the books I've read lately

I am a bookworm.  I have been since I was in the first grade, and my teacher, Mrs. Shawl, introduced me to reading.  My very first book was a Garfield the cat book, and I've not stopped since.  Over the years, my love of reading included Sweet Valley Twins, and then Sweet Valley High, any little $2.50 teenage romance I could find at Kroger, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, The Babysitter Club, and many, many more.

I've told you before that I would ask Dad to drop me off at my favorite book store, The Book Depot, and four hours later, he would come back and get me.  I would go through every single book in my section, and I spent literally eons of time there during my teenage years.  Those were the days.

Fast forward years later, and here I am now, a homeschooling mom with four boys who hate to read.  I am appalled by that fact, and I have threatened to disown them.  They will read, but they don't do it for fun.  To this day, give me a good book, and I'll stay up half the night reading it.

That being said, I post lots about the books I read on social media.  Here is what I've been reading lately, and know that most of them can be found in the local library, or on Amazon.

I have been in a book rut lately, and my last trip to the library produced these two books by Katherine Reay.  The first one I read was Lizzy and Jane, and I started Dear Mr. Knightley last night.  The author loves Jane Austen, and all the books relate to her books.  I have never read Jane Austen before, but after reading these two and the one more I have waiting on me by her, I am adding them to my collection.

Last night I bought another book on Amazon, by an author that is new to me.

I follow a lovely blogger and fellow booklover on Instagram named Anne Boegel, and she recommended this one that her son recently finished.  The plan is for me to read it, and then I'll make it recommended reading for the boys, once our school year starts back in a few weeks.

I cannot wait to read this one, I LOVE a good suspense book.  I used to love to read mysteries by James Patterson (I still do, actually!) and Mary Higgins Clark, and this one has that vibe to it.

When I was a teenager, I started reading books by Robin Jones Gunn, the Christie Miller series.  I never finished them all, so several years ago, I bought them all, and read them, some for the first time.  My best friend is currently reading them and loves them just as much.  So, I recently read books by that same author, The Married Years, which is three books that go together.  These were super fast and easy reading.  Even if you're an adult, I recommend reading through all these books by this author.  Start with the Christie Miller series, then read the Sierra ones, then the Katie Weldon ones.  Then there are the college years, the married years, and now, the baby years.

You'll never regret reading them, and I love a great Christian fiction book.

I love Karen Kingsbury.  This is her latest book, in the Baxter series.  If you've never read one by her, start with the Redemption series, then go from there.  This is the latest Baxter family book, but the next one is in the making as I write this post.

I recently read Where We Belong, by Emily Giffin.  It was okay, but honestly, I had to look it up, to remember the details.  I do love Emily Giffin, and so far my favorite has been The One and Only.

Another one I recently read was Silver Girl by Elin Hildebrand.  It was really good, but she doesn't have chapters in her books.  That drove me bonkers!  I do have another of her books on my to-read list.

Lastly, I cannot write this list without including my bible.  I read it every single day, and I love the one I am currently using.

It is the HCSB Women's Study Bible.  I love that it's is big and thick, with margins wide enough for me to write in.  I love that it capitalizes the pronouns when speaking of God, and that His name in Hebrew is used.  Yahweh in the O.T., and Yeshua in the N.T.  Those names aren't written every time, but some of the time.  I love this bible.  Also, in it are good study notes at the bottom, and sometimes on a page, you'll see a word in the original language (Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek).

I cannot recommend it enough.  It's pricey, but Lifeway is good about putting them on sale for half price a couple times a year.

Well, that's what I'm reading, or have read lately.  I hope this inspires you to go get lost in a book of your own.

Love to all!