Now that I have found author Lisa Samson, I have been devouring her books.  I just finished two more-  The Moment I Saw You and The Living End.

The Moment I Saw You was different from the two Lisa Samson books I had read previously.  It was not written in first person, and it was not as "deep" (for lack of a better word).  It was more of a Christian romance novel, but it still explored some deeper issues.  Natalie St.John is a business woman who has a hard time trusting any man because of the absence of her father in her life.  As she leaves her big business job and begins running a small country inn, she learns the value of trust and love and forgiveness and finds out the truth about the father she's been missing all these years.  She also finds love along the way.

The Living End was difficult for me to read in the beginning.  The deep sadness of Pearly, the main character, is so striking.  But, as I read, it became lighter, almost as if I were making Pearly's journey with her.  Pearly is an older woman who loses her husband very suddenly.  They never had children, and she is very antagonistic toward the Lord- unlike her husband who was a strong Christian. So, when Joe is gone, Pearly feels totally alone and sees no reason to go on.  She determines to complete a "wish list" that Joe write before his death and then commit suicide.  But, as she pursues this goal, she meets many people and learns that her life means more than she ever thought.  I think one reason this book is so compelling is because it brings to light the struggle we all face to find meaning and purpose in life.

I'm off to read one more Lisa Samson book from the library.

To see all the books I've read this year, you can go here.
To see my current To Be Read list (which I've pretty much been ignoring), you can read here.

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This is the second book I've read by Lisa Samson. I reviewed The Passion of Mary Margaret.  I'm still not sure how I never found this author before!   Her books are very compelling with very well-developed and believable characters who strive to "act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." 

Embrace Me is a book of people who need forgiveness and need to forgive.  They all come together one winter in a small seaside town and experience God's grace, mercy, and the blessings of forgiveness in a powerful way.

Lisa Samson has a powerful way of making her characters come alive and providing twists and turns that are reminiscent of real life.  Her books make me want to be more "real" in my Christian walk.


To see other books I've read this year, read here.
To see my current To Be Read list (which I'm obviously not getting to as I read all these other books) read here.

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The Passion of Mary Margaret was absolutely one of the best books I have read in a long time.  I don't remember if I have read anything by Lisa Samson before, but I certainly will now!

The book is written in first person- not usually my favorite.  But, it is written as a memoir.  Mary Margaret is a nun- or religious, as she prefers to be called.  She wants to follow God's leading and thinks she knows what it is.  But, she finds out that our plans are not always God's plans.  When she submits to God's leading, God uses her mightily in the life of a dear long-time friend.

This book was a sweet love story and a touching story of what it is to know God and to trust Him implicitly,


This was not on my TBR list, but you can check out the books on my list here.
You can also see the books I've read this year here.

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While we were at the beach last week, I had lots of time to read.  It was wonderful!  I've listed what I read at the beach and reviews of some of them.

Deep in the Heart of Trouble- Deanna Gist- a sweet romance.  I enjoy Deanna Gist's books!

The Measure of a Lady- Deanna Gist

Waiting for Morning- Karen Kingsbury- As always, Karen Kingsbury deals with the triumphs and tragedies of life, always pointing readers toward God.  This book was familiar.  I think I may have read it before, but I enjoyed it anyway.  The book dealt with forgiveness and trusting god through bad times as well as good.

Growing Creative Kids- Sharpe(NF)- I receieved this book through a homeschool book swap.  I was eager to read it because I don't feel that I am  a very creative person, but I was hoping to get some ideas to nurture creativity in my children.  The book did give some good ideas for creative activities to do with children.  But, I didn't like the focus on increasing self-esteem and on labeling children as "gifted", "talented", "creative", etc.

The Tenth Stone- Thoene- the most recent in the Thoene series of historical fiction dealing with the life of Christ.  I always enjoy these books.  They bring the Bible times alive to me, and help me to really see what it would have been like to live when Christ lived.  After reading these books and The Chosen (which I finished recently) I think I'd like to study Torah!

