Tag Archives: Reading List

Last month I decided to try an experiment. When I read through each of the Nightstand posts, I kept track of how many books were added to my to-read list due to others’ recommendations. Normally there are three or four. Last month I added 16! Nine nonfiction books and seven fiction.

Throughout the month, I kept track of how many books I finished off my to-read list, as opposed to those I picked up randomly at the library or those I was mailed to review. I finished one nonfction book (I am Nujood) and two fiction books (Evelina and William Henry is a Fine Name).

And this, my fellow readers, is why my to-read list keeps getting longer each month in spite of the numerous books I finish.

This month I read:

Bible

• Genesis

• Exodus

• Leviticus

• Numbers

• Deuteronomy

• Joshua

• Judges

• Ruth

• 1 Samuel

• 2 Samuel

• Job

Christian Fiction

• Whence Came a Prince
  by Liz Curtis Higgs – 2.5 stars. Mixed feelings. The writing is terrific. But this retelling of Jacob and Leah and Rachel is SO far off the Biblical story that it should be its own story. I was very unhappy with the ending.

• Love’s Sacred Song
  by Mesu Andrews – 4 stars. Fantastic book! I am anxiously awaiting Andrews’ next book publication.

• William Henry is a Fine Name
  by Cathy Gohlke – 4 stars. Touching and intense YA book about the Underground Railroad.

Memoir

• Mr. CSI: How a Vegas Dreamer Made a Killing in Hollywood, One Body at a Time – 3 stars. Not really about CSI but an interesting and inspiring account of a man trying and trying and trying again until he succeeds.

• I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali – 3 stars. A tear-jerking story robbed by a poorly-written narrative.

Secular Fiction

• South of Superior
  by Ellen Airgood – Barely 3 stars. It’s an adult coming-of-age book where nothing happens. I felt it was saying that life is hopeless.

• Evelina Or, the History of a Young Lady’s Entrance Into the World by Fanny Burney – 3.5 stars. One of my favorite September reads. Very witty lines and it’s obvious why Jane Austen was inspired by Burney. I can’t wait to read more of her works, especially since I’ve read Evelina is one of her weakest novels!

Currently Reading

• Bible in 90 Days Chronological Reading Plan

• Time and Again by Jack Finney – I am almost done with this story and thoroughly enjoying it. I’ve not read many time travel books but I’ve seen a ton of movies. Once I finish the book, I’ll dig around to see if they ever made it into a movie.

• The Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade – My current classic. I’m not sure how I came across this book but it’s interesting thus far (pg 50 out of 785).

Happy reading!

I love putting together these lists for the Nightstand posts because I’m always amazed at what I end up reading. This month it was mostly the Bible and Christian fiction. The books were very hit or miss for quality and I’m hoping to have a more consistent month in September!

Bible

• 1 & 2 Corinthians

• Galatians

• Ephesians

• Philippians

• Colossians

• 1 & 2 Thessalonians

• 1 & 2 Timothy

• Titus

• Philemon

• Genesis

• Job

Christian Fiction

• The Amish Nanny
  by Mindy Starns Clark – 3.5 stars for the unique setting (don’t judge the book by its cover!).

• Ruby’s Slippers
  by Leanna Ellis – 2 stars. I’d recommend skipping it simply because it wasn’t good.

• Pompeii: City on Fire
  by T.L. Higley – 3.5 stars. One of my favorite reads this month.

• Here Burns My Candle
  by Liz Curtis Higgs – 2 stars. I couldn’t get into it and decided to drop it. There are too many good books available to waste my time on something I can’t get into.

• Love Amid the Ashes
  by Mesu Andrews – 3.5 stars. SO close to a 4 star read. If you enjoy Biblical fiction, I would highly recommend this one.

Japanese Manga (translated)

• Apothecarius Argentum, Vol. 1
  by Tomomi Yamashita – 3 stars. All of the manga I sampled was fluffy but entertaining. Not something I’ll read on a regular basis.

• Skip Beat!, Vol. 1
  by Yoshiki Nakamura – 3 stars

• Skip Beat!, Vol. 2
  by Yoshiki Nakamura – 3 stars

Memoir

• A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy by Thomas Buergenthal – 3

• Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home by Kim Sunée – 2 stars. I just couldn’t bring myself to care about the author. I wanted to root for her but couldn’t.

Secular Fiction

• The Little Nugget
  by P.G. Wodehouse – 3.5 stars. An enjoyable read but, surprisingly, I enjoyed the short stories better!

Currently Reading

• Bible in 90 Days Chronological Reading Plan

• Evelina by Fanny Burney – I’m not reading it very quickly but I am enjoying it very much. I will definitely be reading some of Ms. Burney’s other titles.

Happy reading!

I’ve been out of town and away from libraries for so long that I haven’t been reading that much. I did read a couple books from my personal bookshelves, a difference from my normal insistence on reading borrowed books. Last week we were finally able to sign up for our new library cards and I brought way too many books home. Such is the life!

Here’s what I have managed to read in the past month or so. Links are to my reviews on Goodreads.

Bible

•  Acts  

•  Romans    

Christian Fiction

• Promise Me This
  by Cathy Gohlke – 4 stars. Fantastic book! Highly recommended.

Christian Nonfiction

• 
  Prophetess of Health: A Study of Ellen G. White by Ronald L. Numbers – review pending

Secular Fiction

• Calico Joe by John Grisham – 2 stars

• The Accidental Bestseller
  by Wendy Wax – 2 stars

• The Book of Jane
  by Anne Dayton, May Vanderbilt – 2 stars

Currently Reading

• A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy by Thomas Buergenthal

• Sacred Influence: How God Uses Wives to Shape the Souls of Their Husbands by Gary Thomas

• A Thousand-Mile Walk To The Gulf by John Muir

Happy reading!

