Dancing Priest by Glynn Young. I never managed to get this book reviewed after I read it over Lent, but I have purchased and downloaded to my Kindle the sequel entitled A Light Shining. I hope to read it and then review both books together soon.

The Importance of Being Seven by Alexander McCall Smith.

Bertie Plays the Blues by Alexander McCall Smith. Thoughts on Mr. McCall Smith and his books here.

One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni.

Best novel of the year? Nanjing Requiem, I think. Fascinating history and fascinating moral dilemmas. It made me wonder how much courage and sanity I would retain in such a crisis situation.

Sunday Salon: Books Read in November and December, 2012

Dec30

I didn’t manage to get an end of the month post written for November, so here are the books I read in November and December:

Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction:
The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy by Nikki Loftin.
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde.
Deadweather and Sunrise by Geoff Rodkey.
In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz.
Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill.
The Cup and the Crown by Diane Stanley.
Beauty and the Beast: The Only One who Didn’t Run Away by Wendy Mass.
Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities by Mike Jung.
Deadly Pink by Vivian Vande Velde.
Freakling by Lana Krumwiede.
The Savage Fortress by Sarwat Chadda.
The Voyage of Lucy P. Simmons by Barbara Mariconda.
Tilly’s Moonlight Garden by Julia Green.
Signed by Zelda by Kate Feiffer.
The Dead Gentleman by Matthw Cody.
Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui Sutherland.
The Hop by Sharelle Byars Moranville.
Project Jackalope by Emily Ecton.
My Very UnFairy Tale Life by Anna Staniszewski.
The Storm Makers by Jennifer E. Smith.
Infinity Ring: A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner.
The Secret of the Ginger Mice by Frances Watts.
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachman.
The Seven Tales of Trinket by Shelley Moore Thomas
The Whispering House by Rebecca Wade.
A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle.
Whatever After: Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski.
The Brightworking by Paul B. Thompson.
Darkbeast by Morgan Keyes.
Twice Upon a Time by James Riley.
Caught by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Young Adult Fiction:
Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow.

Adult Fiction:
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Since everybody and her dog was recommending this psychological thriller, I decided to read it. It was intelligent, well-plotted, psychologically astute, crude, profane, and ultimately repellent. The ending was especially disturbing.
Call of Duty by Charles Todd.

Nonfiction:
From Willow Creek to Sacred Heart: Rekindling My Love for Catholicism by Chris Haw.
Gray Matter, A Neurosurgeon Discovers the Power of Prayer . . . One Patient at a Time by David Levy, with Joel Kilpatrick.

12/12/12: Themes of My Life

Dec12

These are the twelve themes or ideas or motifs that God has placed in my heart, and consequently the 12 Big Ideas that appear most often here on Semicolon.

1. Books. I have a houseful of books I read lots and lots of books, probably over 100 per year. I love books; I live inside books. I write about books here at Semicolon a lot. Some of my favorite booklists (may be helpful for last minute Christmas gifts?):
Reading Out Loud: 55 Favorite Read Aloud Books from the Semicolon Homeschool.
History and Heroes: 55 Recommended Books of Biography, Autobiography, Memoir,and History
Giving Books: Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction.
Giving Books: FOr the nieces and other girls in your life.
Nine Series for Nine Year Old Boys.
Narnia Aslant: A Narnia-Inspired Reading List.
Books for Giving (to kids who want to grow up to be . . .)
Best Spine-Tinglers
Best Journeys
Best Laughs
Best Crimes

2. Family, particularly large families. I have eight children. Five are grown-ups, and three are still growing. Actually, we’re all still growing. I don’t write as much about my children as I do about my books, privacy and all that jazz. But having a large family and seeing God through the joys and difficulties of large family life is one of the major themes of my life.

3. Community. Through family, yes, but also through the church, the neighborhood in which I live, and even through the blog-world, the experience of community is very important to me. I’m interested in community as an ideal, and I’m also interested in little communities that form around hobbies, intellectual pursuits, ethnic identities, and other kinds of people-glue. I want to know how a subculture develops around a shared interest like bicycling or collecting butterflies or playing Scrabble (Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis) or any other random interest, how those communities work and how they coalesce, what the rules are and how they resolve conflict.

4. The Bible. God’s Word has been a part of my life since I was a preschooler, and my mother read to me from the book of Genesis. I still remember how exciting and suspenseful the story of Joseph was, and how I wanted to know what would happen next. I have read the Bible numerous times, studied it alone and in groups, and still I find treasure, hope, reassurance, and life in the words of history, prophecy, poetry, gospel, and letters in the Bible. The Bible is the central book in my life, by which standard all the many, many other stories that I read stand and fall.

