Fall Into Reading 2011 ~ The Wrap Up Tally

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While I didn’t set a specific book goal for myself and Fall Into Reading 2011, I did try to set a few overall goals to work on over the last few months ~ and when all is said and done, I think I did pretty well.  Katrina asked a few questions for her ‘wrap up’ post and I picked the following one to answer this time around ~

 

What was your favorite book you read this fall? Least favorite? 

 

Favorite book out of all of them…hmmm….a bit tough, but I have to say that the two books by Maureen Lang were my favorites this go round. I loved both The Oak Leaves and On Sparrow Hill. Completely. The two books flip back and forth between a story in the past and how it ties in with present day circumstances. Maureen Lang also weaves parts of her personal life into the stories and both just pulled me in ~ and made me want more. Two absolutely amazing books. A close second would be Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland by Roseanna White. It’s one of the few paperback books that I bought this fall and it will definitely stay on my bookshelf!

Least favorite…I think The Lady’s Maid ~ mainly because it seemed to drag out  the story line and then had a sudden {and rather disappointing} ending with no actual resolution…and it’s part of a series. Don’t get me wrong, I love books that are part of a series, but somehow this one just didn’t sit well with me. I think I expected a bit more after the drawn out journey the characters had taken. All that said…I am still planning on reading the other book(s) in the series to see how it resolves. I have the next book on my Kindle and will be reading it in the next few days. :)

Here were my overall goals and what was/was not accomplished:

Goal #1: Re-read the entire O’Malley series by Dee Henderson.  ~ CHECK!!

Goal #2: Read at least five of the books that I’ve downloaded for free on my Kindle. ~ CHECK! {actually read 15 books on my Kindle}

Goal #3: Read some more great books {and review them} from Bethany House and Barbour. ~ CHECK!! {although I still have a few reviews to write!!}

Goal #4: Re-read the entire Mitford series by Jan Karon.  ~ not so much….I never got around to checking out the first few books in the series out from the library, so I’ll have to work on this later!

 

Total book count {best I can tell, because I didn’t do well keeping a list this time} ~ 32 books. I’m loving the cooler weather and curling up in bed at night with a book to fall asleep, so I have a feeling that this winter is going to be rather lovely. :)

Fall Into Reading 2011 has been hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. Starting Thursday, December 22nd, others will be sharing their reading updates. Katrina will be hosting the Spring Reading Thing 2012 starting this March, so stay tuned for that!

 

Fall Into Reading 2011 ~ My Goals

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Somehow…I’m not sure how it happened, the official jump into fall managed to sneak right past me and along with it, the start of Fall into Reading 2011. I’m always reading and have books that I want to read, but for some reason I’ve been having a hard time nailing down an official list of books to read this fall.

Essentially, I’m just not feeling the desire to set any goals.

BUT, Lindsey reminded me that I needed to link up and since I’ve participated for the past 3 {or is it 4???} years now, I figured I needed to get in gear and pull one together.

I’ll keep it simple for you:

Goal #1: Re-read the entire O’Malley series by Dee Henderson. It’s been YEARS since I read the seven books in this series, but I loved them when I did.

Goal #2: Read at least five of the books that I’ve downloaded for free on my Kindle. I have a huge pile of books sorted into my “to read” folder.

Goal #3: Read some more great books {and review them} from some wonderful companies like Bethany House and Barbour. I just finished a whole bunch and need to get busy writing some reviews.

Goal #4: I’m kicking around the idea of also re-reading the entire Mitford series by Jan Karon. I read them about three years ago and my family lost me for about a week, so we’ll have to see if I actually manage to pull this one off without losing a child or something.

That’s it in a nutshell. Now the fun part will be keeping track of the books that I do read over the next three months. Do you have any fun reading plans or suggestions for me?

Don’t forget to visit the official launch post for Fall Into Reading 2011 to check out all the other participants!

 

Fall into Reading 2010 ~ My Wrap-up!

