A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen

So if you couldn't tell by the title, this is the 2nd book in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.  Not that you have to read them in order.  Since they're a collection of short stories, you can read whatever book in whatever order you prefer.  I do think starting at the beginning is always better though, because in the case of this series, it's when the work is more original and not repeated a thousand times over.

Chicken Soup for the Soul in its second helping is much like the first book in that it collects inspiring stories, fables, poems, etc. and groups it into different categories.  Those categories are "On Love", "On Parenting", "On Death and Dying", "A Matter of Attitude", "On Learning and Teaching", "Live Your Dream", "Overcoming Obstacles", and "Eclectic Wisdom".  Probably the story/poem that resonates with me the most is from the "Overcoming Obstacles" chapter and is titled "After A While".  It is just really moving and especially pertinent to my life in the last few years and I do get a lot of inspiration from it.  That being said, there are plenty of stories in here that I don't get so much from, especially the ones that are a little preachy on the religion aspect.

But that's to be expected.  This book is put out by a Christian printer and has Christian authors.  It's meant to be a religious.  I don't actually think overall that this book is too preachy, but there are a few stories in here that if you aren't religious, you'll probably just skim over.  And while there are mostly new and original stories in here, there was one that was almost the same as in the first book.  And so begins the saga of reusing stories in their books.  I do have to applaud them for having an extensive thank you and reference area.  It's nice to know that they give credit where it is due when they can.

One of the better books in the series but it still doesn't have the feel that first book did.  But if you like short, inspiring stories, this is a good book to read.

A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Copyright 1995
329 pages