Reviews
WOW!
I received “Snow Rising” several months ago as a member of the Time Out Advisory Board, but put off reading it until a couple of weeks ago, and just finished it 3 minutes ago. I know that it is already out on store shelves, so my thoughts are not necessarily relevant to publication. But, wow! That’s all I can say is, WOW! I am trying to decide where to start. I loved the list at the end, with ideas. It got my creative juices going. I am not going to let myself get distracted by anything else until I have decided what I am going to start working on, and schedule a time for it. You guessed it: I am a list maker. At first I couldn’t think of anything I’d been wanting to do forever but hadn’t done, as suggested in the last chapter. But it didn’t take more than a few minutes to come up with about 3 things. I think that’s where I’ll start.
Thank you, thank you for the opportunity to read this book. The truths in it are astoundingly simple.
Jennilyn Eckersley
Truth and Goodness:
“Best explanation of truth and goodness digestible to the religiously disenfranchised I’ve ever read. Church’s need to read Snow Rising and learn how to tell this story in their own words. The book has depth, character, heart, soul, and brains, like finding a gold nugget in a remote, fast flowing stream. The author is a thinker, and makes the rest of us contemplate what in the world we are doing to ourselves. I loved every page and hope, beg, encourage, and pray Baldwin writes something else. Ill be there when he does. Keep thinking.” Gale, L.A., September 26, 2010.
A New Way of Thinking
Reader Rating
Posted September 22, 2010, 10:22 PM EST: I picked up this book thinking to find a novel wrapped around a nugget or two of wisdom. I took it with me on a business trip to Phoenix and never put it down the whole time. The author has a way of telling a fictional novel about other people yet I continually found myself and attributes (both good and bad) woven in the storyline. I did not just find a nugget…I found a whole new way of thinking about some of my relationships and approaches to life. You can tell this author is really trying to convey some meaningful lessons and that there is no pride or ego in this book. Mr. Baldwin is a very good author but an amazing thinker and has a distinct ability to distill down some very complex lessons and ideas into a digestible format. I loved the read, I highly recommend it, I especially liked that I was a better person having read this book.
Well Worth the Read
This book is a great read…but be careful…this is not a thoughtless fictional read. Baldwin does a great job of balancing an interesting and exciting story with some complex and serious concepts on how to deal with life and relationships.
I found myself stopping quite a bit in the middle of the book just trying to digest the real meat of the book. Like I said this is not a mindless read. Indeed, after having put it down I have found myself going back to it (it is on my wife’s nightstand now) and looking for an idea or two.
If you have any questions I can tell you an easy way to determine if you will like…no love this book. Read the epilogue, if it is something that resonates with you, waste no more time and start reading from the start.
Highly recommended!
Carl
It Got to Me
Once in a while you find a book that takes your breath away. Snow Rising did that for me. It took me until chapter 18 to get it. Before chapter 18, it was a great read, a powerful story. I found myself alternately laughing and crying. Before chapter 18, I got chills at certain powerful moments in the book. But once I read chapter 18, I could see it with my own eyes. I could see and feel it for myself. Matt Baldwin brings powerful truths forward and grips you right in the heart. You will want to live differently when you are done with this book. I do. I am moved and changed by it.
Tracey
Brilliant. Inspired. Needed.
I love this book! I absolutely love this book and have started it for the second time because I didn’t learn all the lessons after the first read. How did Matthew Baldwin conceive this idea and present such valuable lessons in a format that reads like a novel? Snow Rising does more than just invite or challenge the reader to inventory their lives . . . it inspires them! Definitely a difficult book to put down and provides lots of introspection.
Author Matthew Baldwin: “I invite you to join Jason Snow, and leave you with two questions: one, can you be an advocate for the changes you desire to see in yourself and in the world around you; and two, do you have the audacity to find out?” The correct answer to both questions is “YES!” At the very minimum it is a fun novel however, anyone who reads this book will desire to become a better person. It is absolutely impossible to not be affected. Thank you Matthew Baldwin for teaching me.
Melissa
A Highly Relatable Adventure Story With A Great Message
I absolutely loved this book! It is such an appropriate and timely book for our day and age when so many struggle with the same issues that Jason and his family struggle with. It was an exciting, highly relatable adventure story with a great message. Sometimes it does seem to takes extremes to help us realize what is really important and valuable in our lives. Those are the moments that bring about the greatest change. I think the axioms are especially significant and applicable: Compassion, Humility, Gratitude and Conscience. All of these axioms, when actually understood and acted upon, can bring anyone to a greater level of empathy and understanding, peace and happiness. They also help make better relationships not only with the immediate family members, but also with others with whom we associate, which in turn would make for a better world. I could understand the struggles that Jason’s wife was going through, and it gave me a better understanding and insight into what makes Jason (and people who act like him) tick. I feel blessed to have been able to read this book and I can think of a couple of people with whom I’d like to share it. I plan to make a more of a personal effort to practice compassion, humility, gratitude and act with integrity according to my conscience after reading this book. I may even re-read it just to make sure I understand everything. I would highly recommend it. Thanks for sharing it with me!
Jane Gould
From the First Pages I was Hooked
I love the book. I absolutely love it. I have a list of people I want to give a copy of this book to. From the first pages I was hooked. A third of the way into the story, I felt like I was Jason and at the same time I resonated with Clara. I could feel myself sitting on the snow with Jason and Clara and listening to them talk. Like Jason, I wanted the whole lesson in one sitting.
I read in the evenings after my personal scripture study. I try to leave at least an hour for “other” reading. I am a slow and deliberate reader. I don’t want to miss anything. Of course, I stayed up later and read longer than I should have; but every chapter of Snow Rising was enlightening, motivating, and inspiring. I felt as though I were the student in the snow and I really wanted to learn and apply what was being taught.
This is a must read book. And, I must read it a second time, which, with the exception of the scriptures, I rarely read a book twice!
Thanks again for the opportunity to read this book. I am a fan. I will recommend it! I hope it makes the TOFW reading list.
Cindi Benedict
Similar Vibe as The Peacegiver
My comments on the book. I loved the title. It has a similar vibe to James Ferrell’s The Peacegiver. The climb was a nice backdrop to moving the story along and the bonding that takes place on the summit was touching. I really believe that is exactly what would have taken place. I also was very caught up in the scene with Clara’s fall and how they worked together. I found Jason to be a total jerk in the beginning, and at about the point I really didn’t care about him as a character, he meets Clara and begins some inner changes. Clara’s wisdom was very forthright – would that we could all be so. I especially enjoyed chapter 17 “The God Question” with great examples of women’s self-esteem issues – especially, and unfortunately, found in the LDS church. I hope this book has success outside of the LDS market, because I think books that spread truth and light are definitely needed in our world. I would definitely recommend this book to my book club.
Lari Smith
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