Today's book list will come from the category: fiction. Someone asked me if I buy all the books I read and the answer is "no way!" I get almost all the fiction I read from the library. Even Half-price Books would be too pricey, I think. Our library system allows you to request the books you want, so even bestsellers make their way to you eventually.
I read or reread three series this past year or so and they are all favorites. In order of "favorite-ness," the Mitford series (Jan Karon), the Harmony series (Philip Gulley) and the Yada Yada Prayer Group series (Neta Jackson.) All three series are now completed, which means no more installments to look forward to.
As for stand-alone fiction, Mowgli gave me A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini) for my birthday last year and it took me awhile to work up the courage to read it. Like his previous book The Kite Runner, it was heartbreaking because its setting, Afghanistan, is heartbreaking. The characters in this one are even more poignant and unforgettable, probably because they are women. It took me weeks to completely recover from this book; at the same time, it is hopeful and inspiring, too.
I also really enjoyed Digging to America (Anne Tyler) and East of Eden (John Steinbeck). I also enjoyed reading all of Kaye Gibbons' books (they're shorter than average). The Preservationist (David Mains) was hilarious and interesting and I'm looking for more from him. The Shack (William Young) may have to have its own post.
Boo and I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (a childhood favorite of mine) together and we read the final installment of the Harry Potter series (I thought it was a winner, but I love the whole series, so I'm biased.) Reading with Boo is a joy . . . her dyslexia makes it necessary, but her enthusiasm for reading makes it a blessing.
It makes me sad to read back through the titles of novels I know I enjoyed but now don't really remember. I guess that for me, reading fiction is an in-the-moment experience. I wish I remembered more about them, though. Does anyone else have that experience?
1 comment:
Thanks so much for your kind words about the Yada Yada series! But there is good news . . . I'm working on a spin-off series!
NEW SERIES—The Yada Yada House of Hope
In books #6 and #7 of the original Yada Yada series, I had introduced a shelter for homeless women. In the new series, this shelter becomes a primary setting.
While some of the original “Yada sisters” appear in the new series, the first book, Where Do I Go?, introduces a new primary character named Gabby (Gabrielle Fairbanks) who lives in a Chicago penthouse and seems to have everything a woman could want—except that her marriage is falling apart around her. She stumbles (literally) across Lucy, an elderly bag lady, who unwittingly introduces her to a place of refuge and hope. The story goes back and forth from penthouse to homeless shelter . . . and we see that God sometimes uses unlikely people and places to accomplish His purposes.
THE TITLES . . .
· Book 1: “Where Do I Go?”--coming out this Dec. 9, 2008!!!
· Book 2: “Who Do I Talk To?”
· Book 3: “Who Do I Lean On?”
· Theme and titles rooted in the gospel song by Dottie Rambo: "I Go to the Rock."
I hope you enjoy!
Your sister in Christ,
Neta Jackson
Author, the Yada Yada series
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