Relaxing Friday

I am pretty excited for this weekend. Anna is turning 2 on Tuesday, so we are having a party for her tomorrow. I thought that my day today would be filled with cleaning and prepping for the party, but thanks to the snowstorm and things being cancelled we were able to get most of that done already. That means a relaxing Friday (until our overnight houseguests arrive a little later today.) I am thinking that I am going spend some of the time reading once Anna goes down for her nap. I love to read, but don't often get a lot of time to do it. I am trying to make a more conscious effort read in my spare time as opposed to messing around on Facebook, watching TV, or playing "Angry Birds"on my phone (my latest addiction.) :-) So far in 2011, I have read 7 books and am in the process of reading 4 others. (I know...4 at one time is weird, but they serve different purposes and it depends upon my mood which one I want to read.). I am considering getting a Kindle or some other e-reader, but still not sure. I like the idea of having all my books in one compact little device. However, I am a fan of getting books from the library rather than buying them and I know that is not possible with a Kindle (at least for now.) I would love to hear feedback from people who use an e-reader.

Anyway...here are some of my favorites so far:

ROOM by Emma Donoghue

This was a book that I could not put down. It is the story written from the perspective of a 5 year old boy who has lived his entire life in a 12 x 12 room because his mother was kidnapped and held captive for many years (similar to the Jaycee Dugard story). He only knows life inside this room. It is a compelling story about the things his mother does to make life good for him and his adjustment to the real world once they escape. In some ways it reminded me of the movie called, "Life is Beautiful" where a father tries to protect his child from the horrors of life in a concentration camp during WWII. I usually have a difficult time reading books that involve abduction or violence against children or young women, but this one didn't seem to affect me as badly as others that I have read involving these topics. It was a compelling story and one that I kept thinking about for days after reading it.

STUFF CHRISTIANS LIKE by Jonathan Acuff

This is a hilarious book! It is based upon Jonathan Acuff's blog based of the same title. If you are a Christian who gets offended easily, I would not read it. However, if you can laugh at yourself as a Christian, it is a great read. I love his sarcasm and humor intermixed with the ability to make a point. Great read and a great laugh!!

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX by JK Rowling

This is my 3rd time reading the Harry Potter Series. I don't know what it is about Harry Potter but I can read them over and over again. There are very few books that I want to read more than once. Actually there only 2 that come to mind right now: "The Bible" and "To Kill a Mockingbird." Anyway, back in September, I decided that I would try to re-read the entire series before the movie of the Deathly Hallows came out in December. Obviously, I haven't accomplished that goal, but I haven't seen the movie yet either. :-) Maybe I will finish the series before The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 comes out this summer. This is one of my least favorite Harry Potter books. I think partly because Sirius Black dies in this book (Sorry if I spoiled it for anyone, but the books and movies have been out for ages...so you had your chance to find out on your own.) :-) I also think it is not my favorite because things begin to get darker in this book without any resolution. I still enjoyed it and love my Harry Potter.

LIFE AFTER SUFFERING by Chris Williams

I actually know the author of this book so when I found out that he had written a book, I ordered it. (As a side note, if you ever write a book count on at least one sale because I will purchase it.) :-) I received it in the mail yesterday and thought that I would put on my pile of books that I will read at some point. However, I did read the first couple pages and I was hooked. I finished last night (sacrificing watching "The Office"...thank goodness for DVR's, right?) :-) Anyway, in this book Chris tells his personal story of suffering when he tragically lost his parents in his freshman year of college along with telling the biblical story of Jeremiah (which is also a story of suffering.) He has many great points about suffering, but my favorite quote of the book was at the end of a chapter when he talked about how different people supported him during his time of grieving. "I had always been told that God put on flesh two thousand years ago as a Middle Eastern Jew, but in my darkest moments of despair it seemed that God put on flesh again and again in many different faces and names." I thought this was a beautiful quote and a great reminder that I need to be "BE JESUS" to people who are suffering around me. There were also many personal applications for me (that I will not go into here) because of the experiences we have had in losing Mark's Mom, Brother and my Dad over the course of the past couple years.

Well..those are my favorites over the past few weeks. How about you? I always love to hear book suggestions.