Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury is the story of a young dating couple who made a series of bad choices and then went separate ways, but they find the consequences of those choices are still haunting them years later. The man, Brad, believes he has moved on with his life until an ad campaign he is working on for baby blankets a few weeks before his own wedding undoes him, and he realizes he must find Emma and apologize.

Emma has never really moved on: she keeps other relationships at bay and has walked away from God, feeling too dirty and sinful to be worthy of His notice or the love of God or man.

The news comes as a blow to Brad’s fiancee, Laura, who has to deal with her own feelings of fear and betrayal.

This book deals carefully and well with the varied emotions resulting from an abortion (no spoilers there as it is revealed early on). The plot is what should ideally happen for forgiveness to be found and for those involved to move on, though, sadly, I am afraid real life probably doesn’t often happen this way.

The Publisher’s Weekly Review says, “Kingsbury tackles a touchy, difficult topic, yet in her characteristic style, her gentle approach wins the day. It will also overcome any reader resistance, no matter what position one takes on this volatile issue.” I agree.

Fit to Be Tied is the second of Robin Lee Hatcher’s Sisters of Bethlehem series. Gwen and Cleo are fraternal twins, separated at the age of two when their mother left their father, taking Gwen with her and leaving Cleo with their father at the ranch in Idaho. Gwen came back to ID to live and renew her relationship with her father and sister, and though they love each other dearly, Gwen and Cleo are as different as night and day. Gwen is every bit the refined lady; Cleo is the chief wrangler of her father’s ranch, more comfortable in trousers and with the animals, in 1916 Idaho where this was highly unconventional for women.

Into their midst comes an English aristocrat, Sherwood Stratham, who has been sent to America as punishment by his father in hopes that he will mend his ways. He ends up as a hand on the ranch with Cleo as his reluctant supervisor. They have to deal with their differences and prejudices against each other until they begin to discover the good qualities in each other.

It wouldn’t take much to guess that the couple falls in love, but how they get there is a lot of fun and free from many of the cliches that westerns or an opposites-attracting storyline can fall into. I liked how the plot progressed and I like the real depth of their relationship.

Thanks to Zondervan for providing a copy of Fit to Be Tied for review.

I’ve been a little reluctant to join any book challenges because I have so many books to be read on my shelf, and many more on a list. But these two are calling to me.

The folks at 5 Minutes For Books have revamped their Classics Bookclub: instead of choosing one classic for everyone to read and discuss, now anyone can read any classic, and instead of meeting and linking up once a month, they will meet once a quarter. You can list what book(s) you read and wrote about and then peruse the list to see what others read, clicking on the ones that interest you.

I do want to keep the classics in my regular reading, but I don’t often reach for them unless there is a specific challenge or goal like this. I mentioned earlier that I had read most of the classics I had a burning desire to, and perhaps it was time to revisit some old favorites.

Along those lines, Carrie at Reading to Know is hosting an L. M. Montgomery Reading Challenge: basically we’re to pick any book(s) of L. M. Montgomery, write a post stating we’re joining the challenge and leave a comment on this post, read the book some time during January, then on Jan. 31 leave a comment with a link back to whatever Montgomery books we read and posted about during the month.

I think these two will dovetail nicely!

So my tentative goals for the Classics Bookclub are:

1. Read Anne of Green Gables for this and the Montgomery challenge. This will probably make me want to reread all the books and watch the film series again, but I’ll just have to deal with that. 🙂

2. Read something from Agatha Christie. I’ve been saying I want to for ages: now is the time to do it!

3. Carrie is also hosting a Chronicles of Narnia reading challenge in July. I am still thinking about that and may do it: I’d love to revisit the series.

I think the fourth option I will leave open for now and see what develops and what I am in the mood for later, since nothing in particular is coming to mind just now.

Oh, and there are prizes associated with each challenge. The Classics Bookclub will enter anyone who signs up with their goals by Jan. 31 into a drawing for Invitation to the Classics: A Guide to Books You’ve Always Wanted to Read and a copy of Jane Eyre from the Readable Classics series. Carrie is offering a locket from Emma Parker & Co. as a prize.

