Tag Archives: Books

What’s On Your Nightstand: November 2012

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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.

It seems so long since the last Nightstand, though it has only been the usual time frame. It’s been a busy month.

Here’s what I finished since last time:

The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges with Challies‘ “Reading Classics Together” group. I didn’t review the book as a whole since I discussed it chapter by chapter (you can find those discussions here if you like.) Overall a great book. I appreciated the balance.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin for Carrie‘s Book Club October pick, reviewed here. A thought-provoking classic.

Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer, reviewed here. Loved this one. A WWII story set in Denmark, involving a secular Jewish nurse and a Lutheran priest reluctant to fight against oppression until he sees its human face.

Allerednic: A Regency Cinderella Tale–In Reverse by Chautona Havig, not reviewed. I had great expectations for this one, but I found it a little boring.

The Hobbit (audiobook), reviewed here. Loved the story and the audiobook.

C. S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength, reviewed all together here. I listened to these via audiobook but had to get the books from the library and go over certain sections again. Maybe not quite as loveable a series as Narnia, but it makes some excellent points.

Thriving at College: Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for the Real World! by Alex Chediak. Just finished last night; review is hot off the press here.

I’m currently reading/listening to:

Unless It Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing by Roger Rosenblatt. Twenty pages last night went by in a flash: looking forward to reading more.

At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon (audiobook). I read this years ago and I am enjoying going over it again via audiobook. A very cozy book.

Next up:

The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

The Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens for Carrie‘s Book Club December pick. I have a whole book of Dickens’ Christmas stories…I may or may not peruse more of them if I have time.

I also have my last Fall Into Reading book,  The Christian Imagination by Leland Ryken. I’m not sure I will get to it between Christmas activities and wanting to get a couple of Christmas reads in. I should know better than to leave nonfiction last. I want to — I like to complete my lists! — but if I don’t read it this month it will still be there in January. It’s not something I want to rush through just to complete by a deadline.

What are you reading? Got any special books lined up for December?

Book Review: The Hobbit

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I wasn’t originally planning to review The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. It seems so well known, what could I possibly say that hasn’t already been said? But I couldn’t resist.

I first read it some time after the Lord of the Rings films came out several years ago: The Hobbit comes before those books but I can’t remember if I read it before or after the others. With a new film of The Hobbit coming out in December, I wanted to reacquaint myself with the book before seeing the movie.

Bilbo Baggins is a respectable hobbit who loves food, his home, and his quiet routine. Adventure is frowned on among hobbits and Bilbo has no intention of having any.

But then the wizard Gandalf arrives and coerces an unwitting and unwilling Bilbo into hosting 13 dwarves for a confab. It seems the dwarves want to reclaim their ancient treasure which is being guarded by a dragon, and somehow Gandalf thinks Bilbo is the one to help them. The dwarfs and Bilbo are incredulous at this, but Gandalf insists, “There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself. You may (possibly) all live to thank me yet.”

Thus Bilbo sets off, wishing many times over the course of his quest that he was back home. He encounters elves, trolls, goblins, wolves, giant eagles and a giant spider, a dragon, and a weird creature called Gollum. He obtains a sword and a magic ring. He gets lost alone, he gets captured with others, another time he rescues others, he fights battles, he becomes a peacemaker. Victory in one particular conflict “made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath. ‘I will give you a name,’ he said to it, ‘and I shall call you Sting.’ ”

I love this kind of story, where a character is called on to do what they don’t think they can, and along the way either develop or learn what they need to know to accomplish it, and they persevere even though they feel stretched beyond their limits. And Middle Earth is a delight. Tolkien provides enough description of the place and creatures to make the reader feel a part of the story but not so much description as to bog a reader down.

I had wondered if the whole Lord of the Rings story arc had been conceived before this book was written, because not much is made of the ring and it doesn’t seem to have the negative effects on its wearer as it does in the later books. According to the Wikipedia entry for The Hobbit, this story was written alone and then sequels were requested. The next three books have a darker tone though they do contain some humorous moments: this book is a little more lighthearted though there are many moments of peril and danger.

