The Bear and The Dragon

Tom Clancy's The Bear and The Dragon, copyrighted in 2000, is one of my bargain books from a library sale several years ago. The shear size of the book, 1028 pages, kept me from reading it until this month. Now I know why I put off reading this bear of a book.

The first approximately 600 pages was all about setting up three story lines involving intelligence agencies, political figures and the military in Washington, DC, Moscow,and Beijing. Clancy's recurring characters continue to deal with the intelligence world, government investigations and negotiations and a climax that involves the threat of nuclear war so it is classic Clancy. I would have liked this one much better if it had been condensed to about 400 pages and the profanity had been left out. The conflict revolves around China going after Russia's Siberian gold and oil resources. In this book, the Americans are aligned with the Russians (the good guys) against the Chinese (the bad guys). However, it took so long to get near the conflict I lost interest several times and it took weeks to finish reading it.

If you enjoy books that move quickly, you'll be disappointed. On the other hand, if you like lengthy books that delve into the characters and the details within many subplots, you'll like this one. As for me, I'm just glad I made it to page 1028 so I can check it off my reading list. 

Making Waves

I love bargain books and this is one of many I've accumulated. Making Waves, by Cassandra King, was originally published in 1995 and I found this 2004 first mass market edition on the sale rack. The picket fence on the front cover first caught my eye and the title prompted me to read the back cover.

In a small Alabama town, a beauty shop and a funeral set the stage for characters with familiar traits of people we know or have read about. The story is about love, friendship, betrayal and loss with a bit of humor and mystery in the mix. But be warned, it also has offensive language sprinkled in and teetered between promoting and degrading Christianity, which I found unsettling.

This book is also written in first person by four of the book's characters using chapters to change viewpoints. I didn't think it flowed as well as staying within one first-person viewpoint or using third person. However, everyone has their preferred style of reading and writing so others may prefer this one.

Sister Betty! God's Calling You, Again!

Sister Betty! God's Calling You, Again! by Pat G'Orge-Walker is a book of comedic short stories. The stories celebrate the gospel heritage and faith of African Americans using humorous sketches of  life inside some of the black church traditions. Although the stories focus on a black church, the book is for anyone in need of laughter therapy. The back cover sums it up best when it states that each of the stories "serves up lessons about love and life, with a big helping of humor."

The main character is Sister Betty from the Ain't Nobody Else Right But Us - All Others Goin' to Hell Church. Other characters include The Reverend Knott Enuff Money (pastor), Bishop Was Nevercalled (overseer), Deacon Laid Handz (head deacon), Mother Pray Onn (head mother), Brother This Mythang (choir director), Sister Carrie Onn (church blabbermouth), Sister Ima Hellraiser (head of confusion), and Ma Cile (church matriarch and butt whipper). With names like these you know you're in for a wild ride with unforgettable characters.

A final word of caution. These stories cause extreme laughter while imparting an uplifted message about God's Word.