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Level the Playing Field: The Past, Present, and Future of Women's Pro Sports by Kristina Rutherford is a book that will inspire young athletes. It is a great book that contains information for all young athletes, male and female. It is a book that encourages an equal playing field for males and females.

This is a great look at the known and little-known names in women’s sports. With one-page interviews, historical glimpses and impassioned text this book is a must have for women of any age who have athletic dreams or just want to read about inspirational players.

I received this book from Owlkids Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
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Zoe Bell recommended Stand by Me (1986) in Movies (curated)

 
Stand by Me (1986)
Stand by Me (1986)
1986 | Drama

"I know everyone’s expecting me to list off all these action movies, but Stand By Me. There’s something about the relationships and the performances in that movie that I found really inspirational. And this is before I was even considering being an actor. I just found it to be one of the more true, real, honest sort of movies that really had an effect on me. I watched it a week ago and got goose bumps. Especially with the whole River Phoenix thing and how he disappears at the end. How genius is he in the movie? There’s something about a movie like that that can be so effective with no gimmicks."

Source
  
Rating: 3.5

Quip Factory was very interesting and inspirational. I had many images in my head while reading through the lists and varieties of quips.

If you have no idea what a quip is, it's basically an entertaining funny thing to say that illustrates your point without saying it upfront. Example: "A woman needs a man like a kangaroo needs a pogo stick."

Quip Factory is divided up into two sections: Chapters where quip formulas and lists of words and examples are presented, and appendixes with just lists of words for you to make your own.

Quip Factory sounded intriguing and educational, and there was definitely many inspirational sections, but most of the time I felt almost like I was being talked down to, or like it was harder to understand than it really is. Atwood breaks down popular quips into "formulas" that really don't need to be broken down (example: X needs Y like a needs B). He could have said all the same things he said in about half as much space, and he gave so many examples that the examples felt like the appendix. I expected more than a bunch of unnecessary formulas and lists of words, but it was definitely useful.

All in all, Quip Factory was interesting and I will probably use it in my books and to experiment with language (and honestly, come up with some creative insults and comparisons), though I don't feel like it quite reached it's potential.

Recommendation: Anyone who likes quips, puns, or playing with language.
  
King Kong, The Musical by Todd Matshikaza
King Kong, The Musical by Todd Matshikaza
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"King Kong was a musical from South Africa that had an all-black cast. It was a fusion of South African traditional music, soul and jazz. It was so powerful when I listened to it for all those nights. I fell in love with that musical, which was a very big part of my life. I think [I was drawn to] the authenticity of the voice of what people call world music or ethnic music coming from the earth, of the people, the hope and their struggle. South Africans are so strong with their emotions and I think Africa itself is an amazing, inspirational place for music, because they live and breathe it. It was for me, a connection with the soul."

Source
  
Life in the Sloth Lane: Slow Down and Smell the Hibiscus
Life in the Sloth Lane: Slow Down and Smell the Hibiscus
Lucy Cooke | 2018 | Natural World
8
8.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Long story short (and really, it's sloths, fer Pete's sake! They are as chill as the Dude! No need for long, drawn-out reviews!): Ms. Cooke knows sloths! Seriously!! In addition to all her work she has done at the Sloth Sanctuary, working with rescued sloths, she has found time to share some ridiculously cute sloth photos, along with some inspirational words of wisdom from the likes of folks like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Harper Lee.

It was very difficult for me to not finish this in one sitting. However, like an exquisite meal, each "morsel" I read was to be savored! Do yourself a favor and get this book! Your heart, and your Soul, will be most grateful indeed!
  
Aphrodite Made Me Do It
Aphrodite Made Me Do It
Trista Mateer | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was really surprised by this book. It's a collection of poetry, prose and inspirational artwork. I was really drawn in to the first collection, written as if by Aphrodite herself. The following collections were more personal and hit so many chords for me - they are about being a woman, about worries, about abuse, about relationships with other people, about relationships with yourself and about sexuality. A lot in there was so truthful and raw. Things that need to be said. I actually feel lighter for reading them, as if they have enabled me to let go parts of myself that weighed me down. I would usually turn away from books like this, but I'm glad that I managed to get a copy and read it.
  
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Book Divas (227 KP) rated Because I Love You in Books

Dec 12, 2017 (Updated Dec 12, 2017)  
BI
Because I Love You
Tori Rigby | 2016
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
After reading this emotional and heartfelt read, I had to step back and relax before writing my review. Reading through some of this was like deja vu as I myself got pregnant my senior year of high school and I was brought up in a strict Christian home. I was able to relate to Andie and understand her fears with ease.

What I wasn't prepared for was the turbulent and tornadic ride that this author was leading me into so in one split second I went from giggling to feeling my heart being torn into pieces and I honestly felt like I would never recover.

This story line was amazingly beautiful, touching, emotional, sad, and heartbreaking but also inspirational. I loved the development of these characters and I am fangirling over Tori Rigby!
  
Because I Love You
Because I Love You
Tori Rigby | 2016 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Emotional Read
After reading this emotional and heartfelt read, I had to step back and relax before writing my review. Reading through some of this was like deja vu as I myself got pregnant my senior year of high school and I was brought up in a strict Christian home. I was able to relate to Andie and understand her fears with ease.

What I wasn't prepared for was the turbulent and tornadic ride that this author was leading me into so in one split second I went from giggling to feeling my heart being torn into pieces and I honestly felt like I would never recover.

This storyline was amazingly beautiful, touching, emotional, sad, and heartbreaking but also inspirational. I loved the development of these characters and I am fangirling over Tori Rigby!
  
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Paige (428 KP) rated The Alchemist in Books

Aug 19, 2017  
The Alchemist
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho | 1993 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.2 (35 Ratings)
Book Rating
easy to follow (0 more)
self- important (0 more)
A book for a particular audience
If someone tells me they love this book, I pretty immediately assume that they don't read for pleasure. This book was really made for people who think reading is like medicine, and it strives to be the best-tasting medicine. It is short, vaguely inspirational, uses simple language, and tailored to make you feel wiser after reading it.

In this way, the book is a success.


For readers who are more well-read, all this comes across as a not unpleasant, but not groundbreaking attempt at making capital L literature. It kind of drones, and seems a bit twee and trite.


If you think of books as vitamins (good for you, but a pain to procure and consume) then this book is the most delicious version of that.
  
Dare to Be Kind by Lizzie Velasquez is an inspirational story. Lizzie has a rare skin condition that has subjected her to bullying and being mistreated. this book is about treating others with compassion and how it can transform your heart into a better person which can lead to a better world for us. 

Velasquez encourages bravery, hope, kindness, personal resilience, faith in a higher power, and a healthy self-image when confronting one's bullies. She also highlights the need to serve as a good example for one's family, understand a bully's desire to cover their own pain with more pain, finding love and support, and addresses the cruelty of human nature when it encounters situations that it doesn't understand or have empathy toward.

I received this book from Hachette Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.