There is some debate on whether the book is allegorical or symbolic: Wikipedia and SparkNotes differ on this. It seems to be primarily just a fairy tale, but themes of heroism and bravery, respect for nature, and the dangers of covetousness are clear. A quote I had seen many places before is one I had aways pictured as coming from a merry banquet: “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” But it is more of a lament, occurring after a dreadful battle when a character is dying.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book narrated by Rob Inglis, who did a marvelous job with all the voices and even sang rather than recited the songs in the book. His rich timbre and characterizations greatly enhanced the books: he sounds like he could have come straight from the set of the films. I had looked for an unabridged audiobook for a long time: at first all I could find were dramatizations, so I was thrilled to see this.

Here are a couple of trailers for the new film. It looks like they are combining a few elements from the films that were not in The Hobbit (Galadriel wasn’t in this first book), but otherwise they look great and I can’t wait to see the film!

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

Book Review: Wildflowers of Terezin

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Steffen Petersen pastors a Lutheran church in 1943 Denmark. He likes safety and predictability and thinks if everyone just lays low and cooperates with the German occupiers, everything will blow over soon.

A bicycle accident lands him in the hospital under the care of Jewish nurse Hanne Abrahamsen who mistakenly thinks he is part of the Danish resistance movement and protects him from the questions of a German officer. Steffen’s brother is a part of the Resistance and comes to take his brother out of the hospital. They have many arguments about the right way to respond to the troubles in their country.

But when Steffen comes face to face with the need to smuggle Jewish citizens out of the country before the Germans whisk them off to camps or worse, he cannot help but aid them.

Hanne is instrumental in aiding them as well but stays behind to help at the hospital. But with an ambitious German officer in charge in the town, can Hanne remain undetected, and can Steffen help her if she is captured?

I first came across Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer when the Kindle version came up for free. I’ve often said that those free Kindle app books are a great way to try new authors, and this is one case when reading one book through that route led me to exploring the author’s other books and wanting to put many of them on my wish list.

I liked many aspects of this book. I’ve read many WWII-era novels and biographies, but never one set in Denmark as this one is. That added a fresh perspective. The author shares at the end that many of the details and incidents are based on real-life happenings. There is humor sprinkled throughout which counterbalances the grimness of the circumstances. The deepening relationship between Hanne and Steffen, her growing attraction to his Savior, their individual personal growth, the new vibrancy that comes into his own life and ministry, are all unfolded and blended very nicely. There is a sweetness to all of it amidst the danger — not saccharin, not overly done, but the same effect as….finding lovely wildflowers in a prison camp.

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

Book Review: In Trouble and In Joy

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In trouble and in joy_dpThe first part of the title of In Trouble and In Joy: Four Women Who Lived for God by Sharon James comes from a line in a hymn by Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady:

Through all the changing scenes of life,
In trouble and in joy,
The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ.

The four women Sharon James writes about in this book exemplify that truth: in varying degrees of trouble and joy, they lived for God.

Margaret Baxter was a rebellious, glamorous, well-to-do teen-ager who became a Christian under the preaching of her Puritan pastor, Richard Baxter. Though he was twice her age, Margaret fell in love with him, and in time her feelings were reciprocated, and they married. The union was a step down for Margaret financially (Richard took care to arrange their finances in such a way that he did not have access to her money so it would not be thought he married her for her money) and socially, but  she had found her purpose in life and blossomed. This was a time when “Non-conformists” were persecuted, and when Richard was imprisoned for a while, Margaret voluntarily joined him. Both were, like all the rest of us, very human. Margaret was known for being generous, cheerful (Mrs. James notes, “It is simply not true that the Puritans went around looking miserable. Indeed, Richard Baxter wrote, “Keep company with the more cheerful sort of the godly; there is no mirth like the mirth of believers'” [p. 49]), industrious, competent, capable, patient, supportive — and anxious, fearful, perfectionist, and over-zealous. Yet she was aware of and grieved by her faults, and it was her desire to live a holy life for God.

Sarah Edwards had eleven children as the wife of Jonathan Edwards in the early 1700s. The Edwards were known for their “uncommon union,” their great love and respect for each other, and Sarah’s hospitality. Sarah thrived as a wife and mother, but the Edwards’ faced their share of difficulty as well when Jonathan was dismissed from the church where he pastored and some of their children died.

Anne Steele lived in a small English village in the 1700s, never married, suffered from poor health most of her life (with what is thought now to have been malaria), published two volumes of hymns and poems, and was known for her cheerfulness and faith. It was expected at that time that young women would marry and have a family, and there is some correspondence of teasing between Anne and her sister about Anne’s unmarried state even though the sister admitted her life was not all rosy.

