Great Reads

I am a voracious reader. I crave books much like The Boss craves time to work in his yard. Or my sister craves time to quilt. Or my brother-in-law craves his ice cream. (You know who you are!) I find myself sneaking away in chaotic moments to grab a couple quick pages, especially when the homework hour has begun or when the house settles down for a quiet night ahead.

So imagine my delight a couple years ago, when I hear from several friends about this great library at a local church that is open to the public once a week. Imagine my further delight when said library undergoes a move, an expansion and a transformation while the church is adding on to its building this spring. And all in warm, rich fall colors to boot! With a cute little cafe and flavored lattes for sale in the lobby. And a play area for Baby Blue Eyes to enjoy while I sip my iced vanilla chai latte. Bliss, I tell you. Pure bliss. But I digress . . .

In preparation for the coming hours of (anticipated) pool-side reading that I wish for you all, I've decided to share today a list of "great reads" that I have thoroughly enjoyed. While not all of them may be "your style," I encourage you to give them a try. Some are light-hearted, fun fiction; others are meatier life stories. I certainly don't agree with everything I've read, but I've learned a lot this past year. I thought you might like to see what's been going on in my head. Scary as that may be :)

• C. Hope Flinchbaugh - Daughter of China & Across the China Sky
• Michael English - The Prodigal Comes Home (jury is still out, I'm just starting it now but like it so far!)
• Ryan Dobson - Be Intolerant, 2 Die 4, & 2 Live 4 (excellent especially for those of us with teens or pre-teens)
• Robin McGraw - Inside My Heart
• Stephen Baldwin - The UnUsual Suspect
• Randy Alcorn - Safely Home
• Karen Kingsbury - Redemption series, FirstBorn series, Fame series (Let's just be honest here, anything that this woman writes is a favorite of mine. She's talented, compelling, convicting and has a unique way of sharing the heart of God for His people!)
  
• Helen Doss - The Family Nobody Wanted (the book that sparked the dream of adoption in my junior high heart - re-read this year for the first time in many years!)

I have many, many more "entertaining" reads that I could share with you, but this list represents the most compelling that I've worked through this year. I'd be happy to give you the gist of the individual books if you are interested. Now I'm off to grab a couple pages while the kids play football and we wait for the chicken to grill . . . Happy Reading!