BlogHer Book Club: Daring Greatly Review and Giveaway

Admittedly, I am not a big fan of non-fiction books. I wouldn’t usually seek out a self-help kind of book for myself to read. However, I am so grateful that I read Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown, Ph.D. It came at exactly the right moment in my life and has taught me so much about myself.

Dr. Brown is a researcher of vulnerability, courage, shame, and worthiness at the University of Houston, TX. However, the book is written in such a light and unintimidating way that it can truly be understood by anyone. Brown doesn’t teach the reader lessons in form of lectures, but rather takes the reader on a journey she herself has undertaken.

In essence, the book shows us how accepting and embracing our own vulnerability rather than viewing it as weakness is the true way to achieving greater goals. Shame, fear, etc. cause us to underestimate our worth and hinders creativity and innovation. Brown doesn’t offer these realizations as universal truths, but rather shows the reader how the information can be applied to better one’s own life. In fact, Brown mentions her personal therapy sessions frequently throughout the book, which demonstrates her own imperfections as well as the fact that even with great theoretical knowledge, our lives are still less than perfect.

Not only are readers introduced to concepts that can improve their own sense of worth, they are also given guidelines on how to apply these ideas in the most important areas of their lives, including the workforce and parenting.

As someone who never views herself as good enough, these words were important and healing to read. It took me quite a while to get through the book, as I had to pause every so often to ponder the ideas that were being presented to me. I hope that I can be more fearless in the future and let myself be more vulnerable. I really do want to dare greatly. You will want to, too. Just read the book!

My favorite quote: “What’s worth doing even if I fail?” p.42 Daring Greatly. Especially when it comes to creativity, people risk being vulnerable. But aren’t those risks worth taking? I now believe they are.

If you would like to win a copy of this book, please visit my Facebook page, become a fan and leave me a comment telling me what you think of when you hear the word ‘vulnerability’.

Please check out the BlogHer Book Club pages for a great discussion of this book.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club, but the opinions expressed are my own.

BlogHer Book Club: Trust Your Eyes Review and Giveaway

I was really excited to be reviewing Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay. The premise of this thriller sounded like it was right up my alley- a man with schizophrenia sees what he believes to be a murder online and his brother starts to investigate for him. Definitely not a story I had read before.

This book will have you hooked in no time! It’s the kind of novel that makes you turn on the TV to distract the kids so you can keep reading for just a bit longer. The characters are likeable and appealing; the story is addicting, always leaving you hungry for more information. There are several twists and turns- some of the book’s mysteries aren’t solved until the very last page. It is exciting and thrilling, with lots of murders along the way to keep things moving for the crime lovers amongst us.

I finished Trust Your Eyes in two days. Despite all mysteries being solved by the end of the book, I still couldn’t get it out of my head. The role the Internet plays in this novel has had me thinking about our Big Brother society in which we have all become so transparent.

Trust Your Eyes is a compelling read. Despite already knowing the story, I would read it again. I highly recommend checking it out!

If you would like to win a copy of the book, please visit my Facebook page, become a fan and leave me a comment about why you like thrillers. Submissions close at noon EST on 09/14/2012.

Please check out the BlogHer Book Club pages for a great discussion of this novel.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club, but the opinions expressed are my own.

Easy Canvas Prints - Review and Giveaway

I love having photographs in my house. To be quite honest, photos are my favorite form of art. Therefore, when Easy Canvas Prints asked me to review one of their products, I jumped right on the opportunity. So far, we had only hung the regular framed prints up on our walls and I was excited to have a canvas of one of our family photos to display.

Equipped with all the info I needed, I sat down at my computer to place the order. Having designed Christmas cards and birth announcements on various online printing sites, I prepared myself for a long and tedious ordeal. I even brought snacks... The ordering process was such a pleasure! It was simple, straightforward and super fast. I was done within five minutes. All I had to do was pick the size and quality canvas I wanted, upload my picture, choose the type of border style I preferred, and enter my shipping information. That’s it.

Too good to be true? I thought that these canvases must be printed in China to be offered at such a low price. The answer I received from the company in response to my inquiry: “All of our canvases are proudly printed and mounted in our production facility […] in Austin, TX.”

I prepared myself for a long wait, since I chose the cheapest shipping option. Despite delivery delays due to the hurricane, my package arrived sooner than anticipated.

It was so wonderful to rip open the box and find a great quality product inside! The canvas far exceeded my expectations.

The original picture is here (taken by the amazing Ashley at Joyful Images Photography):

And this is a picture of the canvas print:

And a close-up of the texture:

Though you can see the textured surface, the picture quality has remained excellent. I was anticipating some sort of pixelly version of our family photo, but the resolution is fantastic. I am by no means an expert when it comes to print quality, but I have seen bad prints and great ones and this canvas definitely falls into the latter category.

Easy Canvas Prints is offering 25% off all canvases and free standard shipping at the moment, so now is definitely a great time to check out their website and products at http://www.easycanvasprints.com/.

As a special treat to my loyal readers, Easy Canvas Prints is giving away one free 8x10 canvas! To enter, just leave me a comment on my Facebook page telling me what kind of picture you would want printed on your very own canvas. You can earn extra entries by referring friends to my page- they just need to mention you in their comments. This giveaway will close Friday 09/07/2012 at noon EST and I will announce the winner on Friday evening.

If you are interested in other products this company has to offer, check out one of their other websites: http://www.magnetsonthecheap.com/; http://www.signsonthecheap.com/; http://www.bannersonthecheap.com/.

I received a free canvas for my review, but the opinions expressed are my own.