Frances Ridley Havergal lived in the Victorian 1800s and is best known as the writer of hymns such as “Take My Life and Let It Be” and “Like a River Glorious.” Her father was a pastor and she was very active in the ministry of the church, thriving in personal work, one-on-one discussions with others about the gospel and spiritual truth. When her father died, her step-mother made unusual demands and seemed to even be mentally unstable, but Frances did her best to honor her. She did travel a lot and kept running, amusing accounts of her experiences: letters from her travels to Switzerland were gathered together in a book titled Swiss Letters.  She turned down several proposals of marriage, though she “once wrote of the sense of ‘general heart-loneliness and need of a one and special love…and the belief that my life is to be a lonely one in that respect…I do so long for the love of Jesus to be poured in, as a real and satisfying compensation'” (pp. 193-194). She was a prolific writer of hymns and books. She “loved life, enjoyed people, revelled in nature, and laughed a lot” (p. 200).

The book deals with each woman individually, detailing her historical setting, the story of her life, her character and significance, and excerpts from her writing. Mrs. James’ style of writing is somewhat academic, more like teaching a class than telling a story: that’s not a bad thing, but I had picked up this book because I had read and enjoyed her earlier one, My Heart In His Hands about Ann Judson, and I don’t remember it being quite that way, though it has been years since I read it.

I didn’t agree with all of Mrs. James’ conclusions about why the women did what they did or the few things for which she criticized them: for example, she faults some of the women for not being more socially active. She wrote of Frances: “Although she was always ready to give benevolent help on an individual level, there is little evidence that Frances had strong feelings about the blatant social and political inequalities of that time” (p. 201). Some of us feel that dealing with individual hearts, resulting in a true heart change, will take care of the larger issues, and that Christians are called to share the gospel and make disciples, not necessarily battle the culture itself (though it’s not wrong to fight social ills). Mrs. James does go on to say of Frances, “And yet the ‘limiting’ of her vision to gospel issues meant that she was extraordinarily focused. Her mental and spiritual energies were not diffused into many different areas,” allowing a greater concentration on vital issues of “salvation, consecration, and worship” (p. 201). These women had their hands full enough with what they did do to warrant criticism for what they didn’t do.

I did appreciate Mrs. James research, insight, and masterful compilation of the details of these women’s lives. There is much about each woman’s  life to instruct Christian women. To give just one example, one of Frances’s letters tells of the hostility and “appalling service” she received at an inn in Switzerland. Where most of us would be fuming and calling for the manager, Frances reacted patiently and finally said to the angry, spiteful woman, “You are not happy. I know that you’re not.” the woman was startled, “tamed…made a desperate effort not to cry” and listened while Frances spoke to her “quite plainly and solemnly about Jesus.” She received a tract, promised to read it, and thanked Frances over and over. Frances concluded, “Was it not worth getting out of the groove of one’s usual comforts and civilities?” (pp. 250-251). I have to confess that was a rebuke to me: I rarely think of such situations as a means of service to others.

Mrs. James concludes:

They had different personalities and varied situations, but each of these four women lived focused lives, wanting to praise God through days of trouble as well as joy. As is true of many women, they had to juggle all sorts of responsibilities. Pursuing holiness did not mean running away from these responsibilities: it involved living every day wholeheartedly for God (p. 253).

(This review will be linked to Semicolon’s Saturday Review of books and Callapidder Days’ Spring Reading Thing Reviews.)

Book Review: Dawn’s Light

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Dawn’s Light is the fourth and, I believe, final installment of the Restoration series by Terri Blackstock which focuses on the effects of a global blackout on one community and particularly one family.

The subject matter of this series normally would not have drawn me to it, because I am afraid I like my creature comforts all too well, and I know how I am after even a few hours of no electricity. But, this is Terri Blackstock. And I love Terri Blackstock. I think I have read every novel she has written. So I knew it would be good, suspenseful, and convicting. And it was.

I am not going to say much about the plot beyond what you would find on the first few pages so as not to spoil it, but I can’t say the same for the comments. If you’ve read the book, let me know what you think — I’d love to discuss it.

In the previous books we’ve seen the struggle and growth of various members of the Branning family. Thirteen year old Beth has witnessed a lot of trauma which has caused her to be fearful of “The Next Big Thing.” So when she begins to exhibit even more fearful behavior, her family thinks she is just having further trouble handling everything that has happened emotionally. She won’t open up to them or to a counselor. What no one knows is that she has witnessed a double murder: she got away from the scene, but the killer saw her and threatened her and her family.

