Comments on: A Book Contest to Win an Amazon Book of your Choice

By: Binary options easy

Binary options easy — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:56:10 +0000

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By: 2010 Year-End Review | Relevance to You

2010 Year-End Review | Relevance to You — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:14:02 +0000

[...] and the joy of giving something of value to my readers. Since then, I ran two fun contests, on your favorite book and on your favorite film.The relevance to you is the chance to participate in the community, to [...]

By: Louisa May Alcott | Little Women

Louisa May Alcott | Little Women — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:21:43 +0000

[...] masterpiece of “Count of Monte Cristo”, a lighter reading was in order. When I held the book contest in February, one of the contestants, Stacey, suggested this book as her most favorite, one that [...]

By: Movie Contest Winners with 30 Best Films

Movie Contest Winners with 30 Best Films — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:37:58 +0000

[...] to know you better. This was our 3rd contest after the previous successful two: A Photo Contest and A Book Contest. Movies, books and photos! What wonderful things in life! As I take much inspiration from you, tell [...]

By: A Movie Contest | Why Love your Favorite Film?

A Movie Contest | Why Love your Favorite Film? — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:26:22 +0000

[...] on Prolific Living! Our first contest ran in October ’09 with the theme of photography, the second one ran in February ’10 with a theme of reading and learning from books. As I anticipate and [...]

By: Winner of the Book Contest and Your 24 Book Recommendations | Prolific Living

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:12:24 +0000

[...] an impressive show of contestants on Prolific Living’s Book contest. We had 24 unique entries from you on your all-time most favorite reads and the ways in which you [...]

By: Farnoosh

Farnoosh — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:35:09 +0000

Thank you so much for all of your excellent, unique, thoughtful and creative entries. I am closing the contest tonight and we will be starting the judging process tomorrow. Look for the announcement on winners as a post in the next 2 days!

By: Srini

Srini — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:21:36 +0000

My favorite is – Who Moved My Cheese? This books is an amusing and enlightening story of four characters who live in a maze and look for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Cheese is a metaphor for what you want to have in life – whether it is a good job, a loving relationship, money or a possession, health or spiritual peace of mind. The book isn’t new, but the material is still applicable. When the economy is no longer robust, this book helps to redefine what is important and what changes one need to make in order to be happy.
A good, quick read!

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:31:09 +0000

A book that really touched me deeply was Was by Geoff Ryman. Its a retelling of The Wizard of Oz, but much much more dark than the wizard of Oz. It involves 3 characters: a modern day scarecrow dying of AIDS, the “real” Dorothy and Judy Garland. It gives a possible explaination for the “real” Dorothy (which by the way is just horrible). I can’t say that the book gives a real happy/warm-fuzzy feeling, but it did really touch me… I believe that after I read it I must’ve cried for a while just because its so realistic and horrible and sad. I mention it because thats what art is supposed to do, is share feelings and emotions. This is one book that sticks out over the hundreds that I have read which wallops you with emotion and feeling. It definitely is a work of art and sticks out forever in my mind.

By: wally Robertson

wally Robertson — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:40:45 +0000

OK. So this one’s tough – so many good books so little latitude – choose one! So I have to tell you my recommendations are on my web site.
I’d have to say: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki.

Robert identifies the woeful lack of practical financial education provided by formal education.

He differentiates between assets and liabilities that even your accountant doesn’t understand. Once you’ve read this you can see a clear way to building income based on assets that work for you even while you sleep.

Critical basic education for anyone investing in property or trying to escape the corporate trap.

By: Karen Rutigliano

Karen Rutigliano — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:47:01 +0000

“Desiree” by Annemarie Selinko
I first saw the movie “Desiree” when I was about 13 years old and was completely swept away by it. The movie had an all-star cast with Marlon Brando as Napoleon, Jean Simmons as Desiree and Merle Oberon as Josephine. After seeing the movie, I HAD to read the book.

Based on the true story of Desiree Clary Bernadotte, it’s an amazing journey that begins with Desiree as a young girl growing up in Marseilles, the daughter of a silk merchant. She and her family embrace the French Revolution and its promises of Liberté, égalité, fraternité . Unfortunately, the promises of the revolution quickly turn into the Reign of Terror, and its during this period of upheaval that her older sister, Julie, meets, falls in love with and marries Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Napoleon. Desiree and Napoleon meet, fall in love and become engaged. Napoleon goes to Paris to further his military/political career, meets Josephine and the rest is history. The incredible journey of this silk merchant’s daughter through her heartbreak at losing her love, finding a new love and eventually becoming the Queen of Sweden is an amazing story. Her descendants are on the throne of Sweden to this day!

