May 21 The Rapture: The World is Ending, So Here's What You Need to Read

I was informed via Twitter that the world was coming to an end this Saturday, May 21st. My first thought was why didn't anyone tell me sooner, Twitter is a terrible way to find out I need to rush and get things done in less than 48 hours. My next thought was maybe the Doomsayers will move to the moon. And perhaps, they will be so kind as to leave me all their stuff, like flat screen televisions, houses, cars and all their cash. Surely, the moon will have it's own currency. My favor in return will be to recommend some books they may want to read or take with them on their earthly exodus. I feel that's the least I can do in return for boat loads of cash. I will also make a few suggestions for Doomsayers who believe they will exit this world entirely on May 21st. Sidenote: I could use all your stuff too. So here are a few of my recommendations for all those waiting on the rapture of May 21, 2011.

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"The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams

Product Details: Amazon Review

It's safe to say that The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of the funniest science fiction novels ever written. Adams spoofs many core science fiction tropes: space travel, aliens, interstellar war--stripping away all sense of wonder and repainting them as commonplace, even silly.

This omnibus edition begins with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which Arthur Dent is introduced to the galaxy at large when he is rescued by an alien friend seconds before Earth's destruction. Then in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Arthur and his new friends travel to the end of time and discover the true reason for Earth's existence. In Life, the Universe, and Everything, the gang goes on a mission to save the entire universe. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish recounts how Arthur finds true love and "God's Final Message to His Creation." Finally, Mostly Harmless is the story of Arthur's continuing search for home, in which he instead encounters his estranged daughter, who is on her own quest. There's also a bonus short story, "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe," more of a vignette than a full story, which wraps up this complete package of the Don't Panic chronicles. As the series progresses, its wackier elements diminish, but the satire of human life and foibles is ever present. --Brooks Peck

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"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

Product Details: Amazon Review

Considered the best mystery novel ever written by many readers, And Then There Were None is the story of 10 strangers, each lured to Indian Island by a mysterious host. Once his guests have arrived, the host accuses each person of murder. Unable to leave the island, the guests begin to share their darkest secrets--until they begin to die.

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"Too Little, Too Late" by Victoria Christopher Murray

Product Details: Amazon Review

Jasmine Larson Bush returns to her devious ways in this tale of two marriages -- each threatened by lies and betrayal. She took marriage vows to be honest and true, but Jasmine's still hiding secrets to keep her husband, Minister Hosea Bush, by her side. When Hosea's ex-fiancée, Natasia, suddenly appears in New York, Jasmine knows it's not a coincidence. A former manstealer herself, Jasmine is very aware of Natasia's motives -- even if Hosea is not. Complicating Jasmine's life is the secret she's kept from her baby's daddy. Luckily for her, Brian Lewis has problems of his own. His wife, Alexis, is convinced he's cheating on her -- but Brian's real betrayal is much worse. Revealing the truth to his wife could lead him back to the biggest mistake of his life...Jasmine.

Two marriages are in desperate jeopardy. Will Jasmine be able to scheme to save her own? Or will she have to choose between protecting her past and compromising her future? Even if Jasmine and Brian find the courage to stop the lies, it may be too little, too late....
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"Heaven is For Real" by Todd Burpo, Lynn Vincent

Product Description: Amazon Review

A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven.

Heaven Is for Real is the story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us. Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

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"Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn

Product Details: Library Journal

Executive Ben Fielding hits upon a perfect plan: he will make his company millions of dollars by using Chinese labor to manufacture its electronic components. To kickstart his plan, he visits China, where he stays with college roommate Li Quan, whom he hasn't seen in over 20 years. From Li, Ben learns that his initial impressions of China from his research and from visits over the years are false, but Ben doesn't believe Li's stories of the persecution of Christians until Li is taken to jail. As Ben rediscovers Jesus through Li's faith, he discovers the truth that God does not promise an easy life on Earth, only eternal happiness after death.

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"The Doomsday Key" by  James Rollins

Product Details: Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Rollins's labyrinthine sixth Sigma Force thriller (after The Last Oracle) offers plenty of intriguing science and history lessons. Sigma Force director Painter Crowe gathers the usual crew—Cmdr. Grayson Pierce; Pierce's best friend, Monk Kokkalis; lumbering Joe Kowalski—to discover why an experimental agriculture site in Africa has been attacked and razed, killing everyone, including a U.S. senator's son. The future of mankind may depend, they learn, on the Doomsday key, a strange substance brought to England long ago by ancient Egyptians that holds the promise of a new and powerful medicine. A few of the book's many highlights include genetic manipulation, traitorous beautiful women, illuminated manuscripts, saints, prophecies, curses and miracles. Rollins deftly juggles all this and more as the Sigma team races from the depths of the Vatican to the outer reaches of Norway toward an explosive confrontation with the shadowy forces of evil known as the Guild.

