Book Review: 12 Titanic Lessons for Christians by Charles C. Hagan, Jr.

Book Title: 12 Titanic Lessons for Christians

Author: Charles C. Hagan, Jr.

Publish Date: May 1, 2014

Genre: Christian Nonfiction

Plot (from Goodreads):  

The Titanic disaster of April 15, 1912 has been described as one of the most fascinating single events in human history. The sinking of the Titanic has left an indelible impression and vast psychological impact on the world. Titanic has spawned books, plays, poems, films, drama films, songs, concerts, musicals, novels, video games, newsreels, slideshows, multimedia works, and works of art. It has been noted that Titanic spawned the largest number of songs regarding any disaster or event in American history. The event became a popular theme for balladeers, blues, bluegrass and country singers in the Southern United States. British songwriters commemorated the disaster with appeals religious, chauvinistic, and heroic sentiments. One person has suggested that the reaction to the Titanic can only be compared to the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy. The three most written about subjects since April 1912 are Jesus, the American Civil War, and Titanic. The story of the RMS Titanic has been interpreted in numerous ways-as a symbol of technological hubris, a classic disaster tale, an indictment regarding class divisions of the society at that time, a kind of morality play, a romantic tragedy, and somewhere between a Greek and Elizabethan tragedy. There have been so many books written about the Titanic that there are very few that will tell you anything new, but every now and then you find an absolute gem. Charles Hagan's book adds to the Titanic story with his 12 Titanic Lessons for Christians! There are danger lessons, time lessons, and motivational lessons all culled from the disaster that was Titanic!

Why I Read this Book: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.  This in no way influenced my review.

 

Review

12 Titanic Lessons for Christians uses the tragic incident of the sinking of the Titanic to give strength and instruction to Christians.  Relying on personal anecdotes and scripture, Hagan does exactly as he intends in this book: motivates challenges and empowers.

I enjoyed the use of personal stories as this added clarity to the lessons that were presented.  I also enjoyed Hagan's use of scripture.  I found some of the points overstated and redundant and the book lacked fluidity in some places.

I not only learned spiritual lessons from this book, but I also learned historical facts about the sinking f the Titanic.  Hagan definitely did his research before writing 12 Titanic Lessons for Christians.  Throughout the book, facts and statistics were presented that both strengthened the interest of the book and also strengthened the points that Hagan sought to make.

Overall, I really enjoyed this inspirational book.  The links between certain aspects that surrounded the sinking of the Titanic with modern day lessons for Christians was brilliant.  I would recommend this to any Christian and/or anyone who wants to learn more about history.

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 4/5

Bout of Books Day 4 Update (Thursday, August 21)

I finished a book today!  Finally!  I am proud to say that I am making some progress on re-reading the Harry Potter series.  Here is all I accomplished today:

• I read 73 pages of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling, completing the book.
• I completed a challenge (Like This, Try This)
• I emailed the winner's of the challenge that I hosted; please check your email, Mandy Zani.

Bout of Books Challenge: Like This, Try This

Today's Bout of Books Challenge is "Like This, Try This" and it is hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale.  Basically, all you have to do is recommend a book based on a TV show, movie, another book, or book genre.

Here is my recommendation:

If you like Clean YA Contemporaries, try: 

Book Blast: Princess Nevaeh

Tour Hosted by:

WNL Book Tours

Title: Princess Nevaeh: Lesson on Self Discovery

Genre: Children 4-7

ISBN: 978-0-9899691-4-7

Format: Paperback

Release date: September 2, 2014

Publisher: Thy Word Publishing

 






About The Book

Six year old Nevaeh wants to be something she already is. She will soon learn that her wish to be

a princess takes a little more than just asking. Lessons on self-discovery are taught by her Mimi

who makes her understand that being a princess takes work.


About The Author

Paulette Harper is an award-winning and best-selling author. She is the owner of Write Now

Literary Virtual Book Tours and is passionate about helping authors succeed in publishing and

marketing their books. Paulette has been writing and publishing books since 2008. Paulette is

the author of That Was Then, This is Now, Completely Whole, Living Separate Lives and The

Sanctuary. She resides in Northern, CA.

