"Table For Five" by Susan Wiggs

"Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with" (Mark Twain)

This book was absolutely wonderful! I stumbled across it in the library while walking down an isle dissapointed that they had already checked out all 3 of my other options. I am so thrilled that I decided to pick it up. There was a lot of Golf terminology that i was completely unfamiliar with. However, the main character was an elementary teacher who also was unfamiliar with the world of golf, which reigned in the story for me to be a part of.

Here, we had 3 children orphaned, left in the care of their uncle, who, although quite loved, was something of a rolling stone & way out of his element reguarding the inner workings of family living. With the help of the mother's friend, an unofficial aunt to the children, this family discovers how to cope with grief and the uncertainty of what the future holds. They reinvent themselves, their "family", and learn how to fall in love with life again, and eachother.

"Table For Five" reminded me of the importance of faithfulness, devotion, and forgiveness. We must do right by each other now, not someday, because we can never be certain that we'll even get the chance again to repent & reconcile. This family was broken, and it took a devastating tragedy to make them whole again.

Read it. It'll be worth it.

NEXT BOOK: unsure

"Water For Elephants" by Sara Gruen

This book was so intriguing. "Water For Elephants" was about an old man reminiscing about his younger days of working in the circus during the time of the depression. When we go to see a live performance of any kind, we're trained to "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain". This book gives us an intimate look at the "man behind the curtain", all the crap that goes on behind all the hokum.

Sara Gruen did extensive research to do the ins & outs of the circus justice, with true to life circumstances jumbled up into one story, such as a dead hippo on display in formaldehyde, Jamaica ginger paralysis, an elephant who escaped to a backyard garden patch, parading a dead fat lady through town in an elephant cage, a murdered ringmaster wrapped in tent cloth, and the list goes on.

Reading this story, i couldn't help but be reminded of Queen's "The Show Must Go On"... ♫"Another hero, another mindless crime behind the curtain in the pantomime. On & on, does anybody know what we are living for?.. Whatever happens, we leave it all to chance. Another heartache, another failed romance. Hold the phone, does anybody know what we are living for?"♫

Definitely not the cleanest book I've ever read, but I would recommend as a must read.

NEXT BOOK: "Table for Five" by Susan Wiggs (review, end of July)

"Push" by Sapphire

This book was very heavy & very sad; not crying sad, more like shockingly sad. It made me very angry, angry that people would be so entirely selfish. When we see others in a rotten situation such as drug addict, prostitute, pregnant teen; we rarely stop to think of what put them there. now, I've personally known very many pregnant teens who led good lives, had good families, just wanted to have sex & didn't think it completely through. I think that it's because of these people that we just assume everyone is the same way. I also knew a girl who was raped while a teenager & kept the baby from it; she had to put up with all of the assumptions that labelled her a hoe even though I know she was a far cry from hoe.

So, here's Precious, a teenager, pregnant with her second child from her AIDS-ridden father, who wasn't married to her mother who would also molest her & abuse her. She was kicked out of school, joined a pre-GED class to learn how to read & write, and to learn how to start her own life. A severe case of "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade". She couldn't help the hand that she was dealt in life, which was full of mental, sexual, & physical abuse. Although, she did reach a point in her life where she, not her mother or father or teacher or counselor, but she had to make a decision... stay with this hand or trade in the cards, live or die. With much difficulty, she decided to get out!; despite the fact that she was a teen with a baby, never knew anything other than her life outside of her wretched home, had no money & no place to go.

It's inspiring to me because I'm considering going back to school so that I can be a child psychologist mainly. This book teaches me that given the right environment, enough will and patience, anyone can turn around; anyone can be pulled up out of the mud. Most issues people have are rooted in their childhood; something was said or happened they have not yet overcome, nor have they had the proper guidance.

Very good book, hardcore, with strong language. If you plan to read it, understand that this book is bringing you to the depths of Harlem in the '80s. It's not pretty, it's not clean, but it is true & we shouldn't be blind to the tragic needs of others.

