2008 Reading List

I love to read. One of the most relaxing things to me is to lay down with a good book ... on the couch ... on the beach ... on the back porch. Wherever really. Here lately, I have been doing a lot of reading in the car. It is the only time that both the kids and Will are otherwise occupied (with the DVD and radio) and don't need my constant attention. Here is my reading list from the year (in no particular order).

Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury. A christian fiction book about a NFL-quarterback and his long lost son. A sweet story, but slightly unrealistic.

Annie's People series by Beverly Lewis. This trilogy about the Pennsylvania Dutch includes The Preacher's Daughter, The Englisher and The Brethren. I love reading about the Amish community. Maybe it is because my mother grew up down the road from the Mennonite community in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. I remember seeing their horses and buggies coming down the road anytime I visited my grandparents.

The Other Women by Jane Green. Green writes a lot of popular chick lit books and I had never read one before. I picked this one up used and read it while we were in Disneyworld. It was a funny, but a typical British romantic comedy (think Bridget Jones). By the way, the other woman was the lead character's mother-in-law. I'm not ruining the book by telling you that.

Someday and Sunset by Karen Kingsbury. These are the final books in Kingsbury's Sunrise series, which is the third series (and books #13 and #14) about the Baxter family. These books are a little cheesy and sometimes unrealistic, but they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and really suck me in. I love the Baxter family and I am sad that the series is over, but I'm a little relieved to not have to read about them anymore!

Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews. This is such a funny book and a great read for the holidays (and a quick read-I read it in 2 days). I also read Savannah Blues and its sequel Savannah Breeze by Andrews in my book club this year. Andrews is a great southern humorist and all of her stories take place in Savannah, Georgia. I can't wait to read her other books. They are waiting on my bookshelf for 2009!

Other book club books for 2008 included Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle, Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane, Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson and The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian. Snow Flower was definitely my favorite on this list, which is a book about the art of Chinese foot binding. I love reading about the Asian culture as Memoirs of a Geisha and The Bonesetter's Daugher are some of my other favorite book club reads. The Double Bind was also a great read that is loosely based on The Great Gatsby, one of my fave high school summer reads.

Pop-culture drew me in to read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I hope to see the movie before it leaves the theaters, but I am guessing I am going to have to catch it on On Demand or rental. I am currently reading New Moon, the second book in the Vampire series. I hope to finish it before the end of the year.

My bible study group read What Happens When Women Say Yes To God by Lysa Terkhurst and Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas. Say Yes was a great book although we all thought Terkhurst seemed a little cheesy. However, each of us had what we called a "Lysa Terkhurst" moment during the course of the study so we thought maybe she was on to something after all. Sacred Parenting is a great book about how parenting shapes us (the parents) as individuals and a great read, but I do not recommend using as a bible study book. It did not lend itself well to group discussion.

I am still trying to read Mary by Janis Cook Newman, my book club book from October and November. When I didn't finish it in time for our group discussion, I kind of moved it to the bottom of my reading stack. Hopefully, I will finish it in 2009 because it is a very interesting fictional account of the life (and "insanity") of Mary Todd Lincoln.