Our last weeks Freebie Friday winner for Water For Elephants has been announced. Follow here to Freebie Friday to see who won.
Thank you to all who entered! Next Freebie Friday will be posted soon….
Month: July 2009
My Sisters Keeper – The Movie
This afternoon I was able to see the movie version of Jodi Piccoult’s My Sisters 
Keeper (see my 2006 review of the book here)
I was excited to see it as this was my first Jodi Piccoult read that knocked my socks off at what an amazing author she is. I was also, as with any book to movie… a little cautious. We tend to love our books and can take changes a bit personally.
The movie… I really enjoyed it. I found it heart achingly beautiful and if not for having read the book previously I probably would have come out of the theater feeling blissfully satisfied. Without giving too much away, I will just point a couple things that didn’t need to change (book to movie) but did…
1. The brother character of Jesse was deeply troubled in the book and with due cause as all the families attention went continuously to the care of Kate. In the movie they touch on this slightly, but make him more of a caring and overwhelmed brother.
2. Of course the changing of the ending. I actually only heard that it was different yesterday from a friend. And yes, it was a different ending and while it worked, I believe the book ending is far better.
I was curious as to what Jodi Piccoult thought of this rather big change to her book so I looked on line and found this statement written by her:
TO ALL MY FABULOUS FANS WHO’VE SEEN THE MOVIE:
“Yes, I know the ending is different. Yes, I know some of you are very upset. I didn’t change it. The author has no control over the movie, and it was hard for me to accept too. However, there’s a great deal in the movie that I think is great, and I enjoyed watching it – and I hope you did too. Please don’t email me asking me why I changed the ending, or “let” Hollywood do that – it wasn’t something I had any control over.” ~ Jodi Piccoult
Final thoughts: The movie captured the story line well, I had many of the same emotions as I had when I first read the book – from at first disliking the mother and finding her impossibly cruel, to moving toward compassion when you start to see the bigger picture of a mothers heart. I cried like a baby through many parts of the movie. I think seeing it was more emotional for me than reading it.
The NIght Gardener Winners Have Been Posted!
Finally I have had a moment to sit down and close this contest! See the 5 winners of The Night Gardener Giveaway
Congratulations and thank you to all who entered!
Morning Meanderings….
I actually did not have to travel any farther than my email to find 
a great book review. Melissa from Reminder List emailed me with a book that she was excited about and asking about the Guest Blogger Spot.
I had a tiny window this morning before I boogied out the door but quickly checked out the review and loved it. As my morning went on, I kept thinking about the book, the review, and Melissa’s passion to promote it.
The book is Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo. later today I will add this full review to my Guest Blogger Tab. In the mean time, help yourself to a cup of coffee and read this great review.
Morning Meanderings…
I slept funny and have a now two day pinch in my back…. good grief what is that? Am I old enough for back pain??? So this morning I woke up a little later than usual, and spent a little more time than I should have reading emails and lally gagging around the blogesphere….
My stop today took me a review that just read to me like a casual heartfelt book. I was at Girls Just Reading, and found this little treasure posted by Lisa: The Forgotten Garden. I instantly was drawn to the book. I encourage you to stop by and see this review and a beautifully done blog.
And now…. I quote the rabbit in Alice and Wonderland….
I’m late, I’m late for
A very important date.
No time to say hello, good-bye,
I’m late, I’m late, I’m late
I’m late and when I wave, 
I lose the time I save.
My fuzzy ears and whiskers
Took me too much time to shave.
I run and then I hop, hop, hop,
I wish that I could fly.
There’s danger if I dare to
Stop and here’s a reason why:
I’m over-due, I’m in a rabbit stew.
Can’t even say good-bye,
hello, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late.
The Fun Minute Manager by Bob Pike * Robert C Ford * John Newstrom
Meet Bob Workman. Bob likes his job. Bob likes his employees. Bob considers himself a good manager but senses low
morale among his immediate staff members.
In this easy-to-read business fable, a chance encounter transforms Bob s work life as he sets out to discover how fun can revolutionize a worksite and pay big dividends both in morale and return on investment.
Bob discovers that a fun work environment one which lifts people s spirits and reminds them of their value to their managers, their organization, and to each other is a primary need among employees. He sets off on a quest to find ways to create a fun environment and develops a method to produce convincing evidence that creating a fun work environment is worth the time and effort for the company.
Along the way, Bob discovers that fun at work: * reduces stress
* energizes employees and lowers turnover
* improves both employee attitudes and customer satisfaction
* lowers absenteeism and increases productivity
* creates employee loyalty and group cohesiveness
While fun has not been viewed as a traditional responsibility of the manager, managers that care about their employees and their bottom line will find The Fun Minute Manager a great tool for actively engaging their employees and positively transforming their workplace. This book is concise, timely, and a rich resource of practical ideas.
I really appreciate books like this. I have been in many management rolls all my adult life and most of the people that have worked for me I am still in touch with – years later. I truly believe that books like this are spot on. I always felt that if I enjoyed my job, looked forward to going and doing the job itself, the day was so much better… the job was so much better.
The Fun minute manager does just that. It gives you real life scenarios that you can take into the work place, ANY work environment and make things fun.
The result after implementing fun into the work day?
- Higher morale
- Less stress
- less missed time and/or work related injuries
- Teamwork improvement
- Less employee turnover
You can be that company that everyone is talking about. People will be waiting in line to work for you. I know this, I have read many books on morale and employee incentives. It does work.
If you are a business owner or manager this is a book that I would consider manditory to have in your office library.
Bob Pike CSP, CPAE Speakers Hall of Fame is Chairman/CEO of the Bob Pike Group and has consulted on training and performance improvement since 1969 with organizations like IBM, AT&T, Hallmark Cards, the USMC, The Joint Military Agency, Microsoft, Pfizer, and more. He is the author or co-author of 29 books, including the best-selling Creative Training Techniques Handbook and Dealing with Difficult ParticipantsMore than 125,000 trainers on five continents have attended his 2-5 day train-the-trainer workshops.
Check out more on this book at: www.TheFunMinuteManager.com
Book Journey 