The Gospel According To LOST by Chris Seay

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

Lost is NOT just a television show. It has become larger than that-a massive story filled with mystery that has garnered over twenty million participants. Some might call them viewers, but one does not just watch Lost, one participates in it. It demands that you dialogue with the story, seeking theories and comparing yourself to characters. Lost breaks all the formulas for television, and in doing so has drawn together millions of people on a shared journey that explores life, faith, history, science, philosophy, hope, and the basic questions of what it means to be human. It is the seemingly infinite ideas, philosophies, and biblical metaphors that make this story so engaging.

The focus on faith and truth is never more clearly explained than in the words of John Locke as he questions Jack Shepherd asking “Why do you find it so hard to believe?” Jack responds quickly “Why do you find it so easy?” But Locke declares “It’s never been easy.” This tension between Faith and Reason drives every episode and story line. Locke summed this up as he explained to Jack “That’s why you and I don’t see eye-to-eye sometimes, because you’re a man of science—Me, well, I’m a man of faith.”

I think we have all seen books like this around – they are based on a popular TV show or movie and then a book comes out about the faith story behind the show – or more often, the lack of faith and Christian theme in a particular show and suddenly there is a book telling why we should not be watching it… and certainly save your friends and family from the evils of said show as well.

For these reasons I usually avoid these type of books.  I enjoy movies and tv shows for the entertainment value in them and no more.  I do not want to be told why or why I shouldn’t watch a show.  But this one called to me….  for one it is written by Chris Seay and while I may not be familiar with his writing, I know he keeps good company with the likes of Don Miller (Blue Like Jazz) and secondly – and at the time, more importantly – this is about LOST.  And if you have had the opportunity pleasure of experiencing this phenomenon from season one…. you truly have to know that this show has something special going on….

But enough about the show.  This is about the book. And I have to tell you…. while I went in skeptical…. I came out the other side raving. Right from the start Chris Seay’s layed back way of writing made me feel very comfortable going forward in the book.

Chris brings each character to their own chapter and pulls out very real, very biblical traits.  Every character in lost is broken in their own way – damaged people – with their own story line.  As the seasons go on you see differences in the characters, whatever their baggage once was – they start to grow from it.

In almost a faith like way we see Sawyer start out as a hardened unlikable and annoying character who keeps to himself.  As the show progresses Sawyer learns that sometimes we need others in our life and turns out that being in community with others, is not so bad.

Jack is a man of science and John Locke is a man of faith….. While jack has to have an explanation for everything… John Locke immediately senses there is something about the island and whatever it is, by faith he is going to believe in it.  (*Information on John Locke of LOST and John Locke the philosopher was fascinating!)

Kate comes off the plane as a criminal being tried for murder.  As she grows, she comes to terms that everyone can seek forgiveness and begin with a clean slate.

Filled with plenty of Biblical references I found myself reading this book every chance I had.   Chris pulls the gospel out of a secular show and I found this to make for good reading. I feel now I will be watching this last season of LOST with new eyes.

After all Lost is all about the moving of an island…. is that so different from moving mountains?

If you are a fan of LOST and enjoy a good faith-based read – I recommend this book highly.

About Chris Seay:


Chris Seay is a leader in the emerging church discussion, church planter, author, and third generation baptist pastor. Currently, Chris is the President of Ecclesia Bible Society where he is orchestrating a Scripture project that seeks to retell the biblical narrative with the literary beauty of great poetry and story as well as historical truth. As Pastor of Ecclesia Houston, Chris leads a unique congregation that is living out the gospel faithfully in an urban environment. He is also the author of seven books, including The Gospel According to Tony Soprano, The Gospel Reloaded, and The Last Eyewitness.

My Amazon Rating

I received my review copy from Thomas Nelson Reviews

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments


Ooh!  I slept late….. I have like a sinus cold going on and it has knocked me down the past 15 hours.  I did not get half the things done yesterday that I wanted to.

