Friday, December 31, 2010

My Top 10 of 2010

I read so many good books this year (with some duds thrown in for good measure, of course). I wanted to compile a little list for all of you who are looking for some great reading material or are just curious about what my favorites were as I did my 100 in 2010 Reading Challenge. So, here they are. I wanted to to them in order, but I really couldn't rank them. They were all so good. (P.S. To save you a little time, click on the title of the book and read my review!)

  1. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer 
  2. Matched by Ally Condie 
  3. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher 
  4. The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller 
  5. The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima  **This is the 2nd book in a series. The first book is called The Demon King. I didn't give the first book a stellar review, but I totally take it back after reading this. I LOVED THIS BOOK. I even bought them both and plan on reading them again soon.
  6. Torment by Lauren Kate **Again, the 2nd book in a series. First is called Fallen. Liked the first, LOVED the second.
  7. Wings by Aprilynne Pike **To read my review of the second book in this series, click here. I love this series!!
  8. The Golden Spiral by Lisa Mangum  **Also the 2nd book in a series. The first is The Hourglass Door. I read this last year, so I don't have a review for it on my blog. I will tell you, I liked it, but I LOVED the second. That happened a lot this year.
  9. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins  I am still debating about this book and it's been months since I read it. That's just how it is. Here are my reviews of the first 2 books: Hunger Games and Catching Fire.
  10. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
What a fun year this has been! I won't lie-- this challenge was crazy hard at times. Especially having a newborn in my house these last few months. I am so glad I set this goal for myself this year and actually ACCOMPLISHED it! I hope you'll all stick around for 2011 to see what other good reads I can find!

Also, I signed up for a fun challenge for January that you are more than welcome to join me in doing. I am possibly the only person in America that has never read the Harry Potter books, so I am doing a "Potter-thon" hosted by Pure Imagination. I'm excited to read the entire series in January! Anyone want to get a crazy hair and do it with me??? :)

Happy New Year everyone!  (With 10 minutes to spare too!)

Need by Carrie Jones

Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

I am still not quite sure how I felt about this book. I thought the phobia thing was weird. Kind of interesting to see what they meant, but bizarre that she knew them all and named them in alphabetical order in times of stress. Really? Who does that??

I actually loved her Grandma Betty though. She's a tiger ;)  (haha--You'll get this when you read it.)

I also really liked the story. The only real issue I had with it was the ending. I thought it was a little lame. However, this is a series, so there's a chance for redemption. Maybe the lame ending is a setup for a fantastic book #2. 

Favorite quote of the entire book:
"Megan. What an absolutely perfect name for Evil Announcement Girl. Megans always hate me. This Megan isn't about to break my record."

I'm sure you can put two and two together and figure out why this made me laugh out loud. :)

All in all, a good read. I'd recommend this, but it wouldn't be first on my list. 

Happy Reading and Happy New Year!
(P.S. I made it! This was book #100! Holy cow.)

Wish by Alexandra Bullen

For broken-hearted Olivia Larsen, nothing can change the fact that her twin sister, Violet, is gone... until a mysterious, beautiful gown arrives on her doorstep. The dress doesn't just look magical; it is magical. It has the power to grant her one wish, and the only thing Olivia wants is her sister back.

With Violet again by her side, both girls get a second chance at life. And as the sisters soon discover, they have two more dresses-and two more wishes left. But magic can't solve everything, and Olivia is forced to confront her ghosts to learn how to laugh, love, and live again.

This is a book I've been wanting to read all year, but none of the libraries near me have it. So it surprised me when I was looking on Amazon last week at the free YA Kindle books and this was one of them. I was so excited! Of course I downloaded it right away.

Now, I have to know-- Why is it that rich people in California give their kids such weird names?? Read it and you'll know what I'm talking about. :)

The book opens on Olivia's first day of school in California. Her family had just moved from the east coast after the death of Olivia's twin sister, Violet. I've never been a twin (or lost one, obviously), but I imagine it would be a crippling blow. Olivia, who seems so lost in the beginning of the book without Violet, stumbles upon a dress shop and begins her roller coaster ride called healing.

