What’s on the Book Pile

Yesterday I had an epiphany. I came home from dropping my kids at school and all I wanted to do was sit and read. I talked myself out of it because I just had too much to do around the house and reading is only for extra free time.​*

What?​

What is this “extra free time”? Does anyone ever have some extra? There’s always more stuff to do! Is it so wrong that I want to make reading a priority during the day? Absolutely not! Maybe other people have already realized that, but it was a rather freeing moment for me. ​

So I thought I’d post these Book Pile pictures occasionally to see how much the piles change with my new-found reading time.​

1. Everything that Rises Mus Converge by Flannery O’Connor

2. Six Ways to Keep the “Little” in Your Girl by Dannah Gresh

3. The Merry Little Christmas Project and Planner by Kaley Ehret

4. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

5. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

 Please keep in mind that by listing these here, I am not necessarily recommending them! For my ratings and the occasional review, make sure to follow me on Goodreads.

*By the way, instead of reading, I turned on the TV. You’d think they were equal trade-offs, with TV being the less desireable (intellectual) choice, but any multi-tasker knows TV is better than reading for “getting things done”. 

Books Read in 2011

List of books read in 2011. Unfortunately, I over-estimated how many I had read (since several are quite long), and I didn't get any of my Summer Reading books done! But at least I still met my goal. We'll Meet Again by Mary Higgins Clark Heading Home With Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality by Laura A Jana & Jennifer Shu The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan Teach Your Baby to Sign by Monica Beyer Your Pregnancy Week by Week by Dr. Glade B. Curtis & Judith Schuler What to Expect when you're expecting by Heidi Murkoff & Sharon Mazel The Proposal by Lori Wick The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan Twilight by Stephanie Meyer New Moon by Stephanie Meyer Home by Choice by Brenda Hunter

Add me as a friend on Goodreads if you are interested in my thoughts on any of these!

Books Read in 2010

As has become my tradition at the end of each year, here is my list of books read in 2010 (in chronological order).  I did not finish nearly as many as I would have liked, but I comfort myself in the knowledge that most adults average about two books per year (don't remember where that statistic is from, but I like it and  it makes me feel good about myself, so it must be true).  Also, some of these books were quite long and/or boring, so that makes the list all the more impressive!

1. The Hawk and the Jewel - a fun "Christian spice" book by Lori Wick. ("Christian spice" is a term I've adopted from a friend for a Christian romance novel.)

2. Desert Rose - another "Christian spice", but this one was by Linda Chaikin. She is one of my favorite Christian authors, because there is always a good mystery and a lot of adventure. Usually the stories are set at some point in history, as well, so I feel like I'm learning a lot at the same time.

3. A Clockwork Orange - a dystopia by Anthony Burgess that I only read because it was on my Summer Reading list. I found it very disturbing and I'm not sure what I gained from it besides being able to cross it off my list and now understand references made to it.

4. The Briton - another "Christian spice", this one by Catherine Palmer. Normally, I would not read so many clumped together, but I remember feeling the need to read something uplifting after my previous one.

5. The Shadow of your Smile - thriller by Mary Higgins Clark. It was a good story, but I remember thinking it wasn't one of her greatest.

6. There Goes the Bride - cute Agatha Raisin mystery by M.C. Beaton.

7. Glory, Glory - romance novel by Linda Lael Miller. Weirdly I did not even rank this one, so I can't even tell you if I enjoyed it or not! But my recollection at this point is that I need to just stick to my "Christian spice".

8. Freefall - I classified this novel by Kristen Heitzmann as "Christian fiction/adventure", so I'm not sure if that includes "spice" or not. But I gave it an 8.5/10, so I obviously enjoyed it either way!

9. Reaching for the Invisible God - excellent book by Philip Yancey. I could probably read his books over and over again and always gain new insight. I also referenced this book in a post.

10. Unafraid (Mary) - historical fiction novel by Francine Rivers about the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This book is part of a series of women in the Bible and they are all amazing.

11. The Awakening - Christian novel by Angela Hunt. This book was very different, but sweet once you realize what is going on. It was the first Angela Hunt I'd read and I'd probably have to read one more to decide how I feel about her writing.

12. A Stranger is Watching - another thriller by Mary Higgins Clark. I have zero recollection of this one, so I could probably pick it up again in a couple years and never know I had read it before. Thankfully, I keep this list!

13. The Eye of the World - the first of the epic Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I was completely hooked after reading this one. The books average around 800 pages each, so they are no small task to finish!

14. The Divine Mentor - a book we read in our church's small group by Wayne Cordeiro. I appreciated its message, but felt like it used way too many words to get it across (ie, probably could have been in pamphlet form instead).

15. Breastfeeding Made Simple - an excellent and informative guide on breastfeeding by Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-tackett. I really enjoyed this book, actually, and would recommend it to anyone who is planning on nursing.

16. Madame Bovary - not sure why I decided to read this modern classic by Gustave Flaubert, except that it was on my bookshelf and unread. I found it very sad, but I suppose that's what he was going for, in a sense.

17. The Great Hunt - book two in the Wheel of Time series. Made me so excited to start book three!

18. Your Pregnancy & Birth - this book comes with an * because I did not read the section on complications. I worry enough, so I figured it was for the best.

19. Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief - this is a book for young adults by Rick Riordan, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it any less. It was an easy and entertaining read.

20. A Merry Little Christmas: Unto Us a Child... / Christmas, Don't Be Late - two novellas in one book. Cute Christmas stories, but they felt a little rushed in the novella form.