Ticket to Tomorrow- Cox

Happily Ever After- Susan May Warren- another of my favorite sweet romance writers

The Lord of the Flies- Golding- This was a classic recommended in A Thomas Jefferson Education, and I had never been required to read it for a class.  I knew the general idea of what the book was about, so I wan't really surprised.  I'm glad I've read it, and I will probably have my kids read it and discuss it as they get older.  I really felt like it was an accurate picture of the depravity of natural man without the hope of redemption.  I don't think I would add it to the list of books I "like", but I do think it is a valuable read.

Well, there's my list.  I conquered some of my TBR pile, but, of course, I added some new books also,   What's a trip to the beach without some new books to read?

To see my current TBR list, read here.

To see what other books I've read this year, read here.

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I Am Legend by Richard Matheson


My rating: 1 of 5 stars
This was absolutely one of the weirdest books I've ever read.  I obviously had no idea what it was about when I started.  I really like Will Smith movies and had wanted to see him in this one.  So when I saw the book on the bargain rack at Barnes and Noble, I bought it. 

First of all [spoiler warning here:] it is about vampires!  What!  I thought it was supposed to be sci fi, like aliens had taken over the planet or something.  But, vampire?!!!

Next, I'm still not really sure how it ended.  After I decided to keep reading to find out what happened, I never really found out what happened. [Another spoiler:]  He takes these pills to kill himself before he is tortured by the vampires and then... Nothing.  The book changes to these short horror stories.  It was like watching the old Twilight Zone shows.  I kept reading because I thought surely it must tie back in somehow.  But, nope. 

This was one of those books that I finished and just thought, "What?!"

Definitely NOT a Good Read!

View all my reviews >>

To see the books I've read this year, read here.

To see my current To Be Read list, read here.

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A part of The Thomas Jefferson Education book that I read earlier this summer talked about the reading of classics.  In studying the lists that they recommended, I realized that there were many of the classics I really haven't read myself.  So, it has been my goal to read some of these.

The first one recommended was The Chosen by Chaim Potok.  I can't believe I haven't seen or heard of this book before this.  It was an excellent book!  Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders are two Jewish boys growing up in Brooklyn- one the son of a Hassidic Rabbi and one the son of a Zionist.  They become good friends in an unexpected way and journey through adolescence and into college together.  They face the ending of World War 2, news of the concentration camps and Jewish persecutions, and the beginning of a Zionist state.

This book dealt with some deep themes- relationships between fathers and sons, cultural disputes among the Jewish people, discovering yourself and you own beliefs and reconciling that with what you've heard all your life.  I learned some interesting things about Jewish culture and the history of the Jewish people that make me want to read more from a historical perspective.

I definitely would recommend this one!

To see my To Be Read list, read here.
To see my list of books I've read this year, read here.

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I have read a few of John Rosemond's parenting advice columns from the newspaper.  Some I agree with, some I don't.  So, I was interested when Jason and I were given the book to lead a parenting class at church.  The class is supposed to start in September, so I got busy, and we finished the book this weekend.  I was not impressed.

Although the title is Parenting by the Book (referring to the Bible), Rosemond seems to advise returning to the parenting styles of the 50s, not so much the parenting principles in the Bible.  He really is more for traditional parenting than Biblical parenting, and they are not always one in the same.

He also resommends extremely harsh consequences- even for very young children.  He specifically states that the punishment shoul NOT fit the offense but shoule be much harsher to discourage the beahvior from happening again.  I do not think this is Biblical in any way, and I believe it can exasperate children.

Although he talks about the importance of character, it seems as if his methods are simply to bring about right behaviors, not to deal with heart issues in a child.

We felt so strongly about this, that we are no longer going to agree to lead a class with this book.