I really liked the way this book was written. I don't want to give too much away, but this story could have been written in a way that I could have really disliked. But because of the route the author decided to take, I ended up loving it. The whole book I was wondering how it could possibly end well, but I was so happy with it. I felt like the story was resolved in a way that was best for all involved.

And her love interest.... What a great match! I loved the author's initial description of him. The boy with "burnt blond" hair. I've never heard that before. I thought it was clever.

Oh--One other thing. I hate when I read a book and the popular girls are always such beastly creatures. It's SO overdone. I loved that the "popular girl" Olivia befriends is actually a genuinely nice person. I kept waiting for this scary monster to rear it's ugly head, but it never really did. I loved that about the storyline.

This is such a great read. I highly recommend it!

Happy Reading!


Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedgwick

Unfortunately, this is not a book you will be able to find for a while. This was a manuscript of a book my friend wrote that she gave me to read. In the past few months, I've been able to read some chapters from it and see how the story has developed. I am so glad that I was able to read the finished product! This book has been getting quite a bit of attention from publishers these past few weeks, so it's likely you'll be seeing this on the shelves in the coming year or two. I'm not going to say anything about it other than it was one of the most original stories I've ever read and I absolutely loved it. One of my favorite reads this year by far. :) A big thank you (again!) to Chantele Sedgwick for the immese honor of having a sneak peek at this fantastic book!

Happy Reading!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Torment by Lauren Kate

Hell on earth. That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students -Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous. What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else? The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.

I remember not totally loving the first book in this series-- Fallen. It hooked me at the first and then was slow. This book was just the opposite. I had a hard time getting into it at first but then I couldn't put it down. I liked this book much better than the first, but it also left me (and Luce-- the main female character) with so many unanswered questions. I am anxious for the next installment, Passion, to be released this coming summer. I felt like I just got into the story and then it ended!

I liked Luce more this time around, and Daniel less.

Luce was more self-assured and assertive. I liked her spunk. You all know I hate "boo-hoo, woe is me" characters though. ;) Daniel--ugh. I understand his wanting to protect Luce, but it bothered me that he treated her like a child. Like he was constantly trying to show his dominance. I just thought that he was going about Luce's "protection" all wrong. He should have explained things to her.

Like I said, there were a lot of unanswered questions. The whole explaining-things-to-Luce problem was one of them. Daniel almost seemed like he wasn't allowed to tell her anything. He couldn't (or wouldn't) tell her about her past lives, he couldn't (or wouldn't) tell her why she was "locked up" at Shoreline. I want to know why she's so important. Why the fate of the world rests on her and Daniel. I want to know how they met, how it all started. There's so much I (and Luce) want to know that just wasn't in this book.

And is it bad that since Daniel was such a jerk in this one, I kind of want to root for Miles? I really liked him! (I'm not saying I will, just that if Daniel doesn't shape up in the next one, I may be forced to.)  :D

I think this is a series worth reading so far-- check them out!

Book 1: Fallen
Book 2 (this one): Torment
Book 3 (Summer 2011): Passion

Happy Reading! 


The Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean

Michael McLean's touching Christmas tale has become a timeless classic. It tells the story of a nurse whose empty life is changed by her patient, John, who expands her understanding of Christmas. "The Forgotten Carols" are original songs from the perspective of characters such as the innkeeper who turned the young couple away or the shepherd who slept through the angel's announcement. Their personal accounts, until now, have been overlooked or ignored. Together, John and Constance discover what the world has forgotten about Christmas.


I remember people talking about "The Forgotten Carols" when I was growing up but I never knew what it was, or really even cared. But a few years ago, at Christmastime, my husband had gone out shopping and brought home the stage version on DVD. We watched it that night. I loved it. Now we watch it every Christmas. I also actually didn't know that it was a book until my mother-in-law and I were talking about the movie and she asked me if I wanted to borrow the book. The book is just as good. :) Here's an excerpt:

"Chapter 1: My Name is Constance



When her mother named her Constance, she had no intention of ever calling her Connie. Her mother once explained to her that Constance was a solid name, a name with substance and dignity, but "Connie" well, "Connie" was just fluff.


