Average-life

John Mason has really outdone himself this time. His books just keep getting better and better. I definitely recommend this book as well as the others he has written. I have them all and am anticipating the arrival every new one in the future!

A mentor gave me this book in 1986. I read it as a new college freshman. I read it again as I prepared for my upcoming wedding in 1989. Now I have some friends--young women about to go to college themselves--who I think can bennefit from this practical book. Author Florence Littauer has inspired me over the years with her wisdom and insight into the little things we, as women, can do to make a difference in others' lives. Many of her words come to mind as I think of how to pursue excellence in my walk with God and in my life, now as a wife and mom. Time to read it again!

This book helped me focus in on the core issues I needed to concentrate on, without me having to read thru filler to get to the helpful info. After reading this book, I have started the exercise and discipline program have have been trying to begin for the last 6 months. Easy to read and great as gift.!!!!!!!!!!

I found this book to be encouraging and challenges you to look beyond being a "regular guy." Examine your God given talents and put them to work to become extraordinary.

Well-written, concise, and most importantly, rings with the Spirit of Truth. Questions and doubts that have bugged me for years--and kept me immobilized--have been answered by John Mason's teaching of Scripture. Simply a great book. Holy Spirit inspired. I can't believe I haven't come across this man before. God bless him.

Most books of this caliber are fat little paperbacks with tiny print; this book was easily readable in a few hours of one day, and it gave me the most modivation ever. John Mason gives biblical examples, short personal examples, strong insparation, and invaluable advice for each nugget - each no longer than a page (front and back). After reading my friend's copy, I ordered my own and highlighted all the parts that gave special sparks in my soul. It's short, to the point, wonderfully put together, and makes you see many things inside yourself in many different lights. I recommend this for anyone who wants to brighten their lives and get into positive thinking =D

Being a new reader of John Bolin's work, I was amazed to see how this book paralled my life and my current experiences. I have shared this incredible piece with members of my family and i know it will make a fantastic Christmas gift for anyone who wants to see and live a transformed, vibrant life! Take heed - and read this book if you want passion and renewal in your daily walk! This is nothing short of contagious!

Even though I am entering the "senior" years, I felt the challenge of John Bolin's words. We are never too old to stop learning, even if the teacher is the same age as my oldest son.

The life-application stories make the words of this book come to life. The author has lived (and is still living) the challenges that he sets forth in aspiring to the dream of the epic life. From experience I can attest to the truth of these words. When we stop reaching for our dreams, we stop living.

If you need some motivation to get you going, you will find it in this book. John even challenges the reader by including a section at the end of each chapter that gives practical suggestions for taking action.

This is not a book to read once and put on the shelf. I plan to give away copies to loved ones to help encourage them to live a "life unlimited."

No doubt an incredible work authored by a leader whose ideas for multifaceted success and self-discovery are pure genius and largely undiscovered in the purity of their content...Written to capture the attention of the businessperson and homemaker alike...it would be a sorely missed opportunity to not read it..I will recommend this book to my business parters and friends wherever I go...raw genius.

The Average Human is a fantastic novel. It has everything--fascinating characters and a plot that keeps you guessing. You get to see the underbelly of a community and the people who live there. I absolutely LOVED it. Ms Toby-Potter has a way with the English language. I can't wait to read her next novel!!

This novel was amazing. I am not a fan of fiction, but when i started reading Toby-Potter's the Average Human I was completely enthralled by her mastery of language, and character development. It is a rich, dark novel with so many twists, you may feel as if yo uwill lose yourself, but everything comes back full circle. Everything ties itself back together beautifully and one is left with the imagery, the beauty and the tragedy of the town of Loomis. It's incredible that it is only her first novel.

I actually read "The Average Human" after first reading the author's book for adolescents, "Olivia Kidney." The two books are not really similar, but the writer's compelling, literary prose is equally excellent in both. The characters in "The Average Human," who live in rural New York State, are complex and not easily understood. Yet they are compellingly drawn and very memorable. Since I read this book, scenes and phrases from it have revisited me frequently. I will certainly read it a second time. Ellen Toby-Potter (or Ellen Potter, which she uses in the "Olivia Kidney" book) is truly a brilliant writer; I look forward to her next works for both young people and adults.

FB's style in these stories is mainly to set you up with a scene and characters (which he brings to life fairly easily and quickly) and then end the story right on the brink of when something's going to happen.. or not happen.
In many of these stories, the sexual frustration between characters is leaping off the page; just when you think something will break, it gets even more intense. Most of the stories involve a male and female as the main chars.
A handful of stories are written in 2nd person, which is extremely difficult to pull off. FB does an okay job of it, but doesn't convince me.
I enjoyed the collection and will definitely consider other works by him.

These are basically stories about nothing. Not even stories really. More like observations or reports told by a loving correspondent. The author rather skillfully (or sneakily) managed to keep this sottish reader's interest even though I knew the stories weren't going anywhere. Greatness? No. Clever and well told nothingness? You betcha! An opinion: the author has little imagination, but is a very skilled storyteller. I'm not certain whether to be annoyed or impressed.

So many books are filled with lousy, hothouse prose, so many are overwritten or underwritten, or have no ideas other than the ideas you might hear on any newscast on MSNBC. Even books that get a lot of press seem sort of mundane and off-the-rack when compared with Barthelme's. He sees the world we live in from an odd angle, seems to like the really plain stuff that's always going on around us, and in his hands it tends to take on a magical glow. How he does it I don't quite know. Maybe it's just good writing, maybe it's the particular ideas that he elects to write about, maybe it's finding the slightly miraculous in the utterly ordinary. Anyway, it's a pleasure to read stories that have a different slant. I like the story where the meat slides down the counter, and the one where they go to the Home Depot, and the one where the girl writes her number on his arm, and the one where the big strange guy gets to drive the car. I like the crazy story about the runaway girl in the back and the story called Ed Works in which almost nothing happens. These characters have a realness about them that so much fiction misses--the people are just going though their lives and stuff is happening to them and they're reacting and sometimes it gets out of hand or there's a big moment that's really lovely and they don't miss the moment, but they don't make a religion out of it either. And best of all, these stories don't preach. That's rare these days.

Jaye E. Seay's book, THE LIFE AND LOVES OF A NOT SO AVERAGE JOE, tells the story of Hill Taylor, a young man who is coming of age and discovering himself. Hill is a college educated young man who is trying to make a difference by teaching. He does not fit the usual stereotypes that one often sees in the media, depicting Black men in a negative light. Instead, despite what the title suggests, Hill is an average guy. The book follows Hill as he experiences true love and heartache while all the time trying to define himself and what he wants to achieve in life.

Seay has written a novel that shows men in a positive light and debunks the old myth that "nice guys finish last." He gives a realistic portrayal of the life of a positive, young Black man.

Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

The book, The Life and Loves of a Not So Average Joe by Jaye E. Seay is a realistic dating scenarios in which many readers will not only enjoy but will also be able to relate to it in one context or another.

Get this book! A honest book about what life/love is like through the eyes of the new generation. Way to go Jay =).

Jeryl C.