21. Pride and Prejudice - I only read this classic by Jane Austen because it's on my Summer Reading list, but I am so glad I did! I love the BBC mini-series, which was almost word for word the book, but the book explained so many of the emotions behind the meaningful looks in the movie. It was incredibly sweet and romantic.

As always, if you have any questions regarding my list or would like further information about specific book, please feel free to email me or check out my “books I’ve read” spreadsheet for every book I’ve read since the summer of 2002 (when I first started it).

Books Read in 2009

The list below is all the books I read in 2009 in chronological order.  I will try to summarize my thoughts on each, but with some my memory is a bit hazy already.  The ones I remember are probably also the best literature (with some exceptions).

1. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - Very cute book of short stories from the wizarding world, by J.K. Rowling.

2. Asking for Murder - To be honest, I hardly remember this book by Roberta Isleib. I gave it a 5.5/10, though, so take from that what you will.

3. Preaching to the Corpse - Another by Roberta Isleib that I hardly remember. It also received a 5.5/10.

4. The Alchemist - A fable by Paulo Coelho that I did not really enjoy.

5. High Marks for Murder - I was powering through these murder mysteries for a while. This one is by Rebecca Kent and I gave it a 5.4/10.

6. The Wind in the Willows - I actually wrote a review of this book by Kenneth Grahame.

7. Eragon - I really enjoyed this book by Christopher Paolini. My exact words from my "books I've read" spreadsheet are: "sooo good! can't wait to read the next 3 books; almost made me depressed at how good it is, because this guy was 15 when he wrote it! I wish so much that I could write a fantasy book like this. I love fantasy."

8. Ringing in Murder - Another that I have no recollection of (how sad is that?), by Kate Kingsbury. I gave it a 5.3/10.

9. Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death - I do enjoy M.C. Beaton's books, both the "Agatha Raisin" series and the "Hamish MacBeth" series. This was the first of all the Agatha books and I gave it a 7/10.

10. The Last Sin Eater - This was an excellent book by Francine Rivers. I didn't do a real review of it on the blog, but I did mention and quote from it.

11. Kissing Christmas Goodbye - Another "Agatha Raisin" book by M.C. Beaton. I gave this one a 7.5/10 (I have been enjoying her recent ones more than her earlier ones).

12. Mrs. Pollifax Pursued - To quote from my spreadsheet, "Mrs. Pollifax just seems a rather flat character after reading so many Agatha Raisin books." The book is by Dorothy Gilman and I gave it a 5/10.

13. Port Royal - This is the first in "The Buccaneers" series by Linda Chaikin. If you like Christian Spice (which I do), these books are for you.

14. The Pirate and His Lady - The second in "The Buccaneers" series. If you follow the link to the Amazon page, please ignore the cover art for these books.

15. Jamaican Sunset - The last book in "The Buccaneers" series. I gave these books a 9.1/10, 9.2/10, and 9/10, consecutively and I'm not ashamed to admit that. I found them to be both entertaining and uplifting. My comments from my spreadsheet: "loved this series; writing is very good, especially for a Christian author: she does her research very well as her settings are usually historical; also thumbs up for the bit of romance =)"

16. The Bachelor's Bargain - Another Christian Spice book by Catherine Palmer. I gave it a 8.9/10.

17. Anna Karenina - It may look like I was reading a lot of Christian Spice there for a while, but I was taking breaks from reading Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy, which I found depressing. I did, however, give it a 7/10 and my comments were: "Every time I read a classic, I realize again how inadequate my rating system is. Most of the time I rank on pure enjoyment, but I can't really say I enjoyed this book (except the parts with AK, who I identified with, and that scared me), and I know I would probably appreciate it more with the proper studying of it, but I think a 7 rating shows a combination of the enjoyment factor as well as good literature factor (see ratings for 1984 and Little Women)."

18. The Secret Adversary - This is the first "Tommy and Tuppence" novel written by Agatha Christie. It was a very good mystery.

19. A Spoonful of Poison - Another "Agatha Raisin" novel, by M.C. Beaton, that I can't remember for the life of me. I gave it a 7.8/10, though, so I must have enjoyed it.

20. N or M? - Another good "Tommy and Tuppence" novel by Agatha Christie.

21. Postern of Fate - The final "Tommy and Tuppence" novel by Agatha Christie, which was surprisingly boring. I gave it a 4.2/10, as opposed to the 7's and 8's that the previous "Tommy and Tuppence" books received.

22. Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist - Yet another M.C. Beaton book. I gave this one a 7.6/10, although looking back I think that was probably too generous.

23. The Skeleton in the Closet - Another M.C. Beaton... blah blah blah... 7.7/10.

24. Silk - First book in "The Heart of India" series by Linda Chaikin. Another excellent Christian Spice series.

25. Under Eastern Stars - Second book in "The Heart of India" series.

26. Kingscote - Final book in "The Heart of India" series.

27. Eldest - Second book in the "Inheritance" series by Christopher Paolini. I am really enjoying this series and gave this one a 9.2/10. My comments from my spreadsheet: "only gave it lower rating than Eragon because I found the parts with Roran to be a bit boring at times. Otherwise excellent and highly engaging."

It was good for me to write this list because I realized how few books are on here that I am actually proud of finishing.  In fact, while many of these books were really good, entertaining, and/or worthwhile for other reasons, the only one I am proud of finishing is Anna Karenina.  Now I know I have to set my standards higher this year.  (That probably won't happen.)

If you have any questions regarding my list or would like further information about specific book, please feel free to email me or check out my "books I've read" spreadsheet for every book I've read since the summer of 2002 (when I first started it).