#16: House Rules

Jodi Picoult does it again...writes another can't-wait-to-get-to-the-next-page novel.  House Rules educated me about Asperger's Syndrome and truly changed my perspective about the effects of this disease on all those involved in caring for such special needs persons.

Picoult tells the story in first-person through the various main characters in her novel....Jacob, his mother, his brother, his lawyer, the police detective investigating the murder of which Jacob has been accused.

As I read, I felt the frustrations of all these characters as they deal with a legal system not designed to care for special circumstances.  Anger.  Disappointment. Sadness.

Then, the twist at the end.  DO NOT READ THE END OF THIS NOVEL FIRST.  Just in case you are tempted.  Resist!

#11-15: Selections by Colleen Coble

Spring Break arrived!  On Friday evening I picked up the next novel in one of Christan author Colleen Coble's series and began to read...until I had read four of her novels!

• Lonestar Secrets
• Lonestar Homecoming
• The Lightkeeper's Daughter
• Anathema

I enjoy Coble's writing style and the messages she embeds within her novels:  strong women taking stands.

Light reads, these novels become an evening's entertainment...or a great way to wake up for a non-morning person such as myself.   These novels proved to be a great way to relax after a very intense third-nine-weeks of work.

#10 C. S. Lewis: Creator of Narnia (Heroes of the Faith)

A brilliant man!  I read this biography about the life of C.S. Lewis in preparation for a presentation I was doing at church as background for watching movie the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, combining two of my passions:  church and teaching.  (I almost felt sneaky in church teaching our attendees what an allegory is!)

A quick, easy read that I read in one day (just did not want to put it down!), I found myself mesmerized by this man's initial struggle with faith and then the stand he took for his faith.

As I read, I annotated the book with tidbits that I shared with my church family and other examples to share with my students.

This is one those books that I bought some time ago and it sat and waited...and waited...on me to choose it as my next read.  My only regret?  It sat too long!
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Side note:  As I was looking for the above book cover, I found this one...look familiar?

#9: When the Lion Feeds

Wilbur Smith's When the Lion Feeds, the first in a series and set in Africa, begins the saga of twin Sean Courtney and the Courtney family.

'Something always dies when the lion feeds and yet there is meat for those that follow him.' The lion is Sean, hero of this tremendous drama of the men who took possession of South Africa in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. (Wilbur Smith Website)

Smith's writing style contains enough detail to inform the reader about this interesting setting and capture the interest of the audience without overpowering the senses, thus, resulting in a very pleasant read about a continent that I have much to learn.

He creates characters in the same manner, offering details that places the reader right into the psyche of the character.  I liked them.  I mourned them. 

One feature that I appreciated was Smith's use of foreshadowing.  The hook that kept me reading.  The results:  sometimes pleasant, sometimes not.

Interestingly, my high school principal (from 25 years ago!) recommended this novel...during a Facebook book discussion of The Poisonwood Bible, in what, I thought, was an interesting blend of the past, present, and future.
As the discussion progressed, I reviewed this novel online and then immediately purchased the novel online.  And, yes, I will now purchase the next novel in the series, The Sound of Thunder.


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Interested in reading an excerpt of this novel?  Go here.

478 Pages

#8: Fahrenheit 451

Reading Ray Bradbury's thriller renewed the desire within me to teach a class novel, a novel that annotated much as I read. Rich in so many topics. Fahrenheit 451 tells the mental struggle of Guy Montag, a fireman whose job it is to start fires, fires that burn books and help to keep a people suppressed and oppressed.


Consider this quote: 

With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word `intellectual,’ of course, became the swear word it deserved to be.

Within an academic setting, who would this quote not address?

As I read, my mind continued to web out to the movie The Book of Eli, the message of which in both is similar, Montag and Eli both searching for ways to preserve the truth (as a Christian, I, of course, find it interesting that both's missions are to preserve the Bible).  The parallels are phenomenal.

• NOTE:  Here author Gary Whitta blogs about the release of The Book of Eli and works in progress.

Guy Montag's message, though, is one of hope, illustrating that the spirit of mankind, while often oppressed, cannot be suppressed, cannot be stifled.

Yes, the desire to teach this novel burns within me...

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165 Pages
Book Challenge:  Books I Wish I Had Read in High School

#7: The Poisonwood Bible

Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, intense, interesting, lingering, relates the narrative of a wife and her four daughters...through their voices...after the husband/father Nathan Price insisted they travel as missionaries to the Congo.

Spanning about 30 years, this novel introduced this reader to a land to which I had not encountered (in a literary sense).  I learned much about Africa, the conflicts within.  Please know as you read this novel, that Africa is a dominant character.  It may not have its own chapter headings, but Africa affects one and all.  For better. For worse.

Most interesting?  The change in my perceptions as I experienced the effects that America's help  often has on the citizens of such needy countries.  Through the experiences of these five female, I became disillusioned, disgusted.  I developed a greater appreciation for cultures, realizing that I do not have to understand differences to appreciate them.

I read this novel over a span of about six weeks, putting it down to read six other novels, always coming back to it, wanting to know what the outcomes would be for these ladies and Nathan Price.

I definitely recommend this novel.  Please take the time to read it.  The Poisonwood Bible ranks with such novels as A Thousand Splendid Suns, Kite Runner, and Th1rteen R3asons Why.  They linger with you.  They affect you.  They change you.

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Stars:  5
Pages:  543
Book Challenge:  #1 for Dana Huff's Books I Wish I Had Read in High School But Didn't

#6: Lonestar Sanctuary

This novel I bought one afternoon, thinking I would read it that very evening, which I did. A writer of  christian books, author Colleen Coble relieved me of my daily concerns and responsiblities as I entered the life of Allie Siders and her five-year-old daughter who no longer speaks as they literally retun to the title of this novel Lonestar Sanctuary.

Not pushy in her beliefs, just enouraging in the subtle message, Colleen Coble reminds us that life is real, that God exists and is present in all our trials and tribulations...then, of course, we are rewarded when we get the "hunks" in our lives!  Sorry to spoil the ending...Allie gets her guy!

Oh, no!  Oh, yes!  Just visited the author's site and discovered that Lonestar Sanctuary is the first in a series!  I do appreciate a good series!

If you enjoy "chick," Christian-based novels, please consider reading this one!

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308 Pages