Meanwhile the pulses from a dying star which caused the blackout have finally stopped, and the massive effort to get electricity flowing again begins. Terri did a lot of research into the technology behind what this would mean and does a good job giving enough information to make it plausible yet not so much that the book gets bogged down.

Oldest daughter Deni had left her high-powered Washington career and fiance behind and fallen in love with a friend she had known for years, but her fiance comes back into town, not only to help with the electrical situation but to win Deni back.

One of the things I love best about Terri is that her characters are so real, so genuine, you feel like they are your personal friends, and they struggle with exactly the same issues I would in their place. When a family tragedy occurs, they wrestle with all the questions and issues almost any Christian would in the face of seemingly unanswered prayer.

A blurb on the front page says, “Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if series in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts — and lights the way to restoration for a self-centered world.” I am embarrassed to say that it wasn’t until I read that sentence that I “got” the symbolism of the darkness and the restoration — not just of electricity, but more importantly, in hearts. Though perhaps much of what I have said about it focuses on the “darkness,” the series ends with restoration and hope.

Book Review: Mansfield Park

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In Mansfield Park, Fanny Price is the “poor relation” who helps to relieve her family’s financial woes by going to live with a more prosperous aunt and uncle, the Bertrams, when she is ten. Her other aunt, widowed Mrs. Norris, lives near the Bertrams and has more influence with the family than Lady Bertram. Sir Thomas Bertram is imposing and, though not unkind, neither is he warm. Mrs. Norris feels it her duty to constantly keep Fanny in her “place.” Fanny’s female cousins, Mariah and Julia, are selfish, spoiled, and vain and interact little with her. Her oldest cousin Tom takes little notice, but cousin Edmund sympathizes with her and helps her find ways to learn and to interact. Fanny is quiet, shy, “finding something to fear in every person and place,” but eventually the family decides that, “though far from clever, she showed a tractable disposition, and seemed likely to give them little trouble.”

The family continues on this way for years until their neighbor’s younger sister and brother, Henry and Mary Crawford, come to town for an extended visit. Both are bright, witty, vivacious, and personable, and the young people –except for Fanny — soon become best friends. Fanny’s high regard for Edmund has become secret love over the years, but Edmund, who is planning to join the clergy, begins to fall for Mary, who has no use for the clergy and tries to talk him into changing to a profession where he can “distinguish” himself. Fanny begins to see some of Mary’s flaws, but Edmund is willing to excuse them. Meanwhile Henry, who has been showering attention on both the Bertram sisters, begins to show a decided favor not towards unattached Julia, but rather to her engaged sister. Thus the stage is set for the character of each one to be displayed in the ensuing conflicts.

I’ll leave the plot there for the discovery of those who have not yet read the book, but I did want to discuss a few other aspects of the book.

In the introductory notes of this edition as well as the introduction to the recent Masterpiece Classic version on PBS, there seemed to be an almost apologetic tone that shy, quiet Fanny is the hero of the story rather than vivacious and witty Mary. Amanda Claybaugh, who wrote the introductory notes, writes that “Fanny differs not merely from Mary, but also from our most basic expectations of what a novel’s protagonist should do and be. In Fanny, we have a heroine who seldom moves and seldom speaks, and never errs or alters.” I am not the expert Ms. Claybaugh is, but that is not my impression at all. We’re shown many of Fanny’s inner thoughts, and I find the conflict is in Fanny’s staying true to her moral core despite everyone else’s failure to varying degrees. Edmund says of Fanny at one point that she “is the only one who has judged rightly throughout; who has been consistent.” She is far from self-righteous and ungracious, however, and though morally she does not change, she does mature and grow. Though her nature remains shy and reticent and fearful, she begins to overcome it or act in spite of it in situations like heading a ball in her cousins’ absence and standing up to Sir Thomas when he wants her to marry someone whom she not only does not love but in whom she sees moral flaws that she cannot expound on.

In almost all of Jane Austen’s books, she subtly points out the ironies of life in her time. Perhaps the irony here is the truth that though Fanny lacks the characteristics that are highly valued in her setting — wit, wealth, and worldliness — she possesses qualities far more valuable in her moral goodness, graciousness, insight, and steadfastness.

I enjoyed this book very much and found it very readable. I highly recommend it.