However in recap – I had so much fun being a part of Cathy’s Scene Of The Blog yesterday.  Thank you again to Cathy for hosting me, my reading/reviewing space, and apparently my dog too….LOL

Today I am taking my sorry sneezy self to work for about 30 minutes before I need to run to a builders meeting.  We are one week out from the home show so I really need to attend this meeting.   To execute this will be a triumph of its own since I am sneezing every couple minutes….

Book reviews to catch up on, a few giveaways to do….. I think I need just a weekend of blog time to get organized around here!  🙂

I must get moving…. Coffee Cup needs a refill and I must make myself presentable for human contact!  Have a super fab morning everyone!  I do have a review up in a few hours.  🙂

I am finishing up The 13th Hour.  What book is in your hand today?

Morning Meanderings….

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)37 Comments


Oh what a beautiful morning…. oh what a beautiful day!

Here’s what  is happening in my little corner (not even a corner really – more like a “cornerette”)”….

1.  I won an Amazon gift card from Tia from Tia’s Comfy Place!   An Amazon Gift Card…. that’s like Gold!  That’s like Gollum going after the ring in The Lord Of The Rings…. “My precious!“


2.  I think I found an office person for our business!  Squee!!!  After interviewing people for three weeks I think we have a winner!  🙂


3.  Today Cathy at Kittling Books has me featured today at Scene Of The Blog.  Double Squee!  Please stop by and check it out.  I would love that and will be commenting at her blog as well as here today. Cathy rocks!  🙂

Please click on the Scene Of The Blog Logo here to go to the post at Cathy’s….

Have a great day everyone!  I have a few winners to clear up later today and I think another giveaway coming up too!

Oh and Happy St Patrick’s Day!


I Hadn’t Meant To Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments


Twelve-year-old Marie is one of the popular girls in the prosperous black suburb. She’s not looking for a friend when Lena Bright, a white girl, appears in school. But the two girls are drawn to each other. You see, both Lena and Marie have lost their mothers. On top of that, Marie soon learns that Lena has a terrifying secret. Marie wants to help, but is it better to keep Lena’s secret, or to tell it? Their friendship—and Lena’s survival— may depend on her decision.


I read this book as part of the March Social Justice Challenge.  I have heard wonderful things about Jacqueline Woodson and I was glad to have the opportunity to read one of her books.

I Hadn’t Meant To Tell You This is the story of Lena, a new white girl in a school that’s population is mostly black.  Marie, who is an upper class African-American becomes the unlikely friend to Lena, who usually looks dirty and unkempt next to the fashionable and popular Marie.

Right here – right with this friendship I was already liking the book.  With both families frowning on their daughters friendship with someone who is “another color” .  I appreciated that this book was in contrast to many others I have read, and it is Marie’s family that had the money and the nice home was the African-American family, and it is Lena’s home that is in the bad neighborhood.

This book gets deep when Lena confides in her friend Marie that her father is touching her inappropriately.   Marie, who has never been around such a think has a hard time wrapping her mind around this, even accusing Lena of  lying for attention.  This subject in the book, as well as Marie’s reaction to it, seems very well written…. I can picture it happening.

Lena makes Marie promise not to tell anyone and this is another part of the book where you watch Marie try to help without being able to.   All she can do is  look out for Lena when she can.

I don’t want to give too much away about this book, however I did find that when it ended I was left with many questions.  I didn’t feel the closure this book needed and was concerned where this left younger readers who may be searching for answers within this book.  I was pleased to go on-line and find out a sequel to the book had been written called Lena – and it continues the story from where this one left off.

This book touches on sexual abuse by a parent.  It is a quick read and the book is very clean, never explicit in details.

While the cover above is the one on the book that I read, I really prefer this cover here:

Jacqueline Woodson is the recipient of the 2006 Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her outstanding lifetime contribution to writing for teens. Woodson’s sensitive and lyrical books reveal and give a voice to outsiders often invisible to mainstream America. The award was announced January 23 at the 2006 Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association (ALA) in San Antonio

“I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This,” and its sequel, “Lena,” (reprint available in fall 2006), both from G. P. Putnam Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, tell a story of interracial friendship with no pat solutions to the problems of race, class, abandonment and abuse, while a compassionate community offers hope and support. A young boy records his fears that his mother’s new lesbian relationship will change their family bond in “From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun,” published by The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic.

