Lost and Found (Jacqueline Sheehan)

Why I have this book: It's half of the latest Reader's Digest Condensed Books.

I actually really liked this book. I got sucked right in and stayed up late to finish it.

I'll read the second half (another book) and then send it on to my grandma.

This edited version was mostly clean. I think the regular version could possibly have a little more "stuff" in it, but I could be wrong. There was no swearing that I remember.

Understood Betsy (Dorothy Canfield Fisher)

Why I have this book: This is one of my 2001 purchases. I bought it on recommendation of my friend, L. I've now read it three times!

I love this book! It was published in 1917, and is written in a truly delightful way. Seriously. It just has to be described as "delightful". :)

Interestingly, the author was named as one of American's Ten Most Influential Women by Eleanor Roosevelt. Mrs. Canfield also brought the Montessori Method of child rearing to America. She has written many other books, so I'm going to go look her up on Am*zon and see what else looks good.

***Just checked and there were three of her books available for K*ndle for FREE! I downloaded Understood Betsy, in case my mom wants to read it, and two other books by DCF for me to read. Yea! for free books!***

Definitely a keeper. I just wish my girls liked books like this. I think they both read it once, but they aren't as much into "Little House on the Prairie" or "Anne of Green Gables" like I am. This book is along those lines.

Perfectly clean.

What happened to my challenge???

I see that I'm not really accomplishing what I set out to do: Read all the books on my bookshelf. Instead, I keep reading new books.

So I have a new plan. I looked at my buying history on Amazon. Did you know that they have a history of everything you've ever purchased? Kinda fun to go back and remember some of those books. My earliest purchases were in 2001, so I wrote down the books I bought that year, and I will start reading them again for My Bookshelf Challenge. I think I will try to read one of those in between each "new" book I read. That should help me get back on track with my challenge!

Lancaster County Secrets, Books 1 and 2 (Suzanne Woods Fisher)

The Choice
The Waiting

Why I have these books: I don't. They are both on the Kindle account I share with my mom. Actually, the first one was one there already, and after I read it, I downloaded the second one. A third one will be out early next year.

I really liked both of these books. Yep, they are Amish stories... but besides that, I enjoyed the author's style. There were some fun extra twists that made these books a little off the beaten path of Amish stories.

I wish I had the hard copies, because I would definitely send them to my grandma. She'd really like them.

Clean.

Mother Had a Secret (Tiffany Fletcher)

Why I have this book: My friend told me about it, so I used my gift card (see previous post) to buy it.

Wow. Such a sad, but powerful story. It's actually a true story of a mother with mental illness and how it affected her family. I cried so hard towards the end, as the author (one of the daughters) learned to reconcile her feelings for her mother. So much love, so much pain... and redemption. Really, it is a great book. It was simply written, but had such a powerful message. Even though it was really sad... the overwhelming message is of love.

I will pass this one around, too. Incidently, the friend who recommended this book is the wife of the author's cousin. They have firsthand knowledge of the impact of mental illness on a family

Clean, but somewhat disturbing in some parts in relation to how the mother's mental illness affected her personality.

Band of Sisters (Annette Lyon)

Why I have this book: I received a gift card to a local bookstore for my birthday, and this is one of the books I chose. :) (Thanks, Honey!)

I really enjoyed this book. The author did a great job describing the characters in such a way that I cared about what happened to them. I could relate to each of them in different ways, so I felt emotionally connected to the storyline. I'm not gonna lie... it was sad and happy both. It just is one of those books that I think describes LIFE and friendships and pain and joy.

I will probably pass this book along to some of my friends and have them pass it along when they are done. It's a good read, but I don't know if I would read it again... just because it had some sad parts.

Clean.

Where Willows Grow (Kim Vogel Sawyer)

It's been a whole month since I read a book???

Why I have this book: I threw it in my Am*zon cart to get free shipping. LOL! I know I probably spent more this way, but at least I ended up with something to read.

I like Kim Vogel Sawyer. As with some of her other books, this one is fairly simple and predictable... but her books are clean and filled with the example of faith. I enjoy them for those reasons. This one did leave one story line unresolved, which doesn't bother me. I was just a little surprised that it didn't neatly tie up at the end.

I would keep this one, but I know my grandma would like it. I'll be sending it on to her.

Perfectly clean.