Category Archives: Books

Meme of Reading Questions

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Booking Through Thursday has a very long reading meme posted today (55 questions!!!) That’s way too much for me, but I picked out a few to answer, as reading is one of my favorite activities.Feel free to join me — either these questions or the whole slew of them, or just whichever ones you’re most interested in.

Favorite childhood book?

A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson plus a children’s picture Bible.

What are you reading right now?

The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh (won from Mocha With Linda — thanks, Linda!) and Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God by Noel Piper

Bad book habit?

I honestly can’t think of one. I’ve cured myself of dog-earing pages and laying books open flat. Maybe hanging on to ones I am probably never going to read again. It’s hard to let them go. I’ve gotten better about that, but I still need to purge the shelves — and unpacking and handling each one individually will give me opportunity to do that.

Do you have an e-reader?

No. I don’t anticipate getting one. I can see the convenience of just carrying it rather than several books, and if I traveled a lot I might want to do that. But I like the real book experience.

Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

I usually have two going at a time — one in each bathroom. 🙂 Sometimes I’ll have a Bible study or self-help book at the same time.

Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

My TBR list has grown immensely after seeing what others read and recommend! And I read a bit less as relaxation times are often spent at the computer.

How often do you read out of your comfort zone?

Not often. I am not unwilling to, I just have so many stacked up that I am looking forward to that there’s not much time to explore others.

What is your reading comfort zone?

Christian fiction, biographies.

Can you read on the bus?

I haven’t been on a bus in years, but if the question has to do with reading on a moving vehicle, yes, I have no problem with that as long as I am positioned where I don’t see the road going by in my peripheral vision. That bothers my eyes. But otherwise reading makes road trips bearable (if I am not the one driving. 🙂 )

Favorite place to read?

Stretched out on the living room couch with pillows behind my back and a throw blanket over me.

What is your policy on book lending?

I don’t have a policy. I don’t mind lending to anyone who asks. I’ve only had a few unreturned.

Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

Bible studies, self-help type books, yes. Otherwise I might only underline a significant passage or make a mark by a paragraph and then put a mini sticky-note on the page to help me find it again.

What makes you love a book?

Identification with the characters or plot. Excellent writing that makes me think or speaks to my soul. Well developed characters. Truth.

What will inspire you to recommend a book?

See answers to above question.

Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)

History.

Favorite biography?

Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur by Frank Houghton.

Favorite cookbook?

Good old basic Betty Crocker cookbook.

Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Power and Passion of Easter.

Favorite reading snack?

I don’t usually snack while reading.

Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.

Usually a lot of hype turns me off from a book, i.e., Harry Potter, The Shack, Twilight, The Purpose Driven Life. Haven’t read any of those.

How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

I try not to be unkind, but I am going to be honest. I don’t criticize just to be critical, and I do try to note if something is just a difference of opinion or preference. But if something in a book hits one reader the wrong way, it will likely have that same effect on others, and I would hope a writer reading a negative review would take it in that light and use it as a means to improve their communication. Of course, no one can please everyone all the time.

Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?

The unabridged Les Miserables, both because of the sheer length of it plus some tedious passages. But it was worth it!

Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?

I wouldn’t say nervous, but I haven’t read War and Peace for the same reasons. Maybe some day! I did know Les Mis was a beautiful story, and that led me to want to explore the full book. I don’t really know anything about W&P, so I am not really driven to it at this point.

Favorite Poet?

Hard to narrow down, but I think Robert Frost. He’s kind of the Everyman of poets, easily understandable and accessible, yet no less deep.

Favorite fictional character?

Oh, this is hard. David Copperfield. Sydney Carton. Anne of Green Gables. Elinor Dashwood. Pa and Ma Ingalls and Laura. Jean Val Jean.

Favorite fictional villain?