My Amazon Rating

I received my copy of this book from our local Library

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments

It’s Tuesday and by the time you are reading this I will be gone.

Ok – now that sounded a bit morbid. Not gone as in “gone”… but at the gym. My day is full and this is the only time I can get in my workout today. I have a full day at work, interviews to do this afternoon and a meeting tonight. Busy Tuesday.

This morning I thought I would chat about the last two movies I have seen, Shutter Island and Alice In Wonderland.


A week ago Sunday I went with Al, Justin, and Chance to Shutter Island. I read this book years ago and loved it. LOVED it. I couldn’t wait to see what they did with the movie. And I suppose, I could say the movie was ok. I don’t know if I was hoping for something too incredible – from a memory of a book I have not read in years, but the movie just didn’t hit the spot for me. It was average and I think the twist at the end was a bit different. I think it twisted… and then twisted again.

On this past Sunday I went with Chance to Alice In Wonderland. This one was more of a default movie. I wanted to spend time with Chance (our Kinship Partner) but didn’t have a lot of time and didn’t really know what we could do. So I checked the movie theater and this is the only one that looked like we would both may enjoy and was age appropriate (he is 14).
Whats funny about this movie is that the sell for me was really to see Johnny Depp and how he would take his role to the next level. What surprised me was that the character I thoroughly was impressed with Helena Bonham Carter, the Red Queen. I seriously thought she stole the show – and made the movie for me.

There is something also about Alice.  Mia Wasikowska has a look about her… always serious always thinking…. she appears to be a deep character and she plays Alice well.

Overall, I have to admit I was more impressed with Alice In Wonderland (which I didn’t really want to see) then Shutter Island (which I did want to see).

How about you, have you seen any of the movies out now or do you hope to see any of them?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)98 Comments

Another Monday!  They just keep coming don’t they?  🙂  I would say I had a pretty fair week…. I am back to working out and making time for reading as well.  All is well once again with my world.

I am ready for this week and hope you are too!  Thank you as always to those of you who went out to visit other Monday What Are You Reading posts last week and left comments.  My wish is always that not only do you pick up on some great books, but also some great bloggers!   Last weeks winner (out of those of you who told me in the comments how many blogs you commented on – 1 entry for ever 10) using Random.org is:

L Y N N E

Congratulations!  You get to choose an item out of the Prize Box !  Let me know your pick here as well as email me at journeythroughbooks (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address!


Here is a brief update of this last week for me:


Waking Up In The Land Of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo (book review)

The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski (book review – and book club review)

Three New books for giveaways (check them out!)

Cold Streak by Lewis Aleman (book review)

Oh Snap!  Guess What I Got? (My Library Sale post and an opportunity for you to grab one of these books for yourself!)


This Week’s Plan…


Have you heard of this book?  It starts with chapter 12 and works backwards through the story.  I don’t know how to describe it well but I am flying through this read!


I am so beyond pumped about this book!  It has been on my shelf too long and this week I am going to enjoy sinking into the pages of this high adventure!


Another book I am extremely excited about.  This book is the true story of the difference one family made by making the decision to live with half of what they had.  Even typing about it now makes me want to start on this book right away.  I have a feeling it will remind me a little of the Kingdom Project ( a huge pay it forward book) that spoke volumes to me about 6 years ago.


So that’s mine – can’t wait to read about yours!  Be sure to link to the McLinky here – he has been very user-friendly.  Also – if you are out visiting fellow Monday memer’s be sure to stop back this way and let me know how many so I can count you in for the drawing for next week.  One entry per every ten and you have all week to do this.

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Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…



Have a wonderful week everyone!  May your reading choices be everything you had hoped for!

