What I’m Reading This Spring
My friend Sheila is participating in a blogging group that is sharing their reading lists and recommendations this week. While I’m not part of that group, I thought it would be fun to share my reading list anyway. I haven’t done any book reviews in a long time, so lately most of my reading has been library books. Our library has a great selection of e-books and audio books on OverDrive that I can download to my Kindle or MP3 player. I don’t even have to get up off the couch to check them out! How cool is that? I have to admit, though, I still love going to the library. Not everything is available in digital format, you know.
Recently Read:
Shakespeare Saved My Life by Laura Bates. A fascinating memoir of an English professor who teaches Shakespeare classes in prisons, even to inmates in maximum security facilities.
Holy Ghost Girl by Donna Johnson. Another interesting memoir of the step-daughter of a charismatic tent revival evangelist in the 1960s and 1970s.
Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris. Actually a theology book, but easy to read and understand, and while I don’t agree completely with his doctrine, I did learn a lot and found it inspiring.
What Happens When Young Women Say Yes to God by Lysa Terkeurst. I used this book as “curriculum” for my Sunday School of college-age young ladies for the past couple of months. It’s been a good study.
The Scent of Rain by Kristin Billerbeck. A novel about a “nose” in the perfume industry. The twist was that the “nose” had lost her sense of smell just as she was starting a new job.
The Sky Beneath My Feet by Lisa Samson. A novel about a pastor’s wife whose husband goes on sabbatical– in the shed in the back yard! It dealt with burn-out and mid-life crisis kind of topics.
Anna’s Crossing by Suzanne Woods Fisher. A historical Amish novel set in the 1730s. I thought it was interesting because it wasn’t like modern Amish stories, yet the Amish were still considered “different” even at that time in history.
Etta Mae’s Worst Bad-Luck Day by Ann B. Ross. Part of the Miss Julia series, but featuring Miss Julia’s friend, Etta Mae, as the protagonist. I didn’t enjoy it as much as others in the series. I’m not sure if it was because I like Miss Julia better than Etta Mae… or because I actually read this one instead of listening to it on audio book. Her reader, Cynthia Darlow, just makes the stories come alive!
Audio Books:
I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg. This is by the author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, and the audio book was read by the author. She is an excellent reader. I have read several of her books, and have enjoyed some more than others. I like the Miss Julia books better, probably because they are a little lighter.
To Be Read:
Going Gray by Anne Kreamer. This one caught my eye because I’m, well, going gray! The subtitle is What I Learned about Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity, and Everything Else That Really Matters.
Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bedell Smith. Obviously, a biography about the queen of England.
Miss Julia Lays Down the Law by Ann B. Ross. I am on the waiting list for the audio version of the latest book in the Miss Julia series.
What have you been reading lately? Any recommendations?