Last Call: From Serving Drinks to Serving Jesus
Author: Jerry Herships
Published: October 20, 2015
192 pages in Kindle
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: October 2- 8, 2017
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description from Goodreads:
Jerry Herships, former altar boy who had dreamed of making it big in show biz, tended bar to make ends meet as he worked gigs in comedy and game shows, looking for his big break. After giving up the dream and leaving Los Angeles, he found his way back to the church and discovered God calling him to ministry-but not just any ministry. Now he leads AfterHours Denver, a bar church where people worship with a whiskey in their hand and make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to serve Denver’s homeless. Last Call is a story of having and giving up on dreams, finding yourself, and finding how God can use you in unexpected ways.
Jessica’s Review:
Last Call is Jerry Herships’ autobiography of his life thus far. He had a dream of being in show business and Last Call is his journey that led to him founding AfterHours, which is ‘church in a bar’. He seems to know what people need in church and created an environment that reaches those that might not ever set foot in a church and also helping the homeless.
We go on this journey as he tells us about trying to ‘make it’ in the entertainment industry to becoming a UMC pastor (United Methodist Church). It is definitely a unique journey. He does eventually end up on late night television, just not in the way he intended!
Herships tells it like it is and Last Call is a short and easy to read memoir. It makes you think about church and what you want from it. And are you getting what you need? What could you do to help with church? What is your mission? Besides having church in a bar he also feeds PB&J to the homeless and has communion in a park in Denver. He reaches the people that may never feel like they can go to church, and these people all become family. He says some people say his is a ministry and not a church, but it is a church! Church is wherever two or more come together to worship Jesus and our Father, no matter the location! Some locations are more ‘open’ to others than other locations.
This is a memoir that those who work in a church should read, they may learn something. The only thing that could interfere with his message is that he does use some foul language, which he does mention beforehand as a disclaimer, but that could deter some from reading Last Call. It is not ‘heavy use’ language, but something for readers to look out for.
Last Call is recommended.
I received a copy from NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review it!
Insanity
Author: Susan Vaught
381 Pages
Published: February 18, 2014
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 Stars
Description from Amazon:
Never, Kentucky is not your average scenic small town. It is a crossways, a place where the dead and the living can find no peace. Not that Forest, an 18-year-old foster kid who works the graveyard shift at Lincoln Hospital, knew this when she applied for the job. Lincoln is a huge state mental institution, a good place for Forest to make some money to pay for college. But along with hundreds of very unstable patients, it also has underground tunnels, bell towers that ring unexpectedly, and a closet that holds more than just donated clothing….When the dead husband of one of Forest’s patients makes an appearance late one night, seemingly accompanied by an agent of the Devil, Forest loses all sense of reality and all sense of time. Terrified, she knows she has a part to play, and when she does so, she finds a heritage that she never expected. With her deep knowledge of mental illness and mental institutions, Susan Vaught brings readers a fascinating and completely creepy new book intertwining the stories of three young people who find themselves haunted beyond imagining in the depths of Lincoln Hospital.
Kim’s Review:
I enjoyed this book in the same way enjoyed watching House on Haunted Hill. Everything was good, except it left me feeling unfulfilled. I’m a historian and I want background information on things like asylums and hospitals. Where did Lincoln Psychiatric Hospital come from? Who built it? Why is it alive? Why is it filled with thin spots? Where did Imogene come from? Is it a family responsibility? Why is it a family responsibility? What about Forest’s family? Or Darius? Or Trina? What makes them connected to the hospital? Unfortunately, that lack of background kept me from loving this book. The story was good, it was interesting, the characters were likeable. I liked how it was broken down into different stories for each character but all the stories were connected in easy, obvious ways. Some of the patients were given some good individual historical background and those were my favorite parts of the book. The little subplots for each character were unique and engaging. But I just needed more. If Susan wrote a prequel about the hospital itself, I’d snatch it up in a heartbeat! I recommend this book to horror fans and to teens who enjoy slightly scarier stories.
[Top]Crazy House
Author: James Patterson
369 Pages
Published: May 22, 2017
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 Stars
Description from Amazon:
Seventeen-year-old Becca Greenfield was snatched from her small hometown. She was thrown into a maximum-security prison and put on Death Row with other kids her age. Until her execution, Becca’s told to fit in and shut her mouth… but Becca’s never been very good at either. Her sister Cassie was always the perfect twin. Becca’s only hope is that her twin sister will find her. That perfect little priss Cassie will stop following the rules and start breaking them, before it’s too late. Because her jailers made a mistake that could get them both killed: They took the wrong twin.
Kim’s Review:
I really did want to throw this book across the room when I finished it. I got so into Crazy House and the lives of Becca and Cassie and their plight inside this prison that isn’t supposed to exist. The story was awesome! I hadn’t read anything like it before. Sure, there’s some elements from other books like The Hunger Games and Divergent, but combined in a completely original way. The buildup was anxiety-inducing and I found myself holding my breath as I turned the page. I was shocked at how quickly the pages flew by! And then, just when I couldn’t handle the anxiety anymore, it just ended. No sequel, no explanation, no nothing! WHY??? Seriously, if another author does this to me, I’m gonna stop reading completely. That’s the only thing keeping me from giving this book 5 stars. I loved the story, the characters, the setting . . . and then nothing!!!!!! Mr. Patterson, please, please, PLEASE, write a sequel for this book. Despite the ending that made me want to smack my head against a wall, I would recommend this book to mature teenagers and anyone who likes an action packed read. There are some adult elements, mostly language, that keeps me from recommending this to younger readers.
Note from Jessica:
This one sounds right up my alley! It is added to my TBR! I must read it, despite knowing the ending is frustrating…
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