Today is the first day of summer, though it has been feeling like summer for a while now. But one thing the first day of summer marks is the end of the Spring Reading Thing sponsored by Katrina at Callapidder Days. 🙂

The books I completed this spring are:

Non-Fiction:

Beyond Prison Walls by Marian Bomm, about her interment in a Japanese prison camp in WWII.
Detour, sequel to Dr. Frau: A Woman Doctor Among the Amish by Grace H. Kaiser about an accident that left her disabled, reviewed here.
Hope and Help For Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes, reviewed here.
.Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter compiled by Nancy Guthrie from excerpts from the writings and sermons of godly Christians through the ages, reviewed here.
My Heart Restored, a devotional by June Kimmel.
Port of Two Brothers by Paul Schlener about two missionary brothers and their work along the Amazon River, reviewed here.

Christian Fiction:

The Hidden Flame by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn is the second in the Acts of Faith, reviewed here.
Take Three, the third in the Above the Line series by Karen Kingsbury about Christian filmmakers, their families, and the problems they run into.
The Telling, the last  in the Seasons of Grace series by Beverly Lewis about an Amish wife and mother who suddenly and inexplicably leaves her family, reviewed here.
This Fine Life by Eva Marie Everson, reviewed here.
A Touch of Grace by Lauraine Snelling, the third in her Daughters of Blessing series about a Norwegian farming family in North Dakota in the 1900s, reviewed here.
Traveler’s Rest by Sue Carter Stout, reviewed here.
Where My Heart Belongs by Tracie Peterson about a prodigal daughter coming home, reviewed here.

Classics or Other Fiction:

Carry On, Jeeves by P. D. Wodehouse, reviewed here.

Katrina asks:

Did you finish reading all the books on your spring reading list? If not, why not?

The two books on my list that I didn’t finish are Emma by Jane Austen and Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as Usual, a Bible study by Nancy Guthrie. I’m reading them both now. I just got to reading other books and forgot Emma was one on my list to complete before the challenge was over. I probably should have planned on just one Bible study book for the season.

Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?

I added a few to my original goals: Hope and Help For Your Nerves, This Fine Life, and Traveler’s Rest.

What was your favorite book that you read this spring? Least favorite? Why?

The favorite Christian Fiction was This Fine Life. I just loved the story-telling and the love story that took place after marriage. Favorite Non -fiction: Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross and Hoping for Something Better. They are both very meaty and very well-written. Traveler’s Rest was my least favorite because I felt it needed some editorial help.

Did you learn something new because of Spring Reading Thing 2010 — something about reading, or yourself, or a topic you read about?

I learned something from each book, but the one about help for nerves was particularly helpful. Sometimes just a seemingly minor change in thinking can make a great difference.

What was your favorite thing about the challenge?

Being more purposeful than random in my reading choices and adding to my TBR list by visiting some of the other participants.