Darn! I've been busy and haven't been keeping up the Book Read list and LJ wasn't cooperating. I feel certain I will remember everything but I've been doing library books and once they are read and gone, they really can be GONE! from memory.
Trying to remember...
OK, I remember one to just clear my head called,
40. The Ranchers Reunion by Tina Radcliffe. Nice heartfelt romance about accepting physical or medical limitations life might throw at you and understanding that love doesn't see those things, it sees past them.
41. Seven Year Switch by Clare Cook - Even when I saw where this might go, I still really enjoyed the getting there. Nicely done.
42. Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of A Gangsters Daughter by Shoko Tendo. I thought my childhood was chaotic at times. Sheesh! Sometimes I wonder how people made it to 20. I'd had this memoir on my list of books to be read for quite a long time and it finally came in at the library. Thoroughly depressing but I'm very glad she made it through. In an odd way, it's stories like this that make me wonder why I worry about how I'm doing when it seems people can get themselves into all manner of horrible, toxic, dangerous situations and come out the other side.
43. What in the World is Going On? by David Jeremiah. Now here is a book I really sunk my head into. It hits me at just the right time as I'm working my way through I and II Kings and I and II Chronicles in the One Year Bible. To be reading the Word of God's prophets from eons ago and realize I'm reading about some of the same issues over the same land and the same people in the here and now is truly inspiring and thought provoking. It's like religion with an overlay of history with an overlay of geography. I like the way this guy writes because he just lays it out and lets you think about it. That's exactly what I did to - think about it. A lot. Like after every chapter. Through 3 renewals. Not a book to read fast by any means. And OK, I think I'm getting a handle on the basics of the Muslim religion. I did think Allah was the Muslim version of something very like my God. Well, it turns out he is one of many gods but because his name was similar to the family name of Mohammed, Allah got elevated to a higher place than the other 359 gods besides him. Had always felt like I had sort of a broad picture of the difference between Christianity and Islam. Christianity is "go forth and spread the Good News and make sure everyone knows about it" and Islam is "go forth and spread the word of Islam and conquer the world". I had it right in a nutshell in my head but hadn't really let my mind rest of the whole "conquering" part. And this from a kid who grew up with Time Magazine and Newsweek. Had no idea how my Christian mindset and my American mindset of "sure, come on in, love one another, accept one another, tell me all about your religion" is a weapon used in the battle of radical Muslims against my Christian beliefs and my country, USA. For all it's wholehearted practitioners there is an undeniable element to this religion that exists; it really isn't a religion of peace and love. Rodney King was right when he said, "Why can't we all get along?" but the fact is there are some people who don't want to get along with us and will never, ever want to get along with us, they want to hurt us. Lots to learn here about the Middle East, Israel, and many other geopolitical topics that are not political boring blah blah but are are issues that will affect the fabric of our lives and so we should be paying attention. Really great book.
44.Heaven is For Real by . Recommended to me by someone dear. I really wasn't sure what to expect in what I thought could be a pretty formulaic story. 4 year old boy nearly dies and then, in the days and months after recovery he tells people things they were doing and things he was doing while he was laying bed fighting for his life. There is something so incontrovertible and pure about a 4 year old's truth and this boy KNEW things and saw things that, in his young life, he couldn't have yet gotten an inkling that other people had ideas about; i.e. heaven, where Jesus fits in, where pets fit into the scheme of heaven, how people look after they get there, if our people here on earth will know us in heaven, etc. Really thought provoking. I would recommend this to everyone - all ages.
45. The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble. I liked this one. Kind of old fashioned in it's premise of peeking in on all the lives of the residents in a NY City apartment building but with a satisfying depth of character and story.
46. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. I was having a hard time sticking with this one at first and then, couldn't put it down until I'd reached the end. Started off in that really Midwest style of story telling and voice (think Hamilton or Mitchard) and then we end up in the lush and chaotic world of the Amazon rainforest where there may or may not be scientific research going on that could lead to lifelong fertility in women. Beyond that the story is difficult to describe without picking apart all the best pieces.
Like the jungle, it is best just to accept the lush chaos and join the adventure.