17. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. (Purchased at Costco. 288 pages. 2 days.) Perfectly charming. I loved the themes of friendship, community, and the sharing of books. I loved the historical setting and insight (remembering the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII). Read this and then read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.
16: Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller. (Received as a gift. 240 pages. 2 days.) Hilarious, vulnerable, rambling, profound, out-of-the-box, convicting, and will be required high school reading in my home after Mere Christianity and What's So Amazing About Grace. Blue Like Jazz is excellent reading for anyone tripped up by the idea of Christianity, as well as for those who have grown up with 'fairy-tale' stories of Noah's Ark and a flannelgraph Jesus.
15: Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt. (Russ borrowed from the library. I borrowed from his book stack. 371 pages. 4 days.) Russ wanted me to read his book aloud to him in the truck while he was driving. I can't stand to start in the middle of a book, so I was a terrible wife and started at the beginning (by myself). And I can't stand to not finish a book, so finish it I did.
Time Travelers Never Die was a fairly entertaining romp through history, visiting various countries, attending pivotal events, and meeting influential people. If you could travel through time (without changing the course of history), where would you go? What events would you watch unfold? Who would you like to meet? But if you are looking for more....edge-of-your-seat time travel, try Timeline by Crichton. (And then watch the movie, if only to see Gerard Butler. Swoon.)
Time Travelers Never Die was a fairly entertaining romp through history, visiting various countries, attending pivotal events, and meeting influential people. If you could travel through time (without changing the course of history), where would you go? What events would you watch unfold? Who would you like to meet? But if you are looking for more....edge-of-your-seat time travel, try Timeline by Crichton. (And then watch the movie, if only to see Gerard Butler. Swoon.)
14: Dutch Color by Douglas M. Jones III. (From the school room bookshelf. 174 pages. 2 days.) I learned a little about the Netherlands, the golden era of Dutch art, tulips, and mixing paints in this children's mystery. The story itself.... meh. Levi seemed to enjoy it on his read-through, but he's pretty easy to please.
Just finished The Guernsey Literary... today! I am so intrigued. Loved it! Our booklists look similar. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHeidi,
ReplyDeleteHave you guys read/listened to Peter and the Starcatchers and Peter and the Shadow Thieves. We like them immensely, though they are pretty scarey. They are a spin off of Peter Pan.
Christina
Levi has read all 4 books and they are among his top favorites. I haven't read them, though. I just can't keep up. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI loved Guernsey Literary as well, and Hotel on The Corner ... has been on my list for a while. The TBR list, it never stops growing! Have you read The Help? Just finished that one and like Guernsey, you can't help but have your heart yanked around ... but possibly even more so.
ReplyDeleteHadn't heard of your other titles; I'll have to check them out.
One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the excuse to read my own stuff -- after all, I'm modeling a love of literature to my offspring!
Blue Like Jazz sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteOoooh! I love it when you post book suggestions. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI've just finished The Forgotten Garden and The House at Riverton. Both were really excellent - modern classics in the making.
Another one... and you're going to have to trust me a little bit... The Hunger Games. It was TOTALLy not something I thought I'd like, but my sister in law, whom I trust and respect immensely, highly recommended it. I started it at night and could.not. stop. reading.
Finally, I looked up at the clock and it was FOUR AM! It's a serious page turner. Catching Fire, the sequel, is on my night stand but I'm scared to open it :-) The third and final installment comes out in August. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1919156,00.html
Hannah~ 'Modeling a love of literature to my offspring'.... yes, that's it! What an awesome excuse we have. :)
ReplyDeleteStefani~ I read both Hunger Games and Catching Fire ...each in one gulp, also. :) I have Mockingjay pre-ordered from Amazon and have marked out my calendar for two days in August, LOL. Not my usual reading fare, either, but insanely compelling. Whew!! Just to let you know... I liked Catching Fire just as much or more, and I was *bouncing off the walls* when it was over. The cliff-hanger ending is worse than the 1st. I'll have to check out The Forgotten Garden and The House at Riverton. Always need books to add to my ever-growing TBR list. :)
Don Miller's newest, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" is also an excellent read. Both Elaine and I have read it.
ReplyDelete(Don was the speaker at our church's Men's Retreat a couple of years ago. Good guy.)