Reading List...

Last month I started a list of monthly goals for myself and one of those goals was to read the following SIX books:

1. Lineage of Grace - Francince Rivers (really just finish this one)

L.O.G. was excellent, excellent, especially if you're like me and really cannot get into the Old Testament. (I'm sorry!) The book followed women of the Old Testament that God chose to use for BIG events (Ruth, Bathsheba, etc.). The last book in the series is what I read this month and it followed Mary (obviously one New Testament!). I really enjoyed reading about Mary. Her faithfulness was incredible, but I also loved how real Francine Rivers made her. She was a mother who was very concerned about her child. She knew things about Him that no one else knew. She expected great things from Him. She tried to push Him into showing those powers. (Obviously, much of the character is fictionalized!) It was a great read!

2. Redeeming Love - Francine Rivers

Oh my, oh my, oh my. I cannot believe how wonderful this book was. I could NOT put it down. The story follows a prostitute named Angel who was orphaned as a young child and then sold into prostitution. One day, a man named Michael is walking by her and hears God tell him that she is the one he's meant to be with. Michael was a Christian and couldn't fathom why God was leading him to this woman who obviously didn't share in his values and his faith. He rescues her from prostitution and then their real journey begins. She's untrusting, unfaithful, and downright spiteful to him. And yet, God keeps telling him to persevere. Excellent, excellent book of faith!

3. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey - Trenton Lee Stewart

This is the second in the Benedict Society series. I really like these a lot. They remind me a lot of the "A Wrinkle in Time" Quintet. Very adventurous children's books!

4. The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes - Diane Chamberlain

Still working on this one but you can read my thoughts each Monday for my bookclub!

5. Like Dandelion Dust - Karen Kingsbury

Wow, wow, wow! This one I read in about two days. It is amazing. Karen Kingsbury is also a Christian fiction writer but she was totally new to me. I picked the book up because the movie is coming out (and oddly enough Sonny's boat is in the movie! Ha!) and I wanted to read it before I saw it. The book is about a couple who has an adopted five-year-old son. The biological father has been in prison and when he gets out he finds out that his wife had a baby and gave him up. Because he didn't sign the papers allowing it, the adoption is no longer legal. They begin the process of changing custody of this poor, sweet little boy. The biological father is a hateful, abusive man and the adoptive parents are (rightfully) concerned and horribly upset by the whole situation. Thus begins a plot to run with the child. I couldn't put the book down!

6. To Live and Die in Dixie - Kathy Hogan Trocheck

Kathy Hogan Trocheck is also known as Mary Kay Andrews and I've written before about how much I love her and how funny I think she is. This is a murder/mystery book about the murder of a teenaged girl. There are several suspects and she leads you down a path of "I don't know who did it!" unti the very end. Humorous along the way! Wasn't her best, in my opinion, but I did enjoy it anyway. I have really enjoyed all of her books, though!

Reading list for September:

1. Finish CeeCee Wilkes

2. Dear John - Nicholas Sparks

3. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma

4. Wicked - Gregory Maguire

5. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris (the Trueblood books)

6. Bound South - Susan Rebecca White

Obviously, I like to try to beat myself to death by reading!

What are you reading?