ClubReading

Review written for ClubReading.com by Sally Remember those cartoons where a little red demon is whispering in someone’s left ear to “go ahead” and an angel with a halo is whispering in his right ear to “think of the consequences”? The author would have us believe this senario is playing out just like for everyone every day. It just may be that we are in the midst of a spiritual battle. The ancient writings of Paul warn us to “stand against the devil’s schemes.” Evidently, he does scheme. We are also told that there are specific angels assigned to wage war in our behalf. ...

Review written for ClubReading.com by Linda n this book, Card takes the reader back to the days of the first settlements of the United States. The pioneer days aren’t exactly like those you may have read about in school; in these pioneer days, magic is real. Most people in the colonies have “gifts,” whether those are gifts of making people feel at ease, or finding water, or something more exotic. Great Britain has banished all people who believe in magic (and not surprisingly, they are the ones who can do magic) to the new world, and they have thrived here. ...

Review written for ClubReading.com by Linda Two sisters, very young children, whose parents die, end up with elderly relatives. The relatives, two aunts, love them, but don’t know how to show it. The children spend the rest of their lives trying to avoid the pain loving causes, until they realize the joys loving brings. Gillian, bright and popular, believes that she has to leave every relationship first. Sally, lovely and more responsible, believes that she must see only to her children and her life. It is with great joy that we discover that the sisters can learn to love again, and that the power of love can overcome all obstacles. ...

Review written for ClubReading.com by Linda (Please note: I did not read this book; I listened to the unabridged narration by Alexander Spencer. It made a six hour drive fly by!) I had not returned to Bradbury’s tale of the ultimate censorship since I was 17. Surprisingly, this book still holds up very well, even given the large number of years between the writing and present day. The beginning and middle of this tale is set in a world very similar to ours, with a few technological advances, and a few of our advances missing (very few computers, for example). Bradbury takes firemen, and has them setting books on fire. In this culture, all books are banned. What surprised, and delighted me, was the prominence of television as the entertainment media. In fact, in this story, the television has become, literally, “the relatives.” ...

Review written for ClubReading.com by Bill Lawrence Block is certainly a very successful writer. He currently has178 books listed on Amazon.com. The introduction starts with Mr. Block telling us why he wrote this book: This is a book designed to help you write a novel. It contains the distillation of my own experience of twenty years as a published novelist, plus a considerable amount that I’ve learned from otherwriters. My goal throughout has been to produce the sort of book Imight have found useful when I set out to write my own first novel. ...

Review written for ClubReading.com by Sally Lori Wick’s books are quite predictable. They are simple, pleasant love stories. You know by the end of the first chapter (sometimes by the end of the first page) who is going to marry whom. It is, however, sometimes entertaining to see how they arrive at the “happily ever after” point. The first book in The Yellow Rose Trilogy introduces three brothers–Slate, Dakota, and Cash–all Texas Rangers. The first book tells the story of the eldest brother’s decision to leave the Texas Rangers. ...

Review written for ClubReading.com by Sally Christy is based on a true story from one year in the life of a young woman–the author’s mother. At the age of 19 Christy volunteered to teach in a one-room school in a poverty-stricken area in the mountains of Tennessee. During the train ride from her affluent home in Ashville, North Carolina, Christy reflects on her decision to leave home: It was only at Montreat last summer that I discovered that my attention was not so hard to get after all. Now I guessed that somewhere–out there–there was something exciting about religion which had not come through to me in my church back home. And I sensed that I could have sat in the Huddleston family pew every Sunday until I was an old lady, and it would not have been any different. That was why I had to leave, explore for myself–“Life piled on life.” ...

Review written for ClubReading.com by Bill Gods Go Begging is a wonderful novel about Jesse Pasadoble, a Vietnam veteran, now working as a defense attorney in San Francisco. A couple of current cases draw Jesse into a remarkable world of coincidence and ties to the past. This book has a great story, full of twists and turns, a cacophony of emotion. Amplifying these amazing images, Alfredo Vea’s writing style is strong, poetic, lyrical, and at times magical. The struggles of the main character and his dealing with extraordinary events in his past lead us into weaving, dreamlike worlds. ...