My children are in bed, my cold is settling in, and I'm about to snuggle up with hot tea and a good book. Actually, I'd like to spend the rest of the season in good books and chatting about them over more tea. Want to join?
Christy from MommyBrain just shared a post about some good reads. I've added several of her recommendations to my wishlist. I'll share some of my faves and then I'd truly love to hear about some of your favorites.
As I told Christy, my current favorite Christian Fiction author is Lynn Austin. I think the woman is brilliant at capturing human emotion and realistic thought patterns. I hate reading a book and thinking, "Yeah, right." Not with Lynn Austin. There are several of her books that I have yet to read, but that just means I have a lot to look forward to. My favorite of her books is Gods and Kings.
It's actually part of a series called Chronicles of the King. Nothing I've ever read has made me dig so deeply into my Bible, gobbling up the Old Testament. It really brought it to life.
Another author I've enjoyed is Ted Dekker. His more recent stuff is just downright creepy, so please note that I am not recommending it. But his Black trilogy and everything before it are excellent in my opinion.
The Martyr's Song series is all about intrigue. It makes you squirm. It makes you appreciate the power of intercessory prayer. It makes you confront your big, bad, ugly self. And it has romance.
Bodie and Brock Thoene (pronounced Taney) are the last I'll share tonight. They wrote one of my favorite books. It is based on the story of Brock's grandparents during the Depression. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and it makes you truly appreciate all that you have
Another author I've enjoyed is Ted Dekker. His more recent stuff is just downright creepy, so please note that I am not recommending it. But his Black trilogy and everything before it are excellent in my opinion.
The Black Trilogy is sci-fi, I guess, but it certainly didn't seem so when I read it. Action, romance, mystery. All the good stuff. Ted Dekker's stuff always makes you think. It paints pictures that make things incredibly clear and simple.
The Martyr's Song series is all about intrigue. It makes you squirm. It makes you appreciate the power of intercessory prayer. It makes you confront your big, bad, ugly self. And it has romance.
Bodie and Brock Thoene (pronounced Taney) are the last I'll share tonight. They wrote one of my favorite books. It is based on the story of Brock's grandparents during the Depression. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and it makes you truly appreciate all that you have
They write quite a bit of historical fiction and I have enjoyed several of their series. For a while, pickings were slim in Christian fiction and I was anxiously awaiting each book the Thoene team put out. When I finally finished one series, I decided to call it quits until their next series was completely finished being published so I wouldn't have to suffer through any more cliffhangers. I hate waiting! That was about 5 years ago and I haven't picked up the new series yet. I'd forgotten about it! I guess I need to add that to my winter reading list.
Yes, these all fall under the heading of mind-candy, I suppose. But I learn as much from a good Christian fiction book as I do from a deep non-fiction. I think it is because I retain it so much better. I need object lessons to help me understand how to apply truths. It just sticks better. But you saw the picture of the scone at the top of this page. If it were a stiff-upper lip sort of list, you'd have seen baked fish instead. I do have a baked fish list to share....but I'm not in the mood tonight. Someday.
One last thing....have you heard of BookMooch? I signed up for it about a year ago and hardly used it. But I played with it this weekend and now LOVE it. It's a free group that you join and upload books that you are willing to give away. You earn points for listing books and you earn points for mailing books to group members who request them from you. One point gets you one free book from another member. You upload a wishlist (it can import straight from your Amazon Wishlist) and when a book on your wishlist becomes available, they email you. Grab it fast though. I've sent two and "bought" two books this weekend. Anyway, my login in is Bluepicke, so if you sign up, add me to your friends list. The only thing this costs you is shipping, but you always have the option to refuse to send a book if you don't want to. But media mail shipping is still pretty cheap, so it's completely worth it. Mail an old book for $2.00 and get a new book for free. Not bad.
Yes, these all fall under the heading of mind-candy, I suppose. But I learn as much from a good Christian fiction book as I do from a deep non-fiction. I think it is because I retain it so much better. I need object lessons to help me understand how to apply truths. It just sticks better. But you saw the picture of the scone at the top of this page. If it were a stiff-upper lip sort of list, you'd have seen baked fish instead. I do have a baked fish list to share....but I'm not in the mood tonight. Someday.
One last thing....have you heard of BookMooch? I signed up for it about a year ago and hardly used it. But I played with it this weekend and now LOVE it. It's a free group that you join and upload books that you are willing to give away. You earn points for listing books and you earn points for mailing books to group members who request them from you. One point gets you one free book from another member. You upload a wishlist (it can import straight from your Amazon Wishlist) and when a book on your wishlist becomes available, they email you. Grab it fast though. I've sent two and "bought" two books this weekend. Anyway, my login in is Bluepicke, so if you sign up, add me to your friends list. The only thing this costs you is shipping, but you always have the option to refuse to send a book if you don't want to. But media mail shipping is still pretty cheap, so it's completely worth it. Mail an old book for $2.00 and get a new book for free. Not bad.
If I actually was successful in embedding a Mr. Linky, I'd be ever so obliged if you would share a post about your favorite reading list. Thanks!
.
4 comments:
oooh....those all look like books I would LOVE. I am going to add them to my amazon list...
Add a wee bit of whiskey to your tea and you'll forget all about that cold. Excuse me, I gotta go, I think I'm coming down with something.....
LOL - you've just made my morning. It was good to sit down and laugh at all the comments you left. :D
I was just standing in Half Priced Books tonight(do you have one of those by you? Great store!) trying to think of the name of the author you recommended in this post (Lynn Austin). It didn't come to me. I did pick up another one by Deanne Gist though. I'll post and sign your Mr Linky.
Post a Comment