Three Great Books … and a Short Diatribe about that "Pushed Envelope"

We had a fantastic quick trip to the other side of the state to see Kevin’s family now that the roads were passable. Right after school on Friday, we whisked all three kids into the Prius and stuck our tongues out at other drivers as we got around 43 mpg at freeway speeds. Cost all of $8.25 to fill up for the drive home. The wind was against us on the way back and we only managed 32 mpg. 🙁

The best thing was meeting my niece’s new baby, Carson Lynn. What a cutie!

I’ve been having horrible headaches for the last few weeks, almost daily. The only thing that makes them go away is rest, so I’ll sneak a ten minute nap in when I can. Mom asked why I didn’t up my preventative meds, which I’ve been on for two years and only take the minimum dosage. My doctor has given me the go ahead to double up anytime I need to.

Immediately, I rebelled against the thought. But why, I wondered, if taking another pill will make me feel better?

Ouch! Tough question to ask, it turns out. I know I’m not sleeping consistent hours. Quite often, I’m up past one because I can get so much more work done in the quiet night than the busy day. And when was the last time I officially exercised?

I won’t pop an extra pill because I don’t want to medicate my bad habits!

Yes, you smart alecs that just checked the time stamp of this post, it’ll be midnight before I post this, but I’m going to bed right afterwards. You can all hold me accountable. Even the reader I saw I have in Hong Kong! (Hello to you!) And I jumped on the treadmill for half an hour before I wrote this.

Speaking of readers/books, I removed my Recent Reads column from the sidebar because it was a lie. None of them had been read recently. At least, not by me. All it served as was another thing to feel guilty about being behind on. So now you’ll just have to wait for the best books I’ve read to be highlighted here.

Since I turned the manuscript into Moody, I’ve been able to read for pleasure more than ever. I’m averaging a book every two days. Here are a few I highly recommend:

A Bigger Life (Eden Plain Series #1)

by Annette Smith

Written in a young father’s point of view, this book had me shutting it with anger, only to crack it back open in the next second to see what would happen next. Its themes are similar to my own book in some ways, but it’s a very different story, told with unflinching honesty on the part of the main character.

Gut-wrenchingly good.

Fireflies in December

by Jennifer Erin Valent

Destined to be a classic, this novel is reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird. The girl in this book, however, is old enough to begin having romantic feelings/emotional tantrums, which adds another layer to the story. I love historicals that feel fresh and immediate, and this book managed both.

Home Another Way

by Christa Parrish

A edgier main character than I’ve ever seen, Sarah Graham pushes the envelope of Christian fiction, but only in a positive way. She represents a vast number of young women being raised in a society that devalues them so much that they begin to devalue themselves. I didn’t want this story to end. The beginning chapters sometimes felt choppy, but I soon settled into the rhythm of the book and never looked back. (I only mention this to make sure you keep reading if you feel the same. I think it’s the disadvantage of reading so many books so closely together: it takes a few pages to become accustomed to the new “voice.”)

Having relived the books while writing those short descriptions, I challenge anyone to read them and then decry the lack of quality of Christian fiction. Times, they are a changing, and they have been for quite awhile.

That being said, I just read a newish book by a Christian publisher that pushed the envelope, in my opinion, in a bad direction. I was accosted not once, but twice, with the hero and heroine’s naked/nearly naked bodies lying together in the first part of the book. There was reason for the first, but not for the second. I–gasp! you don’t know how hard it was for me!–closed the book and moved on to my waiting stack of novels I don’t have to clean my mind out after reading.

Some may not find that bothersome in the least, but I felt like I was being pushed on a sexual connection with no emotion basis, at the same time as it was portrayed in a positive light.

So … read these books and then email me. We’ll talk!

Coming next post: the name of the MOST entertaining novel I read last year.