Second Chance Pile - Read it or Unhaul it #4

 Round four has begun. I'm nearly through the pile and I'm tempted to finish it off in this blog. We'll see if I can. Here's to cleaning my shelves and finding the diamonds in the rough!

Courtesy of Casper

As usual, here are the rules. 

1. I pick up a book at random from the pile. 

2. I read at least 5 chapters. 

3. I decide if I keep going or DNF (do not finish) it. 

4. I review it. 

The process above is what'll happen to these books. I'm trying to do at least three per blog. If I DNF two in a row, I pick five. If I'm not enjoying myself and I'm not compelled to keep reading I will put it down. Onward! 

Murder Among Us by Ann Granger

Courtesy of amazon.fr

It started out pretty good, but not overly compelling. I'm trying to make sure I don't waste time on books I don't love. If that previous sentence sounds harsh, well, welcome to bookshelf cleaning. I have a whole pile to get through. Let's not waste time reading books I'm not compelled to read. In that way, I tried to get to chapter five, only to not be overly compelled by chapter three (the reveal of the murder). I don't know why - it wasn't badly written - but I didn't care to keep reading past that point. I scanned a little past into the next chapter, to give it a chance, yet I didn't feel any urge to keep reading. I DNFed the book. 

The mystery itself is about a newly renovated home that is trying to be a high-end business. The first few chapters introduce the community and their thoughts on this high-end business. You come to find the grand opening is not being celebrated because it is kicking a donkey shelter off the property and not including local business goods in its supplies. You already know things are going to hit the fan. Not only does someone streak with a sign, but a body is found in the wine cellar when they trap the streaker in the wine cellar. I stopped reading after that. If you're interested in this book, you can keep going. 

Hearts of Fire

This is the story collection of eight women in the underground church. I'm treating this like I did the short story collection. In other words, one section and I decide to keep or DNF it. I'm expecting to love this, since I am a Christian, but I put this book on the pile because I wasn't sure of it. One story and I'm keeping it. I honestly think this one is a must-have. It's stories of faith in impossible circumstances, where women have gone through horrors and trauma, but have survived to tell the tale because of Jesus. 

Courtesy of Pinterest.com

It's a collection of stories from eight women, all who survived horror, trauma, and just plain wrong treatment - for their faith. Christian or not, pick it up and read it. I'd suggest reading it slowly, as they are not cake-walk stories or light reading. They include many horrible deaths and many horrible trauma experiences, all of which would scar anyone for life. Some of them have names replaced with other names, for personal protection. The power of Christ and the protection of God saved these women so they could tell their story of faith to others, even if we don't know their real names. 

The Defense Never Rests by F. Lee Bailey

Courtesy of ebay.com

I picked this up not at all sure what it was. It seems to be a lawyer's cases of murder. I don't know what to expect. I could hate it or love it, or something in between. I'm giving it five chapters and if I start to hate it, you know I'll stop. It's a cool cover and a unique book. It had to be from an antique shop or somewhere I'd find old books. At any rate, someone gave this to their mother January 31st of 1972. If that's you, I have it, or rather, had it. 

It is the biography of a lawyer who moonlights as an investigator. He's basically talking about his experiences with his cases, which is engaging in the beginning if you are interested in such things. I counted the intro as chapter one. He's also a pilot, so that's also interesting. Around the middle of chapter two I started to realize the writing style gets less engaging for me. It's not that the information isn't interesting, but I don't know that I want to read past it. If you like courtroom lawyer mechanics explained this is great. If you don't care to hear about polygraphs, defense tactics, and how to defend someone in a trial you're going to get bored. While I wasn't bored out of my mind, I also don't see myself continuing this. I'm DNFing it. 

Conclusion

I am keeping one of the three books. I didn't DNF two in a row, but I did DNF two. This pile has one more blog post in it. These blogs spur me onward, onward to finishing the whole pile for good. I'd love to do this before Christmas mayhem begins. I already have a lot to do for Christmas and it isn't even December. With that said you'll see one more post, this time with any remaining books in the pile.

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I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page. 

Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him? 

Find out in my first book, Wrenville, a stand-alone suspense novel.