 



Social Links

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Tour Hosted by: WNL Book Tours

Author Tour Schedule

The author is giving away a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card and an Autograph copy of the book. This giveaway is only open to US citizens. 

a Raffle copter giveaway

Bout of Books Day 3 Update (Wednesday, August 20)

I had a pretty great day of reading today.  I read a total of 118 pages today giving me a total of 212 pages for the week. Here is what I accomplished today:

• I read 44 pages of one text book (Skeletal Trauma by Kimmerle and Baraybar).
• I also read 8 pages from another text book (The 14th edition of Microorganisms by Madigan, Martinko, Bender, Buckley, and Stahl).
• I read 66 pages of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (almost done!).
• I hosted a challenge :)
• I participated in a Twitter chat.  Here is my favorite conversation from that chat:

Q4. You’re being written into a book as a character. What type of character would you be and why? #boutofbooks
— Kelly Rubidoux (@soulswallo) August 21, 2014

#boutofbooks A4: A dragon, I would be the dragon
— Jessica Bradley (@blog_gal) August 21, 2014

@jljaina haha we can both be dragons! but I call using the humans as a toothpick! #boutofbooks
— Jessica Bradley (@blog_gal) August 21, 2014

@blog_gal Go get those humans! #boutofbooks
— Jay Riv (@jljaina) August 21, 2014

Bout of Books 11 Create a Sentence Challenge and Giveaway

Bout of Books 11 is going great so far.  I have seen on twitter that there has been a lot of fabulous books read so far this week and we are not even half way through the week.  So it is time to take a short break from reading and have some book related fun!

Today I am hosting a challenge for Bout of Books participants.  The challenge is my twist on the book spine sentence challenge.  For this challenge, I want you to pick some awesome books out and make a sentence with the first two words from each of your books.  I have tried this myself and it can be a little tricky because the lack of verbs in the first two words of the book.  Therefore, you can add another word that is not from the first two words of the books if you wish.  The more ridiculous, the better.

I will be doing a giveaway for this challenge.  I am giving away a $15 Amazon gift card or the equivalent of books of your choice from The Book Depository.  For an entry in the giveaway post your sentences on Twitter (using #boutofbooks), on Facebook, on your blog, or in the comments below then fill out the rafflecopter form below.  In order to be eligible for this giveaway, you must be an official participant of Bout of Books and 18 years of age or older.  The giveaway will be open all day on Wednesday August 19, 2014 starting at midnight CST.

Here is my sentence:

I wait for not one minute and Mr. Danielle falls.

For this sentence, I used the following books:

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
• Gone by Michael Grant
• Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten
• Wither by Lauren Destafano

I hope you have fun with this challenge and good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bout of Books Days 1 and 2 Updates (Monday and Tuesday)

Bout of Books has been a bust for me so far this week.  I have read some, but not as much as I would like to have read because I just started my first week of my senior year of college.

Day 1

• I read 70 pages of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.  
• I participated in part of a Twitter chat.

Day 2

• I read about 10 pages of my text book for college, Skeletal Trauma by Erin H. Kimmerle and Jose Pablo Bataybar.
• I also read 14 pages of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Book Review: Fourmile by Watt Key

Book Title: Fourmile

Author: Watt Key

Publish Date: September 18, 2012

Genre: Middle Grade/YA, Coming of Age

Plot (from Goodreads):  

Twelve-year-old Foster knows in his gut that Dax Ganey, the man dating his widowed mother, is a bad seed. Then a mysterious stranger arrives at their Alabama farm, a former Army Ranger in Iraq rambling across the country, and Foster believes he has found an ally against Dax. The stranger proves a fascinating mentor, full of wisdom and secrets. And Dax soon has reason to resent not just him and Foster but also Foster’s mother. A spurned Dax will be a dangerous enemy, but Foster is increasingly aware that the stranger is just as dangerous, if not more so.

From the author of one of the most highly acclaimed children's survival adventures of the last decade comes this tautly wound new novel reminiscent of classic westerns, about a boy caught in the middle of a clash that may turn out to be his own battle to fight.

Why I Read this Book: My library just got this book and I wanted to check it out.

 

Review

This is a wonderful coming of age novel about a boy dealing with the grief of his deceased father while also dealing with Dax, the wretched man whom his mother is dating.  Foster does not like the way that Dax treats his mother, but his mother is too frightened to get rid of him.  Everything changes when a mysterious man comes to town.

This book was an emotional roller coaster.  I was moved by the troubles that Foster was having in his life.  I was hoping that things would get better for Foster.  The writing style of Fourmile was amazing.  I was gripped by the story and I fell in love with the characters (all except Dax and his friends of course).  The story was realistic and believable.  I cannot wait to read more from Watt Key.
 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 13+ for some violence and foul language

Overall Rating: 5/5