Moonlight Falls by Vincent Zandri

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Moonlight Falls is the Albany, New York-based paranoid tale (in the Hitchcock tradition) of former APD Detective turned Private Investigator/Massage Therapist, Richard “Dick” Moonlight, who believes he might be responsible for the brutal slaying by knife of his illicit lover, the beautiful Scarlet Montana. The situation is made all the worse since Scarlet is the wife of Moonlight’s boss, Chief of Detectives Jake Montana.

Why does Moonlight believe he might be responsible?

He’s got a small fragment of a .22 hollow point round buried inside his brain, lodge directly up against his cerebral cortex. The result of a botched suicide attempt four years prior to the novel’s start, an operation to remove the bullt frag would be too dangerous.

But the bullet causes Moonlight lots of problems, the least of which are the occasional memory loss and his rational ability to tell right from wrong. The bullet frag also might shift at any moment, making coma and/or sudden death, a very real possibility.

Still, Moonlight has been trying to get his life together as of late.

But when Scarlet begs him to make the trip over to her house late one rainy Sunday night to issue one of his “massages,” he makes a big mistake by sleeping with her. Later, having passed out in her bed, he will be rudely awakened by a garage door opening and Jake’s unexpected and very drunken homecoming. Making his impromptu escape out a top floor window, Moonlight will seek the safety of his home.

Two hours later however, he will receive another unexpected visit from Jake Montana. This time the big Captain has sobering news to report. He’s discovered his wife’s mutilated body in her own bed. She’s been murdered and now he needs the P.I. to investigate it in association with Albany ’s “overtaxed” Special Independent Unit before I.A. pokes their nose into the affair. Moonlight takes a big step back. Is it possible he made a second trip to the Montana home-sweet-home and just has no recollection of it? Once there, did he perform a heinous crime on his part-time lover? Or is this some kind of set up by his former boss? Is it really Jake who is responsible for Scarlet’s death? Does he wish for Moonlight to cover up his involvement, seal the case before Internal Affairs starts poking their nose into the situation?

There’s another problem too.

Covering Moonlight’s palms and the pads of his fingers are numerous scratches and cuts. Are these defensive wounds? Wounds he received when Scarlet put up a struggle? Or are they offensive wounds? Wounds he couldn’t avoid when making his attack on Scarlet with a blade? The answer is not so simple since Moonlight has no idea where he acquired the wounds.

Having no choice but to take on the mission, Moonlight can only hope the answers to his many questions point to his former boss and not himself.


I grew up with mysteries being my book flavor of choice.  Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys may as well have been by neighborhood playmates, after all I spent a lot of time with them and they usually caused me to be late to such things as dinner.

Even as my tastes in literature grew and I branched out into other genres and explored  the larger world of books, I still have always had a spot in my heart for a good “hunker-down- blanket and cocoa-curled in a big soft chair- mystery”.  Enter stage left….  Moonlight Falls.

Moonlight is an unlikely main character…. he has faults…. big ones.  Yet for some reason I really liked this guy. Through a storyline of not only trying to solve a crime, that he may or may not have been involved in…. but also clearing his name.  Moonlight truly has his work cut out for him.

I have always liked the feeling a good mystery gives me….. the type before there were vampires and werewolves, and the occasional zombie thrown in for good measure.  Moonlight Falls gave me that feeling.

I had picked this book up in the mood for a good thriller and Vincent Zandri did not disappoint.  My advice to anyone considering reading this book is to allow yourself plenty of time to read the book and surround yourself with the basic necessity’s (food and water) because once you hop on this thrill ride of a book you are not going to want to let go until it screeches to a halt at the satisfying end of the ride.

