Book Review–Corner Booth

About the Book:

Book: Corner Booth

Author: Chautona Havig

Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance

Release date: March 17, 2015

A daring move forges the love of a lifetime

A rushed lunch and a bold move introduce Carlie to a stranger—one who hardly acknowledges her existence as he sits across from her, sharing his booth to save her a wait in a long line.
What began as a random encounter becomes a weekly date in which Carlie chatters about her life to a silent lunchmate. Much about him interests her–his slightly Euro fashion sense, his commitment to the work he does as he eats his lunch week after week, and his evident attention to the running monologue she shares between bites of meals that he inevitably pays for.
Dean gets to know the woman across from him–looks forward to their lunches each week, learns valuable lessons about himself—but when the cafe is threatened, and then when she doesn’t show up one day, he suspects their unusual friendship means more to him than he imagined.

Settle into the booth with Carlie and Dean and learn just how eloquent silence really is.

My Thoughts:

When I first read Corner Booth, six or seven years ago, it didn’t do a lot for me. I remember being disappointed by it, and just didn’t get much out of it. I just finished reading it again, though, and it really spoke to me this time. It really shows the worth of each person. There is a lot to learn about conversation, about communication, and about how to listen to other people, in this story—but there is also so much about the value of each person. One of my favorite lines from this book, and which I think sums up the theme perfectly, is “You are a child of God, bought with a price beyond anything you can even imagine.” What a beautiful story!

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling author of Aggie and Past Forward series, Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More from Chautona:

You know, originally, I had Dean as a guy who was too wrapped up in his own little world to care about anyone else—the stereotypical academic. I pictured him buried deep in original Biblical manuscripts, annoyed that anyone would dare to invade his study time.

But you know what? That’s the easy character.

When I went back to edit the book, I had this thought. What if Dean weren’t reclusive at all? What if he were kind of a know-it-all who couldn’t keep his thoughts to himself. Maybe a child prodigy who was used to people thinking him rather brilliant and looking for his insights.

Yeah… I could get into that.

There was just one small problem. I’d written the entire book without him talking much at all on those Wednesdays. Now what?

After much deliberation, even more prayer, and a bit of fudging, I came up with the solution. What if he just challenged himself for “one lunch?” Just one hour or so of not talking to prove to himself (and his peers) that he could do it.

How could he possibly know he’d set things up for months of wordless lunches—on his part? And what would a person learn in a situation like that?

I’ve never admitted this before, but I tested it a bit. At situations where I could, I forced myself to listen to people’s stories, their questions, their opinions. The hard part was not spending my listening time formulating my response (how rude anyway!). I really had to focus on exactly what they said, how their voice altered based on their emotions, and what others around us had to say to encourage (or not—too often not, I’ll admit).

I learned a lot with the experiment, and I’ll be honest. I still catch myself listening with an ear to how I’ll respond instead of really listening. No, I don’t expect to find some café romance for myself. My guy is amazing, and he’s probably the only person on the planet who could put up with me, so… I think I’ll keep him. But I do expect to keep learning how to really hear people. You know… kind of like Jesus did. Imagine that.

To purchase your copy, click here.

(My earlier review)

Carlie was in a hurry to get her lunch at a new-for-her cafe. The cafe was crowded and the wait would mean she didn’t have enough time to eat—but when she spotted a man sitting by himself in a corner booth, and the waitress handing him his check, she asked him if she could sit at the table so she could eat sooner. Without a word he cleared a space for her. The next week she came back to see if he was there. Again she shared his table, and again he said not a word. Eventually, she learned Dean’s name and that he was a professor at the local seminary—but he still kept his mouth shut when it came to Carlie, although he talked enough to other people! Carlie found herself telling him everything that was happening in her life, her dead-end job, her abusive boyfriend, and how stupid she thought she was.

Over the course of the next several months, Carlie and Dean continued to have lunch together every week. They faced danger and sorrow together—but Dean still never talked to her. Until one week that Carlie didn’t show up and Dean found himself very worried. What could have happened? Will Carlie ever realize she is worth something? Will Dean learn, not only to listen, but also to share himself?

I appreciated seeing how Carlie became the woman she was. The way her family related to her as she was growing up had a profound impact on her life, and really made me think about the way I relate to my children. Do they understand that I love them, and that they are worth something, not only in my eyes, but in God’s eyes? How will our family dynamics affect each of my children, and how can we improve in the way we treat each other? As in all of Chautona Havig’s books that I’ve read so far, Corner Booth really made me think. I also appreciated the lack of description in romantic scenes. A fun facet of the book was the variety of foods on the menu at the cafe—a different combination was ordered nearly every week! The waitress was very lovable as well. I loved how real the characters were. They were very life-like.

On the other hand, it seemed to me that romance was the main point of Corner Booth. I really don’t mind some romance in books, but I prefer it to be a secondary part of the story rather than the main point. Some of Chautona’s other books, such as the Aggie series or the De-cluttering Junkie book, while they included some romance, certainly focused more on other themes. I appreciated that. While I did love Corner Booth, it was not one of my favorites.