Tuesday, January 29, 2008

2008 Book Reviews of Completed Books


1. "The Last Sin Eater" by Francine RiversCompleted January 11, 2008

Rating: 9/10

Review






2. The Reluctant Smuggler by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

Completed January 27, 2008

Rating 7/10

Review









3. "Joan - The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint" by Donald Spoto

Completed: February 3, 2007

Rating: 10/10

Review








4. The Salt Garden by Cindy Martinusen

Completed February 17, 2008

Rating: 7/10

Review






5. "After the Leaves Fall" by Nicole Baart

Completed March 19, 2008

Rating: 9/10

Review

Next in Series: "Summer Snow"




6. "Family Squeeze - Tales of Hope & Hilarity for a Sandwiched Gereration" by Phil Callaway

Completed: March 28, 2008

Rating: 10/10

Review









7. "Once in a Promised Land" by Leila Halaby

Completed April 2008

Rating: 5.5/10

Review









8. "Ball of Fire - The Tumultous Life & Comic Art of Lucille Ball" by Stefan Kanfer

Completed May 2008

Rating: 7/10

Review








9. "A Clearing in the Wild" by Jane Kirkpatrick

Completed May 19, 2008

Rating 7/10


Review








10. " A Tendering in the Storm" by Jane Kirkpatrick

Completed June 19, 2008


Rating: 7/10


Review







11. "Bad Girls of the Bible - and what we can learn from them" by Liz Curtis Higgs

Completed: June 30, 2008


Rating: 10/10


Review






12. "A Mending at the Edge" by Jane Kirkpatrick
Completed July 5, 2008
Rating: 7.5 /10
Review







13. "Scoop" by Rene Gutteridge
Completed: August 3, 2008

Rating: 9/10

Review





14. "Mistaken Identity" by Don & Susie Van Ryn and
Newell, Colleen & Whitney Cerak

Completed: August 13, 2008

Rating: 8.5/10

Review







15. "The Canopy" by Angela Hunt

Completed: September 15, 2008

Rating: 9/10

Review







16. "Going for Gold" by Cationa Le May Doan(Fall Into Reading Challenge)

Completed September 25, 2008

Rating: 7/10

Review to come






17. "A Time to Mend" by Sally John & Gary Smalley (Fall Reading Challenge)


Completed: October 11/08

Rating: 8/10

Review to come





18. "The Shape of Mercy" by Susan Meissner(Fall Reading Challenge)

Completed: October 15, 2008

Rating: 10/10

Review







19. "Forsaken" by James David Jordan
(Fall Reading Challenge)

Completed: October 30, 2008
Rating: 9/10
Review






20. the Oak Leaves by Maureen Lang

Completed: January 3, 2009


Rating: 10/10
Review to come
Next in series: "On Sparrow Hill"









21. "Snitch" by Rene Gutteridge (Book 2 in Occupational Hazards Series)

Completed: ?
Rating: 7/10
Review: Book 2 deals with Mackenzie, better known as Mack, of the Hazard siblings. A police officer Macks desire is to work undercover but does she have the wherewithal to do such a dangerous job. Her mettle is tested as she gets on an undercover operation to expose and car theft ring and instead finds herself plunged into something much more than that. With the usual zany cast of characters surrounding her, this story continues on with the story of the Hazard siblings as they try to fit into an occupational and world far removed from their "clown" history and people who think their faith is way out there.
A thoroughly enjoyable read, it wasn't quite as funny or zany as the first but still had the desired outcome of "taking me away".

Friday, January 4, 2008

2008 Want To Read List

A new year! And so many books to add to my list that I'm interested in. I'm setting my goal at 30 - 35 books for the year. And this time, I'm going to keep the list in alphabetical order according to title just to see if it makes it any easier to peruse. Now of course, as always, there will be books that I pick up as I go that are not on this list, because really, who can resist titles that draw your attention when at a bookstore or library. As usual, there is just too many books and so little time!