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I have finished almost everything on my summer TBR list.  I am still working through the Charlotte Mason volumes online.  If you've checked my book list for 2009, you'll notice that I actually added a few books throughout the summer.  And my TBR list continues to grow.  Here it is categorized by genre: the books I hope to read before the end of the year:

Fiction:
Shepherd's Fall W.L. Dyson
Take One Karen Kingsbury
Take Two Karen Kingsbury
I am Legend Richard Matheson (Yes, it is the Will Smith movie.)
Black Ice Linda Hall
A Capitol Offense Gary E. Parker
Waiting for Morning Karen Kingsbury (I may have read this one, but it doesn't look familiar.)
The Alabaster Cross Richard Exley

Christian Living:
Life, Celebrate It  Luci Swindoll
The Davinci Codebreaker James L. Garlow (I know Im way behind the times on this, but I've never watched or read The Davinci Code and really don't know much about it, so I'm curious.)
Tortured for Christ Richard Wurmbrand
Changes That Heal  Dr. Henry Cloud
Love as a Way of Life  Gary Chapman
The Top 100 Questions  Richard Bewes
Words That Circled the World  Richard Bewes
The Stone that Became a Mountain  Richard Bewes
Parenting By The Book  John Rosemond
Shepherding A Child's Heart- Tripp  (We are leading a parenting group with this book.)

Classics:
The Chosen  Chaim Potok
The Lord of the Flies  William Golding (Yes, I've never read it.  And it is recommended reading from Thomas Jefferson Education, so here goes.)
Nicholas Nickleby  Charles Dickens

Nonfiction:
Look Me In the Eye John Robison
Cheap Talk With the Frugal Friends  Zalewski and Ricks
The Anxiety Cure  Dr. Archibald D. Hart
Growing Creative Kids  Dr. Wesley Sharpe
School Education- Charlotte Mason
Ourselves- Charlotte Mason
Formation of Character- Charlotte Mason
Toward a Philosophy of Education- Charlotte Mason  (I'm reading these volumes in modern English at Amblside Online.)


And some devotional/study guides:
The Blazing Center- Piper
The Passionate Marriage - Focus on the Family
Adventurous Prayer- Women of Faith
Victoriously Frazzled- Cindi Wood

And that's it.  (Not counting the read alouds I'm doing with the kids.)  It will definitely keep me busy through the fall!

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The Road to Paradise Island by Victoria Holt


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am a long time Victoria Holt fan- romantic suspense at it's best!  I haven't read a Victoria Holt novel in quite a while.  But I picked this one up at the library book sale and really enjoyed it.  I suppose her books are rather formulaic and wouldn't exactly be "good literature."  But, they are really good fluff!  And, I love a good romantic suspense!

View all my reviews >>

To see what else I've read this year, you can check out my book list here.

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At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was only the second Nicholas Sparks book I have ever read.  Despite all the hype and the movies made from several of his novels, I haven't really gotten on that wagon.  Several years ago I read Dear John as part of a book club.  I liked it.  So, when I saw At First Sight at the library book sale, I thought I'd try it.

It was a sweet, touching story about the love of a spouse and love of a child.  It was much different than the Christian fiction I normally read, and I always find an interesting contrast between the way the Christian characters in the Christian fiction books and the non Christian characters in secular books handle relationship issues that arise.  But, it did have a sweet love story.  Spoiler warning: a twist at the end was unexpected and sad and kind of ruined the story for me.

This was about what I would except from a Nicholas Sparks book- an okay read, but I don't think I'll be running out to buy more.

View all my reviews >>

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Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wonderful book!  I haven't read anything by Jenkins except the Left Behind series which I wasn't extremely impressed with.  This one is also a little sensational.  But it is a very interesting story that draws you in from the beginning and is a beautiful picture of how God works- in the lives of believers and unbelievers to draw them to Himself.

View all my reviews >>

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Quite a while ago, a book was passed on to me by a fellow blogger.  It was somehow pushed to the bottom of my reading stack, and I just read it.  The book is The American Frugal Housewife.  It was written by Lydia Marie Child and published in 1833.

It is quite an interesting read.  The principles of being frugal- namely using everything, not spending beyond your means, and making sure everyone in the family is being productive- remain true today.  Some of the practical advice is a little outdated, such as how to cook pigs ears and snouts (Hmmm) or how to put your children to work in the fields as young as age six.  It was very interesting to read because it does give a good picture of the time period.

