Two From Galilee by Marjorie Holmes

This is the perfect Holiday read. It's the love story of Mary and Joseph. So sweet and beautifully written. It helped me to think of Chirst's birth through the eyes of Mary which made it more personal for me. You won't want to put it down!

Anyone have any fabulous book recommendations? I feel like I'm in a book rut. I need something new and great. A can't put down kind of read.

Pavilion of Women By Pearl S. Buck

I am ever fascinated with the Eastern culture and this book opened my eyes to yet another interesting world: the elite class in China. This book was absolutely filled to the brim with age-old truths of human nature. One is bound to do some self-discovery as Madam Wu voyages on an unexpected journey of introspection and experiences a great change within herself.

I found myself in awe of the almost poetic language of the book. I hate to give anything in books away... so I shall leave it at that!

Did you know Pearl S. Buck wrote 85 books in her lifetime?!  She is the author of The Good Earth, probably her most widely known book. I've not read it myself, but welcome any reviews on that one.

I capture the castle by dodie smith

Ohhhh my. I finished this book in one, huge gulp!  It is beautifully written. Clever, charming, witty, heartbreaking, hopeful, depressing... all in one. The ending made me furious, which made me love the book even more. It was real.

The story takes place in England in the 1930s. A family lives in a portion of a castle and this is their story, through the eyes of the middle child, 17 year-old Cassandra.

Enjoy!

The Mitford Series

For our neighborhood book club we just read At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. I have been introduced to a whole new genre of books I didn't know existed. They are called "Cozy Books." And that is exactly how I would describe this book. Cozy. It's slow moving and not a fast read at all. Yet I felt drawn to it at quiet moments (Hah! quiet moments with 5 kids one a 3 month old!) and it was nice to sit and relax for a few minutes here and there. Don't read it when you're in a hurry to get it done because it won't happen. I instantly felt at home in Mitford. One neat thing about this series I'm told (and I can agree with about the first book) is that you never have to worry about what you might run into in the story. Very clean, good story line. Fun characters.

Anyone else reading anything good?

Does Anyone Ever Read This Blog Anymore?

Just read a good book for our book club. It's called A House Of Many Rooms by Rodello Hunter. It's an older book published in the 60's I think. It's about an LDS family in the late 1800's through the early 1900's. It was interesting and I wished the copy I read was mine so that I could underline things in it. It will be hard to go back and find the things I liked to talk about them at book club.

Hunger Games Anyone?.............

What've you all been reading? In your book clubs? On your own? We are reading the Hunger Games for ours and I am over half way through number 3. Our upcoming books are To Kill A Mockingbird, Rebekah-by Orson Scott Card, and another one I can't remember the name of. Maybe I remember the first two because I've read them both already, the first a number of times. Both I like.

People in my book club are saying Hunger Games is harder for them to get through than the Glass Castle was. I disagree. The Glass Castle was real. The Hunger Games aren't. It wasn't hard for me to keep it in story form. It's when I got to the second book that it was harder to not "think" more about it. Government control in EVERY aspect of your life....it's bothered me quite a bit more than the first. The third I'm just trying to get through. It's back to a story for me but with too much manipulating of people. It's just too unreal to bother me like Catching Fire did. Why so? I'm still not sure. I can't help comparing the main character Katniss to Bella Swan from Twilight. Both teenage girls caught in some weird love triangle that everyone else can see but themselves. Both a low self image that drives me crazy, esp. Bella's. I'm getting tired of Katniss moping around all the time and going back and forth between love sick teenage girl-which she won't admit to herself-and oh woe is me.

I hope I haven't said anything that would ruin any of the books. I'm assuming you have all read them because our book club always seems to be a little "behind the times" as far as the current popular book to read. We don't read a lot of new books. It's generally classics and oldies but goodies but once in a while we throw in something "new". Like when we read Fablehaven when book 4 was coming out. Same thing here with Hunger Games...