A lot of young girls growing up in her neighborhood would have welcomed a friendly, "Hi Connie" from her friends at school, or, at the very least, would have acknowledged the greeting with a smile. Not Constance. She corrected them resolutely. "My name is Constance." She would say, looking and sounding a bit life a stuffy old librarian with an attitude problem. "I am not a Connie."


She had that right. She was not then nor did she ever plan to be a "Connie."


It is possible to be obedient to a fault, Constance was. It never occurred to her that anything her parents ever said was not absolute truth. No advice, counsel, instruction, or observation made by her parents was ever challenged. She tried in every way to be her mother in miniature. This remarkable devotion was an enormous source of pride for her parents, through Constance never knew it. All she knew was that her parents were never wrong.


That wasn’t true of course. They were wrong on just about everything that had anyting to do with raising healthy, well-adjusted children, they didn’t teach their only child how to think or dream or feel or question or wonder or choose or discover anything for herself. They believed it was their job as parents to do all that for her – and she let them.


You’d have expected things to change when Constance turned fourteen. That was the year her parents assured her that her mother’s illness was only temporary. But that was a lie. Constance watched her mother stoically refuse to accept the truth about her condition – and the truth was, she was dying.


Typically when families receive such news, there’s an initial period of denial and anger and heartbreak, followed by a sincere search for tender ways to express deep feelings and say good-bye. But Constance received only her parents’ reassurance that everything was find and that recovery was just around the corner. In fact, the only thing that even came close to resembling tenderness during that time was something Constance overheard her mother say about the nurse who helped Dr. Burton. She mentioned to her husband one evening that the nurse seemed to be a rather competent woman. It was the nearest thing to a complement Constance had ever heard her mother give. And so it’s probably no surprise that a few years after her mother’s death, Constance went into nursing.


To fully appreciate what happened to Constance last Christmas, you need to know that she had been a nurse at the Fullerton Hospital her entire career. Although she could never be accused of being overly compassionate, she had never shirked her duties or failed to follow a doctor’s order to the letter. And she had never, ever questioned or challenged anyone in authority at the hospital. Needless to say, doctors loved her – and patients didn’t.

It was this absolute commitment to following the voice of authority that placed Constance in an extremely awkward position a few weeks before Christmas a year ago. The chief administrator of the hospital called her into his office with a special request ..."

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Happy Reading!

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

CLASSIFIED ADS: RESTAURANTS
SANGUINI'S:
A VERY RARE RESTAURANT IS HIRING A CHEF DE CUISINE. DINNERS ONLY.
APPLY IN PERSON BETWEEN 2:00 AND 4:00 PM.

Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her parents are dead, and her hybrid-werewolf first love is threatening to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. Then, as she and her uncle are about to unveil their hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef. Can Quincie transform their new hire into a culinary Dark Lord before opening night? Can he wow the crowd in his fake fangs, cheap cape, and red contact lenses — or is there more to this earnest face than meets the eye? As human and preternatural forces clash, a deadly love triangle forms, and the line between predator and prey begins to blur. Who’s playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along before she loses everything?

Can't say I liked this one. Quincie, although I like her name, I didn't care for. At all. I thought she was a weak main character in a mediocre storyline. The idea for this book was a good one, I thought, executed in a poor way. It most definitely had potential, but fell appallingly short. Don't bother picking this one up. It was a sad offering of a debut novel.

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!
If you are reading, or plan to read the Vampire Academy series, DO NOT READ THIS (yet)!
Thanks. :)
Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules.

She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir Princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardian to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose- for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back… and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your life is about saving others, who will save you?

If you've been following this blog lately, then you should know that I have absolutely loved this series. Rose may be one of my favorite butt-kicking heroines in a long time--possibly ever. I also now have a teeny tiny crush on a fictional character named Dimitri. Even Lissa grew on me once she found Christian and stopped acting so helpless. She definitely came into her own in the last two books. While I am sad that this is the final book in this series, I am pleased with how the story ended. Mostly...

