Jayne Bowers

An avid reader, I've begun reviewing some of the books I've read in the last several months...or in some cases, years. In the latter situations, those books are the ones I keep coming back to for inspiration, guidance, or sheer entertainment. Naturally, I can't add all of the reviews and favorites to this site, so I hope you'll read them on my profile page at Amazon.com.  

A Few Reviews

It took two years and two attempts before I was hooked by this book. When my son-in-law gave it to me and described it as "wonderful," I began reading it right away. I stuck it out for two nights, but I couldn't get into it for some reason.

"Where did the author come up with such a character as Denver?" I wondered. Could anyone have such a poor and miserable life? I knew that poverty, homelessness, and prejudice were serious issues in our society, but I just didn't want to be reminded of it right before falling asleep. Plus, the dialect annoyed me. Did the author really have to make people from the South sound so illiterate and backwards? Then Ron entered the picture, and while I thought the accounts of life in the 1960s were pretty interesting, I began to get irritated with this character too. Was the reader supposed to believe that someone would wear matching plaid shirts and shorts, black knee socks, and brogans to a college football game in the 1960's?

When my book club chose it for our March selection, I picked it up again. "Surely there's something redeeming about this book for so many people to love it," I thought. I downloaded it on my Kindle and listened to it on the way to and from work. It wasn't long before I got involved in the lives of these two men, Denver and Ron, wondering when their lives would intersect. Living parallel lives in different parts of the country, their experiences couldn't have been more different. One was an illiterate black man who, tired of being poor in Louisiana, hopped on a train and ended up homeless in Fort Worth. The other was a white millionaire, a college grad who seemed to live a charmed existence. Married to Miss Debbie, he was a successful art dealer.

Somewhere along the line, I realized that the book was true...not based on truth, but absolutely true and told by the men who lived the stories. I'll leave it up to you to read where and when and how their friendship began and grew. I'll just say that the millionaire who set out to be a do-gooder philanthropist and the former sharecropper were forever transformed by their shared experiences. Interestingly, the one who set out to give ended up being on the receiving end.

As the book progresses, Denver and Ron take turns telling their life stories and their individual perceptions of the events described in the book. Each of them shares scenes so descriptive that the reader can see them and feel their essence. Whether Rocky Top, rural Louisiana, the "hood," or the homeless shelter is being described, they all seem real. Denver's visions of spirits, occasional scripture references, and pithy words of wisdom are as thought provoking and interesting as Ron's big art deals and spiritual transformation.

The person who served as a catalyst for the book was Miss Debbie. Denver and Ron loved her, and so will you. Even as I type this, I'm wondering if I can persuade my husband to go to Fort Worth during Spring Break. There are some people I want to meet there...and an art gallery I want to visit.

After reading My Nest Isn't Empty, I Just Have More Closet Space as a book club selection, I wanted to read more of Scottoline's books. They all looked intriguing, but I decided to download this one to my Kindle and started reading right away. I became so engrossed in the story that I began listening to it while driving (wish more Kindle books had the text to speech option!), and I soon found myself taking the long way home just to see what happened next. Would Bennie be killed by the young cop? Was Alice really her twin? Did Alice actually kill Valencia? What exactly was wrong with her mother, and what was the secret she was hiding? Along with the suspense were stories of love and "rightness" such as the scenes of Mary and her family. Then too, there were scenes of harshness, avarice, and pure meanness.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was amazed at the difference in Scottoline's "voice" when compared to the Empty Nest book. Very talented, this author can write about humor, love, vice, court scenes, and crime with equal ease. Her legal background is obvious, and I can well understand why some have dubbed her as the female John Grisham.

Favorite Non-Fiction

Below are a baker's dozen of books that I refer to on a regular basis, a couple of them daily.

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey--Be proactive and think win/win.
• Who Moved my Cheese?, Spencer Johnson--Get out of cheeseless situations.
• Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach--Want more joy, beauty, and simplicity?
• Holy Bible, King James Version--A compendium of inspiration, guidance, and advice.
• The Book of Mormon-Another testament to the life of Jesus Christ.
• The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz--A.practical guide to personal freedom.
• The Road Less Traveled, Scott Peck-The section about love involving both work and courage is worth the price of the book!
• The Language of Letting Go, Melody Beatty-A book of meditations about change and personal growth.
• The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren--Never focus on temporary crowns.
• A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson--A "spiritual travel guide for our journey back to the truth we were born with."
• Women of the Bible, Ann Spangler--Offers refreshing perspectives on the lives of Naomi, Gomer, Abigail, and many of their "sisters."
• Musings of a Missionary Mom, Jayne Bowers--300+ devotionals linking scripture and daily life.