Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Recent Reads

I'm a bibliophile, so much so that I can't even keep track of what I've read and what I haven't. Just to help my memory a bit, I've started keeping a loose log of the books I've read. In no particular order, here's the short list of what I've read in the last six months or so:

Daughter of the Loom by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller. A historical fiction about the Massachusetts textile mills in the 19th century. I love historical fiction, and this one was pretty good.

So Far From Home: The Story of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl by Barry Denenberg. Another historical fiction book about the Lowell, Mass., textile industry.

Cape Refuge, Southern Storm, River's Edge, and Breaker's Reef all by Terri Blackstock
These were four novels in a series about an East Coast island town. Christian suspense, I guess you'd call it. Decent fiction, although a character's name is changed from book one to book two. I emailed the author and she said it was a huge mistake on the editorial side.

Redemption, Remember, Return, Rejoice, and Reunion, all by Karen Kingsbury. The whole Baxter family series. Slightly predictable, but I really liked this series. Always a sucker for happy endings.

Fame and Forgiven, both by Karen Kingsbury. A second series about the Baxters, but this time focusing on their long-lost son turned Hollywood actor. The series is getting pretty cheesy, but I'm still going to finish it when the next few come out.

Dying Declaration, Irreparable Harm, and Directed Verdict, all by Randy Singer. Singer is kind of a Christian John Grisham. These are fun courtroom novels. One of them has a ridiculous character who is a Cambodian refugee who speaks flawless English and uses phrases like "Technicolor." What ESOL Cambodian refugee would know that word? The courtroom scenes are mighty fun, though.

Blink by Ted Dekker. An outlandish plot about a Berkeley genius who can see multiple futures, each one slightly different based on certain actions or inactions. His mission is to save a Saudi Arabian princess who's run away to the States to avoid an arranged marriage to a tyrant. Within a week, both she and the agnostic protagonist find each other and Christ. What lifetime Muslim would so quickly dump her heritage and jump to Christianity? Implausible, for sure.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. OK, this is in the juvenile fiction section of the library. Disney just came out with the film version, which I haven't seen. The novel was quirky and fun and definitely has Disneyesque scenes.

I know I've read more, but I'm blanking right now. I'll add more when I can remember what the books were.

5 comments:

Stephanie said...

I used to consider myself a bibliophile, as well, but lately I don't make enough time to read to warrant that one. Tell me, when and how do you make time to read so much? Are you one of those who can stay up til 3 am and still get up in the morning?

Chelsea said...

Answer to Stephanie: I read really fast. I tend to ignore household duties (and my children) when I'm wrapped up in a book. I read during meals. I read when I'm sitting on the couch and the kids are watching the same Berenstain Bears episode we've already seen 3 times. Honestly, I read to keep from going insane.

Stephanie said...

Ok, speaking of books, I heard you gave Amy a copy of "Created to be his Help Meet" by Debi Pearl. Have you read it? I got it for Mother's Day, and I am loving it so far. I've read several books on being a Christian wife, but the first 100 pages of this one are proving it far more helpful than most...really calls you on the carpet, and encourages, all at once.

Chelsea said...

I have read a couple excerpts from Debi Pearl's "Help Meet" book. I thought it was phenomenal, and I just received my own copy in the mail. The chapter that describes the different types of husbands (visionary, steady, etc) described Kevin to a T. And her advice about how I should respond to Kevin's slow & steady personality was super helpful. I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing.

Stephanie said...

That's exactly the part I just finished, and it was like reading a description of my husband! So you have a Mr. Steady, too, huh? It was so neat to see how to better serve and love him, and I realized some of the things I expect from him are from totally different personality types. So glad to have better understanding and insight.