"Season of Life--A Football Star, A Boy, A Journey To Manhood" by Jeffrey Marx

Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx is about Joe Ehrmann, an ex-football player who became a minister and a high school football coach.  The author was a ball boy for the football team when he met Joe.  They lost contact but then got back in touch when the author, who grew up to be a journalist, decided to track down the former players and write about what they were doing.  Jeffrey Marx followed Joe's high school team for a year and found out that winning and losing is not the only things that Joe teaches them.  He taught them life lessons on how to be a man by being focused on others and not themselves.  With High School football coming up soon, this is a good book to read.  I enjoyed it a lot!
 (Gerard's review)

Season Of Life by Jeffrey Marx is a inspirational book that I highly recommend to any man, teen boy, parent, coach or teacher. It does not read like a text book at all.  I really enjoyed following the High School Football team through the eyes of the author.  Joe Erhmann is an example of a Godly man putting God’s Word into practice.   Season of Life is all about teaching boys to become men.  The author learns to improve his relationship with his father through watching Joe Erhmann model the basic strategic masculinity principles he learned from God’s Word as he teaches them to the high school football team he coaches. 

Jeffrey Marx looked up to Joe as a football player when Jeffrey was just a kid and connected with him again as a man.  Joe had a father who was always telling him to “be a man” and would punch him and tell him to be tough, that real men don’t cry.  He was into the “false masculinity” mindset of athletic ability, sexual conquest and economic success until his brother died.  While waiting at the hospital during his brother’s illness, he came across a poem that impacted his life by Edwin Markhm:

There is a destiny that makes us brothers;
None goes his way alone:
All that we send into the lives of others
Comes back into our own.

Then he searched for some real meaning to life and through talking to the team’s unofficial Chaplain and studying the Bible God transformed him into a devout Christian.  Joe became a minister and a high school football coach whose program included “building men for others.” 

He came to the realization that masculinity is all about relationships, being focused on others, and a code of conduct that includes accepting responsibility, leading courageously, enacting justice on behalf of others and empathy.  From here on he not only models these principles but also teaches them to the boys on his football team. 

The book that Joe gave to Jeffrey Marx that helped him get to actually know his father better is Questions For My Father—Finding The Man Behind Your Dad.  It’s just a collection of questions to ask to get communication flowing on a deeper level.  This may be helpful to someone so just thought I’d mention it.
(Karen's review)

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Game Six" by Mark Frost

Game Six by Mark Frost is an awesome book!  Being a die hard Red Sox fan, I just had to read this book.  It’s about the greatest World Series game ever played:  Boston vs. the Reds.  The whole book focus is on this game.  

What makes this book for me is the background on the players who played in this game.  The writing is superb!  It feels like you are right there.  I really enjoyed this book a lot and recommend it to any Red Sox fan.

(Gerard's review 10/25/09)

"Two Little Girls In Blue" by Mary Higgins Clark

Two Little Girls In Blue by Mary Higgins Clark is gripping right from the start. It’s about Kathy and Kelly, a set of three-year-old twin girls being kidnapped for $8 million. The scheme is master minded by someone who is referred to as “The Pied Piper.” He had a brilliant plan in place and collected the ransom with no difficulty, making the FBI look like fools; however, one of his partners in crime decided to double cross him and changed the plan. An interesting part of Two Little Girls In Blue was the twins being able to communicate when separated.  This is a fast-paced page turner that I enjoyed very much!


I liked being “in” on the kidnapper’s actions all through the book and actually got to know them better than the parents of the girls. I must admit, I guessed wrong as to who the “Pied Piper” was. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good crime novel. This book is excellent!  I highly recommend it!  
(Karen's review)

Gerard read this a long time ago and liked it too.  He told me then I should read it because it was so good, but I didn't because I read "Daddy's Little Girl" by this author and didn't care for it all that much.  I liked this one much better. 

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"It Was A Dark & Stormy Night, Snoopy"by Charles M. Schulz

It Was A Dark & Stormy Night, Snoopy by Charles M. Schulz is one of the Very best about
Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang.  This book will put a smile on your face and make you laugh and couldn’t we all use that?  I LOVED this book! (5+ stars)

(Gerard's review 2/4/10)

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Whatcha Reading Wednesday Aug. 4 Blog Hop

This is how "Whatcha Reading Wednesdays" works this week...

Type in the first two sentences of the fourth chapter of your current book.

If it is a spoiler at all be sure to put **Spoiler Alert** at the top of your comment (like if the selection announces the death of an integral character or something).

Here is mine for this week: 

Margaret Frawley folded her hands around the steaming cup of tea.  She was so cold.

I'm currently reading Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark.  This is a very good book about Margaret's twin girls being kidnapped.   I'll have a review up by the end of this week!

This is sponsored by Outnumbered Mama