Well, as I said, I was given this book by a fellow blogger, and I would like to pass it on to a a fellow blogger.  I haven't had many comments lately, so I will pass this book on to someone who comments on this post.  I will do a random drawing on Friday.

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This was my second commentary on the book of Revelation, and I must say, it was much easier reading.  I have read and studied Revelation in personal Bible study this year.  I previously read and reviewed Reversed Thunder, another Revelation commentary by Eugene Peterson. 

While Reversed Thunder was rather deep, The Lamb Wins was much more straight forward.  I grew up in a non-denominational church with mostly Baptist doctrine, and I am now in a Reformed Presbyterian church.  Our pastor preached on the book of Revelation several years ago and revisited it in our Christmas messages this past Christmas.  The Reformed interpretation of the book was much different than that of the church I grew up in, so I was anxious to study for myself and reach some understanding.

The Lamb Wins by Richard Bewes is a very straight forward presentation of the parellelist interpretation of the book of Revelation.  it was well-written and easy to understand.  I came away with a much better understanding of the book.

To see other books I've read this year, you can visit my reading list here.

You can check out my summer reading list here.

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Jimmy by Robert Whitlow


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a very sweet book written from the point of view of Jimmy, a young, mentally challenged boy.  Whitlow did a very good job portraying Jimmy's thoughts and feelings.  Reviews of the book compared it to To Kill A Mockingbird, one of my all time favorites. I was not disappointed.
The theme of the book reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1:27:

27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

Jimmy, while foolish and weak in the eyes of the world, is used by God to touch those around him.

As a former special education teacher, I have often thought that sometimes my students who were challenged mentally could be closer to God because of their innocence, the fact that their faith had not been jaded by "real life."  Often they seem more aware of the spiritual world than those of us who are considered "normal."  That was the case with Jimmy in this book.  Because of his innocence and childlike faith, he was able to follow God's leading so much more simply than those around him.

This was a great, inspirational, touching book.  I highly recommend it as a Good Read!

View all my reviews >>

You can see all the books I've read this year here and check out my summer reading list here.

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A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist


 

My review

 
A very sweet romance.  I don't think I've read anything by Deanna Gist before, but I will certainly be reading more!  The characters were very interesting and believable.  The book was Christian historical fiction- one of my favorite genres.  And it was a romance.  What more can I say?
 

View all my reviews.

You can see my summer reading list here.

And check out what books I've read so far in 2009 here.

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12 "Christian" Beliefs That Can Drive You Crazy by Henry Cloud


 

My review

  rating: 4 of 5 stars
Henry Cloud and John Townsend do an excellent job exposing some of the nonBiblical advice that well-meaning Christian pastors and teachers often give. 



They explore statements such as, "It is wrong to do good things for yourself,"  "Shoulds are good," and "Guilt and shame can be good."  They examine these statements in light of God's Word and explain how wrongly applying them can negatively affect emotional health and healing.



I often found myself reading the "crazymaker" and saying, "But, wait, that is Biblical."  But, as I read on, I saw how the wrong application of some of those statements can be really devastating.  I was challenged to examine things I've always heard and accepted in light of God's Word- always the best place to go to find the truth.
 

View all my reviews.



To see other books I've read this year, you can check out my reading list here.                    

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I was able to finish two books this weekend while I was enjoying the homeschool convention with Jason. 

Reversed Thunder by Eugene Peterson is a commentary on the book of Revelation.  I decided to study Revelation this year and asked my pastor for some book recommendations from the Reformed philosophy.  This is one of the books he recommended.  I have been reading this book for a very long time, it seems.  Peterson is often very wordy, and I found myself rereading often to make sure I really understood what he was saying.  This book was also very deep reading for me.  I grew up in a church/denomination where the book of Revelation was taught very literally and prophetically- The End Times.  Peterson has a much different view of the book, beginning with the assumption that we must study Revelation not as an end to itself- the prophecies and predictions, but as a completion of the whole, revealed Word of God.  I agreed with much Peterson had to say, and I must say, I understand his view of Revelation as symbolism and completion of all we have learned about God through the Bible.