I just posted my list of books read in 2009. I was surprised the total ended up at only 42 (though I’d say the 1400+ pages of Les Mis has to count for at least five books, dontcha think? 🙂 ) Some people think I read a lot, but I’m nowhere near Carrie’s 132!

I’ve read as Semicolon has posted her top ten books from different genres the past several days. I haven’t read enough or from enough different genres to do that, but these are my overall favorite books read in 2009, in no particular order:

1. Les Miserables (unabridged) by Victor Hugo, reviewed here. I had read different abridged versions before, and it had been my goal for a long time to read the  whole unabridged version. I am glad I did: I enjoyed it, but I don’t know that I would do it again! I do think I’ll revisit the story in the future, but I’ll feel free to skip over some of the longer side trails in the book.

2. Becoming God’s True Woman edited by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I read it twice this year but have yet to review it: there is just so much to it, it’s hard to know how to condense anything I might say about it other than that I highly recommend it. But this is a review I agreed to do, so I need to get on that right away! Reviewed here.

3. Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, a compilation by Nancy Guthrie of 22 Christmas related essays from authors varying from Augustine and Luther to Piper and MacArthur. I just finished this and haven’t had a chance to review it yet, either, but I loved it. I am already planning on using it again next December: it may become an annual tradition.

4. To The Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson, reviewed here. A detailed biography of America’s first missionary, Adoniram Judson. Depth of character, faithfulness in any circumstance, even the severest hardships, a brilliant mind yielded totally to God.

5. Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer and Daily Light on the Daily Path. I’ll put the two devotional books together. I’ve been using Daily Light for years and feel a little funny listing it as a favorite — but it is. Meyer’s book is new to me this year, and it was my introduction to his writing (that’s the main reason I picked it up: I’d heard much of him and wanted to read directly from him. I did enjoy the book and plan to use it again this year.

6. How Do I Love Thee? by Nancy Moser about the relationship between Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, reviewed here.

7. The Centurion’s Wife by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke, reviewed here, about the time just after Christ’s death. I don’t usually like fictional books based on Biblical accounts, but this one kept true to the Bible while employing imagination about what certain situations and people might have been like.

8. Fatal Illusion by Adam Blumer, reviewed here. Very suspenseful! If you like mystery and suspense, put this on your list.

9. Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn. I have enjoyed this whole series, but something about this one just especially spoke to me.

10. Sometimes a Light Surprises by Jamie Langston Turner, reviewed here, my favorite of Turner’s books.

I did not read as many classics this year, I think partly because Les Mis took so much time, partly because I had a big stack of books from a clearance table at the Christian bookstore that I still haven’t read through, and partly because since starting a blog I’ve read most of the ones I had in mind. I still want to read something by Agatha Christie, but this may be a year to revisit some old favorites.

I had planned to do this post anyway, but today’s Booking Through Thursday prompt also asks us what our favorite books of the year were, so I’ll link this post there as well.

With the first day of winter comes…the end of Callapidder Days‘ Fall Into Reading Challenge! Those who participated can write about how they did with the goals they set way back at the beginning of fall. Katrina has a Mr. Linky set up where we can check in with each other.

I completed these books on my original list:

A Surrendered Heart by Tracy Peterson and Judith Miller, third in the Broadmoor Legacy series, briefly reviewed here.

The Missing, second in the Seasons of Grace series by Beverly Lewis, briefly reviewed here.

American Haven by Elisabeth Yates, reviewed just briefly here.

Plain Perfect by Beth Wiseman, reviewed here.

The Heirloom by Colleen L. Reece and Julie Reece-DeMarco, given to me by my friend, Carol, reviewed here.

My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer.

Becoming God’s True Woman edited by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, reviewed here.

Dr. Frau: A Woman Doctor Among the Amish by Grace H. Kaiser, briefly reviewed here.

I did not read:

The Hidden Flame by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn. It just came out this month – I just got it last week and was already into a couple of other books. It’s one of the next ones in the queue!

How To Read Slowly by James W. Sire. I’ve had this one my list multiple times and just keep not getting to it. This type of non-fiction is not my forte, but I am hoping it will help improve what I retain from reading non-fiction. I need to just make time to make myself start it.