Next Book: "Water For Elephants" by Sara Gruen (review, end of June)

"The Fall Of Lucifer" by Wendy Alec

One word... Incredible! I have to start by mentioning how insanely descriptive this book is; it was a little hard to get into at 1st because I'd have to stop every few paragraphs to allow all it's descriptiveness to sink into my brain... come to find out the author has a background in arts & media & is a creative director for a production company. So, upon reading this book, you have to think of it more as an epic movie than just some book.

"The Fall Of Lucifer" is the 1st of a book series called "The Chronicles Of Brothers". It follows the lives of the angels Lucifer, Michael, & Gabriel, starting with God's plans of creating man; so, we get to see it from the view point of the heavenly realms. (fictional, of coarse, because we aren't completely sure of exactly what occurred in the heavenly realms during these times; but this author has clearly had extensive biblical, historical, scientific research b4 writing these books. **starters 4 u... "the Book Of Enoch", Dr. David Van Couvering & Chuck Missler teachings**)

Brief Summary
*******
The book starts out with Lucifer in the 1st heaven before his fall. He & his brothers, Michael & Gabriel, are Prince Regents to Yehovah... Michael- the warring angel, Gabriel- the revelator, & Lucifer- the light bearer. When Lucifer is told that Yehovah was going to create a new race, made in His own image & likeness, he becomes undeniably jealous & allows evil to take root in his soul. There is a defiance in the heavenly courts from Lucifer & 1/3 of the angels who were at his charge, declaring war in the heavens & demanding glory for themselves attempting to override Yehovah's. This action thrusts them into darkness & every form of evil takes over Lucifer & his angels who have been seperated from Yehovah's presence. Lucifer declairs himeself to be man's nemisis & immediately tempts Eve in Eden to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil which was forbidden for the race of men, causing Lucifer to become the ruler of men & crowned as Satan. His goal: to annihalate the race of men.

He shares with the race of men forbidden knowledge of the secrets of the heavenlies, but twisted to produce evil; then finds out that he can pervert the coming generations by sending his fallen angels to copulate with the women on earth to create beings that are neither all human, nor all demon, but both... halflings (Genesis 6:4). However, he misses one generational line that leads to Noah, whom Yehovah spares to preserve this race. But still, Lucifer and his scorceries continue to lead men astray. There is an Eternal Law that requires punishment to any race that turns it's back on Yehovah, unless there is one who is pure & righteous, willing to lay down his life for such a race. Because Lucifer had defiled men so severely, Yehovah decides to send himself. The book ends with the anticipation of the birth of Christ.
*******

This novel gives us a foundational background to evidences we have of "strange happenings", such as the pyramids, Mayan structures, crop circles. Think of the ancient Egyptians... there are writings that indicate a surgical procedure they would perform that replaced a human head with the head of an animal, a form of beastiality; creatures of whose bones were found crushed in sarcophaguses. Nostrodomus even admitted to having gotten his disasterous prophecies from demonic presences.

Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
I recommend this novel to everyone who has a desire to better understand what it is we are actually dealing with as a race, the battle for our very souls. If you truly care about yourself, you would do the research, because not only is there a reason for everything, there is also a reason WHY everything, & you must know where your history lies if you are ever going to understand who you are. And you have to know that God loves you with an incomprehensible love, that instead of destroying our race, he would send Himself to die for us.

Wendy Alec's website: http://www.chroniclesofbrothers.com/

Next Book: "Push" by Sapphire (review at the end of May)

Future Review

Welcome to harmonydq's book review. I just joined a book club & thought it would be good to open a personal book review blog because i may not be able to attend some of the clubs meetings due to the distractions of my children, so i can record my reviews here. also, i will read other's on my own outside of the club... reviews will be found here as well.

Book reviews for the Read & Feed Book Club will be written in RED. Others, in green.

First...
"The Fall Of Lucifer" by Wendy Alec (review in 1 week)