The Count of Monte Cristo

I have always enjoyed reading and one of my goals for this year came from my reading of the gBook "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" By Stephen Covey. And because of it I decided to try and read at a minimum 1 book a month. Due to the Corona Virus and being isolated I have decided to resurrect my Blog and begin my writing with a book review.

The Count of Monte of Monte Cristo is a story of trials, revenge, cunning, and so much more. I place it as one of the greatest works of fiction ever written. It is one of my personal favorites and this is my second time reading it.
The story tells of one Edmond Dantes the protagonist who is imprisoned, suddenly on his wedding day. He is not told the reason for his arrest and imprisonment. But the reader knows the reason is because of the jealousy and ambition of 3 other men. With out giving away too much Edmond makes a friend in prison, a very wise man who teaches him much during his many years in prison. This man also gives him access to an immense fortune. and Edmond miraculously escapes. Edmond then travels the world and begins his long delicately planned revenge upon the three men who had him thrown in prison. He returns to civilization as the Count of Monte Cristo. This as well as several other aliases.
What I love about this story is not only the incredibly complex plot and myriad of characters is the weaving of faith throughout.  The Count truly believes he is fulling God's will in punishing these men who you come to find out had many sins and crimes committed in secret beyond what they did to Edmond.
The Count also rewards those that are good and pure. He serves those that tried to help him and his father after the arrest as well as those that are genuinely good and honorable. He carries himself with so much confidence and knowledge
The story can be harder to follow at times due to the many characters and side stories related to these characters.  But if you follow it you will find intrigue and cliff hangers and just pure wonder in the world created by Dumas around the time of the end of the Napoleonic wars.
As for the movie I saw it a while ago and remember enjoying it but I recently read a synopsis of the plot of the movie and it sounds like the first half is pretty similar to the book but the second half is nothing at all like the book. So I will not see the movie again as I think it does a disservice to Dumas as an author and it does not paint Edmond as the man you come to enjoy as you do in the book.
But if you enjoy a great story with interesting characters that helps also helps paint a picture of Paris in the earl 1800's. This book is well worth the read.
-Nate Shepherd

Watch for my next review
The Divine Center by Stephen Covey

Gandhi's Passion

Gandhi's Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi
I have always respected and admired Gandhi as many others have, I'm sure. This book was a amazing opportunity for me to learn a great deal about Bapu (father or leader) or Mahatma (meaning great soul). He truly was someone filled with passion and strength. This book walks you through a lot of his life, his relationships and his pursuit of an enlightened India. He not only firmly believed in nonviolence he also believed in self control of every aspect of life.  
I found the information about his fasting to be very enlightening and his passion for sexual control and abstinence very interesting. Gandhi truly lived what he taught and relished in the idea of giving of his personal liberty and body for his cause.  He was constantly being put in prison, beaten on occasion, and verbal abused constantly. Yet he continued on, trying to help the starving masses of India that the politicians just didn't see. You see his struggle to calm and work with the political leaders of the day and also how he tried to stop the strife and war caused by Hindi and Muslim hatred.
I highly recommend getting a hold of this book because if you want to see someone who truly made a difference Gandhi is one of the "great souls" I also recommend the incredible movie about his life. Gandhi (Widescreen Two-Disc Collector's Edition). It is one of my favorite all time movies.

The hunger games

A thrill ride of an adventure that is for sure. This book was one that I couldn't put down and finished in 2 days. The story was just that intriguing. Set in the future when most of North America has been destroyed. We find out hero Katriss living in district 12 having to sneak out of the town boundaries to feed her family.  Their entire world is controlled by "The Capitol". They have to obey so many rules and the biggest part is the hunger games. Where each district must give one boy and one girl to be placed an arena to fight to the death for The Capitol.
Their are many rules and nuances to these games but for details get the book. I really did enjoy the book. If you don't like some violence in what you read don't read this. I will say it is not gruesome just sad and filled with death.
But if you like a thrill set in an very interesting world check out The Hunger Games.    

Tron Legacy

While the original movie was very interesting and drew you into a new world of programs and users. In this new movie you are brought back into that world but evil is not found in master control but in a powerful program seeking perfection. This movie does take the old idea and apply new technology and a great soundtrack to provide some pretty amazing special effects.  The story is pretty interesting and I am very happy they didn't just remake an original classic but extended it to be mostly about Flynn's (main character) son. The one downside is it doesn't really have a lot to do with Tron himself. Which is a shame because he kicks trash.
So get ready to watch and enjoy the games and the question is do you "fight for the users"? 

MegaMind

     Megamind had all the parts that make Dreamworks such a great studio.  The show was funny, entertaining and just a good story.  Will Ferrell acts the part of the diabolical evil genius Megamind who just doesn't fit in.  While his nemesis Metroman (Brad Pitt) has all the right moves and is just the perfect hero.  Things turn tables when Megmind defeats his nemesis and everything is perfect.  Or is it? you have to see what happens when Megmind discovers all he ever wanted isn't what makes him truly happy.  Enjoy this great ride and awesome entertainment.

Megamind on DVD today. 

Blink

This book was phenomenal and eye opening.  If you have not read Malcolm Gladwell before well now is the time to start.  This book is a collection of research on how our brain makes decisions without us even realizing it.  Our mind is a powerful tool and can be trained to think without you thinking.  Many things can affect this ability in both positive and negative ways.  Too much adrenaline can cause this capability to become impaired while years of experience can greatly enhance this capability.   It is a powerful and interesting thing to think about and if you want truly learn through amazing stories and experiences of interesting people pick up a copy of Blink for your collection.
Malcolm Gladwell has a captivating writing style and you will learn something if you read this book.

So pick it up! 

Avatar the Awesomeness

Wow this has to be the best TV series of the last decade.  I am serious even though it is a cartoon we fell in love with the characters and the entire story.  If you haven't seen it I highly recommend this series.  You meet Ang the young Avatar who is destined to save the world from a war that has been going on for 100 years.  He is found by a brother sister Katara and Saka whose team includes a giant flying Bison (weird but cool) and a lemur named MoMo.  I won't give away the story but the characters especially Saka, Uncle Iro and Taf are hilarious and the story heart warming and meaningful.  It actually has a lot of Buddhist monk teaching which was interesting and a great feeling the entire way though.  

If you see one series (which I don't think I'm a real fan of anything currently on TV) Check this show out.