REVIEW: Life’s Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard

Title: Life’s Golden Ticket
Author: Brendon Burchard

Goodreads Synopsis:

What if you were given a ticket

that could magically start your life anew?

Would you redeem it?

In this moving parable of personal growth and change, Burchard has created a rich, emotional journey of transformation that, by its end, readers feel like they can truly start their lives anew, as if they’ve received a “golden ticket”–– a second chance at life.

LIFE’S GOLDEN TICKET tells the story of a man who is so trapped in the prisons of his past that he cannot see the possibilities, the choices, and the gifts he has right in front of him. At the behest of his fiancée, who is clinging to life in a hospital bed, he takes the envelope she hands him and makes his way to an old, abandoned amusement park to appease her delirious pleadings. But when he steps through the rusted entrance gates, the abandoned park magically comes to life …

This was the book I took out from the digital library from my local library.  Let me get this out of the way: success at borrowing and returning it! (hooray!)

Okay, onto the story.  I really enjoyed it.  There were times when I got teary eyed, I won’t lie, but I thought it was a great story to inspire people to make the changes that they should, can, and want to make.  It really boils down to learning that you always have a chance to make a change in your life for the better.  You can always grow and improve and become the person you want to be.  You don’t need to “accept what life has given you.”  You can take it by the horns and make of it what you want.  You don’t need to let bad past experiences dictate how you view the world and how to act.  You have the ability to move past the bad experiences and remember the good ones and use the good experiences to mold you into the person you want to be.

I liked that it took place in a carnival/amusement park. Many of the rides and attractions proved to be perfect metaphors for different parts of the narrator’s life. The characters were so well-developed and I thought it was a really well done story.  Each character, no matter how briefly we saw him or her, had a specific role on this path of learning.

Have you read this?

Have you ever had an experience that made you re-evaluate your present situation?

Check Your Local Library

One of my blog followers commented on a recent post about his local library not having a copy of the first book in a series, to which I suggested checking to see if the library had any type of digital lending for ereader devices.   So that prompted me to write this post.

Recently, I got an email from my library that said…(hold on while I find the email)… Okay, so I guess it wasn’t sent that recently after all, I already deleted it.  In any case, they sent out an email to alert members that digital books can be borrowed on the Kindle.  Now, I knew my library offered books in the EPUB and PDF file formats, but — WAIT! I think I forwarded the email to my mom, let me check my sent folder…

Nope, guess not.

ANYWAY, books can now be borrowed on the Kindle (in the Kindle format, not just the EPUB or PDF format) through my library through this thing called Overdrive.  According to the Overdrive site, there may be some restrictions for certain devices (for example, the 1st and 2nd generation Kindles are only compatible with American libraries).

For any of you who are members of the Boston Public Library, you can check out their digital
lending library here.

Amazon has a policy about getting books from libraries as well. (Click here to be taken to the Amazon page about library books). You can share with other Kindle users (though once again, certain restrictions may apply…I think it depends on the publisher, etc. to determine whether a book is allowed to be shared.)  I also remember reading that there is a 14 day sharing limit for a book, so if it’s a long book and you’re a slow reader, you may want to consider other alternatives.

I have borrowed my first e-book through the library site.  On the library site, it said I have 14 days to borrow the book.  Then, when I clicked on “Get it for Kindle”  I was redirected to Amazon, where I was able to send the book via Wi-Fi (in fact, there was a note saying that the Kindle had to be connected to a Wi-Fi network because the book would not be sent via 3G) like any other book purchased for the Kindle.  When I look in my Kindle library, it says “public library” next to the title.  I am able to view it on my Kindle, so it looks like I have had success!  I know it will take me less than 14 days to read this, but I almost want to leave it until the end of the time period to see what happens. I wonder if I won’t be able to open the file on my Kindle or something?

Have you borrowed an e-book through your library before?  What was your experience when the due date arrived?