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Overall, I am SO happy with my results for the Fall into Reading 2010 challenge. While I didn’t finish all of the books on my original reading list, I did add several books onto the fiction list and two onto my non-fiction list {still working on one of the non-fiction books}.

My final complete tally is 15 fiction books and 2 non-fiction and I also finished up the Bible. I really tried to stick to my list as much as I could, but there were a few books that came across my path over the last few months that I added to my stack {pushing other books aside ~ ahem}.

Katrina had a few questions for we could choose to answer…

Did you discover a new author or genre this fall? Did you love them? Not love them?

I originally chose to review the book The Twelfth Imam by Joel Rosenberg for my husband. To be honest, I wanted HIM to read it and pass along the info.

That didn’t happen.

I was very surprised to find out that I really enjoyed the book ~ not typically a genre that I would pick up to read or necessarily choose to read. Finding out that it’s part of a new series…sigh. I have a love/hate relationship with series, mainly because I’m too impatient and don’t want to wait to find out what happens! I want to know now {grins}.

I also have really enjoyed the book Six Ways to Keep the “Little” in Your Girl by Dannah Gresh. It was one that I added onto my list just a few weeks ago, but is something that I really needed to read right now. Simple and straightforward ideas and an easy read too ~ really liked it.

Here’s a look at the books that I read or am still in process of reading:

Completed Fiction

~ Love’s First Bloom by Delia Parr

~ Surrender the Heart by MaryLu Tyndall

~ Masquerade by Nancy Moser

~ The Vigilante’s Bride by Yvonne Harris

~ Take Three and Take Four by Karen Kingsbury

~ Eighth Shepherd & Ninth Witness by Bodie and Brock Thoene

~ A Rush of Wings & The Still of Night by Kristen Heitzmann

~ The Twelfth Imam by Joel Rosenberg

~ The Convenient Groom by Denise Hunter

~ Gingham Mountain by Mary Connealy

~ The Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman

~ Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist

 

Completed Non-Fiction

~ The Bible ~ finished up my Bible in 90 days at the end of October!!

~ Grace-Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel

~ Six Ways to Keep the “Little” in Your Girl by Dannah Gresh

 

Still Working On…

~ Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God by Mary DeMuth

 

Books I Didn’t Start….or Finish

~ Wild at Heart by John Eldredge

~ Tenth Stone by Bodie and Brock Thoene

 

Fall Into Reading 2010 has been hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. Starting Tuesday, December 21st, others will be sharing their reading updates. Katrina will be hosting the Spring Reading Thing 2011 starting this March, so stay tuned for that!

 

 

Fall Into Reading 2010 ~ Update

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My book stash that I had at the top of our dresser is slowly dwindling, which is a good thing, but also a little sad to me! While I’m happy to see that I’m reading and accomplishing a little something, now I’m scrounging around trying to find a some of the straggler books and secretly hoping some more lovely books will show up on my doorstep needing reviews!

A few of the books below have been added to my list since I posted my Fall Into Reading 2010 list and I have a few books now on my wait list at the library to keep me busy for the next few weeks. :)

 

Completed Fiction

~ Love’s First Bloom by Delia Parr

~ Surrender the Heart by MaryLu Tyndall

~ Masquerade by Nancy Moser

~ The Vigilante’s Bride by Yvonne Harris

~ A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann

~ The Twelfth Imam by Joel Rosenberg

Completed Non-Fiction

~ The Bible ~ finished up my Bible in 90 days at the end of October!!

Still Working On…

~ The Soul of C.S. Lewis by Jerry Root ~ using this as my morning devotional and still working on…

~ Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God by Mary DeMuth

 

Fall Into Reading 2010 is hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days and runs from September 22nd til December 20th. If you are interested in joining up, or learning more, be sure to stop by and visit!

Fall Into Reading 2010

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I’m not surprised that it’s fall already…but somehow the time since the Spring Reading Thing 2010 and now has flown by! This is my third year joining in on Fall Into Reading and I LOVE having a place to record my self-inflicted reading challenge.

