For your Friday: What I'm reading

I finished a book last week, Whispers of the Bayou by Mindy Starns Clark.  It was pretty good, an easy read, and set in Louisiana.  The author is a Christian author, so she weaves little tidbits of evangelicalism throughout the book.  In the beginning, it's pretty much unnoticeable, but in the very end, it started to take a bigger part in the story line.  I don't normally mind that kind of thing, but in the context of the story, it started to feel a little contrived.  Overall, though, I liked the book a lot. it would be a good beach read.

I'm reading Chasing Mona Lisa by Tricia Goyer right now.  I really like it.  Although my book choices over the years could have told anyone else this, I never really pegged myself as a fan of historical fiction, but I've admitted that to myself during the reading of this book.  It's set at the end of World War II in France and centers on a museum curator, her communist party-French Resistance leader boyfriend, and two OSS agents posing as Red Cross workers.  The group works to thwart a Nazi plot to steal the Mona Lisa.  Each has his or her own reasons for doing so, and each has plans for the operation that he or she hasn't published the rest of the group.  I've really enjoyed it so far.

I've also started and not finished several books.  First, Forgotten God by Francis Chan.  It is really good, I've just needed some fiction to wind down at night.  Second, Grace for the Good Girl by Emily Freeman.  I love this book, and I think I'm going to have to start over with it.  I've read and re-read several of the early chapters.  A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller is one I started a while back and I stopped reading for a time.  It is closer to a novel than the previous two I just listed, so when I'm done with Mona Lisa, I might had back to Miller's book.  I have several other books that have been languishing on my Kindle; mostly books I picked up when they were on super-special sale for less than five dollars, or some of them were free.  Amazon is tricky like that - they get me with $1.99 here and $4.99 there.  I love my Kindle though, as I definitely read since I've had it.  


On the web:

This is beautifully written and a thought-provoking read.  Thank you Emily Freeman.

This is breath-taking.  My soul was saying, "Yes! Yes!" as I read it.  Thank you Sarah Bessey.

This is funny.  And true.  ". .  .because no judge on earth is going to side with a whistler."  Yes indeed. Thank you Heather Armstrong.

This is inspiring and encouraging.  And humbling.  Thank you Carlos Whitaker.

This is refreshingly honest.  We've dealt with some academic/learning issues this year in our family, and for the sake of privacy for my daughter, I won't say much more about it, but it is nice to see that the wrestling through the steps on that road is normal.  Thank you Angie Smith.

This is a great love story.  Without all the mushy details.  This is my brother we're talking about.  Not that he's not mushy; I just don't want to hear about it.  Thank you Amelia. And FYI, kids get in on this girl's writing so that you can say you knew her way back when.