January Books

Well, I'm super disappointed to be listing only two books for the month of January. I started out really excited and made a book list and was off. Off to the library!!!! I have only been there once and it was so long ago that I don't even remember what I went there for!!!

However, I fell back into an old habit. I was reading....but I was reading 8 books at one time. I finished three. I'm still in the first half of the other 6!!! And...I bought 4 new books. And...I have a bookshelf full of books I want to read. So, new plan. Pick one book. Finish it. Pick the next book. This is going to be SO hard for me, but I have to do it or I will never finish anything!!!!! Here are the three I did finish.

Becoming Fearless This was my favorite book this month! Incredible story!!! I am a big fan of "The Biggest Loser", but I didn't see the season that Michelle won. However, it really didn't matter. Her story is one for any person! Not only is the book an easy read, its encourages you to not give up, work hard, and trust the Lord (not yourself or other people). Definitely recommend.

The Chimes "The Chimes" was the second story/book in this book of 5 Christmas books. I loved "A Christmas Carol" so I just continued on to the next one. I was kind of disappointed in this one. It was still a little hard to read because of the old-style language. It had my attention at the beginning, but in the 3rd chapter, I kind of got bored. It seemed to have a little of the same "visiting the past" just as the "A Christmas Carol", but it was less entertaining. The main character is poor, but doesn't have a mean/greedy spirit like Scrooge, however, he went into the future to times when he wasn't alive anymore...and he wasn't missed by anyone. It was kind of sad. (If you have read this and completely missed the point, please fill me in!!! I'm not too prideful to admit I might need another perspective).

The Year of Fog This was actually the first book I read and finished this year. My mother-in-law sent it to me with all our Christmas presents. She was reading it when she came to visit in October and told me she would send it to me when she was finished. I was actually surprised b/c most people forget to pass books along! It was a very interesting read. I liked that the chapters were so short and in the beginning I felt like I was getting through the book so quickly. This book really takes place over a year's time. A little girl goes missing and its a woman's perspective on the search for her. It started moving really slow toward the middle and I was just wanting to find out what happened. The climax of the book wasn't until very close to the end and expected there to more of the story, but it ended pretty quickly. It was interesting to see the emotion and determination of this woman throughout the book and especially the end. Not my favorite, but its an interesting read.

One book I did check out at the library was "Pop Goes the Weasel" by James Patterson. However, After reading the first 5-6 pages, I stopped. I could already tell he was a fantastic writer, but I know myself well enough to know that books like that were going to create sleep problems for me later. I have this issue with movies too. Once I read or see something, it doesn't leave my mind. When its scary, it likes to come and taunt me in the middle of the night. I decided a long time ago that I wouldn't watch scary movies anymore, and now I'm taking that same stand for books. I'm a little disappointed b/c I love a good mystery!!!! However, I did get some hand-me-down books from a sweet friend of ours and they are along the same line, but don't deal with graphic murders. I'll share more on that next month. :)