This completes my reading Jane Austen’s novels. I had read Emma back in college and would love to revisit her, but all of the rest I have read over the last couple of years in a quest to catch up on some of the classics I somehow missed along the way. I know I will enjoy reading these books again in the future.

Book Review: Northanger Abbey

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northanger.jpgNorthanger Abbey is Jane Austen’s first book completed for publication, but the last to be published, with Persuasion, her last book, after her death. It had been sold to a publisher but never published. Eventually Jane bought it back for the same sum for which she sold it, but it was shelved for years.

Northanger Abbey, especially the first part, is a parody of gothic novels popular at the time, with their requisite ingredients of horror, castles, secrets, and villains.

“No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be a heroine” is the opening line of the book, and the first several paragraphs expand on the reasons for such a supposition: she is not particularly beautiful nor remarkably intelligent or diligent, and her family, while well enough off, is not rich. All about her is rather ordinary. Her major asset is her trusting, innocent, good-natured heart.

Her adventure begins when she goes to Bath with neighbors and friends of the family, the Allens. Yet it doesn’t seem very adventurous at first: Mrs. Allen is obsessed with fashion and can’t seem to discuss much else, and they know no one in all the crowded places they go. Finally they run into the Thorpes, old friends of the Allens, and one the the Thorpe daughters, Isabella, is a friend of Catherine’s brother, James. And then Catherine and Mrs. Allen unexpectedly meet an affable and pleasant Mr. Henry Tilney at a ball, who engages Catherine for the evening.

Isabella’s brother, John, is a rather boorish young man who pursues Catherine, but Catherine is not interested. Isabella, after becoming engaged to Catherine’s brother, becomes interested in Henry’s brother when he flirts with her. Henry’s father, General Tilney, mistakenly believes Catherine to be richer than she is, and therefore invites her to Northanger Abbey, the family’s home, for a visit. Catherine is delighted, both because of her growing interest in Henry and friendship with his sister, Eleanor, but also because she longs to have the experience of visiting such a structure as is often found in the gothic novels she loves.

One of the many things she learns, though, is that life is not like those novels, and once her views are shaped by reality, she begins to grow and mature.

I don’t want to go further into the plot for the sake of those who might not have read the book. I found it very enjoyable. It contains Austen’s trademark observations of the social mores of her time, though not quite as ironically or satirically as her later books. Plus she includes a spirited defense of novel reading as well as a caution against the wrong kinds. Catherine has to learn not to let her imagination, influenced by highly unlikely tales, get away from her. Catherine also learns one of the most painful lessons of maturity, that, while it is generally good to have a trusting heart, there are people not worthy of that trust. (Update: I just finished listening to this via audiobook 4/22/13, and I can’t believe I thought this book less ironic or satirical. It fairly sparkles with both irony and satire, but in a fun rather than a put-down sarcastic way.)

The particular copy I bought is a Barnes and Noble publication, complete with footnotes and endnotes, which were often helpful but sometimes unnecessary and distracting. The introductory notes I felt were better read after the novel than before, especially if one has not read the book yet, as too much is given away.

In the back of the book are a few questions, one of which is “Is there any sign that any of the characters in Northanger Abbey feels sexual desire? Can Austen’s realism be considered complete without this aspect of human relationships.” Good grief, what questions! One of the things I most resent about modern adaptations of classics is the inclusion of sexual scenes, or the spelling out of what had been written with restraint and decorum. The continued popularity of Austen’s books should indicate that an audience can be entertained without going into great sexual detail. Restraint and subtlety are no enemies of realism.

Update: I listened to this story again for the Austen in August challenge in August 2014.

Austen in August

Booking Through Thursday: Finding favorite authors

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The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is:

  1. How did you come across your favorite author(s)? Recommended by a friend? Stumbled across at a bookstore? A book given to you as a gift?
  2. Was it love at first sight? Or did the love affair evolve over a long acquaintance?

I found Terri Blackstock and Dee Henderson when I was looking in the Christian fiction genre for something my mom might like. My mom’s tastes ran along the lines of action, mystery, suspense type novels, which wasn’t quite to my tastes (then), but I wanted to choose books I thought she might like. I wanted to read them first both so I would know what I was giving her and also because, sad to say, all Christian fiction is not created equal: some just plain isn’t written well (though you could say that about any genre) and in some either the doctrine or the practice is a little “off.” I feel I can read the latter type on my own and exercise discernment and still benefit from the book, but I am wary of giving that kind to someone else.

