Mom's Favorite Books

Since as long as I can remember, I have always found escape in the pages of books.

Whether it was V.C. Andrews or Stephen King when I was in 5th grade or Diana Gabaldon in my adult years, my favorite past time has always been getting lost in the vivid imagery of words and writing. Even today, in the hectic craziness of parenting and homeschooling, I always end my nights by relaxing in a hot bubble bath with my Kindle, reading whatever latest novel has caught my attention.  My Goodread's Reading Challenges or reading at least 40 books a year are always met.  I absolutely love books!!!

You'll notice, this post is called "Mom's Favorite Books".. Not "Mom's favorite books to read to kids" or "Favorite books for homeschooling" or any of that.  This is about ME TIME!!   This is about trying to forget, even temporary, that you have kids and get lost in some adventure involving a guy in a kilt in the 1700's or a mystery involving a murder set in modern day Chicago.  For a short time, you can forget the mess waiting for you in the kitchen, the schoolwork that needs to be planned.

I have a very diverse taste in books so when I had to sit and debate my favorites, that was a really hard challenge. After all, I became an avid reader when I was about 10 and I'm about to turn 40, so that's nearly 30 years of amazing books.  After much deliberation, I give you my top 10 all time favorite books.

Okay, okay, I admit, I cheated just a bit.. Most of these are series ;)


1.)  Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon -  A gorgeous hero in a kilt fighting with swords. Need I say more??  Gabaldon is the female George R.R. Martin, writing very lengthy tomes that still manage to hold interest.  Even guys enjoy the Outlander series and it is quite popular with my husband's kilt group.

2.) Angels & Demons - Dan Brown - I almost put the entire Robert Langdon series but I find myself drawn to this particular book more than the others. While the movie was excellent, the book delves deeper into the story then the film did.

3.) The Left Behind Series - Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins - I have reread this particular series from start to finish probably 5 times now.   A great fictional account of those left behind after the Rapture. Way better than the movies of the same name and all of the books are amazing.

4.)  Message from Nam - Danielle Steele - This was always one of my favorite books, even when I was a teenager.   One of Danielle Steele's bests, in my honest opinion.  This is a story of a female war correspondent during the Vietnam conflict.

5.)  The Southern Vampire Mysteries (Books 1-8) - Charlaine Harris  - Note I specifically mention books 1-8.  After book 8, Harris seemed to totally throw her previously written canon out the window and there was some major character sabotage going on. These are great mindless reading but they do contain some sexual content.

6.) Mark of the Lion Series - Francine Rivers -  I've only read books 1 (Voice in the Wind)  and Book 2 (Echo in the Darkness) which is Hadassah and Marcus's stories.  Hadassah is a young slave girl ripped from her home.  Marcus is the handsome acristrocratic son whom she falls in love with. The third book is the story of a Germanic gladiator named Atretes who is important in the first two books but I haven't had the opportunity to read the third book as of yet.

7.) The O'Malley Series - Dee Henderson - I often get emotionally invest in books and this entire series was like that for me. A romantic suspense series, these books were a true roller coaster ride of emotions for me.   This particular series spans 7 books (8 if you count the prequel)  and takes readers through the lives of each of the 8 O'malley siblings - orphans who united together to form their own family.



8.) The Hunger Games Trilogy- Suzanne Collins -  While originally written for young reads (which I am far from), this series has appeal to all ages. As always, the books are much better than the movies (Although, in this case, the movies are pretty good).




9.)  Les Miserables - Victor Hugo -  I read this book during my 11th grade English class and I fell in love.  While many are fans of the Broadway musical and the recent movie, I always loved the actual story Hugo wrote.  Val Jean and Javert are probably the best characters ever written in literature and you can be assured that when my homeschooling kiddos get to the High School years, I will have them writing a paper on the various forms of conflict found in this book. (ei: man vs man, man vs society, man vs himself).

10.)  The Bible -  Saving the best for last.  Want a book with a high re-read value? One that changes as you change, evolves as your understanding of it evolves?  This book offers so much - romance, tragedy, mystery, poetry, history, and law.  Not to mention the Greatest Story Ever Told where you play a role in the ending.  Can't think of any other books that offer that :)

Now, some of you who follow my blog are probably sitting there saying "Wait a minute... You've said before that Karen Kingsbury and Max Lucado are two of your favorite authors, yet none of the books you listed are by them." Well, you would be correct.  Both are authors who I really enjoy their writing and that book after book, they rarely if ever disappoint.  I guess I put their books  into a totally different category and instead of picking my favorites, just assume everything they write is among my favorites .   I can never get enough of those two authors and my kindle and my bookshelf is filled with books by them..  :)

This blog post will be part of the "Our Must Read Books for 2016" Schoolhouse Review Crew Roundup.  Starting January 8th, Click below and find out what other wonderful book recommendations the members of the crew have.

To Win Her Favor - A Book Review

Synopsis

An Irish-born son far from home, Cullen McGrath left a once prosperous life in England because of a horse racing scandal that nearly ruined him. He’s come to Nashville for a fresh start, hoping to buy land and start a farm, all while determined to stay as far away from thoroughbred racing as possible. But starting over proves harder than he’d wagered, especially when Maggie Linden’s father makes him an offer he shouldn’t accept yet cannot possibly refuse.

