Book Review: Same Kind of Different as Me

Last year I signed up to occasionally review books for Thomas Nelson Publishers. I recently read Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.

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I loved this book. It easily makes the short list of my favorite books.

Same Kind of Different as Me tells the story of the unlikely friendship between Ron Hall, an international art dealer, and Denver Moore, a homeless man from Louisiana. After much persuasion from Ron's wife, he reluctantly starts volunteering at a homeless shelter where he meets Denver. His life is never the same. Denver opens Ron's eyes to a whole new world - one where money means nothing and relationship means everything. Little does he know that Denver will bring him through the darkest time in his life.

Told in both the refined, grammatically correct words of Hall and the slow, Louisiana drawl of Moore, this book captivated me from the start. It is extremely well written and made me both laugh out loud and cry hard. It inspired me to look beyond my own comfortable world to see what God might want to teach me through someone who is different than me.

This book demonstrates what it can be like when the Body of Christ functions as God intended it - distinctly different members mutually supporting and loving each other to the benefit of all. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Book Review: Hand of Fate

I recently signed up to occasionally review books for Thomas Nelson Publishers. (They give me the books for free.) So from time to time, you'll see my reviews posted here. I just finished Hand of Fate by Lis Wiehl. So without further ado, here it is.

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I went into Hand of Fate with rather low expectations so it was a pleasant surprise to find that I actually enjoyed it. It certainly wasn't the best book I've read, but I was entertained by the story.

Hand of Fate continues the story of the friendship between three women, Nicole, Allison and Cassidy. (Coincidentally, all three women are 33 years old.) Together, they call themselves the "Triple Threat Club." After local talk show host Jim Fate is murdered in his studio, the three women must work together to solve the crime. At the same time, each woman is dealing with her own personal life-altering issue.

The writing in Hand of Fate is elementary. I would classify this book as beach reading - nothing too thought-provoking or intellectual. The plot was engaging although at times, quite predictable. The ending seemed entirely too abrupt. It's like watching those crime shows on TV. 98% of the book is spent building the story, and then unbelievably it is miraculously resolved in the last three pages.

If you are looking for a mildly entertaining suspense story you can read without putting in a lot of thought, this is your book. I wouldn't say I gained much from it, but I also didn't feel it was a total waste of my time.