Looking on the shelves of the Christian bookstore fiction section, somehow I came across Terri Blackstock’s Newpointe 911 series about a group of “first responders” — firefighters, police officers, and paramedics — who were friends in a town in Louisiana. I was hooked. I was riveted. Not only were the stories compelling page-turners, but the characters were so real, so genuine that I felt I knew them, that they could have been my neighbors. They were flawed, as we all are, yet learning and growing. Truth, beauty, and poignancy were hallmarks of the series. I found Dee Henderson’s O’Malley family series in the same way and had a similar reaction. Both of these authors became ones whose next works I eagerly anticipate.

Sharon Hinck has become a similar author to me within the last year. I found her on the same bookstore’s shelves when none of my favorite authors had anything new out and I was looking for something good to read and found The Secret Life of Becky Miller. I guess you could call it “mommy lit,” but I think it appeals to a wider audience than just moms. It’s rollicking good fun but contains deeply heartfelt crises and spiritual truths as well. Sharon has become another “must read” author.

An older lady who spoke at a Mission Prayer Band meeting when I was in college got me started reading missionary stories and biographies, and that has had a major impact on my life.

Among the classics — Charles Dickens, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Louisa May Alcott, and others — I think I must have been exposed to them in childhood, probably in school, and as an adult sought them out again.

I’ve discovered some after seeing a film version of their work: L. M. Montgomery and Tolkien were among those.

I also find favorite books from friends’ recommendations. My to-be-read list has grown considerably since I started blogging and discovering other book-lovers!

Booking Through Thursday: Anticipation

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The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is:

 What new books are you looking forward to most in 2008? Something new being published this year? Something you got as a gift for the holidays? Anything in particular that you’re planning to read in 2008 that you’re looking forward to? A classic, or maybe a best-seller from 2007 that you’re waiting to appear in paperback?

I’m looking forward to The Restorer’s Journey by Sharon Hinck, third in the Sword of Lyric trilogy, due at the end of February. The series is a fantasy about an ordinary mom who gets suddenly pulled into an alternate universe with responsibilities thrust on her that she doesn’t want and doesn’t feel adequate for. I loved the first two and can’t wait to get the third. Sharon has become the kind of author from whom I eagerly look for the next thing she has coming out.

I’m also looking forward to Karen Kingsbury‘s Sunset with mixed emotions — I believe it’s the last series of series about the Baxter family. It began with the five-book Redemption series, continued with the Firstborn series of five books, and ends now with the fourth book in the Sunrise series. I’ve enjoyed the series immensely and am looking forward to seeing how it ends, but it will be sad that there will be no more new Baxter stories. This one is due out in April.

I already finished one of my Christmas presents, Sabrina by Lori Wick (review coming soon), and next on the queue is Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury.

I’m eagerly anticipating spending more time with another of my Christmas presents, Sew Pretty Homsestyle by Tone Finnanger. It’s a craft book, but whether I ever make a project from it or not, it is a feast for the eyes in itself.

I would also like to read Les Miserables again some time this year. It’s one of my all-time favorite novels.

Fall Into Reading Wrap-Up and Reviews

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Katrina at Callapidder Days hosted another Fall Into Reading challenge these last few months, and since today is the last day of autumn, it’s time to wrap up the challenge.

Here is my list with links to my reviews of the ones I finished. I’ll answer Katrina’s questions at the end.

Spirit of the Rainforest: A Yanomamo Shaman’s Story by Mark Ritchie, recommended by Jungle Mom, reviewed here.

In the Best Possible Light by Beneth Peters Jones, about Biblical femininity. I started this one but didn’t finish it. I could tell after a chapter or so into it that I wouldn’t get as much out of it from my usual piecemeal style of reading. Usually with Christian non-fiction I incorporate them into my devotional time. I want to do that with this one after Christmas. With everyone on a break from work and school, I have a little more time in the mornings without having to keep one eye on the clock. It’s a timely and important subject that I’ve been wanting to explore.

Return to Me by Robin Lee Hatcher, about a prodigal daughter, reviewed here.

Simple Gifts by Lori Copeland, read but not reviewed yet. Maybe in a few days. 🙂

The Parting, the first in a new series by Beverly Lewis, who is always good, reviewed here. Most, if not all of her stories are stem from her grandmother’s Amish heritage.