5. Prayer. God is still working out this theme in my life. I’m 55 years old, and I still long to know what it means to really, really pray. If God knows and has preordained everything that happens, why pray? I think part of what it means is to communicate the desires and depths of my heart in language, that God-given means of communication and organization. If I can put my inchoate feelings and thoughts into words and tell them to a God who really, really cares, then I participate in the creation of meaning somehow. I participate in God’s work on earth through prayer.

6. Language. We create community through language. God communicates with us and we with Him, mediated by language. The Word became flesh. What does that mean? We are creatures who speak a language, and that means something. One of my life’s quests is find out what it means to be a language-using creation and how to use those words to communicate truth.

7. Story-telling. One theme leads to another: from books to the Bible, to prayer, to language, to storytelling. Maybe they are all one grand motif that defines how God is working in my life.

8. History. I love family history, especially my family history, but others, too, if they have stories to tell. History is the story of how God created, how He creates in the events of our lives, and what it all means.

9. Singing and Poetry. Music, in general is nice, but singing, alone or with other people, is what I most love, what makes me feel alive. That’s why I did the 100 Hymns series: I love songs with words and poetry put to music. This theme ties into my fascination with language and words, but the melody adds another dimension.

10. Homeschooling. Education in general is a theme in my family and in my life. I pray that I will be always learning, always educating myself and others about the wonderful world where God has placed us. I believe that as a family we were called to homeschool, not because homeschooling ensures God’s blessing or favor nor because homeschooling is always better than any other way of educating young people into adulthood, but rather because it fits with the other themes and concerns of my life: the community in family, the immersion in language and story-telling, the transmission of God’s truth to another generation.

11. Evangelism and missions. I grew up in a Southern Baptist church, in GA’s and Acteens, two SBC missions organizations for girls. I am still immersed in the idea of how the gospel is spread to other people and cultures and active in supporting missions and missionaries.

12. Jesus. Last, not because he is the least of my life themes, but rather because He is the foundation. If I wrote a book, Jesus would be the underlying theme, perhaps unnamed as in the Book of Esther, but always present, always at work, always the Rock upon which everything else rests. In Him, we live and move and have our being.

You can see these themes embodied in this list of 52 things that fascinate me. Now it’s your turn. What are the themes of your life? Where has God led you to focus your energies and talents? What is it that wakes you up in the morning, draws you into study and/or action, makes you who you are?

Thankfully Reading 2012

Nov22

I decided to participate in Jenn’s Thankfully Reading weekend by doing what comes naturally–reading the books with which God has blessed me, with thanksgiving in my heart. In this kick-off post, I thought I’d share what the Semicolon family is reading this weekend.

Grandma G, who lives in a little apartment behind our house, is reading Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto. I read Bel Canto a couple of years ago and reviewed it here.

Engineer Husband is reading I and II Thessalonians and Has Christianity Failed You? by Ravi Zacharias. He’s been listening to Mr. Zacharias on the radio a lot lately, and he’s finding the book a little scattered, but thought-provoking.

Eldest Daughter, age 27, is reading With Love From Karen by Marie Killilea, the sequel to her best-selling book, Karen, about raising a child with cerebral palsy. Eldest Daughter is in the midst of preparing to be received into the Catholic Church, and she likes the Catholicism and the family-ness of the Killilea books.

Computer Guru Son, age 25, says he’s trying to read my copy of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express in Spanish, Asesinato en el Orient Express, but I find it hard to believe since I’m the one who taught his high school Spanish class. He was not the best student in spite of being the only student in the class.

Artiste Daughter, age 23, asked for a mystery to read when she arrived today for Thanksgiving dinner. She’s already read and enjoyed all of my Agatha Christie novels, so I gave her Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers. Artiste Daughter is nursing a cold, and a good mystery is the best medicine we can prescribe here at Semicolon library and book depository.

Organizer/Drama Daughter, age 21, is reading JK Rowling’s new adult novel, The Casual Vacancy. She says it’s about English rural village life and politics, and so far, so good. Very different from Harry Potter, though.

Brown Bear Daughter, age 17, is supposed to be reading Vanity Fair by Thackeray. She finished the first six chapters last week, but she hasn’t made any progress this week with all the holiday distractions. She asked me for something lighter than Vanity Fair to read on Monday, and she ended up with P.G. Wodehouse, one of the Jeeves books. I’ll have to ask her how that’s going.