White Soul was a Christian fiction- mystery/suspense that was just for fun.  It was an interesting read about an undercover agent attempting to bust a powerful drug ring in Miami.  Like other Dodson books I've read, it delved into "gray" areas and often left me feeling unsure as to who were the bad guys and who were the good guys.  The hero of the story often struggled with right and wrong, choosing whether to do "the right thing or the desired thing."  It did have a very good conclusion, however.

If you'd like to see other books I've read this year, you can see my reading list here.  You can also see how I'm progressing on my summer reading list here.

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Maeve Binchy is one of my very favorite authors.  She has a unique ability to fully develop a multitude of complex characters and make her readers feel a connection to every one.
This book is a compilation of characters from several of her books, along with some new characters.  The story follows the lives and relationships of the people involved in starting a heart clinic in an Irish town.
I love the Irish/English settings Maeve Binchy uses in her novels, and this one was especially interesting because of all the "old" characters and places that she brought back.


For those of you who have read past reviews, here is my disclaimer: this is not a Christian novel.  I often read and review Christian fiction, but that is not the only genre I read.  And my good opinion of a book does not necessarily mean that there are no moral "gray areas" in the book.

To see other books I've read this year, you can visit my reading list here.
And to see my summer reading list, you can visit here.

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I must admit that I have never been a big audio book fan before I had children.  I am a very visual person, and I much prefer reading a book than listening to one.  When I had children, however, I quickly found the benefits of audio books.  I have read aloud to my children from birth (or before), and they are used to listening to books- long, chapter books.  There are times when reading aloud is just not practical: driving in the car, eating a meal, or when I'm just tired.  So, I discovered the joys of audio books.  And, I have found many that I have enjoyed as much as my children- especially on long car trips.

Some of our favorites have been:
The Famous Five books by Enid Blyton
The Secret Seven books (also by Blyton)
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty Macdonald
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Story of the World Volume One by Susan Wise Bauer

Very closely related to audio books are radio dramas.  My children love to listen to radio dramas.  We find lots of good ones at HisKids.Net.
There are also some good radio programs for kids and adults at Oneplace.
On these two sites, we can listen to The Pond, Paws and Tales, Adventures in Odyssey, and Your Story Hour.

To find good audio books, you usually need look no further than your library.  Our library has a very good selection.  Some libraries are also registered through NetLibrary, which allows you to download audio books to your computer and MP3 player just like checking them out through the library.  You can use their library selector to see if your library is registered.  LibriVox has great free audio books for adults and children to listen.

I plan to stock up on CDs from the library and MP3s from NetLibrary for our beach trip this summer!

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I have decided I really need to broaden my reading horizons.  Besides the fact that have now reread the Twilight series for an embarrassing five times, more or less, I have a whole shelf of books to be read!  And, I was planning on reading some somewhat educational books during this year that I just haven't gotten to yet.

So, here I am .  I am going to make a list of books that I am DETERMINED to read over the summer- some fiction, some nonfiction, some educational.  And I here promise (maybe) that I am going to stop reading Twilight and finally read something else!  (Actually I have read a few other books during my "Twilight Phase."  I just haven't done any consistent reading lately.)

As an incentive, if I complete my reading list- and I will be checking in regularly to cross off my completed books- I will reward myself with the Twilight movie book.  Just kidding (maybe).

Here is my summer reading list:

Reversed Thunder- Eugene Peterson
The Lamb Wins- Richard Bewes
The American Frugal Housewife
Great Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe ( I love Poe!)
Heart and Soul- Maeve Binchy
Revolution in World Missions- Yohannon
The six original Charlotte Mason volumes from Ambleside Online
White Soul- Dodson
Unpretty- Rogers
A Thomas Jefferson Education- DeMille

There's my goal.  I am resolved to complete this reading list by the end of August!  Hopefully, I will have some good book reviews to go along with my reading.

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