Francine Rivers - "Unashamed"

      Yay!  My favorite author ever!  I have a love / hate relationship with her books.  Let me explain, I love them and devour them so quickly, and I hate that they have to end.  She is a former Romance Author turned Christian Fiction master.  She has done two different series of novellas based on various Biblical characters and much, much more.  "Unashamed" is part of the "Lineage of Grace" series based on the five women mentioned in Saint Matthew's account of the Lineage of Christ.

Unashamed: Rahab (The Lineage of Grace Series #2)

    

     This book is based on the passage in Joshua that talks about Rahab the Jerichoan harlot.  Rivers uses artistic lisence for sure to create dialogue, charater's motivations, as well as romantic inclinations.  She does so in a way that gives you a special and tangible way to relate to this woman who lived in a different time, place, and culture.  It makes me stand in awe of God's power to do the miracles He does, and of the way He works in the hearts of man.  Rivers helps bring the Bible's account of the battle of Jericho to life through this short, well written novel. 

     One of the reasons I really adore Rivers' works is that she truly knows the workings of the human heart.  She writes of love (for the Lord and for others) in such a way, it makes the reader's heart relate and come alive.  Who doesn't enjoy that?  I am always inspired by her literature.  I hope you give her a try and come to love her writing as I do. 

Stay thirsty, friends (for books)!

Nancy Moser - "Mozart's Sister"

     I love the sense of accomplishment that accompanies the finishing of yet another book!  It's such a great feeling to add another work to the continually growing "already read" stack of books.  Can anyone relate, or am I just that big a bookworm?

Mozart's Sister

     I just finished "Mozart's Sister," an historical fiction by Nancy Moser.  I've not read anything else she's done, and am not really tempted to.  Is it wrong of me to not give her a second chance?  I love Mozart, and have since I was a child.  His music is beautiful and inspiring, and his life story is interesting and tragic.  I even got to visit his childhood home in Salzburg, Austria.  I was hooked.  Oh yeah, and he had a sister.......

     Thus the premise of the aforementioned novel.  I knew he had a sister, but never knew much about her.  She was six years, his senior, and just as talented as Wolfgang, but was overlooked due to her sex.  Simply because she was a female, she was not really even given a chance at notoriety (outside of her childhood performances with Wolfgang), or even an opportunity to do much composing.  It was an intriguing (and depressing) look into 18th century life.  I had not really realized how utterly dependent women were made to be upon men.  

     I like the idea of the book, but not so much the presentation.  I can't really put my finger on why I didn't really enjoy this book as much as I expected to, but I'll give it a shot.  It is rare that I start a book, and have to really push through it by force of will to get to the end, but this took a little work.  The information it contained both about the time period, and about the Mozart family piqued my interest, but I found her writing style to be a little bland.  Generally I really enjoy reading stories written in the first person, but I found this one to be dull.  It was a little "whiney" and riddled with "daddy loves you more" sibling rivalry syndrome.  I understand that is what it was probably like, but it just got old after the first few chapters.  The last few chapters of the book about her later life were intriguing, but I understand not much information is available about that period of her life.  The Mozart family wrote and saved much of their correspondence to one another, and Ms. Moser used those as part of the research for the book, but most of those letters were written during her childhood and young adult years. 

    

     Reading this novel makes me appreciate indoor plumbing, and antibiotics all the more.  I am also grateful that for me, in this country, at the time in which I live, opportunities are so much more available to me as a woman.  Maybe one day I'll have made my way through the ever-growing stack of  "to be read" books and find myself reading another Nancy Moser novel.  I'll let you know!

For now, just keep your nose in a book.

   

Dean Koontz - "Forever Odd"

 Hello Again Friends,

     I've just finished the second book in Dean Koontz's "Odd Thomas" series.  As you can see, I am currently in the throes of many an author's series.  It's a good place to be!  I generally am not one for horrific or scary in any form, but Mr. Koontz does a good job of keeping the reader on their toes, and the pages turning.  Some of his other books ("Hideaway") are a little too full of gore for me, but "Odd Thomas" and "Forever Odd" were more suspenseful then gory.