About Vince Zandri

Vincent Zandri is an award-winning novelist, essayist and freelance photojournalist. His novel As Catch CanGodchild (Bantam/Dell) and Permanence (NPI). Translated into several languages including Japanese and the Dutch, Zandri’s novels have also been sought out by numerous major movie producers, including Heyday Productions and DreamWorks. Moonlight Falls is his fourth novel. He is the author of the blogs, Dangerous Dispatches and Embedded in Africa for RT ( Russia Today TV) which have been syndicated and translated in several different languages throughout the world. He also writes for other global publications, including Culture 11, Globalia, Globalspec and more. Zandri’s nonfiction has appeared in New York Newsday, Hudson Valley Magazine, Game and Fish Magazine and others, while his essays and short fiction have been featured in many journals including Fugue, Maryland Review and Orange Coast Magazine. He holds an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College and is a 2010 International Thrillerl. Writer’s Awards panel judge. Zandri currently divides his time between New York and Europe. He is the drummer for the Albany-based punk band to Blisterz. You can visit his website at www.vincentzandri.com or his blog at www.vincentzandri.blogspot.com.

I received my copy of this book for review from Pump Up You Blog Tour

Oh Snap! Guess what I got? *Win one of these books!*

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)110 Comments


Definition of addiction:

  • being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming
  • an abnormally strong craving

Uhhhhh……  yes.  My name is Sheila and I have a book addiction.

I mentioned earlier this week that our Library had its spring sale on Thursday.  I went.  I waited in line.  I saw.  I purchased.

At 50 cents a book – seriously how can I resist?  You as fellow book lovers must understand the draw….  the craving to be with books, to socialize with bookish people who understand when you lay down a bookish quote…


Anyone can speak Troll, all you have to do is point and grunt.  (Fred Weasley – Harry Potter Series)

Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.  (Jane Eyre)

But it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.  – Alice In Wonderland
“That’s exactly the kind of topic Haymitch told me to steer clear of.” – Hunger Games

Oh – but I digress.  I am actually here to post what I picked up at the Library sale:


Some of these I already have – Barbara’ Walters Audition I do have here in my home, but would like a copy at our cabin.  This is a great pick up and read a little bit book.

Will To Murder is about the Congdon Mansion murders that took place in Duluth Minnesota. I have toured the mansion many times and have read the books surrounding this hideous crime. I have a copy of this at the cabin as I like to keep Minnesota history there – but I do not have a copy here at home.

Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire, I have, but like to have copies to give away.  Gregory Maguire to me, was the author who started the deeper look into background characters of the stories we grew up with and writing their own stories.  I think this was just a brilliant idea.

Ted Deckker’s Boneman’s Daughter I have on the TBR shelf – but for 50 cents I can not pass up an additional copy to give away at some point.  Perhaps when I read and review the book…

Of course the Nora Robers Dance Upon The Air and Face The Fire are part of the Three Sisters Trilogy that I am always picking up when I find them.  This is a series that I love and hold dear to my heart and grab copies whenever I can find them to pass on to those who have not experienced these books.


The rest are a mix of Minnesota authors to try, a little bit of cover love, author recognition, or just a book I would like to read.


Comment here on which book you would enjoy and why and I will have a drawing out of the comments on Friday March 19.  The winners book of choice will be read as soon as I possibly can and then I will mail it on to them.  (Please USA and Canada only for this one)

In your comment you must let me know which book you would like out of this group and why.

In My Mailbox

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)54 Comments

What an exciting mailbox week!   Here is what arrived in the DeChantal home this week – either by mail, by book store, or by Library!  🙂  (Thanks as always to Kristi at Story Siren for hosting this wonderful meme that makes me say, “Dang….  that’s a lot of books”.  🙂


I am so excited about this book!  I heard about the girl’s From Ames last fall and loving stories like this I knew I had to read it.  This is the true story of friendship through the years.  I was beyond giddy (I mean BEYOND giddy) when I was emailed this last to see if I would be interested in being a part of a book tour for this book.  “Uhhhhhhh…..  YEAH!”



I stumbled on to this read through Random House and have since discovered that this is the W.O.W. (Women On The Web) pick as well.  Hmmm…. the book sounds like it is about a funny family.  Hey, I have one of those!


