I haven't been writing much lately, but I haven't given up on reading. Here are a few I've read recently with super short reviews to whet your appetite if you're looking for something to read by the fire.
The Thirteenth Tale
Think Jane Eyre with less effort. A mystery set in a grand old mansion on the English moors with more than one secret to unravel. Great writing about writing, as the main character is an author, writing the biography of an author. I read this a few years ago, and it was just as good the second time. Definitely one of my top reads for 2011.
Prodigal God
This was a church-wide study at my church, and our small group read and discussed the book together. The book explores the story of the Prodigal Son with a twist, focusing more on the prodigality of God (did you know that prodigal means "spending extravagantly?") and showing how both the younger, rebellious brother and the elder, obedient brother are living far from God. Great concepts about what it really means to be a Christian (turns out it's more about being than about doing).
Those Who Save Us
Trudy was only three when she and her mother, Anna, were liberated from WWII Germany by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Now a university professor researching the roles of ordinary Germans in the Holocaust, she unearths the mystery, despite her mother's persistent stonewalling, behind the only artifact she has from her past, a family photo of her, her mother, and a Nazi officer, the Obersturmfuhrer of Buchenwald.
Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived
The title says a lot! Rob Bell has taken some hits from evangelical Christians for this book. Which I think is a great reason alone to give it a read. Bell fleshes out, "God is love," in ways that seriously challenge some of the preconceptions/misconceptions that get in between people and God. In his words, "Often times when I meet atheists and we talk about the god they don't believe in, we quickly discover that I don't believe in that god either."
The 19th Wife
Early Mormonism and its current state -- especially as it pertains to polygamy -- is the subject of this novel. The dual timeline makes reading tedious at times, particularly in long drawn out historical sections. Characterization and the mystery in the current timeline are thin and fairly predictable. The book is though provoking when it comes to examining how a religion begins and evolves. It's important to note that it's FICTION -- even the parts that appear to come from old handbills and Ann Eliza Young's original manuscript. The author is quite clear about this at the end of the book. Didn't love this one.
Faithful Place
I have loved Tana French's other books. She does a great mystery set in Ireland with recurring characters in law enforcement. This one dragged at times, as it described family dysfunction over decades leading up to a just-discovered decades old murder. Love the author; this isn't her best book, though. I would highly recommend her other books, In the Woods and The Likeness.
These are numbers 34-39 in my quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks. With only 4 weeks left, I don't think I'll make it, but it's been fun trying. Click here to browse all the books I've read this year.
Think Jane Eyre with less effort. A mystery set in a grand old mansion on the English moors with more than one secret to unravel. Great writing about writing, as the main character is an author, writing the biography of an author. I read this a few years ago, and it was just as good the second time. Definitely one of my top reads for 2011.
This was a church-wide study at my church, and our small group read and discussed the book together. The book explores the story of the Prodigal Son with a twist, focusing more on the prodigality of God (did you know that prodigal means "spending extravagantly?") and showing how both the younger, rebellious brother and the elder, obedient brother are living far from God. Great concepts about what it really means to be a Christian (turns out it's more about being than about doing).
Trudy was only three when she and her mother, Anna, were liberated from WWII Germany by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Now a university professor researching the roles of ordinary Germans in the Holocaust, she unearths the mystery, despite her mother's persistent stonewalling, behind the only artifact she has from her past, a family photo of her, her mother, and a Nazi officer, the Obersturmfuhrer of Buchenwald.
The title says a lot! Rob Bell has taken some hits from evangelical Christians for this book. Which I think is a great reason alone to give it a read. Bell fleshes out, "God is love," in ways that seriously challenge some of the preconceptions/misconceptions that get in between people and God. In his words, "Often times when I meet atheists and we talk about the god they don't believe in, we quickly discover that I don't believe in that god either."
Early Mormonism and its current state -- especially as it pertains to polygamy -- is the subject of this novel. The dual timeline makes reading tedious at times, particularly in long drawn out historical sections. Characterization and the mystery in the current timeline are thin and fairly predictable. The book is though provoking when it comes to examining how a religion begins and evolves. It's important to note that it's FICTION -- even the parts that appear to come from old handbills and Ann Eliza Young's original manuscript. The author is quite clear about this at the end of the book. Didn't love this one.
I have loved Tana French's other books. She does a great mystery set in Ireland with recurring characters in law enforcement. This one dragged at times, as it described family dysfunction over decades leading up to a just-discovered decades old murder. Love the author; this isn't her best book, though. I would highly recommend her other books, In the Woods and The Likeness.
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These are numbers 34-39 in my quest to read 52 books in 52 weeks. With only 4 weeks left, I don't think I'll make it, but it's been fun trying. Click here to browse all the books I've read this year.
What a great mix!! I think I may have to find a few of these! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for introducing me to this challenge. It has been fun! Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving!