Book ::Winning Balance:: Shawn Johnson

About the Book:

Author: Shawn Johnson

Publisher: Tyndale

Publication Date: 2012

Genre: Autobiography, General

My Thoughts: There probably are not many of us who have not heard of the pint-sized, gold-medal-winning gymnast who won over the heart of America at the 2008 Olympic Games. If her name is not familiar from the sport that she excels at, then you probably “met” her on the eighth season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (which she also won). This book is a journal of sorts that she has written for her fans about her life so far – her growth in maturity and her faith; the lessons life has taught her and getting back to the place where she is more happy – and healthy. It is rare that I read books in which the celebrity name emblazoned on the front shares their life’s story. My tastes seem more suited to fiction but I do not regret having read this book in the least. Not knowing much about Shawn’s private life so much as her professional one (even that is limited), I enjoyed getting to “know” her as a person and not a mere celebrated figure who’s spotlight was made bright by her appearance at the Olympics – and subsequently her gold-medal win. If you’ve followed this athlete, I’d wager that in reading this, you will learn a lot of things about Shawn you didn’t know. Some that may even surprise you.

Perhaps the most insightful parts of this book are Shawn’s profession about her family’s faith – their belief in God but infrequent church attendance. Biblically, we are told that Christianity is a hard maintain without gathering with others at Sunday services but I don’t believe that someone cannot have a genuine relationship with Christ if they don’t attend church. Within these pages, Shawn shares about her growing faith in a heartfelt way that makes the reader believe she enjoys nothing less than a daily walk with Him. Raised with the “basic” knowledge of Christianity (she writes about her parents being strong Christians), it wasn’t until she was a teen that Shawn began to crave knowing her Savior more than as just the God she was taught was the Creator – she wanted to actually know Him. I found this a really hard read to get “into.” I was impressed with its easy writing style – Shawn is in fact, a poet (the style was simple with favorite quotes opening each chapter and 'lessons learned' to close) but it seemed I had to push myself to read more than a chapter or two at a time. That first 70-some pages were such a challenge because much of its focus is in gymnasts terms – the techniques they use and what makes a perfect performance – and although everything is explained, I found myself more confused than not. Given that, I was surprised that the last third of the novel went so quickly – before I knew it, I had basically read the rest of the book in one afternoon. And let me tell you, I enjoyed every minute of it.

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Herman Melville Books, History, Work

 

Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick. His first three books gained much contemporary attention (the first, Typee, becoming a bestseller), but after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime.
When he died in 1891, he was almost completely forgotten. It was not until the "Melville Revival" in the early 20th century that his work won recognition, especially Moby-Dick, which was hailed as one of the literary masterpieces of both American and world literature. He was the first writer to have his works collected and published by the Library of America
CLICK HERE FOR BOOK and Wiki Link

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jorge luis borges - A Writer, Poet, Critic, Librarian "jorge luis borges" Rare Photos Collection | jorge luis borges Biodata | jorge luis borges Poem

BORGES

Borges in 1951, by Grete Stern
Born	Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo 24 August 1899 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died	14 June 1986 (aged 86) Geneva, Switzerland
Occupation	Writer, poet, critic, librarian
Language	Spanish

Borges in 1951, by Grete Stern

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo
24 August 1899
Buenos Aires, Argentina

14 June 1986 (aged 86)
Geneva, Switzerland

Writer, poet, critic, librarian

Spanish

Jorge Luis Borges: Selected Stories & Other Writings

Borges in 1951, by Grete Stern

POEMS OF THE NIGHT BY JORGE LUIS BORGES

JORGE LUIS BORGES: A 25 AÑOS DE SU MUERTE.

112th birthday of Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges, 1899 - 1986

Jorge L Borges

The Art of Poetry by Jorge Luis Borges

To gaze at a river made of time and water
and remember Time is another river.
To know we stray like a river
and our faces vanish like water.

To feel that waking is another dream
that dreams of not dreaming and that the death
we fear in our bones is the death
that every night we call a dream.

To see in every day and year a symbol
of all the days of man and his years,
and convert the outrage of the years
into a music, a sound, and a symbol.

To see in death a dream, in the sunset
a golden sadnesssuch is poetry,
humble and immortal, poetry,
returning, like dawn and the sunset.

Sometimes at evening there's a face
that sees us from the deeps of a mirror.
Art must be that sort of mirror,
disclosing to each of us his face.

They say Ulysses, wearied of wonders,
wept with love on seeing Ithaca,
humble and green. Art is that Ithaca,

a green eternity, not wonders.

Art is endless like a river flowing,
passing, yet remaining, a mirror to the same
inconstant Heraclitus, who is the same
and yet another, like the river flowing.

Jorge Luis Borges picture

Jorge_Luis_Borges

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