One of the best crafted villains that comes to my mind is Javert of Les Miserables because he doesn’t seem like a villain. He thinks he’s on the side of right. He stands for the good causes of righteousness and justice but forgets forgiveness and mercy and compassion. He reminds me somewhat of the apostle Paul who persecutes Christians because he thinks they are sinning against the God he thinks he is serving, yet unlike Paul, who is brought prostrate and converted when he is brought face to face with the truth, Javert can’t face it, can’t comprehend it, and sadly destroys himself.

The longest I’ve gone without reading.

I don’t think I have gone a whole day without reading something, even a few sentences, in my adult life.

What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

Other people.

Favorite film adaptation of a novel?

Lord of the Rings.

Most disappointing film adaptation?

The third in Kevin Sullivan’s Anne of Green Gables series, Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story. Why, oh, why did he have to stray SO far from the book?!

The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?

Over $900 — but it wasn’t for me, it was for our church missions’ closet — and that was after a 25% discount. We don’t usually have that much money in the missions’ closet account, but we had a surplus right before I left, and I wanted to leave it well-stocked. Those weren’t all books — there were some CDs in there as well. Personally — I know I’ve spent $50 before, maybe $75 or so.

What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

Smut, bad language, dull writing.

Do you like to keep your books organized?

Yes, by basic types.

Even with leaving out many questions this ended up rather long! Let me know if you do this — I’d love to come check out your answers!

Book Review: The Cambridge Seven

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In 1883 Harold Schofield, a missionary doctor in China, surveyed the needs of his field and prayed in faith “that God would waken the church to China’s claims, that He would raise up men to preach His word. Above all that He would touch the universities and call men of talent and ability and consecrate them to His work in China. It seemed a prayer absurd enough except to faith” (p. 42). He did know know that God had begun answering his prayer “even while he was yet speaking,” and he didn’t live to see the answer: like those saints in Hebrews 11, he died not having yet received the promises, but God used him in faith and prayer.

This book details the answer to that prayer. The subtitle of The Cambridge Seven by John Pollock is “The True Story of Ordinary Men Used in No Ordinary Way,” an apt title.

A fairly short book at only 111 pages, it details the Lord’s leading in the lives of seven young men from their conversions to their departure for China with a brief synopsis at the end about what happened to each of them. C.T. Studd, M. Beauchamp, S.P. Smith, A.T. Polhill-Turner, D.E. Hoste, C.H. Polhill-Turner, W.W. Cassels were all Cambridge students who felt called to offer their lives as missionaries to China. They were from different backgrounds: some were wealthy, some were in the military, some were collegiate athletes — one of them a household name in his day; some were more “ordinary.” They were of varying abilities and gifts. Yet as God called them one by one, and it became known, and they shared their testimonies of salvation and surrender over England and Scotland, God used them in a remarkable way before they ever even got to China.

For many of them, the first stirrings toward faith in Christ came when D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey held meetings in England. Some of “their friends thought it a great joke that two uneducated Americans should be coming to preach to the University” (p. 29). But the Holy Spirit worked through His servant and His Word to convict their hearts and bring them to Himself. Others came from Christian families yet were only nominal believers until the Lord began to draw them to a closer fellowship and surrender to Himself.

Some of their families supported them: others strongly resisted the idea of their sons going to a foreign mission field, at least at first.

I appreciated the caution and care with which they approached their call. As D. E. Hoste “began to feel the urge to devote himself to the gospel. Nothing else seemed worthy,” his father “refused. He pointed out how recent was Dick’s faith, and reminded him that, though nothing could break its reality, the intensity of his emotions might be transient. To rush, on impulse, to such a binding decision would be foolishly wrong and might afterwards be regretted” (p. 43). C. T. Studd was listening to an address about the needs of China and “thought for a moment of rising in his place and offering for China on the spot. But he felt ‘people would say I was led by impulse.’ When the meeting ended he slipped away by himself and prayed for guidance” (pp. 69-70). I wince sometimes in our modern-day meetings when a speaker seems to feel he has to compel people down the aisle or else they’ll miss the will of God for their lives forever afterward. That may be true in some cases — there are moments of crisis when we need to make a decision for the Lord without hesitation. But as a general rule I’d rather people take time to pray and make sure their call is really of God than to respond to man-made pressure mistaken for the Holy Spirit’s.

