As the title of this post says, I love a good book. The problem I've been having lately is finding a good book.
I read alot. a whole lot. I have to admit to not always remembering everything I read and sometimes even forgetting if I've read a particular book, but I so enjoy having a good book waiting for me on the bedside table, next to the couch, or maybe even on the back of the toilet (gasp!)
To help with my forgetfulness, I started keeping a list of which books I've read and writing a little summary. Since I have pretty much always hated writing summaries, I've been going to Amazon.com and copying & pasting their summaries. I just keep this information in a Word document for my own personal information.
So far, since December of last year, I've read 19 books. Some I have loved and some I am still shaking my head at. See, I like to read Christian fiction. However, sometimes I just want some good 'ole "chic lit." (You know, like a "chic flick" only a book.) The problem is that some of these recommended readings are not appropriate for a Christian to read.
I can ignore some stuff (perhaps some I shouldn't), but the "F word" is so offensive and when it's written over & over & over, it's sometimes just too much to continue reading. I can take reading about a little lovin' (if you know what I mean) but too much detail is too much detail. I mean, there are some things out there that some people do that I just don't need to know about!
Like I said, I like Christian fiction, but aren't there some "mainstream, contemporary" novels out there that don't have bad language & vivid descriptions of lovin'?
Here's a list of what I've read this year and what I've thought about them. After you've read my list, I'd love to get some recommendations from you of books you think I might enjoy, Christian fiction and not Christian fiction.
1.) A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks/pretty good
2.) The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks/good
3.) The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks/good
4.) The Yada Yada Prayer Group by Neta Jackson/wonderful!
5.) The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Down by Neta Jackson/wonderful!
6.) Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson/good
7.) Double Shot by Diane Mott Davidson/good
8.) The Whitney Chronicles by Judy Baer/pretty good
9.) Superstar by Victoria Gott/AWFUL; I couldn't wait for it to be over!
10.) The Proposal by Lori Wick/really good
11.) The Rescue by Lori Wick/really good
12.) The Visitor by Lori Wick/really good
13.) The Bachelor by Carly Philips/good, although I felt a little guilty reading this one!
14.) Bet Your Bottom Dollar by Karen Gillespie/alright
15.) Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani/good
16.) Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani/good
17.) Milk Glass Moon by Adriana Trigiani/good
18.) Between Friends by Debbie Macomber/wonderful!
19.) She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb/alright; this was an 'Oprah' book and there were parts of it that I definitely felt uncomfortable & guilty reading!
There are quite a few books I've started lately that I just haven't been able to finish. Just last night, I returned Speak Softly, She Can Hear. Within the first about 50 pages, the F word was written multiple times and a certain rendezvous was vividly described. A rendezvous that I had no business reading about, so that book was put away. I tried Bergdorf Blondes and couldn't get through it. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons also didn't make the cut. Citizen Girl certainly didn't make the cut either. The language was awful.
There are some books I am planning to read soon and am hoping to like. I have Home to Harmony, Beyond Tuesday Morning, and Mother of Prevention waiting for me to open. I think I'm going to try more Lori Wick and also go back to a series I started last year by Jennifer Chiaverini. I've enjoyed the Sisterchick series by Robin Jones Gunn also.
What about y'all? Do any of my blogging buddies have any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance!
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9 comments:
You really are an avid reader!!! I LOVED the "Yada Yada Prayer group" so much. I did not know there was another one!! I haven't read alot lately because when I start a good book I can't put it down. Darren's mother gives me volumes of Christian fiction, but I wound up giving them to my granny. I do like to go back and re-read classics. I really enjoy Steinbeck. I also like Wally Lamb's Oprah book, "I know this much is true." I lost my brother to schizophrenia and it is about siblings where one has schizophrenia. Very heavy. I enjoyed your post and always want you to post books you have read if you get a chance. P.S.~ I have tried several of those beach read chick types and they are hard to wade through for me too..I like some of them though.
There is actually a 3rd "Yada Yada" book. Our library doesn't have it yet and I hate to buy books for myself b/c I don't like to re-read them. (Children's books are a WHOLE other story...I love to buy & re-read those!)
