Words on Wednesday: Books

   Two time-consuming tpyes of posts that i do are the Life with Max ones and these book meanderings.  i don't do either as much as i'd like, because they require so much time & thought.  Therefore it's been far too longs since i've reported on my reading.
  Some of the books above i read a year or more ago.  i barely remember Tiger Lillie, though i liked it.    i think i reviewed/discussed Imagine: How Creativity Works, Quiet,  Thunder Dog and A Thorn in my Pocket elsewhere on this blog.  Mornings on Horseback was my first acquaintance with the work of David McCullough.  i hope to read more of his books.

Edwardian Mysteries

  Death on the Lizard is the last in Robin Page's Edwardian mysteries.  Kate and Sir Charles Sheridan are delightful characters, and the stories are painstakingly researched.  Actually, the research is one reason why Robin Page nom de plume of  Susan Wittig and husband Bill Albert) eventually discontinued the series: it is highly popular, but too time-consuming to continue with.  They are all excellent, though, as well as Susan's The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series.

A Strange Concept that Works

  On the upper left, with the SALE tag, is SPLIT, one of a series of teenministry books.  It has a novel concept, flip switch: read from the frint, flip it over & read part 2 from the back.  It comes with a warning:

  i have SPLIT and BUZZ from the series; there are at least three others.

Sisterchicks forever!

 

  i love all the Sisterchicks books!  What's not to love:  a woman, her friend, a once-in-a-lifetime trip, encountering God in a deeper way.  Definitely formula fiction, but so fun, and deeper than you might think.  They are gritty and "God sparkly" at the same time.
  The new scenic  covers are cool too.

 

A Gift from an Author

  Like The Night Sky, i received this book because the author offered it to me for review.

This is a workbook, designed for classroom use.  On the page shown upper right, the autistic boy's friend explains that he's running off because he likes to explore.  Maybe - he may also find the situation unbearable, and be trying to escape.

   Unlike The Night Sky, i never actually reviewed it.  Not being a teacher, i felt inadquate, so i passed it around to some teachers.  It didn't come back.
  This would be a great resource, though i differ with one point (see caption below). 
  Ms Flockhart has designed an interactive workbook for use in an inclusive classroom.  i think it portrays autism accurately, and would work well for the purpose.  i wish Max had a friend like the narrator.

 

 A Recent Best-Seller

  What do a wealthy, 90 year old widow and a goth foster kid have in common? In Christina Baker Kline's novel Orphan Train, we discover that it might be plenty.

  
   A not-too-heavy look at hard times, i found it fascinating, despite the hard characterization of the foster mom and the abrupt ending.

 

 Mary Jane Hathaway: Jane Austen Takes the South Series

Not Shown: 1st book in series, Pride, Prejudice, and Cheese Grits

   Another light reading series, Simon & Schuster is not a publisher i would expect to produce Christian novels.  However, their Howard imprint carries some well-known Christian authors, so maybe i shouldn't be surprised.
  What struck me most positively about these is the believable level of faith and practice of the characters.  While some Christian books (including Sisterchicks) are all about faith, these books show people living their faith in a range that matches those i know.  They have other passionate interests.  We'll talk about our faith and issues resulting from trying to live a Christian life.  Sometimes those discussions are intense and long-lasting, and sometimes we miss where we should bring it up.  We struggle to fulfill Christ's commands in daily living.
  Perhaps the characterizations were somewhat shallow - when they appear in later books, my response has been, "Oh yeah, i know her.  Is she the history professor or the journalist?"  However, these are fun and fast reading, showing faith-pariticpation that might have been left out in a more typical book.

 Another Austin

  Some years ago, i read Lynn Austin's Chronicles of the Kings.   i enjoyed them so much that, when our book club did the first one, i bought it in the newer, revised edition.   (photo later)
  While Lynn Austin writes about strong women in many time frames, Chronicles was, for years, her only Biblical novel/series.  Recently she began a new Biblical series, The Restoration Chronicles.  i happened across it in the bookstore.   Return to Me, the first in the series, tells of the initial return to The Promised Land, through the eyes primarily of Iddo and his grandson, Zechariah.  Like in Chronicles, there are frequent passages that got me saying, "That's just like now.;"  i was reminded of a book i've read years ago, another gone AWOL,  The Faith Club. They would be good to read together.
  And yes, i'm planning to read the rest of the Restoration series soon.