Does Reading Merely Entertain or Does It Consume You?

Someone once asked me a question about my reading habits, knowing that I was born with a book in my face..although mostly these days, it is my Kindle. The question was, “What does reading do for you?’ My first intellectual answer was, “Huh?’ No really. They wanted to know what it was that kept me away from other activities, what kept me so engrossed in a story that I would read for hours. This friend was not much of a reader but an avid television watcher and a giant fan of soap operas. So, I explained it to her like this. First, I asked her, “Why do you watch soaps?” She said that she enjoyed the stories. But when pressed, she said she had to know, did the major love interest really die? Or, she couldn’t understand how he could leave her that way! In other words, she was IN the soap opera..those people really existed for her outside of the television screen. She was not merely entertained or swept away, but it was so real..she was consumed by it.

That brings me to my next review. The title was the first thing that caught my eye. “Nourished By That Which Consumes”. This is a very intriguing title, isn’t it?  Think of it: to be nourished is to be sustained or strengthened; and consumed is to be engrossed as the above example, but also to be used up, spent or destroyed. So, already just by the title we know that whatever is sustaining can also be destroying.  

This is not a full length book but longer than a short story, what is known as a novella. The length is just right. This is a debut novel for Joseph Ephraim, but I am sure we will be seeing much more of his work. It starts out with a young Zang Yu-Lin, an Asian female from Singapore. She vows revenge for the deaths of her immediate family when she was a child and the loss of her father, with whom she had a love/hate relationship. She must infiltrate the dark side of the underworld as she seeks revenge on the kingpin responsible. You will laugh, you may even will be will understand and you will root for Yu-Lin as she is betrayed by a friend and discovers a true love. It is an action packed adventure to see if she will be ultimately nourished or will the revenge be all consuming after all..

I highly recommend this book. It is a great read, it will keep you entertained for will sweep you away without a doubt…But most of all, it will consume you, as you wait for the next story from Mr. Ephraim.

Have you read a good story or a good book? Tell me about it in the comments. I would really like to hear from you and I like to know what you are reading and why you like it, or why you don’t! What is YOUR recommendation? 

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