My Heart Restored, a Bible study by June Kimmel. I came across another devotional book I wanted to do at this time of year, which leads me to:

I read these books which were not on my original list:

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, a compilation of 22 Christmas related essays from authors varying from Augustine and Luther to Piper. I had gotten it at the end of last year after seeing it mentioned on several blogs and just rediscovered it when organizing my bookshelves. I read it in place of the Bible study mentioned above. I haven’t reviewed it yet, but I highly recommend it.

A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher, reviewed here.

Home to Harmony by Phillip Gulley.

Farraday Road by Ace Collins, reviewed here.

My favorite books from the challenge were Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus and Becoming God’s True Woman. My least favorite was Farraday Road.

Usually I try to incorporate a classic novel in my reading, but I didn’t have a particular one in mind, and I wanted to get my TBR shelf cleared off a little, so I went through a lot of the Christian fiction instead, which goes a little faster.

I enjoy this challenge because: it is non-pressurized; it usually causes me to incorporate some things into my reading that I’ve been wanting to read but don’t usually pick up when I am scrounging around for the next book; and I enjoy seeing what others have been reading, though it does cause my TBR list to grow exponentially.

The Booking Through Thursday for Thursday wasn’t posted until later in the day, and I was gone most of the day, so I am just now getting to it. It happens to be one I submitted:

What do you think of speed-reading? Is it a good way to get through a lot of books, or does the speed-reader miss depth and nuance? Do you speed-read? Is some material better suited to speed-reading than others?

I don’t speed-read, and that’s why I asked the question. It seems as though you would miss a lot that way. I like to really slow down and savor some parts of the plot. Actually, if it is really suspenseful or I am really into the plot, I’ll read quickly to see what happens and then come back and go over it more slowly.

I do wish I had known how to speed-read in college, though, especially in some classes where one could make an A without reading the textbook except that points were taken off for not completing the reading. And when I am reading for some types of specific information, I’ll skim, but speed-reading would probably give me more depth than skimming.

But to me the point of reading is not to just get through a lot of material. I want to glean something from what the writer says and to enjoy not only the story but the way it is crafted. I like the nuances, the fine details, the choice of words. In fact, one book which has been on my TBR list for ages is How To Read Slowly by James W. Sire. I’m hoping it will help me read in a way to comprehend and retain more.

I’m looking forward to reading some of the other answers here to see what people think about speed-reading.

American Haven by Elisabeth Yates was suggested to me by my blog friend Sally when I mentioned a book I read as a child about an English girl named Merry who came to America. This turned out not to be that book, but it was a pleasant read. It is the third in a series about Merry (Meredith) and her brother Michael. In this book, the two are sent to America for safety from their home in England during World War II. I loved the Journeyforth books when my children and nieces and nephews were small, and I highly recommend them. This series is suggested for ages 9-12.

The publisher’s description of Plain Perfect by Beth Wiseman is as fellows:

On the rolling plains of Lancaster County, PA., Lillian Miller is searching for her grandparents’ house…and so much more. After years of neglect and abuse, she’s turning to a lifestyle of simplicity among the Amish to find herself.

As she discards the distractions of her former life, she befriends the young boy working on her family’s farm and his attractive widowed father, Samuel Stoltzfus. Despite Lillian’s best efforts to the contrary, her feelings for Samuel–and his for her–deepen. Will Lillian find her faith in Plain living, or will she be forced to return to her former life?

I enjoyed the story as a story and I enjoyed Lilly’s development as well as her burgeoning relationship with Samuel. But with Lilly’s almost non-religious background, the way of salvation is not really made clear to her, though she is told it is a matter of the heart rather than just keeping the Ordnung. The message she seems to receive is, “Keep living an Amish-based Christian life, and it will make sense to you after a while,” which is not the way I would present it. And though there are many, many things to admire about the Amish, their lifestyle isn’t idyllic and peaceful just because they keep themselves from certain aspects of the world. So, though Lilly found peace there, I wouldn’t say one seeking peace should run off and join the Amish. But a reader who is already settled on the way of salvation and peace could enjoy the story.

My blog friend Lizzie gave me A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher, a book about a woman running for mayor of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho, in 1915. The back of the book says, “Who says a woman can’t do a man’s job?” Honestly, if I had thought it was just a story about a spunky heroine trying to do a “man’s job” just to prove she could, I would not have been interested. But I have enjoyed what I have read of Robin’s books, so I read on. Gwen’s reasons for running for mayor are good and objections are dealt with in the first few chapters. She has to campaign against her alcoholic opponent and a handsome newcomer who tosses his hat into the ring because of the difficulties he has encountered in getting his health spa built as well as contend with a lawyer who lends his support only to try to control her.