I have been a die-hard Dimitri fan from the start, but I really wanted a good ending for Adrian. I didn't know what that could be, and obviously the author didn't either because he not only drew the short stick in the romance department, but he also got beat to a pulp with it. Poor guy. Let me say-- I didn't want him with Rose, but I wanted him to be with someone. I had the same reaction with his ending in this story that a lot of people had to the end of Gale's story in the Hunger Games series. (Which was-- "That's it?!?!? No explanation of what happened to him after??)

I also have to say this-- I figured out who the queen-killer was right away in this book. When I figure out who the bad guy is that early on in a book, I am very rarely wrong. The entire book, I was just waiting for someone to put the pieces together and call the real killer out. Oh, I'm so clever-- I figured it out before everyone!
......
Now, I don't do this often (ask any of my relatives) but I am going to admit it publicly...I was wrong. YES, you read that right. I said I was....WRONG! And totally surprised. It wasn't who I thought it was... but I kind of liked that. :)
Now, I wouldn't want to be wrong all the time of course, but it made the end of this series memorable for me because I was so shocked.

Two words: Loved. It.

Bravo, Richelle Mead.

Happy Reading!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Startling Joy by James Calvin Schaap


A gift. The baby. The pageant. The parties. The worship. The afterglow. The story. These are the elements of most every Christmas. In Startling Joy, award-winning author James Calvin Schaap takes a look at each of these elements through seven stories that show how imperfect people can find joy and grace in an imperfect world. His eyes turn on an outgoing bus driver, a passionate mother, a daughter reluctant to return to church, and even his own assumed-mediocre performance at a Christmas pageant. Along the way, readers see how the amazing message of Christmas can be found in the oddest of places. This heartwarming read is both moving and magical and will help readers usher in a joyful Christmas season even amidst the howling winds of winter.
 
I've read quite a few Christmas story collection this past week or so, and I have to say that so far, this is my least favorite.
 
I did like the final story in it though, which I would say is worth reading. (Just skip right to page 143)
He writes, "I am not a Picasso, a brutal misogynist who inflicted terror on nearly every female around him. Neither am I a Hemingway, a drunken lout given to baring his chest and knuckles at the drop of a hat. I adore Van Gogh, but I would not cut off my ear for anyone....(He goes on and on in a humorous way and then says...) I am, as most of you may have guessed already, unabashedly elitist."
 
He was asked to be the narrator in his church's Christmas presentation, since he had a "big voice" and a theater background. When it came time for the performance, everything went smoothly in the beginning. But as he was sitting in his seat, he was distracted by three teenage girls playing with a string and giggling, who just didn't seem to care that they were part of the retelling of a miraculous story. (Or that they were on stage and people could see and probably hear them.) As he continued his narration, he became more and more irritated and put all his frustration into his story. He says, "I knew they didn't care, and, in my mind, that killed the performance. I don't know that I can completely explain my anger. Perhaps those who have never worked at art will not understand. Those three girls wrested my attention so completely away from what I was saying that, in the process, they became my sole audience. I delivered my lines in a voice meant for them, even though they were behind me and probably never for a moment stopped chatting and playing with that loop of string." By the end of the performance, he says he was "relieved but seething." Many thanked him on his way out the door for what they said was a great performance. It didn't mean anything to him until a retired missionary-- a woman he describes as being well read in the story of the Nativity-- comes to him and tells him that he made the story new to her. He was astonished that it had had such an impact on someone who knew the story so well and felt awe as he reconsidered his experience. He says, "And that's when it hit me, this epiphany of Christmas. He came for those who need him, not because they are poor or slovenly or unable to care for themselves. He came for all those who need him, even some like me, the elitists, self-satisfied with the arrogance that insists they really need nothing at all. He came for me because I too--in my annoyance and pride-- am very much among the needy. A hundred times or more I've cried on stage. It is a technique that, with practice, one accomplishes quite easily. But alone, in my car,...I found myself suddenly in company with the Lord who came to earth, not for Christmas, not just for spoiled children, but for all of us, even me. He made me a blessing, even in my pride. He washed the sin of my human arrogance in his blood and through me made the story new, both to an old woman and a proud old actor. At that moment I felt something totally unpracticed pinch my eyes and choke my breath. I wasn't acting. The Lord of heaven and earth was acting upon me..."
 