     Once again our hero, Odd Thomas, is faced with a group of homicidal maniacs who put into jeopardy, ones he loves.  I enjoy the way Odd's character is written to be humble, humorous, and heroic without meaning to be.  He has the special gift of seeing the lingering dead and through it is able to sometimes solve or prevent a crime.  The chase that ensues in this novel keeps the reader constantly wondering "what will happen next?"

                                                   Forever Odd (Odd Thomas Novels)

     Dean Koontz weaves a plot thick with psychotic killers, Elvis, bomb threats, the supernatural, and the need to keep a dictionary close.  He is truly a master of description, and he uses the perfect vocabulary to do so.  I recommend this book and the series that surrounds it to anyone looking for "something different."  Kootz's books are generally pretty morbid (as is this one), but in this series, the focus is Odd, not so much simply the macabre.  Odd's personality, naivete, and depth of character, not to mention his adventures, are enthralling!  I hope you too fall in love with Odd Thomas.

As always, more to come.  Keep reading!

Janet Evanovich - "Visions of Sugar Plums"

  

Visions of Sugar Plums: A Stephanie Plum Holiday Novel (A Between-the-Numbers Novel)

Well,

    

     This is my first attempt at not only "publicly" reviewing a book, but also at this phenomenon called "blogging."  I figured I would begin this adventure with one of my favorite authors, Janet Evanovich.  I started consuming the Stephanie Plum series over the summer and have fallen head over heals in love with not only the character, but also the author.  I highly recommend them to you, and hope you enjoy them as well!

     Visions of Sugar Plums is one of the books that falls between the numbers in the series and is the first of the so-called "between-the-numbers" novels.  It is a little shorter than your average Plum novel, but is still just as packed with humor, adventure, car explosions, strange (and generally gorgeous) men, hilarious mishaps, memorable characters, and of course Grandma Mazur's antics.

     Stephanie is an average Trenton girl who overnight, goes from being a lowly lingerie buyer to an unequipped and hysterical bounty hunter.  In this episode, she is chasing and FTA (person who Failed To Appear for court) named Sandy Claws when all the usual Plumness takes place.  She starts the book (and her day) by walking into her kitchen to discover an uninvited "Diesel" (a new man of mystery to add to her repertoire).  Just like the rest of the men in her life, he's full of muscles, good looks, and information he's not going to share.  In the hunt for Claws she is, attacked by elves, scolded by her mother for not sending out Christmas cards (or having a tree, or cooking, or not having a job at the button factory for that matter), convinced that Diesel may actually be a superhero, trapped in a collapsed building with four men and no bathroom, still not any closer to getting her holiday shopping done, and is in the market for a new car (because, as usual, hers blew up).

     As per the usual Plum novel, I found myself laughing out loud at not only the situational humor, but also Steph's inner monologue.  She says it like it is in a very witty manner as is characteristic of her.  She may be nerves of steel on the outside (yeah right!), but on the inside she is Everywoman simply funnier, and as Lula says: "You (Steph) got the market cornered on hot (men, that is)."  What's not to like?

     My few complaints regarding this particular book are: 1. That it isn't long enough (they never are), and 2. That there is "supernatural" activity that goes without further explanation.  Diesel's appearance, disappearance, and other modes of transportation are noticeably unexplained.  The same lack of commentary is noted in the villain's motives and his use of electricity.  I suppose therer are worse things...

     Overall, the book is a good way to entertain your mind for a few hours, but not my favorite of all books Plum.  I believe it is one of those that lets you enjoy yourself in the journey.  I hope you are inspired to embark on the path that Mrs. Evanovich has laid before us.   

Read on, my friends!

To All My Beloved Bibliophiles...

This is the first of hopefully many more to come.  I look forward to reading and reviewing literature at its best (or worst, whatever the case may be).