In the "SERIOUS" category
The Shack by William P. Young.
I read this one with my husband...the fact that he really enjoyed the book should make you run out and find a copy. Heck, the fact that he ACTUALLY read it speaks volumes. This book made me happy by painting a picture that was lurking in the back of my brain about who God is. It made me cry - rivers - when it dug into my heart. It is not your typical "Christian" book. I really can not tell you more without spoiling it.
I give it 5 stars plus a holla and a fist pump!
(hat tip to Dr. Bob Laurent for recommending the book)
In the "FREAKING HILARIOUS" category:
Lamb:The Gospel According to BifF, Christ's Childhood Pal - by Christopher Moore
A friendship with Jesus like no other. See my previous review of this book HERE
In the "Non-Fiction" category:
Flashbang: How I Got Over Myself by Mark Steele
The humility combined with the great sense of humor of the author is what really kept me engaged. I love laughing while in pain...and this guy seemed to find the laughter within the pain
My biggest reading regret this past year was starting the Left Behind series. I enjoyed the first few books, maybe even the first half or two thirds. I have to admit that I have a sickness...if I start a series I have to finish it. So thirteen books of this was WAY too much and toward the end I really think they were redundant and then just grasping at straws - either that or I was on overload. Maybe if I had read them as they were released it would have been okay. Reading them all in a year...not suggested.
So during Winter Break of 2006 I started keeping track of the books I read. I have been very self indulgent in my reading this year. LOTS of fiction. Very little in the way of books on self improvement or spirituality or biographies - you get it...NON-fiction. So below is my list. The titles in italics are non-fiction. I have linked to my favorites of the year
December 2006
Wicked - Gregory Maguire
Brother Odd - Dean Koontz
Next - Michael Crichton
Ariel - Steven R. Boyett
January and February 2007
Tales From the Crib - Risa Green
You Suck! - Christopher Moore (the book has vampires in it)
I Feel Great (and you will too!) - Pat Croce
Plum Lovin' - Janet Evanovich
Left Behind - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Son of a Witch - Gregory Maguire
Tribulation Force - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
March 2007
Girls in Trouble - Caroline Leavitt
Nicolae - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Please, Stop Laughing At Me - Jodee Blanco
April 2007
Notes From the Underbelly - Risa Green
Soul Harvest - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Apollyon- Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Assasains - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
May 2007
Thanksgiving - Janet Ivanovich
The Indwelling - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
The Mark - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
A Dirty Job - Chris Moore
Grace (Eventually) - Anne Lamott
June 2007
Natural Born Charmer -Susan Elizabeth Phillps
Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult
Anybody Out There? - Marian Keyes
Desecration - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
The Remnant - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
July 2007
The Stupidest Angel - Christopher Moore
Fluke, or I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings - Christopher Moore
Armageddon - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal - Christopher Moore
August / September 2007
Glorious Appearing - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Blue Coyote - Christopher Moore
Love Overboard - Janet Evanovich
Go, Discover Your Strengths - Marcus Buckingham
October 2007
Lean Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich
The Good Guy - Dean Koontz
Now, Put Your Strengths to Work - Marcus Buckingham
November 2007
Kingdom Come - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
The Tenth Circle - Jodi Picoult
Flashbang: How I got over myself - Mark Steele
December 2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
The Darkest Evening of the Year - Dean Koontz
The Shack - William P. Young
Books I am looking forward to finally reading in 2008:
Sex God - Rob Bell (own it and have started reading it)
Lost Women of the Bible - Carolyn Custis James (own it)
Cold Tangerines - Shauna Niequist (need to buy or borrow it)
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand (own it)
Fountainhead - Ayn Rand (need to buy or borrow it)
Fearless Fourteen - Janet Evanovich
Plum Lucky - Janet Evanovich
I am certain there will be a new Dean Koontz novel. I always find something I enjoy in every novel even if I do not enjoy the novel in it's entirety. The man is a writing machine and I wish he would revisit his characters from Fear Nothing and Seize the Night...the first book made you think there would be a second and the second made you think there would be a third and here it is years and several titles later and I am still wondering what the back story is for the character Sasha Goodall (Hey Dean, if your reading...I am begging you to finish this story line!)
My goal for this year is 52 books. Happy Reading!
