The Noticer

Although I read a lot there aren't many books that I would recommend to just about anyone. The Noticer by Andy Andrews is one of the few.



Jones an old man of undetermined age and background helps a young homeless man - not by giving a handout but by giving him the tools to improve his life. Later the young man finds out about the others that Jones has helped: the couple on the brink of divorce, the old woman who thinks her life is over, the business man who is too busy getting ahead to notice what he is leaving behind.

Based on a true story but weaving in fiction and allegory, The Noticer is a beautifully crafted story from the young homeless man. It is a fairly quick read except, in my opinion, this is one to read slowly and savor. This is an excellent book to add to any collection.

As a side note, as a homeschooler I love how much Jones taught through biographies. We must read more biographies.

I was able to read this book through the Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger. I get no compensation for doing this review, only the book to read. If you are interested in doing some reviews yourself, click the button in the sidebar.

Max Lucado's Fearless

Everyone has fears of some kind. Everyone.

There are the fears that can mostly be avoided like the fear of crowds or airplanes or needles. But then there are those fears that keep you awake at night - fears of not mattering; fears of not protecting your kids; fear of death. These are the fears that we are powerless against, they gnaw at you and they distract you from the One who can give you peace.

Max Lucado's new book is Fearless and it takes on these fears as well as others: fear of disappointing God, fear of running out, fear of overwhelming challenges, fear of worst case scenarios, fear of violence, fear of the coming winter, fear of life's final moments, fear of what's next, fear that God is not real, fear of global calamity, fear of God getting out of my box. We live in a society that is incredibly fearful and rather than depend on the One who can conquer fear, we walk around as if we have been defeated.

Here is a brief video talking about fear:


Like Max Lucado's other books, this is not a dry, weighty tome full of big, hard to understand words. Nor is it a fluff bit of work. Fearless is an engaging book written in an easy to understand language. Included in the book is a study guide that can be used with groups or by an individual.

I recommend reading through the whole book, some of the chapters I was surprised by the direction they took. I have read through the whole book, and while I can't say I enjoyed the whole thing - some of it was too close to sensitive areas - I got alot out of it. I plan on going back and taking a closer look at those sensitive areas and useing the study guide along with it.

This is a book I highly recommend to anyone. I was very glad to be able to review this book for Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers.

By the way - I am not getting anything from Nelson or Max Lucado other than the book to review. I am not being paid or anything like that. I just got a free book.