The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom

"Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can't. You know the month of the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, time keeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out." ~ The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom

Lots to say. I wanted to blog last weekend, but I didn't have access to my account. I was in Chicago and only had my work computer, which blocks the internet. Hence, no access to Nick's Library. Chicago was great, but that is another story. A cool thing I learned on my trip to Chicago is that there are a chunk of airports that offer a "Read and Return" program. You can buy a book at one airport and return it at another airport, receiving half your money back. I utilized this while reading The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom.

I can officially say that Mitch Albom is my favorite author (sorry Nicholas Sparks). As a way to get amped up for this book, I re-read The Five People You Meet In Heaven (post coming soon). The Time Keeper recently came out on September 4th.

The book is about the inventor of the world's first clock. He is punished for trying to measure God's greatest gift and sent to live in a cave where he will not age for six thousand years. He is forced to listen to people beg for more time. When his soul is nearly broken, he is sent to the twenty-first century where he must teach two people the true meaning of time.

The beginning and middle are absolutely great. As fairytale-ish as it sounds, Albom keeps the book real. The ending was a bit far-fetched, but then again, this is fiction. The book constantly goes back and forth between the inventer of time and the two people he must help. This style allowed us inside each of the characters and provided a good tempo. Plus there are so many good quotes from this book.

I am becomming fascinated with time. The concept of it. This book and a few others I am reading (plus a movie I saw) reflect on time, the meaning of it, why we want more of it. Immortality. It is truly interesting to ponder. I have a feeling this may be a recurring theme in the next few posts.

My rating for The Time Keeper: 4.5 stars out of 5. Get it here!

Retirement Heist by Ellen Schultz

It's been three weeks since my last post, which I think is the longest gap since I've started this blog. I know people have been visiting the site and I apologize for my absence. I've had some things going on. And I've been studying a lot for my actuarial exam. With that being said, my book wish-list is growing. Hopefully I can make some time to read (and blog).

I've slowly being reading Retirement Heist over the last month. It put me to sleep countless times. I have a lot of background on the industry and terminology, so I didn't find it too difficult to read. But 95% of people would struggle though it. The author shares a lot of facts and individuals' stories that are meant to irk the reader.

I did learn a few things from the book and there's a few things I'd like to research a bit more. But I'm not sure who the book is supposed to appeal to. It's too complicated for the average Joe. It bashes on everyone who could do something about pension issues. So who's it for? And lastly, the author does a decent job of presenting all the problems. But what solutions does she have in mind?

My rating for Retirement Heist: 2 stars out of 5. Get it here!