Monday Lit Circle: Chapter Two of A Land More Kind than Home

Caution: There may be Spoilers below.

Wow.  That’s the best way to describe this second chapter in my opinion.  By the end of it, my jaw was on the floor.  I already knew what traumatic event was going to happen in this book because of hearing about it at the book signing Wiley Cash did at my school (granted I forgot about it until now and figured it out before the end of the chapter), but to actually read about it was incredibly difficult to do.  I could feel the pain from Jess’s (a young boy who narrates this chapter) words as he watched a horrific scene unfold in front of his eyes.

NOT ONLY THAT, but I was pulling my hair out just a few pages earlier when we find out that Jess’s mom is having an affair.  The shocking part isn’t that she’s having an affair, but who she’s having an affair with!

Good job, Dr. Cash.  I’m officially pissed off at your book and already pulling my hair out and I’m only 53 pages into the story.  I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

Who knows, maybe next week’s Monday Lit Circle will include multiple chapters instead of just one because I won’t be able to stop reading.

Monday lit circle: Chapter One of A Land More Kind than Home

Note: This week’s post may contain spoilers.

Throughout my busy week, I managed to read the first chapter of A Land More Kind than Home and I already have to say I’m hooked!  I found myself wishing I brought it with me to work today so I could read during lunch.  It’s an interesting book and definitely different than the books I normally read but I’m already intrigued by the plot.

This first chapter was narrated by an older woman by the name of Adelaide Lyle, which I thought I’d find boring but was actually intrigued because she tells a story about her congregation and how it changed after the beloved pastor died from cancer.

It’s an interesting aspect to see Lyle’s point of view because of how much she is against the new pastor because of some of the things he’s done since he became the pastor of her church.  He made huge changes, a lot of which she doesn’t agree with, which led to a serious confrontation in front of a church that Lyle swore she’d never go back into.

Overall, great first chapter of a book.  I’ve read some books that take a while to get into, but this one I was hooked right away, which was really refreshing.  I honestly can’t wait to read the rest of it!

Monday lit circle (prelude): A Land More Kind Than Home

Last week’s book I covered was written by someone I know personally, and this week’s will be no exception.  As a heads up, I haven’t actually started reading the novel yet, but I plan on starting it either tonight before going to bed or sometime tomorrow.  “A Land More Kind Than Home” is a novel based in North Carolina where the author grew up.  Since it’s publishing in 2012, it has become a New York Times best seller and I couldn’t be any happier for the author who just happened to be my college writing professor in my sophomore year of college.

Wiley Cash was probably one the coolest professors I had at my college and I definitely learned a lot from him while I was his student.  We were rivals when it came to sports, however, which became evident when I sported a Duke t-shirt to class and I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears since he’s a UNC fan.  We even argued about it over Twitter, believe it or not.  And on his first book tour (I’m 90% sure it was his first book tour), he held a book signing for his friends, coworkers and students at the college and autographed my copy of his book while inscribing a little note about the Plumlee brothers. (For you non-sports/Duke fans, there are 3 Plumlee brothers, but at the time he signed this book, only the older two were there.)

Besides his poor choice in college basketball teams, he was a pretty cool/sarcastic teacher who taught in such a fun way that none of the classes he had were boring.  I’m really excited that his book is becoming so popular, and it’s nice to see his name popping up in practically every Books-a-million I’ve gone to.

Since then, he’s published a second novel (“This Dark Road to Mercy”), one that I have yet to purchase, and has moved back to beautiful North Carolina.

With it now being 2015, it has taken me a while to start reading this novel, but I mainly put it off because I didn’t have time while I was still in school.  Now that I’m writing this blog, I really want to start reading more and expand my horizons, and I want to start with Dr. Cash’s book.

Like I said, I haven’t started reading yet but I plan on starting either tonight or tomorrow.  By next week you’ll either have my thoughts on the first chapter or the first few, depending on how much I read between now and then.

For now, check out his twitter so you can see the most adorable pictures of his daughter “Early” and his wife, and to see if he’s coming to a bookstore near you!