January 1

Favorites of 2009

I wanted to share a few of my favorite reads from this past year.

Top 5:

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

I had never heard of Corrie ten Boom before reading this book, but found her story truly inspirational.

The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman

This was a touching story of three special women who learn to see the world and each other in different ways. They also learn about love, both for family and for the men in their lives.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

I reviewed this just a couple of days ago, discussing how I enjoyed all the characters and the twisting plot. I also really liked how each section was narrated by a different person.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

This children’s classic is still magical for me, and it was nice to share it with Amber this time around.

She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb

I loved this one. It was a blending of Appalachia’s present and its past, of the truth behind folk songs and the way the present often echoes what happened before. I loved how all the characters lives intersected, how they interacted with each other.

Favorite Romance:

Phenomenal Girl 5 by A. J. Menden

I had expected a fun book, but it also turned out to be an incredible romance that brought tears to my eyes.

Favorite Title:

I Love, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci

The  story was okay; the title was fabulous.

Favorite Fantasy:

The Light of Burning Shadows by Chris Evans

This military fantasy hooked me. I can’t wait to read more of Evans’ work.

Favorite Thriller/Suspense:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The characters just drew me in, with their strengths and their secrets.

Book I was Surprised I Loved:

Phantom Limb by Theresa Kishkan

Her essays are beautiful, worth lingering over.

Hopefully 2010 will bring more wonderful books and stories.

Hearing from God Each Morning by Joyce Meyer

Hearing from God Each Morning by Joyce Meyer

I’m looking forward to reading these daily devotionals, starting tomorrow. A new year, a fresh start, a new habit. I probably won’t be reading them first thing in the morning, since I’m useless before my shower, and too busy trying to get out the door on time. Just typing that makes me think, well, I could actually just wake up ten minutes earlier and take a short time out from the hectic morning, sit down with a cup of coffee and start the day on a positive note.

If you are too busy for time with God, then you are definitely too busy! (p. 327)

Browsing through the book, I see topics dealing with listening to God and making time for Him, faith and trust.  Each devotional is only a page long, but they seem powerful. The cover says the book offers “reminders of how to reconnect with His plan and persevere through common obstacles ranging from fighting temptation at the mall to overcoming deeply held grudges. With daily reading that reinforce the the power of peace, patience, obedience and love, Joyce Meyer provides strategies for opening ourselves to His wisdom by first opening our ears.”

The first step in hearing from God is to believe we can hear from Him. Many people want to hear from God, but they don’t really expect to hear from Him.” (pg. 210)

I know that I will gain a lot through these readings, since, even though they’re brief, there’s some meat there, things to thing about, to learn from.

My copy was provided by the publisher for review and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate.

2009 A to Z Challenge Wrap-up

I didn’t complete this one, but I’m giving it another shot next year. Here’s the list of what I did read.

Authors

1. My Goodness: My Kids by Nesta A. Aharoni
2. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
3. Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs
4. Baron Thinks Dogs Are People Too! by Laurie Dean
5. The Case of the Night-Stalking Bone Monster by John R. Erickson
6. One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein
7. Master by Colette Gale
8. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
9. Turning Angel by Greg Iles
10. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
11. Phantom Limb by Theresa Kishkan
12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
13. Phenomenal Girl 5 by A. J. Menden
14. N.
15. O.
16. Second Glance by Jodi Picoult
17. I Thee Wed by Amanda Quick
18. Charlie and Mama Kyna by Diana Rumjahn
19. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
20. Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas
21. U.
22. Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde
23. Surprise Island by Gertrude Chandler Warner
24. X.
25. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
26. Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny

Titles

1. The Art of Compassion by Martin Smith et al
2. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
3. The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop by Nate Evans and Paul Hindman
4. Do-Over! by Robin Hemley
5. Eve of the Emperor Penguin by Mary Pope Osborne
6. Flesh and Fire by Laura Anne Gilman
7. The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny
8. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
9. I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci
10. J.
11. A Killer Collection by J. B. Stanley
12. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
13. MBA in a Book edited by Leslie Pockell
14. A Night at the Operation by Jeffrey Cohen
15. One Deadly Sin by Annie Solomon
16. The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
17. Queen Venita Visits the Blue Ice Mountains by Dawn Mende
18. Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz
19. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
20. Too Tall Alice by Barbara Worton
21. U.
22. Viva Cisco by Patrick Shannon
23. Wicked Widow by Amanda Quick
24. X Marks the Spot by Margaret Hall
25. You Wouldn’t Want to Be Sick in the 16th Century! by Kathryn Senior
26. Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg

2009 100+ Reading Challenge Wrap-up

I did pretty well at this one. You can find my list here. I read/listened to 149 books this year, which was actually one less than my personal goal of 150. Next year, I’m aiming at 100, so we’ll see.

U is for Unclean

Vicki of Reading At The Beach hosts A-Z Wednesday. Today’s letter is U.

Apparently I don’t read many books whose titles begin with U. I only found one that I’ve read since I’ve been keeping track, and it wasn’t one I enjoyed much, so I’m pulling one from the never-ending to-read list.