I had always enjoyed reading about history, and after reading “Desiree”, my love for historical fiction was born and thrives to this day. What I really love about historical fiction is that it takes you to another place and time and gives you a glimpse into the lives of others. Lessons are learned about history, culture and art and insights are gained through seeing how others react and respond to situations unfolding before them. Life is full of ups and downs, and Desiree goes from almost drowning herself to living a happy life, having a wonderful husband and son and becoming a real queen.

By: Donald Wood

Donald Wood — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:43:22 +0000

I just read “Grease Spots & Mustard Stains” by Andrew Soyars. This book was given to me by a friend who’s pretty religious and thought I could get a better understanding of the bible. I have to admit that it’s been a long time since I’ve picked up the bible to read but this book has inspired me. Andrew puts real-world examples into religious contexts which really helped me understand some of it’s meanings. It’s comforting to know that there is someone out there just like me that has wandered down a strayed path but can easily find their way back with a little faith.

By: Charity Lyman

Charity Lyman — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:57:43 +0000

I have to say the best book I ever read was One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury. Wow!! It really showed me the joy of family. This book is set in the time of 9/1/1 and a firefighter is one of the main characters. I laughed, cried and really thought as I read this book. Yes, it is Christian so some may not like it but to me it showed me that you never know what tomorrow may bring, so do the best you can today. Let your family members know they are loved. You don’t know when if you may never see them again. Thanks so much and I really think you would enjoy reading this book:)

By: Iryna

Iryna — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:26:15 +0000

There is no way I can name my favorite book! There is a whole universe of them—books that made an impression, that made me think, laugh, cry…but there was one book that changed my life in the most profound and amazing way. A friend once told me, “don’t read it, because if you do you will have to make a choice”. The book he was talking about was “Food Revolution” by John Robbins. It is the first book I have ever read that made the connection between the health of people, the well- being of animals, and the life of the planet. In it John Robbins talks about how our food choices affect not just our bodies, but also the rest of the world around us, how the ways our food get to our table changed over the years and what could happen if we don’t do anything about it. It gave me knowledge I was looking for, and facts I needed to make an educated change in my lifestyle. But most of all, it gave me hope…hope that by being vegan I can make a small difference. I can bring more compassion and less pain into the world, and do my part in the process of restoring our planet back to health… I read that book, and I made that choice, the best choice I’ve ever made in my life!

By: James White

James White — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:19:15 +0000

Reading “For the Sake of All Living Things”, by John M. Del Vecchio, inspired me to truly believe that an individual can change the world. By chance (?) it caught my eye in a box of used books sent to entertain soldiers guarding the Kuwaiti border with Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. Del Vecchio reveals the ironic spiritual and physical relationship of peace and love with the most horrible products of hatred — war and genocide. I now act and think with the understanding that every soul on earth eventually affects every other soul on earth.

By: Deana

Deana — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:37:12 +0000

I love to read and I don’t even blink at picking up 1000-page novels & tomes. It’s funny that the first book that popped into my head is “The Big Orange Splot” by Daniel Pinkwater at only 32 pages. Mr. Plumbean lives on a “neat street” where all the houses are exactly alike – drab brown with green windows – and everybody likes it that way. One day, a seagull flying by drops a bucket of orange paint on Mr. Plumbean’s roof leaving a big orange splot. He decides to leave it there, despite the voiced disapproval of his neighbors. In fact, in his moment of personal enlightenment, he buys some more paint and adds paintings of colorful lions, pretty girls, and steam shovels (there’s even more – I’ll let you read for yourself). Upset, his neighbors visit him one by one and try to convince him to return his house to the way it was before. Mr. Plumbean says “it looks like all my dreams.” What happens when each neighbor goes away thinking about his or her own dreams?… As you’ve guessed, this is a children’s book but it’s a gem! I love this story of breaking from conformity, becoming self-aware, following dreams, and also accepting the dreams of others. Sometimes poignant and profound messages come in small packages and are said with few words.

