Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

This was one of those "feel good" books. It's one that almost anyone can read without being offended. It didn't contain sex, gore, or violence. It was simply a book about a little girl with a big dream. She can't wait to grow up and spread her wings. She wants to escape the small town where she grew up. And like most of us, she quickly realizes that the one thing she has wanted most in this world may not be the key to happiness after all.

Of course, there are plenty of twists and turns within this short story which keep the reader guessing and coming back for more. Mainly, this story is about family, love, and forgiveness. When her father, the town's preacher, commits the ultimate betrayal, it rocks the foundation of her values. It shocks the town, but somewhere admist the chaos, she finds it within herself to forgive him and move forward.

This is a good book for the holiday season since it's short and easy to read. It's captivating. Go ahead...Try it for yourself. You'll like it!

Christmas Pick

This is a strange pick for me, but I thought it was very fitting for the Holiday season. I firmly believe in keeping things simple for my family. I believe I'm doing my kids a great injustice by overindulging them. There is something to be said about giving instead of receiving. This is a great time of year to reinforce these belief systems. My kids are required to give gifts. The older ones save their money to buy a special trinket or toy for their siblings. The younger ones make some kind of craft.

I have not read this book yet, but it came with lots of recommendations from friends of mine who read my latest posting on www.thegarrychronicles.blogspot.com.

If it is your goal to raise children who are responsible, contributing members of society, I think you'll enjoy this. We can all learn something from it.

Wow!

All I can say is "Wow!"...

This book is FAB.U.LOUS!!!! I think I mentioned in previous posts how I totally picked this book by it's cover? Yep, I did...It's beautiful, isn't it? I guess on a dreary, cold day in Minnesota, the cover of this book made me want to jump right in to some far away, tropical paradise.

And it did just that...I jumped right in to an intriguing story about a young Hawaiian girl, Rachel, who develops leprosy at a young age and is banned to a far off island where she will remain quarantined for the rest of her life. Her family, the only people she knows, is stripped from her life and she's forced to grow up without them. It sounds depressing right? Another story about love and loss? Well, not exactly. There is definitely love and there is loss, but I think it's a magnificent story of survival. A sort of "bloom where you're planted" kind of theme. There is a whole tapestry of characters, whom are weaved together, and become Rachel's family. She forms deep friendships with fellow patients. She finds love. She builds a life.

And while the characters are all fictional, the scenery and history the author provides is not. The writing style is very descriptive....It was easy to picture a sort of "prison" of leprosy patients on this beautiful tropical island.

I hope this doesn't spoil the ending for fellow readers, but at the end of the book, she's given the option of leaving the island. A sort of parole. She struggles with this choice because all she's ever known is the island. She's been on it since she was a child and her family has become all of her fellow detainees. The biological family she left behind is nothing more than a distant memory, most are now dead. This leaves me wondering...Would I leave just because I could? Would I want to leave behind the only family I've ever known? The only home I've ever built? The only life I recognize?

It's a GOOD book! In fact, normally I don't read numerous books by the same author (unless it's Jodi Picoult or Danielle Steel...But we all had to go through THAT stage, right?) But the author, Alan Brennert, does have another one called "Honolulu" which I wouldn't mind reading someday (when I get through my current list of "unreads").

Stay tuned for a Holiday pick soon! I'll also try to compile another list of my fav's soon!

Molokai

This book has been on my shelf of "unreads" for far too long! After reading numerous reviews, I decided it would top my list and go from "unread" to "must read"...

This book grabbed my attention at Target long ago (Dontcha just LOVE that place? My goodness! If Target doesn't have it, you don't need it, right?) and I must admit...I totally judged this book by it's cover. It's just gorgeous!!!

While I'm only about 1/3 of the way through it, I'm really enjoying it! It contains some Hawaiian history, great character development, and writing style that has left me enraptured.

UPDATE: This book is FANTASTIC!!! It did take me some time to get into it, but now I can't stop reading it. It's definitely worth your time! And, yes, it has kept me up past my bedtime!!!

Too Many "Unreads"....

The above photo is of my "unreads"...Purchased, but not yet cracked open. After looking at this pile of very sad books, I decided I must tackle some of them before I read an oldie...even if it is a "goodie"...

Unfortunately, this doesn't even touch the number of books on my kindle and ipad that have been downloaded, but not read...So sad.

