Monday, December 29, 2003

Life on the Other Side by Sylvia Browne

Life on the Other Side by Sylvia Browne.  Sylvia Browne is a psychic who claims to know what is it like in the afterlife or on the Other Side.  Heaven I suppose.  

First of all she claims that we are the ones who chart our lives on Earth.  Everything from who our family will be and everything that ever happens to us.  We have been to Heaven and back to Earth in the form of reincarnation many times and when we go to Heaven we will remember every life we ever lived.  And each life has a purpose.   Most interesting to me is her vision of what Heaven is like.  Everyone in Heaven is 30 years old no matter how old you are when you died.  Also the temperature is an even 78 degrees and it is daytime always.  We move around by simply thinking ourselves where we want to go.  The Other Side is 3 feet off the ground of Earth.

Every person supposedly has a spirit guide here on Earth and in Heaven who helps us.  Each person has an angel or angels with them.  Also, she says that some of us have the ability to travel outside of our bodies astrally and can visit the other side from earth.   

There is also a left door on the Other Side where dark entities go.  Apparantly dark entities can change their ways and rejoin us in reincarnation.  After living a successful life on Earth they can enter Heaven normally.  

The Other Side is supposedly a mirror image of Earth and our physical appearance on Earth is a mirror image of us in Heaven.  So that in Heaven our organs would be on the opposite side. 

Sylvia also claims that there are beings in other galaxies and that they have their own Other Side but all are children of God.  She describes a mother God named Azna who is a great healer and can answer specific prayers for help from us on Earth. 

She describes in detail spirits, ghosts, angels, and psychics.  I found this book very interesting.  While I don't exactly believe everything, I did find that somehow it brought me closer to God. 

 

Saturday, December 20, 2003

The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu

The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu.  Given the fact that this book is very exotic, sexual, and vivid, you won't believe some of the things this woman supposedly did, I couldn't put it down.  Countess Elizabeth Bathory.  Heiress to millions in Hungary, she was a cruel, satanic, witch like being, who murdered thousands of young virgins and bathed in their blood because she believed that this was the secret to keeping a youthful appearance.  She was cruel and torturous to all of her servants, and just about anyone she came in contact with.  She was eventually found out and was put on trial for her crimes by her own family.  Instead of being put in prison, she was put in a dungeon- like room in her own castle to live out the rest of her life alone.  The book also tells the story of one her modern day ancestors, Blake Bathory, who is an immigrant journalist in America, and is called back to Hungary to try and take back his lands and money.  In essence, two Bathory stories intertwined together.  Read it!

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Upcoming reviews on what I'm reading now!

The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu.  A fact/fiction book of a real woman who allegedly murdered thousands of virgins to bathe in their blood.  She believed that this was the secret to keeping a youthful appearance.  I'm just about finished with the book and will review it in it's entirety at a later date.  Check back soon!

Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon.  The story of two British surveyors who are best remembered for running the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland that is considered the Mason Dixon line.  A very large book and it will take some time to finish and review. 

Voodoo Child by Michael Reaves.  Murder and dark magic prowl the New Orleans Streets. 

The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women.  Short stories from the likes of Anne Rice, Chelsea Yarbro(one of my favorites), Ellen Kushner, and many more.

Life on the Other Side by Sylvia Browne.  While personally I am a skeptic of psychic ability, I find this interesting and will be finished with it soon.  Check back soon for review!

Happy Reading!

21 Days To Baghdad by Time Life Books

The inside story of how America won the war against Iraq.  Time's photographers and correspondents provide exclusive, eyewitness accounts of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  In just three weeks, U.S. and British forces sprinted 350 miles from the Kuwait_Iraqi border to downtown Baghdad.  Although a lot has happened since this book was written, it is a complete account of the first 21 days of the war.  I read the whole thing in one sitting.  Some very graphic photographs and quotes from everyone from Bush to Saddam to the Iraqi people and the people of America, etc.  Check it out!

Saturday, December 6, 2003

Books by Larry McMurtry

Lonesome Dove:  Action packed, awesome page turner.  This book has Texas Rangers, Indians, Gunfighters, Saloons, a cattle drive from Texas to Montana, hangings, love, you name it!  I couldn't put it down!

Streets of Laredo: The sequel to Lonesome Dove in which an Ex-Texas Ranger is hired by the railroad to track down a Mexican train robber.  If you've read Lonesome Dove then this is a must to finish off the story. 

Zeke and Ned: A tale of two Cherokee warriors after being settled in the Indian Territory.  Zeke is a married man who has an affair with a white woman and ends up shooting her while taking aim at her husband.  He is tried in court which turns into a crazy gunfight and Zeke escapes into the woods.  Ned is a young Cherokee warrior who marries Zeke's young daughter and tries to help his friend hide from the law.  This book takes you into the life and times of the Cherokee Indians in the old West. 

Sin Killer; the First book in the Berrybender Narratives:  A family English royalty sets out to travel on a boat up the Missisippi from south to north to hunt and explore.  Many tragedies befall them on their journey including Indian attacks, losing members of their party, the children running away, and getting stuck in ice during winter when the river freezes.  Sin Killer is a fierce woodsmen who helps them on their journey and marries one of the Berrybender daughters.  Very good book.

The Wandering Hill; the second book in the Berrybender Narratives:  also very good!  There is a 3rd book I haven't read yet: By Sorrow's River

Friday, December 5, 2003

Lady of the Forest and its sequel Lady of Sherwood

This set of novels by Jennifer Roberson is an adult version of the Robin Hood story.  The original characters are here(Robin, Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, Little John, the Sheriff of Nottingham) along with some of Roberson's additions.  Very well written, action packed, and will keep you turning pages.  While the story is much like the old tale I would not recommend it for my 13 year old as there is some adult content.  (My daughter always wants to know what I'm reading. Maybe I'll get her to start her own journal, she is a very avid reader of youth fiction.)

CASH The Autobiography by Johnny Cash

I just finished off the autobiography of Johnny Cash.  Adventurous, funny, sad at times, reminiscing, and chock full of famous people associated with the Cash and Carter Families.  This book reveals the Man in Black.  I liked it very much.