Leaving it all behind

The Rising by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Hardcover, 380
Published March 2005 by Tyndale House Publishers
Read May 2011


This story has been going on forever it feels like. I started reading The Left Behind series when it first came out years ago. Every birthday and Christmas I could expect the latest release. At first my mom bought it in paperback, but soon I was too anxious to wait and it seemed the time between hardcover release and paperback release grew longer. So my collection switched to hardcover. Somewhere around the book that only covered 1 week I started to lose interest, however, I cannot stop reading a series once I start. I still remember the first series I purchased - The Babysitters Club. I had a ton of them. I am not a big shopper, but I loved going to the mall because it meant that I could go to the bookstore (B. Dalton) and purchase the latest release.

So I have continued to read The Left Behind series, though not rushing out to by the newest release as soon as it arrived on bookshelves. The last three have been purchased at charity book sales. I did really enjoy Glorious Appearing, but I think it was more because it was scripture and it was moving (kind of like when you watch The Ten Commandments or Passion of Christ).

I was at a charity book sale not too long ago and browsing through the books (though I don't need anymore nor have room to shelve them) and what did my little eye spy? That's right another Left Behind book. I knew that they had written a prequel and I debated whether I really wanted to read it (I thought I had finished the series). Then I looked at the bag of books I was already holding and realized it would only cost me a quarter so into the bag it went. At the time I thought I will read this and finally leave the series behind (I'm going to box up the ones I have to take to my library's restore).

It took me a while to get into the book. But once again I was sucked into the stories of the characters and have to admit I was a bit curious on how the antichrist came to be. Though this book is pure speculation (one of the draws to me for the rest of the series was how it was rooted in scripture and interpretation of Revelation and Daniel). It is kind of interesting that I finished the book last night and today at church the sermon was on the last days.

I am glad that I read The Rising, but I am still going to put the series in a box and drop off at the library. The series gave me a lot to think about. Though I hope for a pre-tribulation rapture, I wonder should I be around for the rise of the antichrist if I would recognize it. If you are curious as to what the end times will be like, but don't want to read an academic/theology heavy text then try this series. Goodreads.com informed me this is book 1 in the Before They Were Left Behind so I am slightly afriad that I will again be sucked into this story at a future date, but this book has fulfilled all my curiosities about the characters.

Do you have a series that you aren't as in to anymore, but can't keep from picking up when you see a book you haven't read?