Book Review: The Noticer Returns by @AndyAndrews

I love it when people send me books to read.

Late last year, Matt Ham sent me a copy of The Noticer Returns: Sometimes You Find Perspective, and Sometimes Perspective Finds You by Andy Andrews.  I’ll confess I didn’t know exactly what to expect.  So far, I’ve only read one other book by best-selling author Andrews, so I didn’t have a lot to go on besides the recommendation of several other bloggers and podcasters.

The Noticer Returns is set in the south along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s a story of several people whose lives intersect thanks to the presence of Jones, an older gentlemen who wanders in and out of the lives of people.  Jones is a mentor and friend who seems to parallel the role of Christ in our lives.  He says throughout the story that he’s always there for each character in the story.

The ending of the story in particular left a big smile on my face as the characters in the story come to understand truths essential to moving forward with their individual lives and situations.  The story is riddled with valuable lessons for the reader.  I walked away with several key points or lessons:

• Mentors are an important part of growth.  Jones plays this role for most of the characters in this story, and some of the older characters become mentor figures to younger characters.  We need people in our lives who have gone before us who can help us learn valuable lessons for living life.
• Life is full of circumstances.  We have a choice of how we will react to these circumstances.  Will we get flustered?  Will we give up?  Will we get angry?  Or will we stay composed?  Will we keep going?  Will we choose to be positive?
• If you want to do something extraordinary with your life, you have to be different.  Doing the same thing as everyone else is only contributing to average.  Don’t be average.
• What we do today matters for our own future and for the future of our country and for the future of our society in general.  You and I contribute to the standards that others will follow.  How will we contribute or respond to the standards our society is creating?  As parents, we play a huge role in raising our children.  What results do you want for you kids when they grow up?  Everything we do matters – all our actions have consequences.
• We must pursue wisdom throughout our lives.  We can’t stop learning when we finish school.  We must have a passion to get wisdom.
• Obedience to God’s Word is the first step towards gaining understanding.
• Once we’ve gained wisdom, we must give it away by mentoring others.

The Noticer Returns is a story that will get you thinking about life, the pursuit of wisdom, and the transfer of wisdom to others.  I’m thankful for the opportunity to read this book, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a book about wisdom or to someone who is simply looking for a story to read.

This month on The Stretched Blog, I am giving away a copy of The Noticer Returns to a lucky winner to the blog.  To find out more information on this GIVEAWAY check out the December 2013 Top Posts & Top Comments post by clicking here.

What have you noticed lately?  Who has been a mentor in your life?  Who are you mentoring?

(Please note:  There are affiliate links in this post.  Should you purchase The Noticer Returns by clicking one of these links, I receive a small percentage of the purchase.  These funds are used to support The Stretched Blog and to extend ministry and missions to Guatemala.  Thank you!)

Book Review: How Do You Kill 11 Million People?

Saturday, I opened the mail to discover a copy of Andy Andrews‘ new book, How Do You Kill 11 Million People?  Why The Truth Matters More Than You Think.  I read through this short book in an hour or so.

My first thought when I opened the package was “Who titles their book this way?”  I mean, I’m not at all interested in killing anyone much less 11 million people.  My next thought, “What a small book.  This should take me long.”  There are only fifty pages to this book, and many of the pages have pictures or large text.

I had never read anything by Andy Andrews, but I had heard of his name before.  He’s written several novels including The Noticer and The Traveler’s Gift which both made the New York Times bestseller list.  Andrews is also a well-known speaker.

So what is his new book about?  How Do You Kill 11 Million People? relates the story of the Holocaust (where over 11 million people died) and the deception of the German government led by Adolf Hitler to the potential abuse of power that could lie in government left unchecked.  Andrews’ doesn’t take on a political side in his book (at least not from my standpoint), but he does encourage readers to be informed, to investigate the facts, to discover the truth, and to be involved with the political process by holding our leaders accountable through the voting process.

“Did you know that during the past quarter century, no presidential election has been won by more than ten million ballots cast?  Yet every federal election during the same time period had at least one hundred million people of voting age who did not bother to vote!” – Andy Andrews in How Do You Kill 11 Million People?

Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect when I opened this book.  I’m not normally outspoken when it comes to the political arena.  I was suspicious about Andrews’ motives and message as I read the first few pages.  But as I continued through the book, I was surprised.  Andrews’ message is for everyone whether you lean left or right, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican.

I would definitely recommend this book especially if you are turned off by the current political climate or if you’re thinking of skipping the next election.

Did you vote in the last election?  Are you planning to vote in the upcoming election?  Have you read this book?  If so, what did you think?