Sunday, September 13, 2009

Summer Reading List - Scorecard!

Earlier this summer, I posted a list of books that I intended to read. Today, I thought I'd fess up to how I did and write a little review about a few of the books. The original post is below, with my additions in bold:

Reading is my favorite thing to do, no matter what the season. But, because I always looked forward to the summer reading lists handed out this time of year during my school years, here is my 2009 summer reading list:

That Certain Spark by Cathy Marie Hake

This one won't be released until later this summer, but I cannot wait for it to become available. Set in the same community as Forevermore, Fancy Pants and Whirlwind, these books tell such sweet, wholesome, romantic stories and the leading ladies are delightfully quirky and real!




*I did read That Certain Spark and enjoyed it very much. It was like visiting old friends, first introduced in Fancy Pants, Forevermore and Whirlwind. I will admit, though, that my favorite book of the series is Forevermore and my primary disappointment with That Certain Spark is that I did not hear enough about those characters to make me happy.

A Measure of Mercy by Lauraine Snelling

I became hooked on this series when I picked up the first in the Daughters of Blessing series while on vacation in Williamsburg, VA. Set in North Dakota, in a primarily Norwegian immigrant community at the turn of the century, these books paint beautiful word pictures of a simpler time, even if the characters lives are not always so simple.


*I confess I did not read this book - yet.

Fields of Grace by Kim Vogel Sawyer
This one just looks too good to pass up. I've read three or four other books by this author, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Waiting for Summer's Return has got to be one of the most touching historical romance books that I have read - reminiscent of Love Comes Softly.




*Ditto.

And, even though I am planning on reading a lot of fluffy, historical fiction - dessert reading, if you will. I'm going to eat - no - read something more nutritious, too.

Me, Myself & Lies by Jennifer Rothschild
The tagline of this book is "Cleaning out your thought closet". Basically this is a six week Bible study (which I found on http://www.livingproofministries.blogspot.com/ ). The focus in this book is to target the negative things that women say to themselves about themselves. I know I need to work on that.






*Okay, so I flat out misunderstood that this is a WORKBOOK. I do still plan on working my way through this book at a later date - once the Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible study is completed. Which, by the way, will be finished in two more weeks. More on that in a later post.

Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs
I was so impressed by Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible, I'm going to read this one too. Also, I accidentally ordered it in a lot on eBay along with some used copies of Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible (to be used in the Bible study this summer). Since I was going to read it anyway, it worked out well.


*Love, love, loved this book. Each chapter was excellent, but Rahab knocked my socks off. Liz Curtis Higgs has such a way of taking these women we have read about for years, in some cases, and fleshing them out until we go, "Wait, I think I know her." or "Wait, I think I AM her." Definitely recommend this one.

2 comments:

Deborah said...

I was wondering when you have time to read! I love to read and will read on vacations but as soon as I get home, the books stay on the shelf until the next vacation. I should work at reading more at home. It would be a good way to just stop and do something for myself!

Susannah said...

I keep wanting to get the Bad Girls series. They sound great! I heard Liz Curtis Higgs speak at a writer's conference (a hoot) and loved her. Thanks for the gentle prod/reminder to get these books. :~D

Blessings, e-Mom