I appreciate Robin’s efforts to show that Biblically feminine women do not all have to be cut from the same exact mold, but I felt the “traditional” stay-at-home wife and mother was somewhat maligned in Gwen’s thoughts. It makes sense that a lady who chose to be single and independent would think as she does, but I would have liked a little counter-balance.

But other than that, I found this an enjoyable, well-crafted book, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel.

The Booking Through Thursday for today is:

What’s your favorite part of Booking Through Thursday? Why do you participate (or not)?

I participate because I like reading and I enjoy discussing books and reading issues with others.

I don’t participate every week, though.  Sometimes it is just due to time constraints, but sometimes I don’t participate because the question would only require an answer of one sentence or even just a few words, not enough to really bother with a blog post. I like questions that require some thought, questions where it would be interesting to discuss and gain insights from other participants. But I do understand that other readers might prefer the light, quick questions, so it is nice that the BTT varies from week to week.

The 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.

I finished My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer about three siblings separated after going West on an orphan train. I probably would not have picked it up, because I have read books and seen films about the orphan trains, and they all seemed to have the same basic plot line, but this one came highly recommended by several blog friends. I did enjoy it: Kim brought in some elements I hadn’t seen before.

I also just finished Home to Harmony by Phillip Gulley. It’s in the same vein as Mayberry or Jan Karon’s Mitford series: small town, eccentric residents, heart-warming stories. It was….okay. Parts I really liked, parts touched me, but overall I didn’t like it as well as Mitford. I’m not inclined at this point to read the sequels: I have a whole shelf full of books to be read. But I might pick them up some time in the future.

I also finished Farraday Road by Ace Collins, and it is the only one I did a full-fledged book review of this month, here.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, my reading plans for the next month are going to be very loose, though I do always have something available to read.

I’ve just begun The Heirloom by Colleen L. Reece and Julie Reece-DeMarco, given to me by my friend, Carol. It’s been on my shelf for a while, and I just rediscovered it while reorganizing my bookshelves and saw it was set during the Thanksgiving season. It’s fairly short, so it will be perfect for this week. I’m also planning on Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, a compilation of 22 Christmas related essays from authors varying from Augustine and Luther to Piper. I saw this recommended by a lot of people last year, but by the time I got it the Christmas season was nearly over, so I saved it for this year. I’d also like to do a Bible study called My Heart Restored by June Kimmel.

Other than that…I have plenty to choose from my TBR bookshelf: I just recently gathered most of them on one shelf, the middle, double-shelved one here. Only the front row is TBR:

The opening pages of Farraday Road by Ace Collins set the stage for mystery: a literal “dark and stormy night,” a car discovered run off the road, two bodies having been shot, one alive and one dead, and a historic bridge washed off its moorings. Lije (short for Elijah) survives but neither he nor anyone else in the town can think of any reason why he or his wife, a pillar of the community known for her generosity, would become targets. In his grief he searches for clues about what happened, sometimes teamed with a reluctant detective who thinks at first she has the suspect, sometimes doing his own investigating, which leads him to another mystery involving a piece of prime real estate his wife had purchased before her death.

I am sorry to say I was not thrilled with the book. It could have used much tighter writing, and the “mystery” seemed splintered off into too many pieces which at the end are still unconnected. Hopefully it will all come together in the sequel, Swope’s Ridge. I thought perhaps this was Mr. Collins’ first book: I was wrong. He has written more than 50 books, but most of them are non-fiction. I was disappointed that, for a book in the genre of Christian fiction, there was a four-letter word usually absent in most Christian fiction and that there was little Christianity in it beyond the charitable nature of Lije’s deceased wife and the testimony of a wrongly-accused prisoner.

If you’ve read the book, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts: perhaps I am missing something. And if you haven’t, please don’t let this review dissuade you from checking out the book if you like mysteries: most of the reviews at Amazon.com and Christianbook.com are positive.

Thanks to Zondervan for providing a copy of the book for review.