This month I concentrated on reading as many of my library books as possible so that I can start working through the Seattle to-sort pile. My library stack is now quite small! I even completed several books from the to-sort pile (marked below with a *).

Bible – I am so close to finishing the Old Testament! I can’t wait to start reading the New Testament.

• Jeremiah 15-52

• Lamentations

• Ezekiel

• Daniel

• Hosea

• Joel

• Amos

• Obadiah

• Jonah

• Micah

• Nahum

• Habakkuk

• Zephaniah

• Haggai

• Zechariah

Children’s literature

• These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder – 4 stars

• Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder – 5 stars. My favorite of the series!

Christian Fiction

• The Messenger by Siri Mitchell – 3 stars

History

• Anne of Green Gables Treasury* by Carolyn Strom Collins, Christina Wyss Eriksson – 4 stars. A delightful look into Anne’s world.

Manga

• Nodame Cantabile V.1*

• Nodame Cantabile V.2*

• Nodame Cantabile V.3*

Memoir

• Shalom, Japan by Shifra Horn – 3 stars

Nonfiction

• Fat Quarter Quilts by M’Liss Rae Hawley – 2 stars only because I didn’t care for any of the quilt designs. It might be a great book for quilters who have a different taste in quilts.

• Chicken Soup for the Tea Lover’s Soul: Stories Steeped in Comfort by Jack Canfield – 3 stars. It made me want to drink more tea!

Secular Fiction

• Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok – 3 stars

• The Full Moon Bride by Shobhan Bantwal – 3 stars

• The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman – 3 stars

April will be filled with books from The Pile. [Cue ominous music here]

The Pile
Happy reading!

I read a lot of books this month. After a month of nothing but nonfiction and then another month of only reading the Bible, I had so much fun raiding my local libraries. I knew I couldn’t complete everything I picked out, but I was impressed by how much I did finish! All links are to my full reviews on Goodreads.

Bible – This month I continued reading the Bible first thing in the morning and last thing before I go to sleep. It’s such a blessing!

• Psalms 14-150

• Proverbs

• Ecclesiastes

• Song of Solomon

• Isaiah

• Jeremiah 1-14

Children’s literature

• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder – 4 stars. I read six of LIW’s books for the challenge this month. It was a great excuse to revisit some childhood favorites.

• Little House on the Prairie – 4 stars

• Farmer Boy – 4 stars

• On the Banks of Plum Creek – 4 stars

• By the Shores of Silver Lake – 4 stars

• The Long Winter – 3.5 stars

• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart – 3.5 stars. I probably would have loved it as a child.

Christian Fiction

• The Amish Midwife by Mindy Starns Clark, Leslie Gould – 3.5 stars

• Dry as Rain by Gina Holmes – 3 stars

Christian Nonfiction

• Raised Right: How I Untangled My Faith from Politics by Alisa Harris – 4 stars. A great read, one that I have kept for a reread.

Memoir

• Wrong About Japan: A Father’s Journey with His Son by Peter Carey – 3 stars. Some funny moments but overall I didn’t really learn anything new about Japanese culture.

• Running Away to Home by Jennifer Wilson – 3 stars. Read it for the Reading to Know bookclub. Unfortunately, I wasn’t impressed.

Secular Fiction

• A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison – 4 stars. A fantastic book, deals with a very tragic topic – human trafficking. This book will probably be one of my top reads for 2012.

• Sonoma Rose by Jennifer Chiaverini – 3 stars. Much better than her last novel!

The only specific book I intend to read next is Pilgrim’s Progress, March’s choice for the Reading to Know bookclub.

Instead of a nightstand this month, I have a spare bedroom floor. I sorted through all of the books that we had packed in boxes and started making piles. Some books are definitely going with us. Some will be donated to the library. The biggest pile of all is books I have not yet read and need to decide if we will pay to ship them to Seattle. My upcoming book selections will be coming from that pile.

My “nightstand”
Happy March reading!

My internet availability this week has been intermittent. Hubby says it’s a miracle that my internet is working at all, that there is no reason why it works, and that it will probably disappear at any time. In the meantime, I’m grateful for the chance to write a blog post and join in on this month’s Nightstand.

For the month of January, I challenged myself to read nothing but the Bible. So far I’ve stuck to that challenge! I wrote about week 1 and week 2 already.

In total, I’ve read:

Judges 12-21
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles 1-33

By the end of the month, I hope to finish 2 Chronicles and then read Ezra and Nehemiah.

I am very excited to dive back into fiction and nonfiction books during February. I’ve visited the library several times to pick up movies and some study materials for my husband. While there, I had way too much fun browsing the stacks. I brought home way more books than I could ever hope to read in a month! Here is my priority list…

December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World by Craig Shirley – A review copy. I wasn’t able to read it in December and need to review it soon.

Everyday Life in Traditional Japan – I’ve had this book on my list for months but haven’t finished it. I’m about halfway done and need to just buckle up and finish the rest.

Dry As Rain by Gina Holmes – I loved her first book and was excited when I found out another had been published. I put this book on hold at my library when they ordered it and I will be the first person to read it!

A Walk Across by the Sun by Corban Addison – This book was promoted in a recent Goodreads newsletter and sounds really intense. It’s not my normal genre, but I’m looking forward to seeing why people are raving about it.

Happy February reading!