China was not an easy field to go to then, if indeed it ever was. Some of these men were laying aside personal wealth and the possibility of brilliant careers and social prominence. But as they shared their call, they did not do so with woebegone countenances. They did not make it seem like a sacrifice: they made it seem like a joyous privilege. Perhaps that contagious joy was one of the things that drew a number of people to give their all to the Lord in their wake. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission through which they would be working, even allowed them to wait past their appointed time of departure because they were being called to more meetings in the British Isles to speak: he recognized that God was doing something unusual through them.

C. T. Studd is perhaps the most well-known of the seven in our day. One of his most well-known quotes is at the end of this section:

I had known about Jesus Christ’s dying for me, but had never understood that if he died for me, then I didn’t belong to myself. Redemption means ‘buying back,’ so that if I belonged to Him, either I had to be a thief and keep what wasn’t mine or else I had to give up everything to God. When I came to see that Jesus Christ had died for me, it didn’t seem hard to give up all for HIM. It just seemed common, ordinary honesty.

(This review will be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

The Week In Words

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Welcome to The Week In Words, where we share quotes from the last week’s reading. If something you read this past week  inspired you, caused you to laugh, cry, think, dream, or just resonated with you in some way, please share it with us, attributing it to its source, which can be a book, newspaper, blog, Facebook — anything that you read. More information is here.

Just a further note — if you’ve posted a quote on your blog this past week, feel free to link it here as well. You don’t have to save it for Mondays. :) And please do read and comment even if you’re not posting quotes.

Here are a few that stood out to me this week:

On several friends’ Facebook statuses:

The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have.

That speaks much to being content with such things as we have, as we’re instructed to be (Hebrews 13:5-6). It seems no matter how much we have, there is always a craving for more.

I saw this at Semicolon’s:

“It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations–something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own.”~Katharine Paterson, U.S. National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

I so agree with this! I am astounded when I hear parents or teachers say, “I don’t care what my kids are reading as long as they’re reading.” We don’t say the same about physical food: “I don’t care what my kids are eating, as long as they’re eating.” Why would we care less about what kids are putting into their brains? I am not talking about the extremes of censorship but rather teaching discernment and providing good books to read (for them and ourselves). There are so many good choices, we don’t need to read shoddy stuff just to have something to read.

Then in an article titled 10 Writing Tips at ChristianWritingToday.com (I got there via Semicolon’s link to 8 Writing Tips From C. S. Lewis on the same site) these first two were the ones that most stood out to me:

1.  Write only when you have something to say. (Playwright David Hare).

2.  The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator. (Jonathan Franzen)

That second one especially spoke to me: if writing is to be a means of communication rather than just self-expression, writers need to engage the reader, and then not be offended if a reader doesn’t “get” or like something, but rather look for ways to better communicate with the reader (though of course we all understand that we can’t please everybody. But pleasing and effectively communicating aren’t always the same thing.)

Then from an Elisabeth Elliot e-mail devotinal from her book A Lamp For My Feet concerning Romans 12:1-2:

The primary condition for learning what God wants of us is putting ourselves wholly at his disposal. It is just here that we are often blocked. We hold certain reservations about how far we are willing to go, what we will or will not do, how much God can have of us or of what we treasure. Then we pray for guidance. It will not work. We must begin by laying it all down–ourselves, our treasures, our destiny. Then we are in a position to think with renewed minds and act with a transformed nature. The withholding of any part of ourselves is the same as saying, “Thy will be done up to a point, mine from there on.”

That is the sticking point, isn’t it? I want God’s perfect will in my life…unless it means that.

From the same source comes this quote:

If God is almighty, there can be no evil so great as to be beyond his power to transform. That transforming power brings light out of darkness, joy out of sorrow, gain out of loss, life out of death.

