I did not read one book for this month's Coffee and a Book. I read three. Well, at least parts of three. Lucky for me I got an early start this month! In case you may think this early start is typical I should tell you that what I really wanted to read was the rest of the “Hunger Games” series, but I knew if I started book two, I'd want to move on to book three, and I just wouldn't have the time to get those AND a book review done by the deadline (though I did wonder how interested WoW Connect! readers would be in hearing about what I think about “Hunger Games”).
So I started with the book at the top of my “Books that Look Interesting for Coffee and a Book” list: A Wedding Invitation by Alice Wisler.
Here's the thing: I don't see the point
of telling you about a book I didn't like. There are a gazillion
books out there, and how can it be helpful for me to tell you to
avoid a book that you would probably not come across if I hadn't
mentioned it? I will tell you this much: I read this book through to
the end, but did not really enjoy it. A Wedding Invitation is
a light read, a modern day love story. That it took place in a
city I had lived in years ago (Washington, DC) and the city I
currently live in (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) was strangely
coincidental, but sometimes the story is hard to follow, and the
characters weren't all that interesting to me. I couldn't find a lot
of nice things to say about this book,so I decided to try again.
The next book on “The List” (that
was also available at the library) was Journey to Riverbend
by Henry McLaughlin. I picked this one up: 1) Because it was
available; 2) Because it was interesting that it was a historical
fiction romance written by a male; and 3) It had a “Jerry B. Jenkins
Christian Writers Guild” award, so it had to be well written,
right?
Here's something you should know: when it comes to sharing my opinions on books, I really have no idea what I am doing. I noticed this particularly this month because as I read A Wedding Invitation, I knew from the start that I did not like this book. When I picked up Journey to Riverbend, I knew right away it was better, but I don't know why. It seems if I am going to impersonate a reviewer of books, I should know these things, but I don't. Journey to Riverbend was well written, from what I read of it. After getting about 70 pages into it, I decided to put it down and try something else. Like I said, it was well written, it seemed to have the makings of a good story, but it was a historical fiction romance, and I just felt we had already gone there and didn't need to do it again. On to book number three.
Here's something you should know: when it comes to sharing my opinions on books, I really have no idea what I am doing. I noticed this particularly this month because as I read A Wedding Invitation, I knew from the start that I did not like this book. When I picked up Journey to Riverbend, I knew right away it was better, but I don't know why. It seems if I am going to impersonate a reviewer of books, I should know these things, but I don't. Journey to Riverbend was well written, from what I read of it. After getting about 70 pages into it, I decided to put it down and try something else. Like I said, it was well written, it seemed to have the makings of a good story, but it was a historical fiction romance, and I just felt we had already gone there and didn't need to do it again. On to book number three.
My
third, and final, attempt at a book this month is Kingdom's
Dawn, the first book in Chuck
Black's “Kingdom” series. Kingdom's Dawn
is a short book, which is lucky for me, since time was running short!
It is also very well written and engaging, which also made for a quick
read. It is actually geared toward teen readers (the back cover says
it's “Pilgrim's Progress
for the X Box generation”) and pre-teens and teens might especially
enjoy this book and series. Black has written this series of
allegories, albeit sometimes thinly veiled allegories, as Bible
stories written as medieval fantasy stories with knights and castles
and lots of action. I was sucked in right away and would recommend
Kingdom's Dawn.
So there you have
it. Three books and my humble opinion. Happy reading!
