countries through them, they never ceased to feel remorse for what has been done.
"'Young man,'" the old monk said, "'tell me: is it the wind that is in motion, or is it only the flag that is moving?'" 'What did you say?' I asked. 'I said, "Both are moving, Holy One." "The monk shook hi head, clearly disappointed by my ignorance. "One day you will realize that there is no wind, and the flag does not move," he said. "It is only the hearts and minds of men that are restless.'" -- Nakamura Aritomo
Ahh... ponder ponder~~~
The Chinese in Malaya who could not speak English looked down on us for not knowing our own ancestral tongue. - 'Eaters of the Europeans' shit,' they called us. In turn we Straits Chinese laughed at them for their uncouth ways and civil service or to rise in our colonial society. There was no need of us to know any language other than English, my father had often told us when we were growing up, because the British would rule Malaya forever. -- Teoh Yun Ling
Trust me, there are 3 types of Chinese in Malaysia today. The English speaking Chinese, the Non-English Speaking Chinese and the Chinese who speaks both but remain unanimous until asked. That last sentence is no longer applicable because Malaysia will be celebrating it's 58th year independence this coming 31st August.
'We'll never talk about this again when we get out of this place. No one will ever know,' I repeated. 'Even if we never talk about it, it'll be there in your eyes, every time I look at you.' -- Teoh Yun Ling to Teoh Yun Hong
The voice of hope & despair intertwine makes this a really good read. Emotions...
In conclusion, are we able to get out of our own prison? Do we need a metaphor to release us from such agony of anger & pain from the past. Lastly, are we killing ourselves for what we are doing to ourselves today?
Ratings: 5 out of 5 stars
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Reunion!! Reunion reunion reunion!!! It all happens so quick. The planet that they were looking for Izabel was about to crack open by birth (when I mean by birth, it is BY BIRTH). I'm not joking! Read it and you'll understand.
Ahh... I've always love family hugs. I wanna have me some hugging now!!!
Yes, there was reunion and there were disagreements as well. I can't help it! They are like bonded for each other for life! Look at them... Aww...
After reading this issue, I never want to mess with any girls anymore. They are mean!!! They are out for revenge with 101% determination that you will die in their hands. And as always, the ending is what makes me wanna read on again. Let's go!
Ratings: 5 out of 5 stars.
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