Dancer Daughter II, age 13, fell asleep the other night re-reading one of Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls spy novels. I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You is the first in a series of good, clean fun for middle grade and young adult readers.

Z-baby, age 11, doesn’t read for fun, at least not too often. I’m reading A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence: Gonzales, Texas, 1836 (Dear America Series) to her for her Texas history class, and we’re enjoying the story of Lucinda, a young teen in early Texas just before and during the Texas Revolution.

And, of course, I am reading copious amounts of middle grade science fictiona and fantasy for the Cybils Awards. Scroll down to read some of my reviews.

What will you be reading this weekend?

Sunday Salon: Books Read in September, 2012

Sep30

Children’s Fiction:
The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart. This one is a must for Mysterious Benedict fans, but others should start with The Mysterious Benedict Society.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio. It was just as good as everyone else says it is. A definite Newbery contender.
Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway.
Laugh With the Moon by Shana Burg. Semicolon review here.
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy. Semicolon review here.
Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George. Semicolon review here.
Sword Mountain by Nancy Yi Fan. Semicolon review here.
The Traveling Restaurant: Jasper’s Voyage in Three Parts by Barbara Else. Not my cuppa, this one felt cobbled together and just not quite there. Maybe if I had read it as a book instead of on my Kindle, I would have liked it better. Does anyone else find it more difficult to get absorbed in some kinds of books on an e-reader as as opposed to the hard copy version?

Young Adult Fiction:
The Fault in our Stars by John Green. Review coming soon.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. My review at Breakpoint’s Youth Reads.
Between the Lines by Jodi Piccoult and Samantha van Leer.
Across the Universe by Beth Revis.
A Million Suns by Beth Revis. Good science fiction, but there are few discontinuities and plot questions.
Circus Galacticus by Deva Fagan. The plot felt jumpy in this science fiction story about an Earth girl who joins an inter-galactic circus, and the emotional bonding was rushed. Immediately, the main character knows all about the universe and bonds to other freaks like herself. It just didn’t wrk for me.
The Dragon’s Tooth by N.D. Wilson. Too much action and it moved way too fast for me. I think there was a sub-text that I just didn’t get, and I think Mr. Wilson is too smart for my Very Little Brain.

Adult Fiction:
The Paradise War by Stephen Lawhead.
The Silver Hand by Stephen Lawhead.
The Endless Knot by Stephen Lawhead. I absolutely loved these books in the Song of Albion Trilogy, first published back in 1993 and recently republished by THomas Nelson. I got them on sale at Mardel, and the three books were worth every penny.
Canada by Richard Ford. I read most of this highly acclaimed novel about a boy whose normal, everyday parents turn themselves into bank robbers, but I lost interest in the second half of the book, the part that actually takes place in Canada.

Nonfiction:
The Blood of Heroes by James Donovan. Semicolon review here.
A Personal Country by A.C. Greene. A memoir about West Texas and its culture and people that I didn’t quite finish.

Sunday Salon: Books Read in August, 2012

Sep1

Children’s and Young Adult Fiction:
Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught.
Going Underground by Susan Vaught.
The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi. Semicolon review here.

Our Read-aloud Books in Progress:
Galveston’s Summer of the Storm by Julie Lake. Z-baby is studying Texas history this year, and this is the perfect time of year, hurricane season, for this story of a girl caught in Galveston’s deadliest hurricane ever. Semicolon review here.
First Man to Cross America: the Story of Cabeza de Vaca by Ronald Syme. Not exciting, but informative.
The Shining Company by Rosemary Sutcliff. Betsy-Bee and I are listening to this book to accompany her medieval history studies as we drive back and forth to dance each day. So far it’s rather boy-intensive, lots of hunting and boy-type friendship bonding.

Adult Fiction:
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Nonfiction:
The Presidents Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy. Semicolon review here.
Catherine the Great by Robert Massie.

I liked what I read this month, but I can’t say that any of these books really got me excited. Maybe in September.

55 Books I’d Like to Read from the Reading Lists I Perused

Aug29

1. Overseas by Beatriz Williams. From NPR’s Lesser Known Lit List.

2. Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary Of A Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale. From NPR’s Summer Reading List. Nonfiction about a Victorian scandal.

3. Canada by Richard Ford. Recommended lots of places, but I saw it at NPR’s Summer Reading Critics’ list.

4. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.From the Man Booker long list. Actually what sold me on this one was not its place on the list, but rather this review by Susan Coventry. Thanks, Susan.