Just Beyond the Clouds by Karen Kingsbury, a sequel to A Thousand Tomorrows, continuing the story of Cody Gunner, dealing in this book with the care of his brother who has Down Syndrome, reviewed here.

Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon, a new novel about Father Tim of the Mitford series, reviewed here.

I also like to include at least one classic, and this time it was supposed to be The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas pere, but I never made it to the library to check it out. So I’ll look forward to doing that in the next few weeks.

I included my daily/weekly reads this time:

Queen of the Castle: 52 Weeks of Encouragement for the Uninspired, Domestically Challenged or Just Plain Tired Homemaker by Lynn Bowen Walker. I finished it a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t formally reviewed it — I might after Christmas — but I have mentioned it many times. Love it! Lots of good stuff. I will probably read it again week by week this year, too. My interview with Lynn is here.

Daily Light on the Daily Path compiled by the Samuel Bagster family. I use this to begin my devotional times and help me get my mind in gear. I’ve used it for years and have mentioned it many times. On Sundays and occasional busy or sick days this might be all I do, but it gives much food for thought.

Wonderful Words by Stewart Custer. It is another daily devotional with a different word for each day and various verses containing that word. It’s interesting and the Lord has used it to speak to me, but I think it would be better if the verses weren’t listed in the order they appear in the Bible but were rather connected by meaning.

The Bible: Finished Psalms, which I was partway into when the challenge started, and went on to complete Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. I’m now about 30 chapters into Isaiah.

Books I read that weren’t on my list:

Shopping For Time was written by the authors of the girltalk blog, mom Carolyn Mahaney and daughters Nicole Mahaney Whitacre, Kristin Chesemore, and Janelle Bradshaw, reviewed here.

The Restorer’s Son wasn’t originally on my Fall Reading List simply because I forgot it was coming out in that time frame. How could I have forgotten? Sharon Hinck is one author whose books I eagerly anticipate. The Restorer’s Son is a sequel to The Restorer (previously reviewed here), second in The Sword of Lyric trilogy. My review is here.

I also read When Crickets Cry after I won it from Deena’s (thank you, Deena!) I haven’t reviewed it yet — I am still pondering it. The writing is excellent, the story is good, but there are a couple of odd situations or people that seemed out of sync to me.

Currently I am mostly through A Victorian Christmas Keepsake, a book of three short novellas. It was part of a set of book all with “Victorian Christmas” in the title that caught my eye at a yard sale because the lead writer in the set was Catherine Palmer, whose other novels I had very much enjoyed. Plus I am also reading Never Say Can’t by Jerry Ballard about Tom Willey. I had first read it maybe 20 years ago from a lending library kept by the ladies’ group of the church we attended then and it made a major impact on me. Mr. Willey didn’t have a lot of confidence and didn’t feel he was very gifted, nor was he very educated (he only had a third grade education when he applied for college: when asked how many credits he had, he told about how much money he had in the bank), but he determined that by God’s grace he would never say “I can’t” do something God wants done, and he was marvelously used of the Lord. The book is out of print, but I just recently found used copies at Amazon.com.

Katrina asks:

* Tell us how you did. Did you finish all the books you had on your original list? If not, why not? Did you get distracted by other books? Were you too busy to read as much as you would have liked? And if you did finish them all, did you read more?

Most of that is answered above book by book.

* Tell us what you thought. What book did you like most? Least? Did you try a new author that you now love? Have you written off an author as “I’ll never read anything by him/her again!”?

I enjoyed Return to Me and The Parting a lot, but I think I benefited most (aside from Scripture directly, of course) from Spirit of the Rainforest. It touched me and instructed me in so many ways.

I don’t think I had read Lori Copland before, but I want to read more of her books.

* Tell us what you learned. Maybe you learned something about yourself, your interests, your reading patterns. Maybe you learned that you love/hate a particular genre. Maybe you learned some fabulous little nugget of truth from one of the books you read. Whatever it is — please share!

I don’t think I learned anything new about my interests and reading patterns that I didn’t already know — I love Christian fiction and missionary stories and read every chance I get. I think I learn something — maybe not something new, but sometimes spiritual truths are reinforced — by most of the books I read. Probably out of this list, though, I was impacted again by the power of the gospel to change lives in Spirit of the Rainforest and by the people’s dismay at learning that some think they should be left alone in the jungles.

By the way, many participants posted reviews of the books they read for the challenge on a post of Katrina’s site here if you’d like some good book recommendations.