I finished a couple of books that I just wanted to mention briefly rather than writing a full review.

 Coming Home is Karen Kingsbury’s latest and supposedly last book about the Baxter family. Though the family is the subject of some 22 previous books, I don’t think one would need to read all of them before enjoying this book.

The extended Baxter family is coming home for a surprise party for patriarch John Baxter’s 70th birthday. As each of his children reflect on their lives in order to write him a letter about what he means to them, their stories are summed up for the reader. But a tragedy turns their world upside down and shakes and tests their faith.

I can’t say much more than that without revealing too much. I enjoyed the book very much.

 Walking on Broken Glass by Christa Allan is the story of Leah Thornton, who at 27 confronts the truth of her alcoholism and checks herself into rehab. She comes to realize that there are more problems with her life than just alcohol, and that everything she blames her husband for may not be entirely his fault.

I loved Christa’s witty writing and Leah’s self-discovery, but I thought her admission of her alcoholism came a little too easily. I’ve mentioned before that my father was an alcoholic for most of his adult life, losing his family and his health, I don’t think he ever did admit that he had a problem, at least not that I ever heard. But I suppose it is possible to admit such after one confrontation.

There is also much more about Leah and her husband’s sexual life than I like to read. It is integral to the story and and for the most part it is no more explicit than what you’d find in Song of Solomon or Proverbs 5:19. Still, I’d rather the issues between them were expressed through some other venue.

I also felt the ending was left hanging unresolved. I do appreciate that not every thread of a story needs to be wrapped up in a neat bow at the end, but this ending was so abrupt that at first I thought perhaps not all of it came through on my Kindle download.

I did, however, really enjoy Christa’s writing and will look for more of her books in the future.

In Beyond the Shadows by Robin Lee Hatcher, Deborah Haskins’ husband has just died in a farming accident, leaving her a young widow alone on a 40 acre farm. Unbeknownst to her, her husband Andy had offered his old Korean war buddy, Gideon Clermont, a job on the farm, and Gideon happens to arrive the day of Andy’s funeral. Gideon finds another job but wants to help Deborah out by volunteering his services at the farm on Saturdays.

Both Gideon and Deborah are Christians but not in close fellowship with the Lord. After several months they fall in love and elope. Some time later Deborah experiences a renewal of her faith, but Gideon is aloof spiritually. It takes a long while for Deborah to realize that Gideon has a drinking problem, and then longer to acknowledge that he is a full-blown alcoholic.

As the daughter of an alcoholic myself, I felt the actions and emotions of the characters rang true. Experience with alcoholism with a member of Robin’s family lends an authenticity to the story.

One of the things I most appreciated about this book was the realistic use of Scripture and Scriptural principles. Some Christian authors today seem to think they have to veil, to downplay, or to merely suggest spiritual truth, but it should be a normal part of a Christian’s life to read and be instructed and convicted by God’s Word. The book is not preachy at all, but the characters do grapple realistically with God’s Word and its claims on them.

In one instance, Deborah has come across the verse “‘I hate divorce,’ says the LORD God of Israel” in Malachi 2:16a. At first it seems like a promise that her marriage will be salvaged, but as Gideon’s initial denials that he has a problem turn into multiple relapses despite promises to quit all chisel away at Deborah’s love for him, the verse begins to feel more like a prison sentence. It reminded me of a quote from Jane Eyre: “Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor.”

And I also thought it was quite realistic that once both Deborah and Gideon came to a place of surrender and decision, it still wasn’t easy and they still had their ups and downs.

For all of that, though, the book is not dreary and gloomy. It’s meant as a story of hope.

The book is mostly told through Deborah’s voice, but there are occasional paragraphs of various other characters’ viewpoints.

I listened to it via audiobook and it was quite well done. It appears to be out of print right now, but used copies are available and it is also available for the Kindle and the Nook as well as audiobook. There is an interesting interview with Robin from a few years back that covers this book as well as other information.

Annette at This Simple Home and Dorie at These Grace Filled Days have teamed up to create Together on Tuesdays as “a casual way to meet and connect with other women” over the summer. They’ve created a schedule of topics to discuss in order to get to know one another better, and the topic for this week is favorite books and films.

I would have a hard time narrowing books down to a couple of favorites, as reading has been a lifelong favorite activity. But I’ll try to suggest a few from favorite genres (links are to my reviews).

Missionary biographies: probably my favorite category or at least the one that has most impacted my life: Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur by Frank Houghton, Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Diebler Rose, Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, To the Golden Shore about Adoniram Judson, By Searching and In the Arena by Isobel Kuhn, Goforth of China and Climbing by Rosalind Goforth, Mountain Rain by Eileen Crossman, Second-Mile People by Isobel Kuhn (an excerpt here), In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham, Green Leaf in Drought by Isobel Kuhn.

Non-fiction books: When God Weeps by Joni Eareckson Tada and Steve Estes, How To Say No to a Stubborn Habit by Erwin Lutzer, Changed Into His Image by Jim Berg, Spiritual Depression by D. Martin Lloyd Jones, Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders, On Asking God Why by Elisabeth Elliot (just about anything by Elisabeth Elliot!), Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job by Layton Talbert, The Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer.

Classics: The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Christian fiction: the Mitford series by Jan Karon, A Quiet Strength by Janette Oke, The Secret Life of Becky Miller by Sharon Hinck, Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion series, The Princess and Sophie’s Heart by Lori Wick.

More are listed at 98 Books that Have Enriched my Life and Favorite Books: Non-Fiction and Favorite Fiction Books and Authors.

Favorite films: That would be a much shorter list. Newer films tend to have explicit scenes or bad words, so most of my favorites films are older. Some of my favorites are the Lord of the Rings series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Toy Story, the Toby Stephens/Ruth Wilson version of Jane Eyre. both the Gwynneth Paltrow and Romola Garai version of Emma, The Princess Bride, Camelot. Having boys, we’ve watched a lot of action/adventure type movies, and I really did like the Iron Man films, Captain America, and The Avengers even though I wouldn’t normally gravitate to those.

Sorry for such long lists — it is hard to narrow down favorites of these categories!

Carrie at Reading to Know is once again hosting the Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge and dovetailing it with her book club choice for July.

During last year’s Narnia challenge I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn-Treader, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Graphic Novel. and The Way Into Narnia (all links to my thoughts) plus I thought through the use of Narnian Magic.

I’m reading the books in publication order, so the next in the series are The Silver Chair and The Horse and His Boy. They do read rather quickly so I might be tempted to go ahead and read the last two books and finish the series, but I’d also like to hold something back for next year. So right now I am just planning on those two, but we’ll see. I also have the Focus on the Family’s dramatizations of the series, so I may listen to some of those.

Someday I’d also like to read The Narnian by Alan Jacobs and What I Learned in Narnia by Douglas Wilson — I heard good things about both books during last year’s challenge — but at this moment I am not planning to work them in this month…unless I change my mind. 🙂

(I’m revising. updating my goals: I just looked back over my review of The Way Into Narnia and realized I had skipped the chapters devoted to the books I hadn’t read yet, to wait until I had read them. So I’ll be reading those chapters pertaining to The Silver Chair and The Horse and His Boy.)

If you’ve never visited Narnia, or if you’ve visited many times, I invite you to make a journey back with us this month!