By: Mystica

Mystica — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:45:24 +0000

The book that inspired me and changed me was Inhaling the Mahatma by Christopher Kremmer (an Australian author). The book was brilliant in its description of a way of life in India at the time of Mahatma Gandhi. Apart
from explaining and extolling the virtues of Gandhi’s philosophy and style of life, the book opened one’s eyes to another way of life, actually another way of looking at life. It was not a philosophical tome at all. It was detailed but it did not appear at all to be an exposition of all that was good and beautiful. It showed an understanding that is difficult to comprehend and particularly that an “outsider” could do this so brilliantly was awesome.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:05:35 +0000

I might be cheating with this entry, as it references a book that was made into a movie. Fight Club, a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk, was released as a successful Hollywood movie in 1999. I have to admit that I read the book only after watching the movie many times over; the movie touched me as the novel did not. The impact of the film in my life can be found in a few memorable phrases.

The sentence, “This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.” from Chapter 3 resonates loudly with me. As an atheist, I don’t believe there’s an afterlife to look forward to. This is my life, this is all I get, so I’d better do my best with it. I already knew this, but it was good to have a reminder. I came away from the 1999 film infused with a sense of urgency, a kick in the butt that, in part, led me to make a pretty serious new millennium resolution: On the first business day of the year 2000, I quit a good, secure job working for a successful consulting firm and started my own company. This new millennium resolution has been one of the most positive business moves I’ve made in my life.

Another key phrase (albeit one only found in the screenplay) that continues to guide me is, “The things you own end up owning you.” Not to get all hippy-trippy on you, but here goes: Our consumerist middle-class culture makes the treadmill of “work, buy stuff, work more, buy more stuff” the normal mode of living in America. Between rent, mortgages, car payments, other accrued monthly expenses, and easy credit it’s all too easy to construct a gilded cage around oneself. People work long hours at jobs they hate simply to maintain their possessions and acquire the latest, improved models. Worse, self-improvement falls by the wayside as people “improve” themselves, by proxy, by buying a nicer car or bigger house. It can be difficult to escape this admittedly comfortable lifestyle. The possessions, it seems, are in control. Now I do like to be comfortable, but I try to keep this mantra of simplicity in mind throughout my life, buying low-maintenance items and downsizing wherever possible. My next big adjustment will be selling my condo so that I can rent a cheaper place, work fewer hours, and hopefully relocate, geographically, to wherever I want to live — not necessarily where I can find the best job.

But unlike the book’s narrator, I’m not willing to blow up my condo to gain my freedom from it. I guess I’m not hard core.

By: Bryce Lee

Bryce Lee — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:01:22 +0000

One book that has had a profound effect on me is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The story in and of itself is simple, but the ideas presented speak volumes. Coelho tells the story of a shepherd boy who has a dream of finding riches in Egypt. Even though it would be safer to stay with his herd, he decides to go out and realize this dream. Along the way he meets spiritual messengers who guide him as he learns incredible life lessons.

I am usually someone who will keep it safe and stick with what’s comfortable. This story helped me to realize that there is more out there than what we can even imagine. Not only that, we can have it all if we just do it, if we go out and take the risk and get out of our comfort zone.

I am not always the best at this, but this new perspective has honestly helped me to the point I am at right now, in law school (where I never thought I’d be in a million years) and doing those things that are hard instead of settling for what’s easier. I really want to help the world and affect change for good and I can actually do that, I know it. I also know that anyone can do that, even a simple shepherd boy.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:10:42 +0000

I am a self-confessed book worm. I remember spending hours curled up in my bedroom away from the rest of the busy house, with my nose in a book. I devoured paperback pre-teen novels at such an alarming rate that my father threw up the warning flags. He did not want to tell me “no” as I stood in front of him at the bookstore with a tall stack of books in my arms & a pleading look on my face, but these were luxuries that we could not afford, at least not in such abundance. So my father, a teacher and patient motivator, offered a compromise. For every “classic” from the bookcase that I would read, he would buy me ten paperbacks. I thought that I was getting the better end of this deal, so I agreed, not realizing that he’d gotten one over on me!

The first classic that I chose from the set of matching green-bound books was “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott. From the moment that I opened the book and began to turn the soft, yellowing pages I was captivated. For the first time I was immersed into another world, one with real depth and emotion. I felt every joy and heartbreak of the March sisters. The paperback novels paled in comparison and were quickly abandoned. “Little Women” changed my life and started me on a literary journey that has taken me to many amazing places.