Getting Even Smarter

What an educational week it's been.

First I learned about Photo Booth and Charles Lindbergh Jr. 

Then I learned it really does work to request items from the library to be sent to whatever library you want, so you can pick them up whenever they're available. Best of all it's free as long as you pick them up!  Brad just picked up season 2 of Lost today. Considering it was all checked out and had a waiting list for it when I initially checked, and considering I don't want to buy it and have it taking up room on a shelf; this is very convenient.  I love taking advantage of things I pay taxes to support. (It would be more convenient if someone I knew owned all the seasons of Lost and wanted me to borrow them, but I wouldn't want to be so obnoxious and cheap to actually ask for that.)

I requested a book today because of the other thing I learned this week. Cindy Woodsmall is an excellent author. I base that statement only after reading one book that I received for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I finished the book and wondered how many other readers I know that have not made it clear to me I should read some of her books. Maybe they tried to tell me at a time in my life before I put memo's in my phone to help me remember such things, but I really don't think I'd ever heard of her before this book arrived at my door Wednesday.

I started reading it Wednesday night and finished it Friday night. I fed my kids, played with them, and cleaned my house among other things between those two evenings. Let's just say I couldn't stop reading when I should've been going to bed. I love having that problem.

What book was it you ask?

When the Heart Cries (Sisters of the Quilt, Book 1) I was so relieved when I saw "Book One" on the front cover. I get paranoid about reading a series of books out of order, and that would really be problematic with this series. Unfortunately this story ends with so many things unresolved that when you read the last page you're ready to drop everything and do whatever you can to get your hands on book 2! (Hence the requesting it from the library ASAP!)

A few bullets about the book for you...

• Amish in present day. What is it about the Amish that's so fascinating? 
• I bet you'll be hooked to the story in 4 pages or less. Probably less, but since I bet you I figured I should play it safe.
• Riveting plot! 
• In terms of Christian fiction, it's just a great story. I didn't get the sense the author wrote with the main intention of trying to teacher her readers about God or consider an area of character in their life. You certainly could do both if you take time to think about it, but it's not overpowering.

I wish I would've read other books from Cindy Woodsmall in order to give you a comparison of this book to her others, but I was in the dark about her before this week. I may request another of her novels for the next book I review even though that probably means I lose a couple nights of good sleep. I'm on such a reading kick I think I better go for it before I lose the kick.


(Just click real quick up there to rank my review.)

Feeling a little chatty today, so I'm going to keep going...

In case you think I always tell you all books are good, let me tell you about this other book WaterBrook Multnomah sent me just because they're nice. I didn't request it or pay for it. The Charlatan's Boy: A Novel is a book I will not finish. I've taken a new approach to reading. If I'm not into the book after 50 pages or so, I'm not going to feel guilty about not finishing it. I have no guilt about not finishing this one. I'm sure someone out there likes the book because it has high rankings on some sites, but I think I'll just stick with my shallow obsession with Christian romance. Let me know if you read the book and think I should give it a few more pages of chance.