And also look back and see all that I did accomplish. :)

In July I started reading through the Bible again following the Bible in 90 Days reading plan and I am just a few weeks away from finishing that endeavor. As always, I’m sure that there will be additional books that will find their way into my stack over the course of this reading adventure, but for now here are the books that are in my ‘stack’ to read during the next three months.

Fiction

~ Love’s First Bloom by Delia Parr

~ Surrender the Heart by MaryLu Tyndall

~ Masquerade by Nancy Moser

~ The Vigilante’s Bride by Yvonne Harris

~ Take Three by Karen Kingsbury

~ Eighth Shepherd / Ninth Witness / Tenth Stone by Bodie and Brock Thoene ~ all are a part in the A.D. Chronicles series

Non-Fiction

~ Grace-Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel to go along with the Flag Page game that we’re ‘playing’ with our kids to learn more about their personality types.

~ Disciple Like Jesus by Alan Melton ~ started reading, but want to finish it up

~ The Bible ~ reading the rest of the NT by the start of October {from Acts through Revelation}

~ Wild at Heart by John Eldredge ~ I keep hearing I need to read this, not just to understand my husband better, but to gain a little insight into my boys.

~ The Soul of C.S. Lewis by Jerry Root ~ using this as my morning devotional

Fall Into Reading 2010 is hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days and runs from September 22nd til December 20th. If you are interested in joining up, or learning more, be sure to stop by and visit!

Fall Into Reading 2009 ~ The Wrap-up

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Over the last few months I’ve been busy reading whenever I have a spare moment, actually reading a few of the books on my list but completely going off on a tangent for the most part. Overall, I’m pretty happy with what I was able to read, even though I missed a few that I had wanted to finish up.

My favorite book? I really enjoyed the first book I read by Philip Gulley {literally made me laugh out loud} and I am looking forward to reading more from him. I am SO glad that I got around to reading the first two books in the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. I cried when finishing up the second one yesterday!

If you are a young mom {or even a seasoned one!} pick up the book Blue Like Playdough by Tricia Goyer. That book had some wonderful little nuggets in it {link to the full review is below}.

I’ve included the list of the books that I actually DID finish. If you are interested in seeing my original list {with a ridiculous amount of books to read} you can see that here. The titles below link up to the reviews/posts that I did on some of the books {in case you want to know more about the book}.

Finished non-fiction list:

1. Blue Like Playdough by Tricia Goyer
   
   
2. 25 Days, 26 Ways by Ace Collins
   
   

Finished fiction list:

1. Home to Harmony by Philip Gulley
   
   
2. Dawn’s Prelude by Tracie Peterson
   
   
3. The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller
   
   
4. Farraday Road by Ace Collins
   
   
5. Swope’s Ridge by Ace Collins
   
   
6. Watch Over Me by Christa Parrish
   
   
7. A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
   
   
8. An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers
   
   
9. The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis {read with the kids}
   
   

Still in Process:

1. Beautiful in God’s Eyes ~ Elizabeth George {1/4 finished}
   
   
2. Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together ~ Jim and Cathy Burns {a few weeks into a 52 week study}
   
   
3. The Heart of Anger ~ Lou Priolo {1/4 finished}
   
   

Don’t forget to visit some other ladies that participated in the Fall Into Reading Challenge and see what they were up too!

Fall Into Reading 2009

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This fall I would like to re-read some of the books that are already on my shelves. Ones that were wonderful the first time around, but need a little 'dusting off' for Callapidder Day's Fall Into Reading 2009.

Of course, those aren't the only books that are on my list, but it definitely gives me a good start on things!

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In no particular order, here are the books that I would like to read this fall:

My non-fiction list:

Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. This has been on my list for some time...but my husband has agreed to read this one along with me and hopefully we'll have it done this fall together. :)

The Key to Your Child's Heart by Gary Smalley

Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl by Lysa Terkeurst

Blue Like Playdough by Tricia Goyer ~ I've started this one already and am loving it!

