Monday, May 19, 2008

Christ the Lord: The Road To Cana

Yeshua has grown up and is dealing with helping his family. His brother James keeps asking him if he’ll ever get married. Yeshua just does not think that will be no matter what anyone wants. He is slowly beginning to realize that he may be the Christ after all. And it is not till he performs a miracle at his cousin Avigail’s wedding that he truly starts to understand. Having seen his cousin John the Baptist, he begins to fully know what is going on and wrestles with it.

Ms. Rice certainly knows her stuff and has done her research. A little might have been embellished but I didn’t feel that way through most of the book. I felt she handled this portion of Jesus’ life very well. I was thoroughly pleased and I cannot wait to see if there is a next installment in this series.

Being a Christian, I have to say how impressed I am with Ms. Rice to be taking on such a project. You truly feel like you begin to know Jesus not only as a prophet and teacher but his life with his family as well. I just cannot say fully how much I appreciated this book. It is so full of life and the things that are dealt with in this book are ones that leave you on the edge of your seat.

Anne Rice/Christian Fiction/ Life of Jesus/241 pages/ 4 out of 5

I have to get a few more review books done and then hope to read a few more of my own. lol

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Charley's Webb by Joy Fielding

Charlotte Webb has had an interesting life. Her family is on the odds again and she is stuck picking up the pieces or so it seems. Her career as a journalist is not so glamorous but still warrants an occasional threatening email. She likes writing about things that are controversial. Her children keep her busy and she loves them dearly. She always makes sure that she is there for them even though she never married the fathers. Getting a letter from a woman in jail who wants her story told makes Charley curious. So she decides to meet Jill Rohmer to at least find out the details. The woman had killed three small children and oddly enough Charley had wrote a column about it. She has no idea that it will lead to some nasty things down the line and it might even put her children’s lives on the line.

Ms. Fielding is a fantastic writer who gives the best goose bumps. I have only read one other book of hers but I am so intrigued to pick up the one I have in my ever-growing book pile. She writes characters that question beliefs so much that I even started wondering about mine. Yet the thrill ride you are taken on will leave you almost breathless. She plots things out very well that I was shocked to find out a few things that were talked about in the book.

Charlotte just wanted her family to get along. But since her mom left them when all four children were very young, they are not so forgiving including her father. Now she tries to settle into a life well done except threatening emails shock her. She does her best to keep her children safe. She loves them too much to want anything to happen to them like any mother really. I just felt compelled to follow along with her journey to see what happens.

This is a book full of tough issues and tests the boundaries of truth. I would definitely thing this would make a good book club read. I thought the book was well written and the characters very realistic. People just want to find their place in life and they also want to make money. There is nothing wrong with that it is just how you acquire the money that is often wrong. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is not squeamish. It is not for the faint of heart and the details did get quite gruesome. It is the only way to retell things that happened to truly understand what was going on in the mind of a killer. This is one author that I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next as well as I am planning on reading the other book on my shelf very soon.

Joy Fielding/ Women/ Journalists/ Thriller/ 448 pages/ 4 out of 5

I am working on a review book but hope to get another one of my own in soon!

Thursday, May 01, 2008

April Books and Stats

Here are the books:

Taken By A Viking by Michelle Styles 03-30-08 through 04-01-08 A+
A Dangerous Love by Brenda Joyce 04-01-08 A
Weeping Willow by Sarah Rainwater 04-02-08 through 04-03-08 C
The Reunion Game by Jan Scarbrough 04-03-08 B
Sweethearts of the Twilight Lanes by Luanne Jones 04-03-08 through 04-04-08 A
French Kissed by Nancy Warren 04-04-08 through 04-05-08 A
Seven Nights of Sin by Lacey Alexander 04-05-08 through 04-06-08 A
Candles on Bay Street by K.C. McKinnon 04-07-08 through 04-08-08 A
Spa Vacation by Theresa Alan 04-08-08 A
The Druid’s Quest by Cornelia Amiri 04-09-08 through 04-10-08 C
Points by I. Glebe 04-10-08 C
A Troubadour’s Testament by James Cowan 04-10-08 through 04-13-08 B
Peach Blossom Pavilion by Mingmei Yip 04-13-08 through 04-15-08 A+
Kaitlin’s Silver Lining by Ciara Gold 04-15-08 through 04-16-08 B
Duma Key by Stephen King 04-16-08 through 04-18-08 A+
Hot Date by Amy Garvey 04-18-08 through 04-19-08 A
The almost Moon by Alice Sebold 04-19-08 through 04-21-08 C
Dragon Wytch by Yasmine Glarnon 04-21-08 through 4-22-08 A
Taking the Heat by Kathryn Shay 04-22-08 A
Motif for Murder by Laura Childs 04-23-08 through 04-24-08 A+
Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber 04-24-08 A+
Briar Rose by Robert Coover 04-24-08 through 04-25-08 D
Coming Out by Danielle Steel 04-25-08 B
Closer to Fine by Meri Weiss 04-25-08 through 4-27-08 B
The Worst Thing I’ve Done by Ursula Hegi 04-27-08 through 4-30-08 C+

Here are my stats:
Total Books Read: 24
New Authors: 18
Fiction: 23
Non-Fiction: 1
TBR: 1
Chunksters: 1
Books I Reviewed: 14
Memoirs/True Crime/ Autobiographies: 0
Romances: 11
Mysteries: 1
From the Stacks: 17
Books I bought: 5 (4 with a gift card)
PBS Sent: 2
PBS Received: 3
Total Pages Read: 6, 713 pages

Not working a lot of hours had helped me keep up with stuff. I am hoping this month to read more of my own books. lol

The Worst Thing I've Done by Ursula Hegi

Annie loved her friends Jake and Mason. Though she chose Mason to spend her life with, Jake was always there. When Annie loses her parents in a car accident, she must now take care of her sister Opal being a newborn. As Annie struggles to be both a mother and a sister, she just cannot seem to find a balance. Mason always seems to know what to do with Opal. Yet things seem to go from bad to worse, which only tears apart everyone.

Ms. Hegi is a writer that writes very emotional books. While I am normally the kind that clings to these types of books, this one just left me confused. Every character had their point of view and I Found that very helpful. Yet something was lacking and maybe it was the different viewpoints that just seemed to muddle things for me. Doubts were very prevalent in this book. Yet Ms. Hegi seemed ot put most of them into Annie.

Annie just struggled whether it came to her sister or to her art or even with her husband Mason. She never seemed to put confidence that she could do anything in herself. Even though Mason did his best, he seemed to fall short. Aunty Storm was there to help Annie when she needed it the most. Opal was a sweet girl who just was confused about life. She knew Annie was her sister and not her mother but that was what made it worse for her somehow.

The beginning of the book was a shock to me. I never saw it coming not at all! It frustrated me so much that the author never let it be known what was going on till the book started. I almost did not even want to read any more of this book. But as it went along, Ms. Hegi slowly redeemed herself in little ways. And while I did not care for this book or the author, I was able to come to grips with her style of writing.

Ursula Hegi/ New Author/ Relationships/ Adult Fiction/ 272 pages/ 3 out of 5

This is one I got from Simon and Schuster awhile ago. I am just glad to be done with it. not to mention the last book of the month since I finished it almost a half hour ago.