Tyrannosaurus Ralph

by Nate Evans and Vince Evans
Hennepin County Library paperback 178 pages
genre: YA graphic novel fantasy

I really enjoyed this! Ralph is afraid of the local bully, but then gets zapped into a T-Rex body to fight for planet Earth. Goofy, action-packed, fun. I got this for a boy at our church, but read it myself first!

The Gift

by Richard Paul Evans
Hennepin County Library hardcover 332 pages
genre: inspirational fiction

I read this after reading Evans' book Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth. I was curious. Doing a little reading online, I think I meant to request the book The Christmas Box. I also learned (as I had suspected) that he is a Mormon. Now I'm trying to decide if I'm curious enough to get the first book I had intended to get . . .

The Gift was engaging enough that I read it in one sitting. Nathan Hurst has had a difficult life with tragedies and rejection early on. When he encounters Addison Park and her two children in an airport, his life is changed. Collin Park is weak from chemo for his leukemia, but his special gift becomes the focus for the story.

I enjoyed the story and even cried at the sad parts (predictable though they were). My favorite character was Nathan's assistant, Miche.

The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth

by Richard Paul Evans
Hennepin County Library audiobook 2 CDs
read by the author
genre: non-fiction, self-help, finance

I took lots of notes on this, but won't include them all here. Louie and I listened to this together on our way to and from Leech Lake a few weeks ago. The first notes I wrote were, "Live frugally" and "Decide to be wealthy."

Briefly, the five things are
1. The Power of Commitment (choose)
2. Take Responsibility for Your Money
3. Keep a Portion of Everything You Earn
4. Win in the Margins
5. Give Back

Like I said, I have a LOT of detailed notes. I still struggle with some of the financial "stuff" I've been reading about . . . because I don't really care that much about money. But I want to be a responsible spouse and citizen . . . and I want to bless others. That's part of why I keep reading stuff like this.

Evans makes some great points, and I believe he's a Christian. Even though wealth is not my goal, he has some very helpful points.

Link to my GoogleDoc with my detailed notes is here. There are lots of other people who have posted info online (that is better organized and/or more concise than my jabbering).

Great Feuds in History: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever

by Colin Evans
PRMS hardcover 213 pages
genre: non-fiction history

I picked this up while helping kids research Alexander Hamilton (it didn't help for their topic, but did cover the Burr/Hamilton issue). I was intrigued and checked it out for myself. I read about the Hatfields and McCoys (one of those feuds that's legendary, but I didn't actually know anything about it). Then I read the Trotsky/Stalin chapter (especially interesting after reading Stalin's Daughter this summer). Anyhow, I have too many books to read and other things to do . . . so I'm going to return it. But it's books like this that make me want to learn more about history!

The ten chapters are:
Elizabeth I versus Mary
Parliament versus Charles I
Burr versus Hamilton
Hatfields versus McCoys
Stalin versus Trotsky
Amundsen versus Scott
Duchess of Windsor versus Queen Mother
Montgomery versus Patton
Johnson versus Kennedy
Hoover versus King

Bleak Expectations

by Mark Evans (?)
Hennepin County Library audioCDs 3 hours
genre: British humor

BBC-produced, this was a radio program that felt like it should be watched. The audience laughed at things that had to be facial expressions on the cast of actors. (I envision a Prairie-Home Companion kind of thing. Produced for radio, but with performers in front of an audience.)

Funny twist on Dickens' Great Expectations, this had a Monty Pythonesque feel to it. Funny, odd, and just a bit dark. It had me laughing in my car while I listened.