And that, is the reason for the season.

I loved this story. I just saved you from actually having to pick it up from the library to read the last 10 pages. Although he tells it so much better than I did. Loved it.
Loved, loved.
The rest was mostly crap. :)
Happy Reading!

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

All teenagers have problems, but few of them can match those of Aislinn, who has the power to see faeries. Quite understandably, she wishes that she could share her friends' obliviousness and tries hard to avoid these invisible intruders. But one faery in particular refuses to leave her alone. Keenan the Summer King is convinced beyond all reasoning that Aislinn is the queen he has been seeking for nine centuries. What's a 21st-century girl to do when she's stalked by a suitor nobody else can see?
 
I absolutely love the cover of this book. Unfortunately, that's about all I love about it. 
 
This was one of the S.L.O.W.E.S.T. books I've read in a really long time. And it didn't even have a spectacular ending. I actually don't think it ever had a climax or any twists. It pretty much flat-lined. Period. And Aislinn, YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO BE DOING SUCH DIRTY THINGS WITH SUCH DIRTY GUYS. (It doesn't go into detail, but you can totally put the pieces together of what happened by the description after) Just sayin... 
 
I wouldn't recommend this. Not for that-- just because I've simply read WAY better fairy books. If you really want a good fairy (faery...I say potato, you say potahto...blah blah blah) book, read Wings by Aprilynne Pike. Don't waste precious reading time on this bland ol' thing.

An Angel on Main Street by Kathi Oram Peterson

Micah Connors promised his mother he would be good in their new town. But with Christmas only three days away, being escorted home by the sheriff does not bode well. Can the towering officer be trusted not to tell what happened? Perhaps the ramshackle stable that has appeared on Main Street will sidetrack him from spilling the day's events—or maybe his interest in Micah's widowed mother will do the trick. The last thing Dawn Connors needs is to hear her son is in trouble. She has enough to worry about with her husband gone and her daughter, Annie, ill. 
 
Even though Micah has told his sister the rustic structure in the middle of town is simply part of the town's holiday decorations, Annie is sure that unseen angels are building the crude stable—which means baby Jesus is coming, and he can make her better. Terrified that his little sister might die, Micah vows to find the baby Jesus for Annie, even if it is only a plastic doll. But as Micah gets nearer to his goal he finds angels are closer than he ever would have believed.
 
I loved this story. My heart ached for Micah and Annie and especially their mother who was doing all she could to support her two children. I liked the Sheriff and his willingness to do good to those in need. And I loved the unlikely hero of this story. I certainly didn't guess it! This was truly a feel-good, make-you-want-to-serve-others kind of book. Perfect reading for Christmastime. :) 
 

Zanna's Gift by Orson Scott Card writing as Scott Richards

When the Pullman family lost their eldest son Ernie to an unexpected illness just before Christmas, 1938, it was devastating to all of them, but especially to young Suzanna, their four-year-old daughter who shared a special bond with her big brother. A strangely gifted child, Zanna loved to draw, but Ernie was the only one who was able to see the pictures in the curious patterns she made. And he did not live to see her last gift, a Christmas painting she had made just for him.This is the story of that gift, and how it inspired her and her whole family, generation to generation, to keep alive the spirit of imagination, hope, and love, for Christmases to come.

Zanna grew up to be a famous artist, but in the hearts of her children and grandchildren, her nieces and nephews, that first painting, the Gift, was truly her most important work. Christmas after Christmas, as the long decades pass up to the present day, Scott Richards allows us to share in the warmth of a family bound together by the transcendent miracle of love.

Zanna's life, told in Christmases, will inspire you to keep alive your own family traditions, to share those loving moments with your children and grandchildren for years to come.
 