"A Child Called It" by David Pelzer

"Alive" by Piers Paul Reid

"Anna's Story" by Jenna Bush

"A Tendering in the Storm" by Jane Kirkpatrick

"A Wife After God's Own Heart" by Eisabeth George

"Before Green Gables" by Budge Wilson (added Feb/08)

"Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller

"By the Light of a Thousand Stars" by Jamie Langston Turner

"Chasing Fireflies" by Charles Martin

"Chat Room" by Linda Hall

"Coldwater Revival" by Nancy Jo Jenkins

"Come Back" by Claire and Mia Fontaine

"Crimson Eve" by Brandilyn Collins

"Crossing Over - One Woman's Escape from the Amish Life" by Ruth Iren Garrett with Rick Farrant

"Einstein - His Life and Universe" by Walter Isaacson

"Ever After" by Wendy Loggia

"Fallen" by Matthew Raley

"Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives" by Charles R. Swindoll

"Firstborn Series" by Karen Kinsgury (5 books)

"Full Tilt" by Creston Mapes

"Healing Stones" by Nancy Rue (added Feb/08)

"Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom

"In High Places" by Tom Morrisey

"Into the Deep" by Robert Rogers

"Joan - The Mysterious Life of the Heretic who became a Saint" by Donald Spoto

"Laughing Matters" by Phil Callaway

"Legacy of the King's Pirates" Series by Mary Lou Tydall (3 books)

"Lightposts for Living - The Art of Choosing a Joyful Life" by Thomas Kinkade

"Loving Your Man Without Losing Your Mind" by Susie Davies

"Me, Myself and Bob" by Paul Vischer

"My Heart Remembers" by Kim Vogel Sawyer

"My Heart's in the Lowlands" by Liz Curtis Higgs

"My Name is Russell Fink" by Michael Snyder (added Feb/08)

"Nobody" by Creston Mapes

"Once in a Promised Land" by Laila Halaby

"One Year Off: Leaving it all behind for a round the world journey" by David Elliott Cohen

"Oxygen" by John B. Olson & Randall Ingermanson

"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

"Quaker Summer" by Lisa Samson

"Return to Me" by Robin Lee Hatcher

"Skipping Christmas" by John Grisham

"Sins of the Father's" by James Scott Bell

"Smart Women Keep It Simple" by Annie Chapman

"Stori Telling" by Tori Spelling (added March '08)

"Sushi for One?" by Camy Tang

"The Beast That God Has Kissed - Songs from Birch Lake Road" by Charlie Smith

"The Birth Order Book" by Kevin Leman

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

"The Canopy" by Angela Hunt

"The Character and Greatness of Winston Churchill" by Stephen Mansfield

"The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney" by Randy Singer

"The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace

"The Debt" by Angela Hunt

"The Diplomat's Wife" by Pam Jenoff

"The Faith of George W. Bush" by Stephen Mansfield

"The Grand Weaver" by Ravi Zacharias

"The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw

"The Last Sin Eater" by Francine Rivers

"The Nativity Story" by Angela Hunt

"The Other Mother" by Gwendolyn Gross

"The Restorer" by Sharon Hinck

"The Salt Garden" by Cindy Martinusen

"The Ten Commandments of Marriage" by Ed Young

"The Unusual Suspect by Stephen Baldwin

"The Zookeeper's Wife" by Dianne Ackerman

"Through the Storm" by Lynn Spears (added Oct. 08)

"Trusting God in a Twisted World" by Elizabeth Elliott

"Twelve Ordinary Men" by John MacArthur

"Under the Overpass" by Mike Yankoski

"Veil of Fire" by Marlo Schalesky

"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen (added May '08)

"We are All Welcome Here" by Elizabeth Berg

"When Crickets Cry" by Charles Martin

"Winter Birds" by Jamie Langston Turner

"Zero G" by Alton Gansky