On My Bookshelf

I love to read. I may have mentioned this once or twice on the blog but I’m not sure if I’ve ever laid out exactly just how much I love to read. I will choose reading over pretty much any other activity in the world, except maybe sleep, and even then it’s a toss up. I love getting whisked away into another world where anything is possible – it’s my way of experiencing a life different than my own. It’s also my way of shutting out my real life when it gets too complicated/stressed/depressing/sad/boring/insert any number of adjectives here.

I realized that I haven’t written a post on what I’ve been reading lately – although that could be partially because up until a few weeks ago, I wasn’t reading much for pleasure. Life got in the way and I had too much going on…something I do not want to repeat anytime soon! It’s a sad day when I don’t have time to read.

Anyway, most of my reading time lately has been taken up with the books I’m reading for the class Kevin and I started up a few weeks ago – “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement.” It’s a fascinating class, although I have to admit some of the reading is pretty heavy.

In addition to the classroom reading I’ve had some free time lately (usually while the Husband is at work) for some pleasure reading, so let’s take a look at what I’ve been up to!

Ransomed Dreams, by Amy Wallace

This was a suspenseful Christian novel by an author I’d never read before. I’ve had the book forever but I’m not sure why I only recently picked it up – although based on the picture of the bookshelves above you may be able to ascertain that I possess a ridiculous amount of reading material. This book focuses on Gracie Lang, a woman who lost her family to a hit and run accident two years prior, and Agent Steven Kessler, head of the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Unit. It’s a book about loss, forgiveness, and learning to trust in God’s plan. It was a pretty quick read and I enjoyed it – I especially liked the fact that the author used to be a police officer and therefore I found the book to be well researched and believable.

Fireproof, written by Eric Wilson based on the movie by Alex and Stephen Kendrick

This is a novelization of the movie starring Kirk Cameron, and although I haven’t actually seen the movie I kept picturing Kirk Cameron as I read the book. It’s a book on love and marriage – specifically, not leaving when things get rough. One quote that particularly struck me (mostly because I think in today’s society we either forget about this fact or we choose to ignore it) is this:

Fireproof doesn’t mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it.

Something I think we would all do well to remember in our own marriages!

 

King and Maxwell and First Family, both by David Baldacci

I clearly went through a mini Baldacci phase as I read both of these books back to back. I really enjoy Baldacci’s books, especially the King and Maxwell series, and I sucked through both of these in about three or four days. No joke.

Unlocked, by Karen Kingsbury

Wow. I could have finished this book in one day but I purposely set it aside and read it in two because I wasn’t ready for it to be over. This is a book about a boy with autism, a girl with a heart for others, music, and the miraculous power of God. This book moved me on so many levels – and what made it even better was finding out that Kingsbury’s inspiration for this story is a real experience. If you don’t take anything else with you from reading this blog post, take this: READ THIS BOOK!

Reading is my favorite.

“I cannot live without books.” –Thomas Jefferson