5. The Fault in our Stars by John Green. Recommended everywhere, and no, I haven’t read it yet.

6. The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman by Lori Smith. Recommended by Gina Dalfonzo at NRO. I read Ms. Smith’s first book about Jane Austen and loved it, so this one one should be a good read, too.

7. Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics by Ross Douthat. Recommended by Patrick Lee at NRO.

8. One Second After by William Forstchen. Recommended by Clifford May at NRO.

9. And the Show Went On by Alan Riding. Recommended by John O’Sullivan at NRO. Paris during WWII’s German occupation, “a story of secret heroism, hypocritical cowardice, subtle evasion, or double-dealing on every one of Mr. Ridingâ€™s pages.”

10. Wish You Were Here; Travels Through Loss and Hope by Amy Welborn. Recommended by Elizabeth Scalia (The Anchoress) at NRO.

11. The Presidents Club: Inside the Worldâ€™s Most Exclusive Fraternity by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy. Recommended by Al Mohler. Actually, while I was in the process of making this list, I read this book and enjoyed it immensely.

12. The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIAâ€™s Clandestine Service by Henry A. Crumpton. Recommended by Al Mohler.

13. The Grace Effect: How the Power of One Life Can Reverse the Corruption of Unbelief by Larry Taunton. Recommended by Eric Metaxas at Breakpoint.

14. Dark Eyes by William Richter. Recommended by Kim Moreland at Breakpoint Youth Reads.

15. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King Roland, the world’s last gunslinger, tracks an enigmatic Man in Black toward a forbidding dark tower, fighting forces both mortal and other worldly on his quest. Recommended at NPR’s list of 100 Science Fiction, Fantasy Favorites.

16. Stardust by Neil Gaiman. In the quiet English hamlet of Wall, Tristran Thorn embarks on a remarkable journey through the world of Faerie to recover a fallen star for his lover, the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. Recommended at NPR’s list of 100 Science Fiction, Fantasy Favorites.

17. The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon “Hurtled back through time more than 200 hundred years to Scotland in 1743, Claire Randall finds herself in the midst of a world torn apart by violence, pestilence and revolution, and haunted by her feelings for a young soldier.” Recommended at NPR’s list of 100 Science Fiction, Fantasy Favorites.

18. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I’ve heard good things about this novel somewhere else. Recommended at NPR’s list of 100 Killer Thrillers.

19. Teenager in the Chad Civil War: A Memoir of Survival, 1982-1986 by Esaie Toingar. Recommended for the Olympic Reading Challenge at Lists of Bests, this book fits inot my North Africa Reading project, and it sounds educational.

20. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King from Independent Mystery Booksellers Association list of 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century.

21. A Dram of Poison by Charlotte Armstrong from Independent Mystery Booksellers Association list of 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century.

22. The Thin Woman by Dorothy Cannell from Independent Mystery Booksellers Association list of 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century.

23. The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos from Image Journal’s 100 Writers of Faith.. I have this one on my Kindle, ready for the right reading mood on my part.

24. Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell from Independent Mystery Booksellers Association list of 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century.

25. Godric by Frederic Buechner from Image Journal’s 100 Writers of Faith..

26. I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb from Image Journal’s 100 Writers of Faith..

27. All Hallows Eve by Charles Williams from Image Journal’s 100 Writers of Faith..

28. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton from Image Journal’s 100 Writers of Faith..

29. West With the Night by Beryl Markham from National Geographic’s 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time.

30. The Gay Place by Billy Lee Brammer. From Book Lust to Go and also recommended by A.C. Greene in Texas Monthly’s The Fifty Best Texas Books. In my library basket right now.

31. Life After God by Douglas Coupland. Recommended by Garry DeWeese, Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics at Biola.

32. Between Two Worlds by Miriam Tlali. Recommended by Natasha Duquette, Professor of English at Biola.

33. Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation by Jonathan Kozol. Recommended by Bradley Christerson, Associate Professor of Sociology at Biola.

34. The Shadows of Ghadames by Joelle Stolz, translated by Catherine Temerson. Set in 19th century Libya.

35. The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela: Through Three Continents in the Twelfth Century by Uri Shulevitz.

36. Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger. Recommended at Longitude’s 86 Greatest Travel Books of All Time.

37. Down the Nile, Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney. Recommended at Longitude’s 86 Greatest Travel Books of All Time.