My fiction list:

Mitford series by Jan Karon. There are eight books in this series and I read them almost two years ago after a friend graciously lent me one for an entire year {ahem}. I finally read the first one and got sucked into the story line.

Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. I'm pretty sure the last time I read these books was a little over 9 years ago. 'Bout time to read them again!

Home to Harmony by Philip Gulley. A reader emailed me after reading my list and said that if I enjoyed the Mitford series I needed to check out this series by Gulley...so I added it! Thanks, Amber!

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Return Policy by Michael Snyder

Dawn's Prelude by Tracie Peterson

The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller

Farraday Road by Ace Collins

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I have no doubt that there will be other books that I will pick up along the way. Any suggestions for me to add to my list? :)

p.s. I'm also linking up to 5 Minutes for Mom and their monthly "What's on Your Nightstand." Some more great book suggestions there too!

Fall Into Reading: The Results

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The Fall Into Reading Challenge is over and I'm posting my results today. Sadly, all my ambitions to read every parenting non-fiction book I own met a sad end. Fiction, well, that's always another story. Here is my original list of books that I wanted to read.

Did you finish reading all the books on your fall reading list? If not, why?

On my non-fiction list I did actually read and fully complete one book. One. Uno. And that book was wonderful! How to Be a God Chaser and a Kid Chaser by Tommy Tenney. It's because I liked the book so much that I became distracted from the rest of my non-fiction list and bought/swapped to get a few other books by Tenney which I am in the middle of reading and thoroughly enjoying: Finding Favor with the King. One is a daily devotional and the other a book based on the story of Queen Esther.

My fiction list fared extremely well and there were several books that were even added to the list. While I didn't finish reading one of the books (I did start it....) I found at least five other books (which I forgot to record) and then re-read several of my old one too. What can I say?

My non-fiction list:

Professionalizing Motherhood by Jill Savage
Skydiving for Parents by Jane Bullivant (about 1/2 done)
Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
Rivers of Grace by Mark and Patti Virkler
Have a New Kid by Friday by Dr. Kevin Lehman (one chapter)
How to Be a God Chaser and a Kid Chaser by Tommy Tenny
Dreaming with God by Bill Johnson
Grace Based Parenting by Dr. Tim Kimmel
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver
The New Strong-Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson

My fiction list:

Sunset by Karen Kingsbury
The Shack by William Young
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (about 1/2 finished)
A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks
The Longing by Beverly Lewis
A Lady of Hidden Intent by Traci Peterson
A Daughter's Inheritance and An Unexpected Love by Judith Miller/Traci Peterson

Why didn't I finish all my books?

I mentioned in my first post that fiction books are very hard for me to read. I think it's mainly due to the fact that it requires my undivided attention. Something that is extremely difficult for me. Generally the non-fiction books I read have to be done in small chunks because they require processing and if I have to put a book down....well, I get sidetracked.

Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?

I printed off my list of goals, but I did add several books to my fiction list and definitely changed my non-fiction list. I still want to read the multitude of parenting books on my list. Someday.

And my goals of rewarding myself with a fiction book when I finished a non-fiction...well, let's just pretend I got sucked into the fiction realm and not that I lack self-discipline, k?

What was your favorite book that you read this fall? Least favorite? Why?

Favorite non-fiction is the one I still reading: Finding Favor with the King. I love the story of Queen Esther and how Tenney relates our lives as Christians to the life of Queen Esther.

Favorite fiction: The Shack by William Young, a book I'm going to have to re-read because it was chocked full of things that I am still processing. I have pages earmarked and places underlined because of some of the thoughts and ideas he presents in the book. Loved it!

My other favorites were the series I started by Judith Miller/Traci Peterson. Although that also leads me to frustration since there is still a third book in the series. They are historical fiction and I love period fiction. :)

My least favorite was Cranford. I am still reading this, so perhaps it will pick up a little, but I'm just having trouble finishing it up (and shhhh! I think I'll be watching the movie and be okay with this one).

Did you learn something new because of the Fall Into Reading challenge?—something about reading, or yourself, or a topic you read about?

