The Age of Will

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["Ready to Wed"][bookdetail] opens with a rather odd story about a 20-something woman who drives her pink cadillac from an Atlanta, Georgia, suburb to a small town in Pennsylvania. Belle registers at a classy local Bed & Breakfast…Grace Chapel Inn. She proceeds to make plans for her wedding that is to take place in three weeks at Grace Chapel. The only problem is that she doesn’t know yet who the lucky groom is going to be. She puts all the local eligible bachelors on the run when she announces she is there to find her husband-to-be. She had a dream–from God, she said–that she would wed in this specific town on the 1st day of June.  You will have to read the book to see how that turns out.
Belle is not the main character.  Jane is the main character.  She is one of three sisters who own the B&B where Belle is staying. Jane is the “cook.” Until a year ago she was a celebrated chef at a prestigious restaurant in San Francisco. Jane’s husband was also a chef. They divorced primarily because he was jealous of her success. He took credit for her original recipes, treated her like his sous chef, etc. Jane is happy with her new life. Well…she was happy until she got a rather cryptic note from her ex-husband saying he would be there in one week. There was something he needed to talk with her about face-to-face. Jane could think of nothing else. Was he going to try to win her back? Was he dying? What?
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/2646
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Melody%20Carlson

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Ah, a reason to read science fiction again. A story that pulls the reader in from the beginning:
>I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife’s grave. Then I joined the Army.
And a hero in the tradition of [Lazarus Long][heinlein].
I find it almost impossible to believe this is the [author's][author] first novel; it’s complex and simple at the same time. A wonderfully entertaining read that is also thought-provoking. It is by far the best science fiction I’ve read that’s new!
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/1640
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/John%20Scalzi
[heinlein]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/18

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The two main characters, Jaycee and Bud, share similar emotional challenges, but were raised in very different environments. Both are extreme narcissists, egocentric, self-indulgent magpies with no likable qualities. Both lost their mothers when they were very young, and both complain of fathers who do not love them.
Jaycee was born and raised in a small Alabama town. She grew up poor and quickly learned to fend for herself; her father was to busy with booze to take care of or even notice her.
Bud grew up in a very affluent environment in Florida. But Bud felt neglected; his brothers all took after their father, playing football, and running the family business. However, Bud was more interested in Baseball and college. These two unpleasant misfits meet in college and quickly realize they were made for each other. The story follows Jaycee and Bud as they make a life together and each learns to love and act selflessly.
The book is well written; however, there are several places (primarily at the beginning) where the author’s voice breaks into the narrative, to fill gaps. For example, in the first chapter, Jaycee’s character and brief history are delivered point by point in a couple of paragraphs. This reader would prefer to learn about the characters, from the characters, let the history unfold as needed.
Also, the book suffers from “bad blurbs”. When I first read the back cover, I was very turned off of the book; however, the story is edgy, fast-paced and colorful.
The ending is a bit of a let down, a little too fairly-tale perfect. The story overall has a hard-hitting edge and the smell of reality, but late in the story, Jaycee has several “near death experiences” that push the story into the realm of fantasy. So if you are turned off by Christian mythos or spirituality then skip those parts, they don’t add to the story or characterizations anyway.
Overall, Different Roads is an entertaining book. I will recommend it and plan to look for more by [Joyce Sterling Scarbrough][author].
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/1751
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/1751

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Writer [Matthew Wayne Selznick][author] is doing something interesting. His book, ["Brave Men Run - A Novel of the Sovereign Era"][bookdetail] is going up on Amazon.com Sunday, July 13 2008, and he is celebrating the event with a web-a-thon on ustream discussing the release as well as sharing some new content. [Check it out.][bmr]
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/2645
[author]: http://www.mattselznick.com/
[bmr]: http://www.mattselznick.com/writing/fiction/novels/brave-men-run/

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A small-town boy who dresses in his mothers bikini when he’s five so he can be queen of the pageant has some issues to address in his life, especially when that small town is in rural southwestern Missouri.
[Rouse][author] tells wonderful tales of a family that may not have understood him, but loved him nonetheless. The family tales are the best part of this memoir; I kept seeing my family in his tales, even though our families have different oddities. The stories of Rouses schooling will strike a chord with anyone who was picked on in school for any reason (at least Rouse had the female half of the school that liked him).
I think the heart of this memoir was supposed to be his rediscovery of who he really is, but it never made it. I’m glad he’s become better adjusted, but the stories of his childhood are the heart of the book to me. An exceptional read. And no, that has nothing to do with the fact that he works for Washington University!
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/1458
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Wade%20%20Rouse