Book #1

I have struggled for years with the idea of "technology" and when the "E-readers" started showing up, I swore them off without even looking at them.  There is nothing...NOTHING....better than a book; a real life, made out of paper, shiny covered, heavy book.  I love the smell of them, the feel of them, paperback or hardback...holding a pile of them makes me happy - giddy even. The older, more worn out, the better.  I love a book with its own story... and not just the one on the pages.

But, admittedly, curiosity got the better of me.  And some of the things I found myself wanting to read ONLY came in e-book form.  Call it pure stubbornness, but my brain just will not let me read and comprehend more than a few paragraphs on the PC screen...so, my willpower faltered and I mentioned that I was looking to buy a Kindle.

Not long after, one showed up at my door.  (Thank you Mom and Dad.)

I still rebelled.  I put a couple of things on it.  I read my email.

But I wasn't going to become dependent...

...that is, until people (brilliant people, I might add) started to put up lists of books that you could get from Amazon for free - or at least on the way cheap.


I now have over 30 books on my Kindle.

Ooops.

Buuut....I still would never trade my "real" tomes for the ones I've got digitally stored.  In fact, when I read a good one from cyber-space...I immediately buy it in print!!
 
This latest read has already been ordered.  :)

Perusing my daily list of cheap-o books, I skimmed by the words "Kearsley has been compared to Gabaldon..."

SCREEeeEEECH!

Pant..pant...this person with a book on the CHEAP LIST has been compared to my FAVORITE author!!?

So I just had to read the review - more enticing words like "Scotland" and "Scottish" and "Scot" were there...so, in my  mind I heard, "Surely this book was just "on sale"...not actually 'cheap.'  I have to just be getting an amazing deal...did you see that review???!  SCOTLAND!  GABALDON!!"

 Rather impatiently, I used the "Buy with One-Click" on my Amazon account to download.  (**WARNING*** This button is dangerous.  If you have a weak will, an itchy trigger finger...anything...avoid installing this on your Amazon account!  I am currently in therapy...no, really...)

People.  This was a great book.  The only way I can think to express just how good is to give you a bit of "the goings on" in our home the past few weeks...

We got a puppy for Christmas.  A tiny puppy that needed nursing, burping (seriously), butt wiping, discipline...I swear it was like I had a newborn again.  I slept for a total of  maybe 37 minutes a night for, like, 9 days.

I. am. tired.

Then, I find this book.  I really only have a chance to read a chapter or two for a while, but as each page passes...things get more pressing.

I get wrapped up in an incredibly accurate historical account of the Jacobites, the attempts of King James to reclaim the Scottish throne...okay, sure, call me a Dork-a-saurus Rex - but this was all stuff I had studied in school not a year ago.  LOOK!  LOOK!  I'm using my major! <lol!>

Then there were the depictions of Scottish scenery; green landscape shrouded in mist and shivering cold quelled by warm, cozy fires...

and the <shiver> dialogue.  That Scottish brogue. <shiver again>

And that's all wrapped up in the completely believable scenario of a present day writer with "genetic memory" of a time (and love) long past....

Have I said <shiver> yet??

Well, the puppy eventually started sleeping for more than an hour at a time...I could get him in his kennel at about 9:30 and if I ran upstairs and hit the pillow immediately, I could get 5-6 hours of sleep.

er...Did I mention that Scottish brogue?

Well, last night, I didn't even try to get to bed at all. The book had to be finished before I could sleep. 

Back to the 37 minutes routine...
...but...heck!

What else is caffeine for besides the "day after a great book had to be finished" hangover?! :)

Truly an excellent start to my reading adventures in 2013!!

The Best Failure...EVER!

Well, it's obvious that I won't hit my goal of 39 book reviews, or even come close to reading all of the books on my list.

The experiment failed.

But you know what? I'm okay with that...

I have read some amazing books this year - many that I would have never picked up if it weren't for the advice of others. And I know, personally, that I read over 39 books - but counting ones I've already read, or that I read to the girls just didn't seem right...though I enjoyed them, every last one.

So, do I give up the experiment for 2013?

Absolutely not.