38. The Nomad: The Diaries of Isabelle Eberhardt. Recommended at Longitude’s 86 Greatest Travel Books of All Time.

39. Me, Myself and Bob by Phil Vischer. From the Hutchmoot reading list.

40. Real Love for Real Life: The Art and Work of Caring by Andi Ashworth. From the Hutchmoot reading list.

41. Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl by N.D.Wilson. From the Hutchmoot reading list.

42. Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok. From the TAYSHAS list.

43. Illegal by Bettina Restrepo. From the TAYSHAS list.

44. Across the Universe by Beth Reavis. From the TAYSHAS list.

45. We Are Anonymous: Inside the HackerWorld of Lulzsec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency by Parmy Olson. Recommended by Janet Maslin in the New York Times. Nonfiction about computer hackers.

46. Off Balance: A Memoir by Dominique Moceanu. Recommended in the Chicago Tribune, but I heard Dominique being interviewed on the radio just before the Olympics started I would like to read this memoir, even though it promises to be somewhat disillusioning and heart-rending.

47. Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden. Recommended by the panelists of the PBS program Washington Week.

48. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson. Recommended by Sarah Bessey.

49. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Recommended by Sarah Bessey.

50. The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. Carnegie Medal Winner.

51. The Lark on the Wing by Elfirda Vipont Foulds. Carnegie Medal Winner.

52. River Boy by Tim Bowler. Carnegie Medal Winner.

53. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng. From the Man Booker long list.

54. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. Recommended at Hermeneutics.

55. Noticing God by Richard Peace. Recommended at Hermeneutics.

55 Reading Lists That I Would Love to Read Through . . .

Aug19

IF I could live to be 300 or 400 years old. Maybe eternity is still linear enough for us to read all the books that we never got around to in this life? In the meantime, summer is not over yet, and I’m going to do all the reading I can before it ends.

1. Got Summer Reading? by NRO’s Symposium. Books recommended by Hunter Baker, Joseph Pearce, Gina Dalfonzo, Elizabeth Scalia (The Anchoress)and other like-minded and erudite people–what a treat!

2. Al Mohler’s Recommended Reading List for the summer of 2012.

3. 2012 Summer Books: NPR Critics’ Lists. Several lists here, including historical fiction, romance, sci-fi, and teen reads.

4. Devon Corneal: Summer Reading 2012, Books for Kids of All Ages.

5. New York Times: New Under the Sun, Books for Basking

6. Chicago Tribune: It’s summertime, and the reading is easy.

7. Texas Monthly: The Fifty Best Texas Books. I would love to at least take a look at each one of these and see what’s really good out of the bunch.

8. A Fuse #8 Production: Top 100 Chapter Books

9. A Fuse #8 Production: Top 100 Picture Books

10. Washington Week Summer 2012 Reading List. Lots of politics and history on this list, but those are some of my fascinations.

11. 10 Books a Day series by Sarah Bessey

12. Girl Detective hosts The Summer of Shelf Discovery: (Re)reading Teenage Classics I just couldn’t fit this odyssey inot my schedule this summer, but you can still read along with Girl Detective and others as they rediscover the YA books of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.

13. Byliner’s 101 Nonfiction Stories, not exactly a book list, but I do want to read all of these stories from the world of journalism, what they used to call “human interest stories” and “investigative journalism.”

14. Carnegie Medal Winners. Wouldn’t it be fun to read through this list of children’s literature from the U.K., roughly equivalent to our Newbery Award winners? This same list at Lists of Bests.

16. Jared Wilson’s Fave Fifty. This list is just a list of favorites from a guy whose blog and taste in literature I happen to admire.

17. Great Summer Reading Suggestions by the team at Breakpoint.

18. Youth Reads Summer 2012 Recommended Reading List at Breakpoint.

19. 2012 Longlist for the Man Booker Prize.

20. NPR 100 Best Beach Books Ever.

21. NPR Top 100 Science Fiction, Fantasy Books

22. NPR’s Top 100 “Killer-Thrillers”.

23. Olympic reading list: everything you need to know about the history, legacy and risk of the Games. From the blog run by social scientists from the London School of Economics.

24. bartzturkeymom’s 2012 Olympics Reading Challenge The point is to read one author per each of the 205 nations participating in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games by the end of the games. Obviously, I won’t make the challenge, but I do like the list.

25. 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century, compiled by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. All of my favorites are on this list: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Ellis Peters, Josephine Tey, P.D. James. Plus there are several I’d like to read more of: Ruth Rendell, Laurie King, Carl Hiaasen, Minette Walters, and more.