Pushing myself and setting a goal for myself was great because I was determined to read something on that fiction list and through reading at least one, I found the two books that I am reading and loving now.

What was your favorite thing about the Fall Into Reading challenge?

Meeting new bloggers and seeing the books and suggestions on everyone else's blogs. I didn't end up reviewing any of the books (although I might do one in the future on some that I'm still reading). But...definitely reading other's blogs and meeting you all!

Check out how everyone else fared during the challenge by visiting Katrina's blog Callapidder Day's.

Fall Into Reading 2008

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A pile of books has mysteriously disappeared from my nightstand. Well, ok. Not so much disappeared as much as moved from my immediate sight into my handy-dandy drawer in my new nightstand.

A pile of books that has been piling for far too long.

Some of you may recall that I seem to have an aversion for any book that is non-fiction. This would include a multitude of "disciplining your child" books. Fiction I can absorb in a few hours. The non-fiction just PILES up. And I can't stop myself from buying them. It's a sad state of affairs.

My goal this fall is to actually read some...if not motivate myself to read the whole lot of them. As a reward, I might throw in a few fiction books to sweeten the deal for myself (it all sounds good while it's swirling around in my head, so work with me here). Maybe a nice pedicure...a Starbucks coffee. And if I read the whole lot of 'em - oh, the possibilities are endless. It's all about rewards, you know?

And in case you are interested, be sure to check out the fall reading chart that I made for my kids (a chart to track reading over the next few months).

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In no particular order, here are the books that I will force myself would like to read this fall:

My non-fiction list:

Professionalizing Motherhood by Jill Savage. A friend mentioned this book to me recently so I ordered it from Paperbackswap. And I've officially read 3 pages in it. Woo-hoo for me!

Skydiving for Parents by Jane Bullivant. I sat in on a mini-conference when she spoke at a homeschool convention and just loved her...and bought one of her books.

Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. I hoping to read this one in the afternoons and also watch the DVD series that go along with it. Life has been too crazy, so even if my hubby can't do it along with me, perhaps I can glean some things from it.

Rivers of Grace by Mark and Patti Virkler. Another book recommended to me by a friend. Sadly, it's been sitting on my nightstand for over a year. The main premise of the book is raising your kids by the Spirit rather than the law.

Have a New Kid by Friday by Dr. Kevin Lehman. Well, the title certainly sounds lovely some days!

How to Be a God Chaser and a Kid Chaser by Tommy Tenny. Got the kid chasing down pat. :)

Dreaming with God by Bill Johnson. For some reason this was the one book I picked by Bill Johnson from Amazon - it just looked good!

Grace Based Parenting by Dr. Tim Kimmel. I'm thinking the title just sounds lovely.

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. I've had this book "started" and it meanders around my house. Now I want to actually sit down and READ it!

The New Strong-Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson. I can't imagine why I might possibly want to read this one.


My fiction list:


Sunset by Karen Kingsbury. This book will finally wrap up the third series of books that all seemed to start off innocently enough and just sucked me in. This had so better be the last one (but truthfully, I'm betting there is yet another book series that will spin off).

The Shack by William Young. I've been hearing some great things about this book, so it's currently in my Amazon cart for my next shopping purchase.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. PBS recently aired a mini-series to this book that I watched in part. Before I watch any more of it, I want to read the book and then watch the series in its entirety.

A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks. I think I've read the rest of his books, so this is the last one in order to finish.

The Longing by Beverly Lewis. Again another series to finish up.

A Lady of Hidden Intent by Traci Peterson. I've really enjoyed her other books in the Ladies of Liberty series and somehow missed this one.

A Daughter's Inheritance and An Unexpected Love by Judith Miller/Traci Peterson. A newer series that looks interesting to me.

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I'm sure that there will be other books to that I pick up along the way too, but this is my list as it stands right now. I'm assuming that there will be one or two great books in the above lot that I'll have to share about with you all. But for now, I'm off to the library to pick up one of the fiction books...I have to start somewhere!