Friday, January 21, 2011

to read or not to read



after seeing both the Harry Potter movie & Voyage of the Dawn Treader over the holidays,
both of which are two of my all time favorite books,
& i thought excellent movies,
i realized i hadn't shared any of my recent reads in a while.

reason being...basically, i've had a long stretch of flops
& i haven't read nearly as much as i usually do.

i'm currently re-reading Francine Rivers Lineage of Grace
which is a big 5 star in my little world

here's a little blip about Lineage of Grace that  i found on line~
The stories of the five unlikely women who changed eternity. Tamar, betrayed by the men who controlled her future, she fought for her right to believe in a loving God. Rahab, a woman with a past to whom God gave a future. Ruth, who gave up everything, expecting nothing, and God honored her. Bathsheba, whose beauty stirred the passion of a king, and whose pain moved the heart of God. Mary, who responded in simple obedience to God’s call. Each was faced with extraordinary —even scandalous— challenges, each took great personal risk to fulfill her calling, and each was destined to play a key role in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

historical fiction with a powerful punch.
three of the women in this book have sexual sin in their past
yet God used them in the lineage of His son.

did you get that?

that seriously blows me away

i feel sexual sin is something that can threaten to leave physical
& emotional scars, usually kept alive by a guilty conscience.
yet God shows us there is redemption through Him.
& not only redemption
but He & only He can take a rotten past 
or a big old mistake & turn it into a happy- ending-after-all.

 as i was saying,
 rahab was a prostitute.
 bathsheba ( my personal favorite story!) 
slept with king david while her husband was fighting on the front line.
tamar tricked her father in law into sleeping with her to carry on the family line. hello.
yet God used each of these women to change history.




two on my list to read are Decision Points by President Bush


& the Perfect Love song by Patti Callahan Henry
one of my all time favorite authors.  
love all her books

remember i'm just a mom, not a literary critic~
but here are the last few i've read

Kitchen House & Shape of Mercy
i'd give both of these 5stars



The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner


you know how i feel about jodi & her dark stories
but this was one of savannah's faves so i gave it a try.
while i think she is one of the most creative amazing authors
of our generation,
her stories are usually to heavy for my preference
Nineteen Minutes, 4 stars

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult



 i'm usually a big fan of Nancy Thayer
but i give Moon Star Beach 3 stars.
just wasn't super duper.



Moon Shell Beach by Nancy Thayer


not to offend any Karen fans out there,
i do enjoy her books.
they are usually mighty quick reads
& seem to have happy endings
however A Time to Dance was a bit of a disappointment to me
2 stars



A Time to Dance by Karen Kingsbury


disclaimer~ i love sara evans
i would love to look like sara evans
& i would most definitely love to sing like sara evans
having said that...
i thought her book left something to be desired.

 i went to borders & asked the sales guy to help me find her first book
only to have him pull out this cheesy , wierd size book
(the latest edition may actually be a 'normal' size)
in fact, i think he made a face
as if i were a poor excuse for a book enthusiast.
i couldn't bring myself to purchase it so i went the library route instead.


no stellar literary work here.
but cute & predictable and a sweet story
 i was disappointed.
2 stars
i think she has another new release.
let me know if the second book was redeeming.

The Sweet by & By by Sara Evans



ok...have you read anything fabulous or dreadful lately?
do tell...

23 comments:

{A*very} Blessed Life said...

Thanks for this AWESOME list Paige! I need a new line up for the 2011. Still working on a couple from 2010, but I may toss those to the wind and start fresh. Have a great weekend!

Alison Agnew said...

I've been looking for The Kitchen House and haven't located yet. Still need to read Lineage of Grace...have really enjoyed Rivers' other books so far.

Just finished reading Bonhoeffer...fabulous. Best I've read in a long long time.

Blessings,

Alison

Kelli said...

I recently read The Help (I'm a little late) and I loved it. I will have to pick up Lineage of Grace...sounds fabulous.

Biz said...

Thank you for sharing your reviews!
I'm a book oholic and I'm pretty sure I'll pick some of these up at the local 1/2 price bookstore, unfortunately who knows when I will get to them because I have about 100 books already on my shelves that are in queue to be read!
Stop by and check out a few of my book reviews when you have a chance! I'd love to have you!
Biz

Anonymous said...

I want to look like sara evans too. She's GORGEOUS. I'm reading that Paula Deen book right now and even though it's an autobiography I think it's so good! It's the best book I've read since the Help. I can barely put it down at night. I'm always thinking, "what's going to happen next?" I know it's an autobiography but it's a very interesting one! Maybe you would like it. Have you ever tried the 2nd hand store to sell back your books? I never knew you could make money doing that. (it's just a little bit)

melissa said...