You should try some Georgette Heyer or Clare Darcy. They both write regengy romance novels...but are very "clean". Usually just a kiss and hug at the end of the novel when the heroine gets her man to propose to her! LOL
I just read the latest Harry Potter and enjoyed it...I have them all if you need to borrow them. My mom just gave me two other books. One is What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg, my mother wanted me and all my sisters to read it. The other is Wicked (the book that they based the broadway play off of) by Gregory Maquire.
I also just read The Sparrow and The Children of God by Doria Russell...they were sci-fi-ish, but very interesting and thought provoking for me.
I have been looking for some other things to read, so maybe the yada yada books will be on my list.
That's what I get for typing one handed (baby in the lap). Regency...not regengy. Also, it is MARY Doria Russell.
My reading is all over the spectrum! I took the girls to the public library this summer and my oldest would come out of the children's library with stacks of books over an inch thick! Being the protective mother I am, I admit I read them all before she did. I had to know what she was reading! So most of my summer reading has been of the tween-teen level. (alot of them were really good too!)
I've read the Harry books..again to know what she would be reading. I am ashamed to say I am now addicted to them too.
My mother and I have gotten into alot of mysteries. Less ooo-la-la scenes (if you know what I mean). Seems to be less profanity in them too. Let me know if you want some good mysteries and I'll give you some good authors!
Some of my favorite books are by Meg Cabot. She is the author of the Princess Diaries (which they made into a Disney movie). She writes a lot of "teenager-fiction" kind of novels, but also has some adult ones too that I have really enjoyed. Two of my favorites are "The Boy Next Door" and "Boy Meets Girl". I felt like they were pretty tame in the language and overall general tone. They are written mostly in the forms of emails back and forth. Again, these books are not going to win any acclaim or prizes, but they are cute and fluffy and definitely what I would call chic-lit. Let me know if you end up reading one and like it.
I just stumbled upon your blog and I am all the time looking for a good wholesome book. Two christian authors I have recently read and absolutely love are Francine Rivers and Beverly Lewis. Francine Rivers has a 3 series called Mark of the Lion and the books are called "An Echo in the Darkness", "A Voice in the Wind", and "As Sure as the Dawn". Once I started I couldn't put them down and they really challenged my own faith and courage. Beverly Lewis has a series called Abram's Daughters (she recently released the fifth I think) "The Covenant" "The Betrayal" "The Sacrifice" "The Prodigal Son" and
"The Revelation". These were wonderful!! You should be able to find most of these in your library. Thanks for your suggestions too!! I am going to have to check them out.
I'm doing some blog catching up, things have been crazy here so I'm just now getting to this post.
I Love To Read!
I just read Lori Wick's Every Storm. If you like her stuff, you'll like this one. I generally like her books, I like that they are Christian, not filled with profanity and lurid descriptions of sex. (I used to read nothing but romance novels but was recently convicted of the fact that it's not appropriate reading material for me.) However, Lori's writing style gets a little tedious for me at times because the conversations between her characters can seem forced and fake. But that's just me. I still liked Every Storm.(If it makes me cry, I like it!)
Love Sparks' stuff too. Lately I've really enjoyed reading biographies/memoirs. I've read Sting's broken music and Brooke Shield's Down Came the Rain and Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz. Good stuff.
Brian Maclaren's New Kind of Christian is a fiction novel and has a sequel (haven't read the sequel yet). It's a look at post-modern christianity but it's told as a story that is very compelling.
I read that Wally Lamb book too several years ago, I felt the same way you did. What I wanted to do this summer, but didn't and still could was to do the summer of Faulkner series that Oprah's book club read.
I like the idea of keeping a reading list, I should start one since there's so much I want to read.
I agree: the Yada Yada books were great! I also enjoy Diane Mott Davidson's books (have you tried any of the recipes yet??). If you haven't read any of Beverly Lewis' books yet, I recommend them. Also, Not My Will, by Francena Arnold... I first read this book over 20 years ago, and it is great. Oh, and Jan Karon's Mitford Chronicles series is also a good read.
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