 This time, I am going to be less structured and start the new year with 40 blank spaces. And I will fill in the list at the end of the year!

 I cannot wait to get started! 

I'm looking for any and all of your suggestions for books to read in 2013...starting NOW! 

Onward and Forward!



 

Too Close for Comfort

I am a die hard C.S. Lewis fan, so when this book showed up, I must admit I was intrigued. Very shortly into the book, I realized that I would be disappointed. But perhaps that is because it is too similar to an iconic book and an amazing writer's original work...it had big shoes to fill.

I did, of course, enjoy the format of the book - the conciseness of it among other things. But, the characters seemed almost too coarse and gritty...Lewis didn't need to make the presence of evil "over the top" in 'The Screwtape Letters' - we just could just feel the evil from his seemingly divinely-inspired writing. Platt almost seemed to be trying too hard to convince the reader that the characters were....bad.

Overall a good read - maybe I would suggest reading it BEFORE you read Lewis's work - if there is still anyone out there that hasn't read it.

* I received a free copy of this title by the Tyndale Publishing Company. I was not paid, instructed, or expected to give anything but my honest review.

A Reminder...MacArthur style...

                                                

The subject of good intentions versus faith in action came up in our devotional today, and that is precisely what John MacArthur writes in his “Truth About” book , “The Lordship of Christ.”  As in any other relationship, loving Christ takes effort , sacrifice, and action – not just sentiment.

Though short in pages, this book is tall in message and is a sort of challenge to the “faithful” of today.  Are you willing to put in the work and abide in Christ or will you continue to ignore the Truth to be the sole proprietor of your life?  MacArthur challenges you to decide…and act.

I found this book to be a bit “dry” for my taste, but MacArthur did remind me of the necessity to further explore the questions he poses a bit deeper.  I believe some of his other own works do exactly that.

* I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com  http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Book #23

Oh the joy of a good book!

A friend of mine recommended this one, the author being a friend of hers, as she knew how much I love historical novels.  And let me tell you - this sweet romance delivered!!

For those of you that don't know me well, my favorite historical romance author is Diana Gabaldon for her incredible ability to transport you in near literal terms; through sights, sounds, smells in such vivid, lush description that you mourn returning to reality when you put down her books.  And her characters...oh, lordy!  I still swear sometimes that I've actually met these people.  Because of her books, I nearly packed all of my belongings and moved to Scotland - not just to seek the descendants of the heart-melting main character Jamie - but to research all of the incredible places Ms. Gabaldon describes throughout the story!!  I went into a physical depression at the end of her first book which actually led to a strange aversion to starting the second for fear of what would happen when I finished THAT one! 

And so, when I discovered the main male character in Ms. Frantz's novel was another strong, good looking Scotsman, well....!  There was, admittedly, a mixture of curiosity and denial.  NO ONE could live up to my Jamie.

I was wrong.

While "Love's Reckoning" is not nearly as detailed or involved as my beloved "Outlander" books - I found the characters to be just as human, just as loveable, just as real.  It's setting in Pennsylvania in the 1700's was incredibly authentic.

And I can prove it.

As I told several people, three quarters of the way through the book, I had to put "Love's Reckoning" down.  I was so irritated, so frustrated, so incredulous at the author's gall at putting the main character, Eden, through so much!!   A girl simply seeking the love of the Lord, to help orphans, to be loved by a (Scottish!!) man despite the cruelty it exposed her to by her own father and sister....and to have all the upheaval in this poor girl's life get worse and worse!! She was so good, so deserving, so pure...

I found myself  literally yelling at her when she made naive decisions that I knew would end up badly.

Soon I began venting  my frustration on Silas, the Scot (!!).  Why didn't he do more for her, to protect her, to keep her from making those silly, naive choices?!

Why...was he so human?

That's it.  Right there.

Ms. Frantz has written an incredible story of two very human people who fall in love while discovering the meaning and the consequences of life,  in the words of the Bible, and in the situations we all find ourselves in that often lead us down the wrong path...but never without the promise of redemption.

I am thrilled to have found a Christian Historical Romance novelist of this caliber (she has other books with other historical settings and other wonderful characters)...and as this book is titled as part of the "Ballantyne Legacy" - I cannot wait to read what Ms. Frantz has in store for my new friends next! 