Sometimes we boggle at the evil in the world and especially in ourselves, feeling that this sin, this tragedy, this offense cannot possibly fit into a pattern for good. Let us remember Joseph’s imprisonment, David’s sin, Paul’s violent persecution of Christians, Peter’s denial of his Master. None of it was beyond the power of grace to redeem and turn into something productive. The God who establishes the shoreline for the sea also decides the limits of the great mystery which is evil. He is “the Blessed Controller of all things.” God will finally be God, Satan’s best efforts notwithstanding.

We tend to want bad things prevented rather than transformed. That day will come, but it is not now. A friend once said she realized that if God were to wipe out all the evil in the world, He would have to wipe out all of us, for we all sin. I am thankful He transforms us rather than just doing away with us, and and we can trust Him to limit what He allows of evil and trust Him to somehow work it together for good (Romans 8:28) until the day when it is taken out of the way completely.

If you have some family-friendly quotes you’d like to share, please leave the link to your “Week In Words” post (not just to your general blog) with Mr. Linky below. Of course, it is fine to just leave a quote in the comments section if you’d rather. I hope you’ll visit some of the other participants, too: this is a small enough meme so far that it is not hard to visit around with others who love to glean quotes from their reading as well.

The Week In Words Participants

1. bekahcubed 2. Susan 3. Jerrie

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

(Mr. Linky is closed for this post: Please see the current Week In Words post to put your new quotes in.)

Book Review: A Matter of Character

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Daphne McKinley is a single heiress in 1918 with a secret: she writes melodramatic “dime novels” about adventures in the Old West based on true-life stories as told to her by a family friend. She doesn’t need the income, but she writes for the joy of storytelling.  She writes under the pseudonym “D. B. Morgan” for two reasons: she doesn’t want to embarrass her family, who might feel such novels were beneath her, and she feels her books might not find a publisher if it were known she was a woman.

Unbeknown to her, Joshua Crawford, the real life grandson of the main character in Daphne’s stories, is on his way to Bethlehem Springs to search out the reclusive D. B. Morgan and make him apologize and correct the defamation of character of his grandfather.

Daphne and Joshua are both in for the surprise of their lives!

I found A Matter of Character by Robin Lee Hatcher a delightful read. It was fun to get a peek at the kinds of decisions an author wrestles with in regard to plot and characters, and I appreciated Daphne’s personal struggle with the responsibility and weight her words carry even in fiction.

A Matter of Character is the third and last and my favorite of Robin’s “Sisters of Bethlehem” series, though it could easily be read alone.

(This review will be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Book Review: Chosen Ones

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I won Chosen Ones, the first book in the Aedyn Chronicles by Alister McGrath, from Quilly‘s contest (thank you again, Quilly!)

The book is youth fiction, targeted for ages 9-12, but I think readers beyond that age group would enjoy it.

The story involves two young teen-age siblings who go to visit their grandparents and discover a portal to a mysterious world in their grandparents’ back yard, and in this new world — or, actually a very old world — things seem to be very wrong: what was once a beautiful place is in ruins and people are enslaved by a trio of evils lords, and these young people who stumble into it are surprised to discover that they are apparently the chosen ones who are supposed to do something about it.

Sound familiar? Yes, it is similar in many ways to the Narnia series, though I don’t believe McGrath intended to copy C. S. Lewis: there are just similar elements in this genre. In fact, at first I was a little bored because it didn’t seem original, but after the young people, Peter and Julia, got involved in their particular quest, I was drawn into the story.

Readers familiar with Biblical history will recognize the allegorical content: Marcus representing Moses, the Day of Remembrance with its special feast symbolizing the Passover, etc.

Though the book doesn’t have the scope and breadth and depth of Narnia, but it is shorter and very readable and a good story in itself. Besides the particular quest the young people face, I liked the character development and their growth through the particular hurdles they had to face.