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"A Change is Gonna Come" by Jacqueline Thomas

Product Details: Barnes & Nobles Review

Think Waiting to Exhale with a spiritual\al twist...
Co-workers Cordelia, Bonnie, Sabrina, and Tangie may range widely in age, but they've become good friends who share advice, joy, and pain.

Cordelia, 40+, is an avid church-goer - some might say too heavenly bound to be any earthly good. Her zest to please the church has cost her a husband, but now her teen daughter - and her reputation - are at risk.

Bonnie was 50 when her white husband died four years ago. Now she replaces her loneliness by mothering everyone in her path and trying to make everything right.

Sabrina, 26, is a shameless gossip who's not afraid to use a man, or even her own mom, to get the money and possessions that make her happy.

Tangie's in her thirties and addicted to love, if you know what we mean. Part of her problem stems from her mother, who has a thing for married men - including Tangie's dad.
But when illness strikes Cordelia, in spite of all the drama, her friends (and her ex) will have to rally around her in her time of need.

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"All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque

Product Details: Amazon Review

Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against each other--if only he can come out of the war alive.
"The world has a great writer in Erich Maria Remarque. He is a craftsman of unquestionably first trank, a man who can bend language to his will. Whether he writes of men or of inanimate nature, his touch is sensitive, firm, and sure."

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"Let the Church Say Amen" by Reshonda Tate Billingsley

Product Details: Amazon Review

 In her riveting second novel, ReShonda Tate Billingsley -- winner of the Gold Pen Award for Best New Author for My Brother's Keeper -- crafts a bold and heartwarming story of family and faith that will inspire readers everywhere.

Reverend Simon Jackson has always felt destined to lead and he's done a good job of it, transforming his small Houston church into one of the most respected and renowned in the region. But while the good Reverend's been busy tending his flock, his family's gone astray. His nineteen-year-old daughter, Rachel, gives new meaning to "baby mama drama." Crazy in love with her son's father, she's wreaking havoc on the man's life, even though he's about to marry another woman. David, Simon's oldest at twenty-seven, has been spiraling downward ever since a knee injury ended a promising football career. These days he's seeking solace in drugs -- even feeding his habit by stealing church offerings. Blessedly, twenty-three-year-old Jonathan, a college graduate and the apple of Simon's eye, is poised to take his father's side as associate pastor -- or so everyone thinks.

 

Loretta has been a devoted wife to Simon, but she's beginning to realize that enabling him to give more to the church than to his children was her biggest mistake. As things begin to fall apart and secrets are revealed, will Loretta be able to help her husband reunite their tattered family before it's too late?
Let the Church Say Amen is a powerful journey through one family's trials -- and a remarkable story of reconciliation and love.
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"This is Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper

Product Details: Publisher Weekly

Tropper returns with a snappy and heartfelt family drama/belated coming-of-age story. Judd Foxman's wife, Jen, has left him for his boss, a Howard Stern–like radio personality, but it is the death of his father and the week of sitting shivah with his enjoyably dysfunctional family that motivates him. Jen's announcement of her pregnancy—doubly tragic because of a previous miscarriage—is followed by the dramas of Judd's siblings: his sister, Wendy, is stuck in an emotionless marriage; brother Paul—always Judd's defender—and his wife struggle with infertility; and the charming youngest, Phillip, attempts a grown-up relationship that only highlights his rakishness. Presided over by their mother, a celebrated parenting expert despite her children's difficulties, the mourning period brings each of the family members to unexpected epiphanies about their own lives and each other. The family's interactions are sharp, raw and often laugh-out-loud funny, and Judd's narration is unflinching, occasionally lewd and very keen. Tropper strikes an excellent balance between the family history and its present-day fallout, proving his ability to create touchingly human characters and a deliciously page-turning story.
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Also don't forget to check out the current book giveaways. We are giving away three bestselling novels. Click HERE for more details

• The Room by Emma Donoghue
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• Midnight and the Meaning of Love by Sista Souljah