Not only am I addicted to reading books, but also to buying them!

My All Time Favorite Book

This happens to be my favorite book of all time. There are a lot of fabulous reads out there, but this one happens to hold a very special place in my heart. I read it back in August of 2001 and have chosen to NEVER, EVER go back and re-read it. There are many reasons for this, but I loved the book so much that I was afraid that if I were to review it again, I'd find fault with it. And as any love affair, I didn't want to part with the "no book can top this" kind of feeling.

Let me set the stage for you. Our first child had just turned 1, we were leaving him for the first time with my parents as we set out on a Yellowstone expedition...Our first child-free vacation in over a year. We had gorgeous weather, a great time reconnecting as husband and wife, good food, long naps in the car beside babbling brooks. This short time of our life really couldn't be any sweeter. At the same time, I had found the ultimate book! Really? What more could I ask for??? So, when I closed the final page of this book and literally wept because it was over, I have chosen to never go back to it. What if it was Yellowstone that made me like it so much? What if it was the enormous amounts of uninterrupted sleep we were getting? What if it was the food? Or the long, solitary drive? What if the book really wasn't that good at all? What if it was merely my state of mind? I couldn't even go there...So I never have...Until NOW!

Ten years, two houses, two kids, 3 dogs, and countless fish later, I have decided to go back and read "Cane River"...

I'm very scared and I'm not sure I can do it, but I'm going to try.

Talk about "Out of the Box"

I just finished reading the above book and I'm quite shocked...I must admit...This book was written by a Christian author and while I'm not trying to discount all Christian works, generally, they are hard for me to get into. I'm not one to wear my spirituality on my sleeve and I'm not an evangelist of any sort, so when I come upon a book with a lot of spiritual references, I tend to feel "bullied" or "led" down an unwelcome path. This didn't do any of those things for me. The references were quite subtle, but very thought provoking. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Thanks to my dear friend, Lisa, for recommending it. It's definitely "out of the box" for me. I never would have picked it up on my own, but I'm so glad it's a part of my library now! If you have any doubts, just check out the reviews online. Some sites had over 1000 reviews and almost all were 5 stars! How often does that happen?

"The Kids Are Back in School" reads!

Awwww....can you hear that? What? You don't hear anything? That's because I'm referring to the sweet, sweet sounds of silence. This must mean the kids are back in school and it's finally time to set aside some "me" time and curl up with a good book.

Normally I post a selection of summer reads, but because my life has been super chaotic for the past six months (rumor has it new babies are little suckers of time), i decided to go on a quest for some good Fall/kids-are-back-in-school/take-advantage-of-nap-time books.

I wish I could take credit for the list I found, but I cannot. After a vast Internet search, this list seemed liked one that I could most relate to and couldn't wait to tackle. They all appealed to me. In fact, I think I download a sample of each of them (gotta love e-books!). Some of the books I've already read, but most I had not even heard of....this might be what intrigued me most...my book radar is always on the up-and-up, I frequently search for something new and different....so to find a list that consisted of a couple of never-heard-of's for me is always refreshing.

The list comes from www.about.com amongst their reading recommendations for women.

Ok, I don't think most people agree with me on this one, but I found this book to be very confusing. Yes, there were some heart-felt, romantic moments, but most of it, I just found hard to follow and kinda creepy (especially when the husband goes back in time to find his wife and she's a child...It was a little weird for me to watch a grown man interact with his "wife" who was really about 8 years old). The concept was new, different, and intriguing, but I just found it, overall, confusing.

This book grabbed me from the beginning and never let go. The characters have depth. I found myself thinking about them even when I wasn't reading and they remained close to my heart even after the last page was read.

I'm looking forward to this one! I'll keep you posted!

Another sample downloaded! I know I've said this time and again in my posts, but what list would be complete without a selection from Oprah? Regardless of your feelings for her, you have to love the fact that she got America (maybe even the entire world) reading!

Right off hand, this book doesn't exactly appeal to me, but I'll give any book 100 pages.

This looks GOOD!

I have read this one and I wasn't all that impressed with it. In fact, I'm a little surprised it made it on any list at all. It's pretty predictable and the characters aren't all that resonating and the writing seems somewhat blah...But it is a quick and easy one to complete in short amount of time. It could definitely be devoured while watching your kids at the beach...It doesn't require too much rapt attention!

Check back for more updates as I complete the list!

Happy Reading!