to read or not to read

after seeing both the Harry Potter movie & Voyage of the Dawn Treader over the holidays,

both of which are two of my all time favorite books,

& i thought excellent movies,

i realized i hadn't shared any of my recent reads in a while.

reason being...basically, i've had a long stretch of flops

& i haven't read nearly as much as i usually do.

i'm currently re-reading Francine Rivers Lineage of Grace

which is a big 5 star in my little world

here's a little blip about Lineage of Grace that  i found on line~

The stories of the five unlikely women who changed eternity. Tamar, betrayed by the men who controlled her future, she fought for her right to believe in a loving God. Rahab, a woman with a past to whom God gave a future. Ruth, who gave up everything, expecting nothing, and God honored her. Bathsheba, whose beauty stirred the passion of a king, and whose pain moved the heart of God. Mary, who responded in simple obedience to God’s call. Each was faced with extraordinary —even scandalous— challenges, each took great personal risk to fulfill her calling, and each was destined to play a key role in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

historical fiction with a powerful punch.

three of the women in this book have sexual sin in their past

yet God used them in the lineage of His son.

did you get that?

that seriously blows me away

i feel sexual sin is something that can threaten to leave physical

& emotional scars, usually kept alive by a guilty conscience.

yet God shows us there is redemption through Him.

& not only redemption

but He & only He can take a rotten past 

or a big old mistake & turn it into a happy- ending-after-all.

 as i was saying,

 rahab was a prostitute.

 bathsheba ( my personal favorite story!) 

slept with king david while her husband was fighting on the front line.

tamar tricked her father in law into sleeping with her to carry on the family line. hello.

yet God used each of these women to change history.

 

two on my list to read are Decision Points by President Bush

& the Perfect Love song by Patti Callahan Henry

one of my all time favorite authors.  

love all her books

remember i'm just a mom, not a literary critic~

but here are the last few i've read

Kitchen House & Shape of Mercy

i'd give both of these 5stars

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner

you know how i feel about jodi & her dark stories

but this was one of savannah's faves so i gave it a try.

while i think she is one of the most creative amazing authors

of our generation,

her stories are usually to heavy for my preference

Nineteen Minutes, 4 stars

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

 i'm usually a big fan of Nancy Thayer

but i give Moon Star Beach 3 stars.
just wasn't super duper.

Moon Shell Beach by Nancy Thayer

not to offend any Karen fans out there,

i do enjoy her books.

they are usually mighty quick reads

& seem to have happy endings

however A Time to Dance was a bit of a disappointment to me

2 stars

A Time to Dance by Karen Kingsbury

disclaimer~ i love sara evans

i would love to look like sara evans

& i would most definitely love to sing like sara evans

having said that...

i thought her book left something to be desired.

 i went to borders & asked the sales guy to help me find her first book

only to have him pull out this cheesy , wierd size book
(the latest edition may actually be a 'normal' size)

in fact, i think he made a face

as if i were a poor excuse for a book enthusiast.

i couldn't bring myself to purchase it so i went the library route instead.

no stellar literary work here.
but cute & predictable and a sweet story

 i was disappointed.

2 stars

i think she has another new release.

let me know if the second book was redeeming.

The Sweet by & By by Sara Evans

ok...have you read anything fabulous or dreadful lately?

do tell...