MOMS' BOOK THREAD: Week 27 of 2012

[Elysa Mac]

Sorry I'm posting this so late!! What with inner-city ministry most of yesterday and working on getting the house sold, my brain has been in a bit of a blender.

So what are y'all reading?

I finished PRAYING FOR STRANGERS. Great, inspiring book by River Jordan.

I'm now reading a wonderful missionary biography called NOT ALONE about Wycliffe female missionaries in Mexico back in the mid 1900's. We modern missionaries have things so much easier on the most part. Wow.

[KathleenM]

I am reading Blue Heart Blessed by Susan Meissner. I'm really enjoying it! It is a wonderful summer read, perfect to get lost in, but not too heavy. I believe Meissner is a Christian writer. Her books are never preachy, but guaranteed clean, and faith is always a part of the main character's life. This one is about a jilted bride who owns, of all things, a bridal boutique. She has her own gown in the window, but can't bring herself to part with it. I'm presuming that the eventual ending will be that her broken heart is healed, although there are some bumps along the way. A quirky circle of supporting characters round the story out nicely.

[Shauna]

Still reading Insurgent.

[Rebe]

I finished Book of A Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. It's a young adult title. It was good -- not great, but good. It's an adaptation of a Grimm's fairy tale set in medieval Mongolia. I don't think I've ever read a book set in that time/place, so that was interesting.

I also finished Mary, Bloody Mary, the first book in the Young Royals series by Carolyn Meyer. I loved this one! Loved it so much that I ordered the other three books in the series so my dd and I can both read them. This young adult series is about the childhoods of four Tudor women: Mary, Elizabeth, Jane, and one of the Catherines (I don't know which one, even). I thought I'd had my fill of Tudor historical fiction, but these are excellent, and since they focus on the childhoods, it's a new twist that I really like.

[Laura F]

I have to recommend [B]Breath: A Lifetime in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung[/B] by Martha Mason. It's the autobiography of a North Carolina woman who spent 60 years in an iron lung after contracting polio at age 11. It is such a fabulous book. My mother gave me her copy and insisted that I read it. Now I insist that you all read it, too. Fantastic writing, amazing mother-daughter relationship, and interesting life story!

[Stacia]

I finished Michael Ondaatje's The Cat's Table today. Gorgeous. He's an absolute master of prose, imo. Though he writes that the book is fiction, it reads almost as a mix of an autobiographical rememberance of a series of events (centered around a ship voyage from Ceylon to Britain when the protagonist is 11yo) & musings on how seemingly small events, chance encounters, & memories can alter the path of one's life. Part seems so real, so grounded in reality, yet much of the writing has the dreamy, hazy quality of memories from a long time ago, where you might wonder if you're remembering something as it happened or as you think or wanted it to happen. Some scathingly funny sections had me chuckling, while other sections were more somber & serious & had me musing....

Also, all through reading it, I kept thinking that if I could have someone who would write my diaries for me, capture a myriad of fleeting moments, I'd want Michael Ondaatje to be the one writing mine. (It doesn't matter that I don't keep a diary or a journal, or that it would be strange to have someone else putting my memories on paper through a mind meld or something; I would just want him writing, burnishing, perfecting these little life mosaics of mine.)

I will make note that I read his book "The English Patient" many years ago. While I adored his prose in that book, I didn't care for the story itself (at all). I'm so glad I gave him another try because I was just transported & blown away by "The Cat's Table". Loved it.

Gorgeous, luscious, & highly recommended.



My Goodreads Page

[Mare]

I'm still working on Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Each summer I try to slowly go through one Jane Austen book. I am enjoying it. I like getting a peek back in time and seeing that people are generally still the same 200 yrs. later.

[Negin in Grenada]

I finished Mozart's Wife and probably because of the mood I was in, I'd give it 2 Stars. If I was in a better mood, I'd likely give it 3. Nonetheless, I think he was a real jerk.

Having difficulty reading and focusing these days. Lots of magazines and have just started The Full Cupboard of Life. An easy read.

[Michele]

[QUOTE=Negin in Grenada;1063762]
Having difficulty reading and focusing these days. Lots of magazines and have just started The Full Cupboard of Life. An easy read.

Negin

[Michele]

Well, I'm limping along this year with my reading. I did finish The Red House by Mark Haddon. The writing was lovely, the characters well developed but...my attention span is very lacking these days and pages of pages of character development sometimes made my head feel...weary.
I also read The Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. I think that it could have been a wonderful book. I found it to be predictable (and I really wanted to lose myself in this book). I need something...mindless and numbing I think. LOL!
Maybe I should find a list of summer reads?