Hiking Through was an offer through an email that I thought would be an interesting read.  Author Paul Stutzman, after the passing of his wife, decides to quit his job of 17 years and quite literally takes a hike.  2,176 miles through 5 states.  This book – is his journey.  I for one am fascinated.  🙂



Occasionally I like to read about topics of the past….  a history lesson.  While war topics are usually not picks for me, something about this story line drew me in….  almost reminding me a bit of the Pearl Harbor movie.


I read Liz Curtis Higgs about 3 years ago.  It was her book Mad Mary, which is you like your Christian Fiction with a bit of an edge, I recommend  Mad Mary.  At that time I was really impressed with Liz’s writing and I was fairly new to “edgy” Christian fiction and have to admit I was a bit excited about the book.  For that reason, when this book came as a possible review – I had to say yes.

** Oh – and yes – two copies means one of my readers is going to have a chance to read this one too!


Brilliant Disguises came in as an offer for review through my email.  At first glance I probably would have passed, but since a PDF of the first chapter was linked to the email I decided to read it.  This is a book about a man who pretends to be a Christian to get a job.  There was something about this first chapter that struck me and I enjoyed it what I read.

*** yes!  Two copies!  One will be given away soon!



When I started this blog I really wanted to have a Children’s review section.  I set a tab up for it and everything and for whatever reason, just havent had a lot of time or call for Children’s reviews.  Still working on that.  🙂  This one was offered and since I have done one other review on Horrible Henry with success, I thought I would bring him back for another try.


Patterson!  I know, I know….  I don’t know what this current fascination is with his writing but I have been hooked.  I was hoping to be able to review this one and here it is in audio – woo hoo!  I am so excited for this one!!!


Library

Library – library what do you have for me!  You may see a theme here and if you do you, you are correct.  This months theme for The Social Justice Challenge for march is Domestic Violence and Child Abuse.  A topic that breaks my heart.  There were so many excellent titles on the list that I started plugging them into my online Library hold and they are coming in like crazy.  I hope to really sit down and get through several if not all of these books.


Purchased

And last but not least my trip to Wal-Mart yesterday did not leave me bookless.  I snatched up the 2nd book in the Percy Jackson series and our April book club read, Little Bee.


Winner Winner!

So beyond excited to share with you two books I won and they arrived this week!  From the wonderful Lydia at The Lost Entwife I won her Percy Jackson Giveaway !  Woo hoo!    AND from Kari from A Good Addiction Blog, I won The Jody Piccoult book of my choice!   Yes!  Thank you both for holding wonderful contests!  🙂

So that is my mailbox for this week.   For those of you who read me on a regular basis you are probably ready to call me out here and say, “Wait a minute Sheila….  didn’t your library have a book sale this week – AND didn’t you come home with a box of books?  Where are those”?

Whew!  Tough crowd!  I am still prepping those and I will post that picture tomorrow with my It’s Monday, What Are You Reading post.  Also, if possible…. the haircut picture that has been requested will be posted as well.  Yipes!

Ok – enough about my mailbox.  What bookish items were in yours?

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)35 Comments


Good Morning all from me in a facial mask (hey you have got to exfoliate when you can!)  and Coffee Cup steaming next to me.

Today I want to talk about word verification.  Is it just me or are these words getting longer?  Seriously…. some I can’t even do because they are so pressed together I do not know if it is a “b” or a “l and o”.   Check these out (I captured these in the wild, trying to invade my fellow bloggers):

I kind of feel like the Crocodile Hunter here…. “Crikey!  Look at the size of this word!”


I think you get the picture (My Crocodile Hunter impression again): “It’s like they’re multiplying!  These I was lucky enough to capture – but Crikey!  They are everywhere!”

Ryan over at Wordsmithonia runs a meme called Word Balderdash.  Every Thursday, Ryan as well as any brilliant bloggers who care to join him, take the best of the best word verification they have encountered from the week and make up fake definitions for them.  Being a wordy – I love this!  And if you haven’t checked this out, please do.  Ryan’s weekly post is almost always guaranteed to bring a LOL seriously out of me!  🙂

So that’s me….  I am reading away today and will have at least one review up later 🙂