There are places that could have used a little more “umph” (I would have expected more of a crisis of confidence with a “I’m just a kid, what do they expect from me?!” moment), and a couple of things that didn’t makes sense to me (one was a “talent” that Julia discovers which she can’t seem to summon at will but which seems to come when needed, I can see some spiritual parallels there).

But overall I am happy to recommend the book. If you read it, please come back to let me know what you think.

You can get a peek inside at several pages of the book here. I loved the cover art by illustrator Voytek Nowakowski and the “old world” feel to the pages and illustrations.

(This review will be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

What’s On Your Nighstand: July

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What's On Your NightstandThe folks at 5 Minutes For Books host What’s On Your Nightstand? the fourth Tuesday of each month in which we can share about the books we have been reading and/or plan to read. You can learn more about it by clicking the link or the button.

The books I completed in July are:

  • Take Four by Karen Kingsbury, the fourth and last in her Above the Line series primarily about Christian filmmakers.
  • Emma by Jane Austen. Not reviewed yet — hopefully some time soon! I was originally wanting to watch both film versions I have again to compare them to the book, but with getting ready to move, that hasn’t happened.
  • Chosen Ones by Alister E. McGrath, first in a Christian fantasy series called The Aedyn Chronicles, which I won from Quilly. I’ve just barely finished it and haven’t reviewed it yet.
  • The Cambridge Seven by John Pollock  about seven Cambridge students who were all called to China around the same time and who were used by God in an unusual way in England and Scotland in the months before they left for China. I just finished this yeserday and hope to discuss it soon.

I just started Prints Charming by Rebeca Seitz, and I am not sure what I will pick up next, but on my TBR shelf waiting for me are Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers, Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs, Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God by Noel Piper, and 50 People Every Christian Should Know: Learning From Spiritual Giants of the Faith by Warren Wiersbe.

You can visit other nightstands and share what’s on yours at 5 Minutes For Books.

Book Review: Take Four

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Take Four by Karen Kingsbury is the fourth and last in her Above the Line series primarily about Christian filmmakers. I think I enjoyed this one the most of the four, though there was one sentence that was more explicit than was needed.

In this book, Christian filmmakers Keith Ellison and Dayne Matthews have to decide what to do about the mega-star who agreed to act in their film but whose wild lifestyle has been making news. Keith’s daughter Andi has come back to her faith but has to deal with her pregnancy. Having had one sister who placed a baby for adoption and another who kept the baby she had as a teen-ager, I could identify with the poignancy of Andi’s struggles: either option is a million times better than abortion, but neither option is easy. Then the Cody/Bailey storyline continues. After they finally came to an understanding in the last book, it was frustrating to see them start having some of the same problems and issues in just a short time, yet within the context of the story it did make sense.

The most disappointing part of the book was a major story line left hanging until the next series. It would have been fine from one book to another within a series, but in my opinion it was too significant to leave for another whole series. But since I am sure I will be reading the next series, I don’t suppose it matters in the long run.

I’ve debated about whether to say this here or whether to write to the publisher, but I have been noticing an increasing amount of editorial oversights in Karen’s last few books. I think about mentioning them to the publisher each time, but then figure someone else already has. I know the fans clamor for the next book as soon as possible, and I know Karen is a prolific author, but I would urge the editors to take the needed time to go over things with a finer comb, because it does interrupt the flow of the story when a reader has a “Wait….what?!?” moment while reading. And I would urge the fans to be patient and wait for the best quality. I know we need to overlook the occasional typo, but, as I mentioned, there are more of these kinds of things than there used to be in Karen’s books.

I need to come up with some kind of rating system and graphic, but if I had a five-star system, this would be a definite 4.5.

(This review is linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Book Review: God Wears His Own Watch

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When my ever-practical husband first saw the title of God Wears His Own Watch by Reid Lehman, he commented, “God doesn’t wear a watch.” True, but Mr, Lehman explains that what he means is that God operates on His own time table, not ours. Sometimes He seems to act in ways that seem late, even past our human deadlines, but He never fails.