Unclean Spirits by M. L. N. Hanover

In a world where magic walks and demons ride, you can’t always play by the rules.

Jayné Heller thinks of herself as a realist, until she discovers reality isn’t quite what she thought it was. When her uncle Eric is murdered, Jayné travels to Denver to settle his estate, only to learn that it’s all hers — and vaster than she ever imagined. And along with properties across the world and an inexhaustible fortune, Eric left her a legacy of a different kind: his unfinished business with a cabal of wizards known as the Invisible College.

Led by the ruthless Randolph Coin, the Invisible College harnesses demon spirits for their own ends of power and domination. Jayné finds it difficult to believe magic and demons can even exist, let alone be responsible for the death of her uncle. But Coin sees Eric’s heir as a threat to be eliminated by any means — magical or mundane — so Jayné had better start believing in something to save her own life.

Aided in her mission by a group of unlikely companions — Aubrey, Eric’s devastatingly attractive assistant; Ex, a former Jesuit with a lethal agenda; Midian, a two-hundred-year-old man who claims to be under a curse from Randolph Coin himself; and Chogyi Jake, a self-styled Buddhist with mystical abilities — Jayné finds that her new reality is not only unexpected, but often unexplainable. And if she hopes to survive, she’ll have to learn the new rules fast — or break them completely…. (Goodreads.com)

I am an Amazon associate.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

I wanted to read this classic because it is generally considered the first detective novel in the English language, and as a mystery lover, I had to read it, right?  It took me a while to finish but I enjoyed it.

The Moonstone is a large yellow diamond stolen from a sacred statue in India by an English officer.  According to legend, three Hindu Brahmins, who have dedicated their lives to recovering it, will stop at nothing to retrieve it.

On her eighteenth birthday, Rachel Verinder inherits the diamond and the danger that goes along with owning it.

The dying Indian sank to his knees, pointed to the dagger in Hercastle’s hand, and said, in his native language:— “The Moonstone will have its vengeance yet on you and yours!”
(pg. 14)

She wears it to her party, but that night it is stolen from the drawer where she placed it. Suspicion falls on three Indian jugglers who had been in the neighborhood, on one of the servants who used to be a thief, and on Rachel herself who is acting quite out of character. Sergeant Cuff is called in to help solve the mystery, but, although he finds several, he is dismissed with no solution to the crime.

The book continues, leading the reader through a tangled plot of misunderstandings, lies, bad luck and murder, until, finally, the identity of the thief is revealed. Sergeant Cuff may have been a great investigator, but it takes an amateur, Franklin Blake, who is in love with Rachel, to finally solve the puzzle.

“Don’t waster your money and your temper—int he fine spring time of your life, sir—by meddling with the Moonstone. How can you hope to succeed (saving your presence), when Sergeant Cuff himself made a mess of it? Sergeant Cuff!” repeated Betteredge, shaking his forefinger at me sternly. “The greatest policeman in England!” (pg. 321)

Sergeant Cuff does return at the end and proves that he had an idea of what was going on, just couldn’t prove anything.

We learn the entire story through a series of narrators, each telling only what they knew at the time. Each has his or her own viewpoint, own strengths and weaknesses, own opinions on the events and the other characters. Some bits are downright funny.

This really is a good read, even for people who usually avoid the classics. The plot is interesting, if convoluted, and grabs your attention, never letting go. The characters are memorable, and the ending, though definitely a product of the time the book was written, was worth the build-up.

My copy was purchased and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate.

Teaser Tuesday

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from…that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given.
• Please avoid spoilers!

My teaser:

He leaned forward slightly and he could smell her again, that strangely seductive scent of vanilla and cinnamon.

Her gaze met his and in those glittery green depths he saw the same spark of awareness that sizzled through him, the same subtle yearning.

-pg. 114, The Cowboy’s Christmas Miracle by RaeAnne Thayne

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along.

My copy was a gift from the Harlequin Ambassadors program. I am an Amazon associate.

Mailbox Monday

Marcia at The Printed Page hosts Mailbox Monday every week. Everyone at our house got some great books this week for Christmas.

First, we have Amber’s gifts.

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians (The Complete Series) by Rick Riordan
• The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm, Book 2) by Michael Buckley
• The Problem Child (The Sisters Grimm, Book 3) by Michael Buckley
• Mythology by Lady Hestia Evans
• The Ugly Guide to Being Alive and Staying That Way by David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim
• The Gospel of Luke (The Illustrated ICB Bible)

David got two books.

• Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
• The Real Wood Bible by Nick Gibbs

And I got a few gifts and one for review.

• The Autobiography of Santa Claus as told to Jeff Guin (Received as a gift.)
• The Total Brain Workout by Marcel Danesi (Thanks to Harlequin Ambassadors.)
• The Cowboy’s Christmas Miracle by Raeanne Thayne (Thanks to Harlequin Ambassadors.)
• Hearing from God Each Morning by Joyce Meyer (Received from the publisher for review.)

Did you get any good books over this week?

From Amber’s Sketchbook

Just wanted to share a quick drawing of Amber’s. It’s Igor, the dog from the Franny K. Stein series, which is one of her favorites by the way.