I liked this book, but it was deceiving. It says it's "A Life in Christmases" but I really think it just started with a one and ended with one, and had a whole bunch of talk in the middle. Nevertheless, it was a good book. I love how it ended, which, for me, is the key in whether I recommend it or not. If I read a REALLY slow or boring book but it ends in a really good way, that's what I go away remembering-- how fantastic the end was. Sometimes it sucks getting there, but it's totally worth it. This was that kind of book for me. It really wasn't anything special, I just liked that Zanna's gift (Ernie's gift, and thus Ernie himself) lived on in the lives and hearts of all of his family members, even ones who had never met him.
 
This book is just shy of 150 pages and well worth an hour or two of your time this holiday season. Happy Reading!  

Christmas on Miracle Lane and Other Holiday Favorites by Kaye Jacobs Volk

Two days before Christmas, Evie's world is crumbing. She's annoyed with her husband, at odds with her teenage daughter, out of patience with her elderly mother, and drowning in a sea of stress. The wonderful spirit of Christmas is nowhere to be found as her mounting frustrations propel her out the door of her home and into a life-changing night of magic and discovery.

This is actually a collection of short stories--The Christmas Heart, Christmas on Miracle Lane, The Christmas Angel, and The Christmas Cradle. The only story out of them that I really thought was well, dumb, for lack of a better word, (....I need to buy myself a Thesaurus....) was the first story, The Christmas Heart. I really liked the rest of them. The storylines were all quite unique--The Christmas Angel was told from the point of view of tree ornaments. I thought that was clever. Anyway, more good ones, mostly! Happy Reading!

Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright

Where had it come from? Whose money was it? Was I to spend it? Save it? Pass it on to someone more needy? Above all else, why was I chosen? Certainly there were others, countless others, more needy than me...
Her reporter's intuition insisted that a remarkable story was on the verge of the front page.

Newspaper reporter Hope Jensen uncovers the remarkable secret behind the "Christmas Jars", glass jars filled with coins and bills anonymously left for people in need. But along the way, Hope discovers much more than the origin of the jars. When some unexpected news sets off a chain reaction of kindness, Hope's greatest Christmas Eve wish comes true.

My sister told me about this book over a year ago. I've actually had a post-it on my fridge with the title since last fall. Anyway, I wish I would have read it sooner, but I'm glad that I waited and read it during the holiday season. This is such a wonderful story of selflessness and sacrifice. I loved the entire Maxwell family, but Adam and Lauren were my very favorite-- they're the ones who started it all. This was another one of those really great stories that helped get me in the mood for the season. Read this! Even if you've read it before, it's a great book for this time of year.

 More Christmas books to come! :)

One Silent Night by Julie A. Warnick

December 24, 1914.

 Private Daniel Raye finds himself apart from his wife and young child as he fights a war with a German enemy that he does not understand, but discovers he cannot hate. Miserable, cold, and lonely, Daniel fills his heart with prayer throughout the day--for his family, for his country, and for his unknown enemy.

As the day of Christmas Eve turns to night, the gentle strains of a Christmas carol, sung in German, are overheard. What happens next is a Christmas miracle.

Based on a true story, One Silent Night speaks of a rare moment in history when hatred brought about by war is overcome for a brief interlude by the power of brotherly love.

I couldn't find an image for the book cover. Probably because this "book" is less than 30 pages long... (I'm still counting it though!!) It is such a neat story. I've heard talk of it before, but it seems too incredible to be true. It makes me wonder if we've lost these remarkable qualities somewhere along the way. It seems like people are so uncivil these days, so unfeeling, uncaring... It amazes me that in the midst of a World War, a cease-fire would be called for one day. In this case, it was long enough to remember their humanity and join together to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Maybe this holiday season, we could all keep that in mind. :)

Happy Holidays, and Happy Reading!

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Patience is a Virtue... (So they say!)

I have 7 books left to read and 22 days to do it! I have quite a few reviews to do, and I'm going to try really hard to get to them this weekend. Be patient! I'm reading like a mad woman. :)

Happy Reading everyone!