Great reviews, Paige ... I just read Decision Points for my book club, enjoyed it and very informative.
LOVED Kitchen House. I'm currently reading The Crying Tree ... it's good and a bit suspenseful!

Katie said...

I am currently reading The Help, after hearing you raved about it. I waited until after Christmas, hoping someone would get it for me since it's still in hardback and $25.00! Alas, no one read my mind and I picked up a copy at Sam's Club for $13... I LOVE it!

I also recently read the Guernsery Literary and Potatoe Peel Society..... REALLY good!

Kristin said...

As I went down your books, I found myself smiling and saying "Oh self, you must get that one! And that one too!".

I love it that you make a plans in your life like that of reading or whatever you choose to take on and you see it all the way through and bring others into the wonder of it along with you. Inspiring!

I need to go and get my read on now! Love you friend. Hoping your day is just beautiful.
xo-me

Kerri said...

Thank you so much for this post Paige! You were the reason I decided to read The Help and I loved it! I remember you mentioning Lineage of Grace before. I will definitely be getting some of these books.

Have a great weekend!

Stefanie said...

I loved the 'Kitchen House' and I think I'll pick up 'Lineage of Grace' next. This book I'm about to suggest is not at all in keeping with the type of books you've listed, but boy oh boy, is it an amazing one. 'Unbroken' by the author of 'Seabiscuit' is truly one of the most incredible books I've ever read. It's not a light read, but certainly a page turner- You have to be in the mood for it. I highly suggest it!

Simply Jen said...

Great suggestions! I recently finished Decision Points and thoroughly enjoyed it! It is an easy, informative, "real" account...absolutely confirms President Bush's solid moral character and presents the whole story.
I am currently reading Pillars of the Earth. It is a beautifully written historical fiction piece.
Cannot wait to read the Paula Dean book...thanks for the suggestion. I absolutely LOVE her!
Happy reading!
Simply Jen

Jill said...

Ann's new book "One Thousand Gifts"!!! truly a treasure of a book! a joy (and blessing) to read!
Many Blessings!
Jill

Lara said...

Thanks for the ideas and comments. I hate going blind into the book store. I am a Francine Rivers fan. Any and all. I grabbed your button by the way, its too sweet, check me out at www.preceptgirl.blogspot.com (wink wink)

Anonymous said...

I just read An Irish County Courtship by Patrick Taylor. It's part of a series. They're really great stories about small town life in the 60s.

My mom took home a book from her book club called The Outside Boy. She's been raving about it. I have to go to the library to look for it.

homebody0404 said...

I think I'll be coming here for book recommendations! Right now I'm tackling Mere Christianity. Edie has inspired me to actually read CS Lewis instead of just storing the books on my shelf. I'm definitely interested in reading Lineage of Grace. Yes, Paige you're just a mom but so are we! I'd take your book recommendations/reviews over some snobby book critic or literary expert anytime:)

Ginger said...

I look forward to reading some of these. Best read here of late was "In the Company of Others," Jan Karon's newest. Wonderful!

Between You and Me said...

I've read the Lineage of Grace series...LOVED them. cried and laughed and felt amazingly normal when I finished each of them.

LOVED Decision Points...Just finished it. really, really good read...kind of fell in love a little bit with GWB all over again....

read several of the other ones on your list...totally agree about the Kingsbury book...liked it but I'm used to LOVING all of hers and I didn't LOVE it.

okay..ta-ta for now. looking forward to reading some this weekend....

Farmgirl Paints said...

I love Francine Rivers. She's wonderful. Thank you so much for the list of others. To be honest I haven't picked up a book other than my bible study book or a camera book in forever. I am so overdue for a book that I can get competely lost in.

the wild raspberry said...

i'm reading james dobson's
bringing up girls right now.

it's excellent!

Kat said...

Paige, have your read "The Swan House" by Elizabeth Musser. It's one of my favorite books of all time. LOVE IT!
I also enjoyed "Love Walked In" and "Belong To Me" by Marisa de los Santos.
Have you read "A Homemade Life" That one is fabulous too!

Privet and Holly said...

One more chapter
left of The Art of
Racing in the Rain,
which I'm loving.
Book Club has chosen
Still Alice....I'll
let you know....I've
also got The Middle
Place on my night
stand. Love your rating
system, Paige : )
xx Suzanne

Carol S. said...

Tim Gunn's new book (Project Runway host) is terrific: Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work. Juicy stories, and some laugh out loud moments. Very readable.

DaShannon said...

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Oh. My. Finally. I've read too many so so books lately. I'm logging off to go read right now.