HUGE Summer Reading Giveaway!

Need some summer reading material?

My friend Kim is hosting a HUGE book giveaway on her blog. We're talking DOZENS of books to lucky winners!

I will be giving away copies of Rare Bird and Sunshine After the Storm.

Here's the contest!

On the Bookshelf

Since I've already admitted I am an antisocial bookworm on visits to my in-laws, I thought I'd share with you some of my Christmas reading:

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

A period romance in the style of Jane Austen with a bit of the Brontes thrown in. Yes, there should be an umlaut over Bronte, but who knows how to do that? I devoured this book and enjoyed recognizing the elements so familiar to Austen's novels.

Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz

This memoir by a woman who finds out about multiple infidelities after her husband dies was very well written, but I can't say I enjoyed it. I was fascinated by it, but I had a hard time figuring out why she married this creep in the first place. Oh, and if Tom decided to go over to a female friend's house for "coffee" every day while I watched her kids and mine, I don't think I'd be okay with it.

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

This novel chronicles a Senator's wife as she grows and changes following her husband's public admission of infidelity. I enjoyed the humor and the mother/daughter relationships in the novel, but I didn't love some of the predictable elements.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

This British novel shows how two worlds collide during a horrific encounter on a beach in Nigeria. It was beautifully written and has dual narrators. I liked the character development, the suspense, and the way the narrative worked backwards and then forward again. I bet there will be a good movie based on this one.

The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect us from Violence by Gavin de Becker

This fascinating non fiction book reads almost like a novel as de Becker explains how we ignore the survival instincts we have been given. This book investigates violence of all kinds-- with strangers, in the workplace, and in relationships. It shows how we waste our time and our instincts worrying about dangers that aren't really there. I plan to read"Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe and Parents Sane."

Next up:

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet Spy by Eric Metaxas about the German theologian who was executed for his role in an assassination plot against Adolf Hitler.

Have you read any good books lately?