At 144 pages, this book is a brief but compelling history of Miracle Hill Ministries and how God has provided for it and worked in the lives of both the workers and the clients.

If you’ve ever tried to work with homeless or addicted, you know it can be discouraging and frustrating, yet God does still patiently change lives. Sanctification is a long process, and when we struggle with our own besetting sins we shouldn’t be surprised that others with perhaps more visible sins do as well. It was a thrill to read of those whose lives the Lord saved and changed, and it encouraged hope for some of my own lost loved ones. One particular lady in one pastor’s neighborhood was in “a drunken haze” for fifteen years before she finally responded to his invitation to trust Christ. How few people are that patient and persistent in working with people! This lady was one of the very few who never relapsed once she was saved and later on became a faithful worker at Miracle Hill. Her own children had been taken from her by DSS, but she became a baby-sitter to Mr. Lehman’s children, which helped heal that wound in her heart, and she was later able to reestablish a relationship with her own children. Sometimes we can harshly judge that some of the painful consequences people encounter are “only what they deserve,” forgetting the depth of pain of those consequences and the mercy we have received in not getting everything we “deserve” for our sins.

Mr. Lehman is also very transparent about his own struggles with feeling inadequate to take over the leadership and how God used different situations in the ministry to reveal to him his own sins and needs in order to change him. He says on page 129:

The people we serve at Miracle Hill have real problems — massive, unsolvable problems. Pious platitudes just won’t do. Quoting Scripture at them, even though it’s the tool God uses to change lives, isn’t enough, either. When we want to see the lives of others transformed, we cannot hold anything back in our own lives — secret sins, past hurts, or running from an issue we have never been willing to face. Some counselors have left our ministry defeated because they were unable, or unwilling, to allow God to change [them].

All of us are broken in some way. If we’re allowing God to continue His painful work of change within us, if we are willing to admit we’re struggling, we can still help others change. If we deny we have problems, or hide our struggles, how can we tell others God can transform and change their lives? And so we have persevered in prayer until God showed Himself.

There are many accounts of God’s provision for the many needs of the ministry. I enjoyed hearing how it got its name: when they were pouring concrete for the children’s home, rain threatened, and volunteers who had come from out of state were limited in the time they could spend before having to return home, so they really needed to finish what they were doing. They stopped “to pray that God would not allow the rain to hinder pouring of the concrete. Soon after that prayer, the workers could see a solid sheet of heavy rain moving toward them, but they watched in astonishment as the thunderclouds parted right at the construction site at the top of the hill. The rain fell all around them, on both sides of the hill, then joined again at the base in force. The bottom of the hill was soaked, but there was only a light sprinkle at the top!” So the volunteers were able to keep working. When secretary Vera Wright heard of this answer to prayer, she said, “This is just like a miracle, isn’t it?” The “miracle on the hill” led to the entire ministry being named “Miracle Hill,” looking forward, I am sure, to the greater miracles they were trusting God to accomplish in lives.

I enjoyed this closer look into this ministry, and I hope many will read it and be stirred anew for what God can accomplish in and through people.

(This review will be linked to Semicolon’s Saturday Review of Books)

Booking Through Thursday: Reviewed

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btt button The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is:

Do you read book reviews? Do you let them change your mind about reading/not reading a particular book?

I read some book reviews. If an author I like and have read before has a new book coming out, I am not likely to read a review of it until after I read it to see if others thought and felt the same way I did or not. But many bloggers I read post book reviews, and the great majority of them are positive and have added greatly to my “To Be Read” list. I will occasionally check the reviews at Amazon.com or Christianbook.com as well. There may have been a few times a review inclined me away from a book, but if the book was something I had a strong desire to read, I wouldn’t let that deter me. We do have to account for different tastes and personalities and the fact that not even the closest friends will like all the same things. But if there is a book I have some doubt about, there are people whose judgment I trust whose opinion I would seek before investing my time and money in a book.

Spring Reading Thing Wrap-Up

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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.