26. Image Journal’s 100 Writers of Faith. Some of my favorite writers are on this list, and I’d really like to at least try all of the books listed here. I have started a couple of the books that are listed and found that were not for me, or it wasn’t the right timing, or something. (I’m not a fan of Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany nor of Updike or Walker Percy.) Still, there are some great books on this list.

27. National Geographic’s 100 Greatest Adventure Books, courtesy of Carol at Magistra Mater. Here is the same list at Lists of Bests.

28. Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight: Top 10 Jesus Books. I’ve not read a single one of these “best books to read about Jesus.” But maybe I should?

29. What Are You Reading This Summer? from Hermeneutics, the Christianity Today blog for women.

Oh, my, while making this List of Lists, I found this website called Lists of Bests where you can check off the books (or movies or places or music) you’ve “consumed”, and it saves your lists and tells you how much you have to go to finish the list. And I love it. I could spend all day long on this website, just checking off lists. Am I obsessive or what?

30. Christianity Today’s 100 most spiritually significant books of the 20th century at Lists of Bests.

31. Newbery Medal Winners at Lists of Bests.

32. Newbery Honor Books at Lists of Bests.

33. Petersens’ 100 Christian Books That Changed the Century at Lists of Bests.

34. Books from The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer.

35. 25 Books Every Christian Should Read from Renovare at Lists of Bests.

36. Hugo Award Winners for Excellence in Science Fiction at Lists of Bests.

37. Nebula Award Winners for Science Fiction and Fantasy.

38. Edgar Award Winners for Mystery Novels at Lists of Bests.

39. Printz Award Winners at Lists of Bests.

40. Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography at Lists of Bests.

41. Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize at Lists of Bests.

42. The Ultimate Summer Reading List from Biola Magazine.

43. Evan Johnson’s Reading List.

44. Horn Book International History List.

45 NPR’s Best Ever Teen Novels. Just published on August 7th, this list includes some of my favorites: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hobbit and LOTR, Anne of Green Gables, and Divergent. It also includes some un-favorites, which I won’t name. So I’d like to read the rest to see where they fall.

46. Longitude: 86 Greatest Travel Books of All Time.

47. Hutchmoot: Recommended Reading. (Even though I can’t go ’cause it’s full, and it’s in Nashville, and I’m in Texas, and I wish I could, but I can’t. But I can read the books.)

48. 2012 TAYSHAS Reading List. This list comes from a committee at the Texas Library Association, and it focuses on books, adult and YA, that are of interest to young adults. Of course, if you’re young at heart, like me . . .

49. Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List 2012-2013.

50. Excellent Books for Teens Between Cultures by Mitali Perkins.

51. 55 Biographies and Memoirs I Want to Read.
52. Reading Through Northern Africa for my Northern Africa Project.

53. My own Classics Club List.

54. My Own To Be Read List.

55. Dr Peter Boxall’s 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die at Lists of Bests.

‘

Book Tag: Dog Days

Aug14

These are the dog days of summer (where does that phrase come from?), and we have a dog. Not my choice, my son brought him home and foisted him upon us in a moment of weakness on my part, but he is kind of cute, both actually the dog and the son.

So let’s play Book Tag again. In today’s edition of Book Tag, please suggest your favorite dog book. If the dog doesn’t die in the book, you get extra points.

Remember the rules: In this game, readers suggest ONE good book in the category given, then let somebody else be “it” before they offer another suggestion. There is no limit to the number of books a person may suggest, but they need to politely wait their turn with only one book suggestion per comment.

I’ll start off with a classic, sort-of dog book, the series by Yorkshire veterinarian James Herriot that begins with All Creatures Great and Small. I’m not even much of an animal lover, but I love these books. The stories Herriot tells are funny, poignant, sometimes dramatic or sad, but always absorbing and full of human (and animal) interest–and lots of dogs.

Sunday Salon: Books Read in July, 2012

Aug12

Children’s and Young Adult Fiction
Chronal Engine by Greg Leitich Smith.
Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan. Semicolon review here.
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller. Semicolon review here.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Saenz. Wonderful writing, appealing characters, not so appealing theme or plot.

Adult Fiction
The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarity.
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith. Semicolon review here.
A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson.

Nonfiction
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee. Semicolon review here.
Goodbye to a River by John Graves. Semicolon review here.
Bringing Home the Prodigals by Rob Parsons. Semicolon review here.

Semicolon

Books we must have though we lack bread.

Archives

12 Favorite Adult and Young Adult Fiction Books Read in 2012