Book #24 : I've been feeling the "itch" for a good Historical tome lately. With Lincoln coming out in theaters at the end of this week, I am diving into Ms. Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Team of Rivals" that the movie was based on.

Onward and Forward!!

Book #22 - but really #21...

"The world turns on our every action, and our every omission, whether we know it or not."

Ok.

I have been blown away by books before. 

Books have made me angry, made me cry, and made me truly lament the last word on the last page.  I have often wandered around after I read a good book because I wasn't sure how I would ever be able to find the next great read...

But this book puts most of those books to shame.

There were several moments in this book that I had to get up and blow my nose and wipe my eyes before I could continue...but, let me back up a bit before I rush off on an emotional tangent.

In "Cutting For Stone" we have an author, Abraham Verghese, that has learned how to use words to evoke very specific emotion - allowing you to literally feel and see and even smell the places he brings you - and to be honest, many are not pleasant to the average reader. It is in one of these rather unconventional locations - a mission hospital in Ethopia - that the author reminds you of what the word "humanity" actually means, why our Lord  tells each of us not to judge another, and how every life really can be intertwined and affect so many others.

The synopsis of this book is easy to find and read for yourself - but what it has no way of explaining is how rich and moving such a seemingly simple story can be.

There's nothing about this book that makes it an easy read. If you are uncomfortable with "real life" or an unsterile environment - or if you are only comfortable reading stories that give you "warm fuzzies" - this is not your book. If you are looking for a "quick read" - forget it; you will have missed out on so much that Mr. Verghese had to offer you. You must have time to allow the writing to encompass, to engulf you. I let myself literally abide within the pages and took very few breaks - no book A.D.D. on this one and I was surely rewarded!  Don't let the slow start deter you...I promise, before you know it, you will be transported to a different time, a different country, and much different circumstances than the comfy chair you sit in as you read...just like I was!

Book #22 is going to have to be some historical tome or a classic.  Just can't imagine anything else coming right after this...Aunt Nancy, you never cease to amaze me with your suggestions.  Each has been better than the last.  But I must say, I think you outdid yourself on this one! 

Onward and Forward! :)

Book #21...a failure...

Well, this is the second book that I have started and been unable to finish.  And boy, did it stir up all kinds of emotions!

"The Betrayal" by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and her husband (both two of my favorite authors) seemed like the perfect match for me.  It challenged some of the history that the Church has spelled out to be how Christ lived and whether the power Christ held was a bit more "human" than some would suggest - that he wasn't the "meek" man we all know, but more of a political-type figure with masses of not-so-nice people willing to work for him, which made him the real threat to Roman leaders.

Before you call me a complete heathen, I must explain.  First, the book cover didn't challenge the existence of Christ in any way.  These authors are both lettered to the hilt in educational degrees in both the languages of the original translations of the Bible and of early church history itself.

Second, when it comes to my faith - thank goodness that God knows me better than I know myself.  He understands that I question everything and want to see it from all viewpoints before I'm comfortable with saying, "This is what I believe."  There is a verse in the Bible, it's exact location escapes me, where a man says in one simple phrase, "Lord, I believe everything you are doing and saying, yet I have this nagging little bit of doubt...BUT, I trust you to help me work through all of that..."

Oh, found it...Mark 9:24 NIV   "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief."

The authors attack my faith and my belief as early as the introduction, challenging me to read the book in the hope that by the end, I would see that my new knowledge might have "threatened my faith" but at least I would know the "truth."

I had a conversation with a friend very recently about being cautious with the things in our lives that affect our faith - evil can be introduced to us without us even recognizing it, especially in things that seem benign or even informative.

And, to be honest, I've already got a grip on "the Truth."

That said...admittedly, the style of the book was also very difficult.  They used actual ancient translations for common names and moved back and forth between story lines that I found very difficult to follow.  That extra challenge made it hard for me to even want to try and see the whole thing through. For that very reason, by the third chapter, I put this book away.

Sooo...now I've moved on! Next up? Well...you'll see! :)

Onward and Forward!!