christianreader | 2018 May and June Books

Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens by Eddie Izzard 3/5

I'm only a little familiar with Eddie Izzard as an actor and comedian. Mostly I know him as the voice of Reepicheep in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the voice of Miles Axelrod in Cars 2. But I heard his memoir was good so I gave it a try. It was good, although a little boring by the end. For the audio book, he kept giving these footnotes that he said weren't in the regular book. That was interesting, how he kept going off on tangents. I enjoyed his sense of humor.

Two Across by Jeff Bartsch 1/5

This book was really disappointing and I wish I hadn't wasted my time on it. The premise sounded interesting, and it seemed like it was going to be a fun, quirky, romantic story. Stanley and Vera start out as teenagers who win the National Spelling Bee in a tie. They become friends. Stanley's mother wants him to go to Harvard, but he just wants to make crossword puzzles for a living. Vera is good at math, and also learns how to make crossword puzzles from Stanley. They fake getting married in order to get money. After they part ways, Vera creates a crossword puzzle that contains clues to Stanley about where to find her. Then it got really repetitive. Vera leaves and Stanley doesn't know where she's gone until he discovers a crossword puzzle with clues for him. That happened a few times. Their relationship was weird, I think because of the lack of emotion. The whole thing fell flat and it was tedious to get through. The ending was okay, but by then I didn't really care.

Homeschool Sex Machine: Babes, Bible Quiz, and the Clinton Years

JV Superstar: A Christian College Odyssey

Naked Side Hugs: Homeschool Assassins, Sharks, and the Search for Jesus' Drummer

by Matthew Pierce 5/5

Matthew Pierce has a blog that I follow and a podcast that I listen to (Fun Sexy Bible Time). I check out his Twitter sometimes, even though I'm not on Twitter. He has an irreverent, humorous take on all things Christian culture. These are three e-books that he's written and I was very impressed. Where some online writers have a hard time switching between various mediums, Matthew is really good at it. He has a distinct voice with each of Twitter, blog, and books, and I enjoy them all.

These books aren't long. All together, they're probably the length of a regular novel. The first book is a recap of his childhood, being homeschooled in a fundamentalist Christian household. The second book is a recap of his college experience. The third book went in a different direction. He's still writing in the first person, and he's still the main character. But the third book is most definitely fiction, not a memoir.

Mr. Right-Swipe by Ricki Schultz 3/5

Rae is an elementary school teacher who's been unlucky in love. Her friends convince her to try finding a guy online. She has some dates, but they don't work out. Then she matches with someone she knows in real life, Nick, aka Hot Sub Guy, from her school. Hilarity ensues. I got kind of a "Sex and the City" vibe from it, even though I've never really watched that show. So that's just from my limited knowledge of it. The book was entertaining enough, but not that great.

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins 3/5

Sophie is a teenage witch. After a love spell at the prom goes wrong, she is sent to a boarding school for Prodigium (witches, faeries, and shapeshifters). She's never been around any other people like herself, let alone had any training on how to use her powers. It's all new to her. She befriends her vampire roommate. The popular girls try to get her to join their witch coven. She crushes on a hunky warlock. It took me a bit to get into it, but I ended up liking it. I want to know what happens in the next book.