Maggie is certain that her mare, Bourbon Belle, can take the top purse in the annual Drayton Stakes at Nashville’s racetrack––the richest race run in America. Maggie only needs the chance to prove it. To give her that chance, and to save Linden Downs from being sold to the highest bidder, Maggie’s father––aging, yet wily as ever––makes a barter. His agreement includes one tiny, troublesome detail––Maggie must marry a man she’s never met. A man she never would have chosen for herself. 

My Thoughts

Prior to reading this book, I was unfamiliar with Tamera Alexander and any of the her past writings so this book turned out to be a great introduction to her writing style for me. I found this book to be a very immersive trip into 1869's Nashville, a time of hardship for the Southern Aristocracy who found themselves losing the life they had always known and where previous slaves fought to fit into a society who did not want them and refused to accept them as equals, much less human. It's also the story of the racism directed towards the Irish immigrants who risked their lives to come to this country, looking for a fresh start but finding a less then warm welcome once they were here.

Mrs Alexander weaves so many details into her writing that one cannot help but to live through the heartbreak and grief that these characters go through. The reader builds a close attachment to her characters and feels invested in their lives, even right down to the dog, Bucket. Cullen and Maggie are not your perfect characters, both have their faults which make them more believable. Together they face many difficult situations, from the hatred that Cullen faced due to his Irish heritage to racial tension from the world around them.

This is a story of loss, mistakes, redemption and being found on various levels. Mrs Alexander brilliantly guides the reader through the layers of each character's journey from loss to triumph. This is also a story of breaking through the walls of stereotypes and gender boundaries; where a woman can train a prize winning Thoroughbred mare and shatter misconceptions regarding the "lesser sex" in a man's world.

I did find some discomfort in the repetitive use of the word "n*gger" but I do understand that in the terms of the time frame this book takes place, these would have been words typically used and accepted in those days. It's a very harsh wake up call to the unfortunate realities of that time and serve to show how far we have come with today's society.

Some other reviews I have read in regards to this book mentions that this book is too intimate, that there are very descriptive bedroom scenes that take place. I did not find this to be true - there are moments of intimacy between the two characters (who are married) but there are no descriptions of sexual acts. The characters kiss, they hold hands, they occasional hold each other when they need support and they do look longing at each other from time to time, all things perfectly healthy and normal in any marriage.  While yes, there are moments of intimacy between a husband and a wife far beyond what you would find in a children's book, I promise you that you will find much more detailed descriptions of intimacy in the Bible, such as in the Song of Solomon.

Overall I found this to be a wonderful book and I am glad I had the opportunity to read it.

*I was given a free copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review, which I gave. My opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way*

Finding Me by Kathryn Cushman – A Book Review

What would you do if you learned your life was a lie? 


 
All her life, Kelli Huddleston has been told the story of a fire–a fire that killed her mother and two siblings when she was an infant. After her father’s death though, she uncovers evidence of a different story, including clippings about a boat accident that killed a young father and his infant daughter. And Kelli quietly realizes the story of her life has been a fiction.

How far would you go to discover the truth?

 
Armed with only a few pictures of what she thinks might be her family, Kelli crosses the country to Tennessee, determined to uncover the truth about what happened over twenty years ago in a small southern town. When the trip threatens to open doors to the past better left shut, and her plans for the future are jeopardized, Kelli is faced with an agonizing choice that will change her life forever.
 
My Thoughts

We open the story with a very brief look into the mind of David Waters/Don Huddleston prior to the “accident” that this entire book revolves around.  This glimpse into David’s thoughts is the only time we see anything from his point of view but his thoughts and actions of that moment has a lasting impact on lives of so many people 25 years later when he dies in a car accident.

While cleaning out his belongings, Kelli finds an envelope that contains her father’s biggest secret – that he had faked his and Kelli’s death and walked away from a wife and two other children. Kelli is determined to meet this family she never knew existed and find what about her mother would excuse what her father did all those years ago.

Right out of the gate, this book captured my attention.  Kelli is a likable character and is well developed.  The author does a great job of bringing the reader through the many emotions that Kelli is feeling; fear, elation, love, respect.  The other character who is well developed is that of Kenmore, David Water’s business partner and friend.  I really enjoyed getting to know Kenmore and I found he acted almost like a guide for Kelli.

There are a number of other characters throughout the book but I felt the most attachment to these two particular characters. Unfortunately, there are a few very critical characters to this story that I just could not get a feel for, one being Allison, Kelli’s biological mother.  Luckily, there’s enough “meat” to this story to allow this to slide.  A couple of other minor characters such as Miss Birdyshaw just didn’t seem to be needed in this story and served as a distraction more than anything else. Other minor characters, such as Opal, would have been great except again, they were never developed for us to really understand them and a few we see one time and never hear anything about them again.

The romance between Kelli and Shane is also an aspect that seems to distract from the story. Either the romance should have been developed more or left out entirely; as it stood it seemed to be only a filler, as if the author needed to throw it in there to make a certain set of readers happy. I always say, if you can take it out of the book and the story doesn’t change, then it’s not needed. That was indeed the case with this particular situation, especially the two moments where Amy, the girl from Shane’s past, enters the story. Those pages would have been better dedicated to maybe developing Allison a bit more.
 
Overall, the book is a wonderful read that hits on themes of family, atonement and redemption, as well as not repeating the mistakes of the past.  I’d easily give this book a 3.5 out of 5.
 
I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishing in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts expressed here are my own.