Books...books...books!

Okay....so I'm kind of a book nerd.  I have loved to read since I learned how, way back in the dark ages.  In fact, when I was in second grade, I loved a book so much that I checked it out from the school library, took it home, and spent the entire weekend copying it word for word by hand.  I warned you I was a book nerd!  I'd like to tell you that it was a classic.  Maybe A.A. Milne.  Maybe a Nancy Drew mystery.  Even Amelia Bedelia.  But no...it was a biography about George Washington.  I remember the weekend, it was gray and dreary out and I sat and sat and sat at my little desk in my room and copied that book.  My mom told me how ridiculous it was, we could recheck the book next week.  Pretty sure my brother mocked me (although he's as big of a book nerd as me).  I had that hand copied book in my bedside table all the years I lived at home.  And apparently, my mom, being the sentimental person that she was....TRASHED IT.  I know it's the age of technology, you can order it for your kindle, buy it through scholastic book orders, whatever.  BUT...should your child ever copy a book word for word...please save it for them.  I'm not bitter...just sayin!

ANYWAY...my point is.  I still read a lot.  And I keep a book journal (it's already been determined I'm a nerd, so lay off).  And now, just to torture you, I'm going to give my book reviews for what I've read so far this year.  Normally, I'll just give one at a time as I read it, but I didn't start this blog on January 1st, so you're going to have to suffer through it.  I'll be brief.  Okay, I put a cute picture in first just for fun...has nothing to do with books.  (Oh, and the number after the book title and author is my ranking system, based on a 5 point scale.)

"Spoken From The Heart" by Laura Bush (+3.75)
Obviously I still have a thing for biographies.  Mrs. Bush's book is a nice read, a little dry and slow at times.  But I still enjoyed it and all the history she shared.  Mrs. Bush is pretty reserved and that is very evident in her writing style.  She doesn't give a lot of personal things away, which I respect.  Reading about 9/11 was pretty gut-wrenching!  But I found it most interesting to see all the things that she did as a First Lady.  The press was kind of hard on her, but she has a lot of depth and strength and she accomplished a lot during her time in the White House. 

"Love Walked In" by Marisa DeLos Santos (+4.5)
This book had me on the first page...that doesn't happen very often.  This writer's style is kind of quirky and funny and dry and I loved it.  This is a love story in a most unconventional sense.  It starts out rather conventionally, but takes a lot of twists along the way.  I would highly recommend it!  My favorite line of the whole book was this..."If you've ever considered having a conversation about your sex life in a South Philadelphia cheese shop, stop that thought in its tracks right now and wring its scrawny little neck."  Hilarious!!!

"Lipstick in Afghanistan" by Roberta Gateley (+4.5)
Touching, tragic, lovely, sad story.  An American nurse goes to Afghanistan to help.  She forms deep relationships with Afghani people and also falls in love with an American soldier.  This book stirs up the old "I wanna be a missionary" in me.  But, it also it shows how much people are the same, instead of how different we sometimes think they are.  It was a good read...not easy at times.  If you have a loved one serving in Afghanistan I wouldn't recommend it, it would too close to home. 

"Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God" by Noel Piper (+3.0)
This book tells the stories of five women, all believers, all on different journeys.  The women were just ordinary women in many ways, but because of their extraordinary God, nothing they did was small.  The women's stories are definitely worth reading...inspiring...thought provoking.  My low rating of the book is due to the style of writing.  It is kind of "dissertation style" to me, lots of documenting other sources and quoting other books.  There isn't a lot of original text, no real weaving the story smoothly.  Despite that...God definitely shines through!