Excellent, moving short read
928012
To say much of anything about the actual story would give away an important twist, though I will say I figured out said twist about half way through. The writing is excellent and subject matter heavy with an important message at the end; it did elicit a few tears from me. Well done.
503762
Jacqueline Kelly does a fine job of bringing together the topics of exercise, health, and stress management in better managing our lives in this fast moving  world of ours.  Its simplicity and focus is a strength and I for one, appreciate how a short read can have such impact.  Thanks, Jacqueline.
485212
I really enjoy stories told from an "alternative" perspective, and this book is no different.  I especially like "The Innkeeper" and "Holding Heaven" (other stories about Jesus' birth/life told from alternative points of view).  This short book starts in the end, when Mary is watching her son be crucified, then the book retells other significant events all the way back to when Mary was first visited by an angel who told her she would be bearing the Son of God.  As a Christian mother, I found this book to be very moving.  It encouraged me to think of the life of Jesus in ways I had not done so before.  This is a fairly quick read, but I stretched it out over several days by reading a chapter a day.  I have suggested it to the ladies in my circle group, and I believe it would make a great gift for any Christian, especially a mother.
4703643
This is a wonderful little story ~ "little" because its topic is small, personal, close. Not a crime story per se, not about criminals but about ordinary folk who fall tragically out of line from the ordinary. Even Inspector Sejer seems quite ordinary with his mild case of exzema and his quiet mourning of a dead wife.

As a crime novel this lacks heavy drama and graphic violence. I appreciated that. I prefer subtlety to crass action. Even the beating toward the end is minimised for effect rather than drawn out for drama. As a people story it flows with characters who pull you along. The opening chapter and the last two pages are as understated, and as hair-raising and deeply ironic, as anything I have ever read.

Fossum's writing style, even in translation, comes across as thoughtful and spare. The only shortcoming that bothered me were the repeated and repeated background facts of the dead girl's personality, character, and the circumstances around her mysterious death. Three times okay -- four times, five times, six times = too much. A small criticism.

I appreciated the easy read, and Fossum's fine perception of the human condition.

I've already ordered other titles by Karin Fossum.
1807465
This was a really interesting short story. The plot was well-told, the writing was clear, and the action was interesting. The author has a knack for writing believable characters, and I found myself getting emotionally involved with each one. This is a perfect quick read for an evening alone at home.
3495372
KJ Waters has cleverly created this fast moving, realistic short story. A brilliant little read. Highly recommended.
3726905
I enjoyed this quick book, and loved that I learned about feminism and about place that I'm unfamiliar with.

Highly recommend if you want to better understand feminism. There were a lot of good points, and I enjoyed the personal stories.
26621
This book, though short, packs a serious punch. The characters were interesting and the premise drew me in from the beginning. The heroine is texted that her wedding set for that weekend is off and her groom wants her out of the apartment in 12 hours. That is how we are introduced to the central character. We quickly learn that her "separation" is the best thing that could have happened to her. The relationship she was in was abusive in every way possible. Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. What we see here is how True Love, as laid out in 1 Corinthians 13 can not only heal but lead to a human relationship that mirrors the love that God has for us.

For such a short book there are a ton of spiritual topics tackled from what real love is to women's place in the life of church and family. R.M. Strong has crafted a book that is a great read for anyone with a romantic bone in their body that also teaches hard scriptural truths about relationships and marriage. I only give it 4 stars because I would have preferred the story to have been longer and more in-depth. Still a great quick read.
913792
Teach Me is a compact, but complete story. It was so easy to care about Nick and Alex as I followed their journey back to each other; two people whose lives had taken each of them through some dark times since they originally met years before. This is a short, moving and well crafted story that I sincerely enjoyed and would definitely recommend.
2836937
Very short book, nice quick read - but honestly it didn't need to be longer.  Got the point across, very thought provoking and made me think differently about white lies and keeping information from people to spare their feelings.  I highly recommend it to anyone!
2727563
Brilliant short story by author Frank Linn. "Denied Tenure: Clifton's First Day" is a small character study of a young man as he faces a difficult day and the pressures of friendship, success, and life in general. This book is very well written, and unique in it's 'ivory tower' perspective. I think that the story is very easy to relate to, especially with the the millennial audience, because Clifton's reality is no where close to his dreams, and that space in between leaves a lot of room for disappointment and self doubt. The author did a great job pf building up this protagonist into a believable character with real emotions.

Well written and a joy to read. Recommended.
2523654
I really enjoyed this book. I noticed that not to many people here seemed to like it, but I wasn't expecting literary genius when I picked this up. This is a very short (only 200 pages) little book about how much one woman's life changed with the passing of a look.

Set in 1917 NYC, Rosemary, a very prominent society girl, decides to help a young woman, Eleanore Smith, by getting her off the street corner and out of the rain, to bring her home for a cup of tea and some dry clothes. While there, Rose's fianc&eacute; Philip comes by, and an unmistakable look of want passes between he and Eleanore. Rose quickly gets the girl out of the house and thinks nothing more of the incident.

But Philip hasn't forgotten about the beautiful young woman, and what takes place in the following pages forever changes the lives of everyone one involved. I finished this book in a day, just picking it up in between chores and other things. It was very hard to put back down. The chapters are very small, only a few pages, and you'll become engrossed in this book from the first one. I highly recommend this book as a great afternoon read. You won't be disappointed.
2232373
This is a very quick read, and ends before you know it. Along the way, though, you are really brought into the world Mark has created - it's almost as if you are hearing somebody tell a story of something that actually happened, rather than a work of fiction. It was a great way to pass a short plane flight, and I am looking forward to reading the next full novel in the series.
2955543
I loved this book! It is short but chock full of wisdom. The author writes from the persective of being at the end of his life and shares key life lessons with his now-grown boys, who are expecting their own children. The beautiful story is delicately told of an intentional life well-spent. I have read Yesternight and was captured by the author's writing style. Looking forward to reading this one again and again, as one can never tire of looking at one's life and making sure it matters. Some motivational books run the risk of being too sweet or too preachy, but not this one. It is a thought-provoking piece that will have you soul-searching too.
2836237
This novella is one of the most moving and beautiful short stories I've ever read. Without ever 'hitting one over the head' it has a clear, positive message about forgiveness and redemption.

I would recommend this to anyone interested in South Africa or the emotional aftermath of morally unclear actions.
3040971
A well-written, quick read, told from a thought-provoking perspective.
3777884
I really enjoyed this book.  It was a very short read and it only took 2 hours or less for me to read it through.  The setting is an interesting one: dinner with Jesus. The main character, Nick, is not a believer and has plenty of questions for Jesus. There are a lot of good arguments in this book that defend Christianity and they make a lot of sense.  If you're looking for something surface level to help you brush up on your witnessing skills, this would be a good book to read.  It also reminds us that Jesus was a human just like us (even though He was also 100% God).  The author portrays Jesus like He is portrayed in the Bible: kind and compassionate.  Gregory also adds a very human touch to the character of Jesus that makes Him seem very personal (which He is).  Overall, great short read and I highly recommend it!

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I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Company in exchange for a fair and honest review.