Book Worm

I love reading! I love escaping into another world, falling in love with characters, and the feeling of anticipation as a book is nearing the end with all the pieces falling into place. As a child, I was the nerd that marked the book fair on my calendar, and start saving my pennies so I could buy umpteen bookmarks. I am a book worm! So I thought I would share some books I have enjoyed reading.

1. A Voice in the Wind

All time favorite book! It is the first book of a series. I have read them several times and love them more each time.

Summary from Amazon:

This first book in the classic best-selling Mark of the Lion series brings readers back to the first century and introduces them to a character they will never forget—Hadassah. Torn by her love for a handsome aristocrat, a young slave girl clings to her faith in the living God for deliverance from the forces of decadent Rome.

2. Marley & Me

If you are a dog lover, you must read this! I didn't care for the movie at all but I absolutely loved the book. I don't usually cry during movies or while reading books but I cried reading Marley & Me. It is wonderful! I am so glad my mother-in-law recommended it.

Amazon Summary:

John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same.

3. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

This is heart-warming book about friendship. It reminds me of the movie Steel Magnolias. It has that special southern charm about it. After reading it, I called my best girlfriends!

Amazon summary:

Twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt is in trouble. For years, she has been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille-the tiara-toting, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town-a woman trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen. But when Camille is hit by a truck and killed, CeeCee is left to fend for herself. To the rescue comes her previously unknown great-aunt, Tootie Caldwell.

In her vintage Packard convertible, Tootie whisks CeeCee away to Savannah's perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricity, a world that seems to be run entirely by women. From the exotic Miz Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in her backyard bathtub and uses garden slugs as her secret weapons, to Tootie's all- knowing housekeeper, Oletta Jones, to Violene Hobbs, who entertains a local police officer in her canary-yellow peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer.

4. Her Mother's Hope

I love this book. It is the first book of two. It is about 4 generations of mothers and daughters. After I read it, I wanted to find out more about my family history. I find family history so interesting and important. I love knowing where I come from and the stories of past generations. I would recommend this book for any mother or daughter.

Amazon Summary:

Near the turn of the 20th century, fiery Marta leaves Switzerland determined to find life on her own terms. Her journey takes her through Europe and finally lands her with children and husband in tow in the central valley of California. Marta’s experiences convince her that only the strong survive. Hildie, Marta’s oldest daughter, has a heart to serve others, and her calling as a nurse gives her independence, if not the respect of her mother. Amid the drama of WWII, Hildie marries and begins a family of her own. She wants her daughter never to doubt her love—but the challenges of life conspire against her vow. Each woman is forced to confront her faulty but well-meaning desire to help her daughter find her God-given place in the world.

5. Half-Broken Horses

This book is a different. It's a granddaughter writing about her grandmothers life. I consider a book to be good if it makes you think. This book made me think. The author also wrote The Glass Castle which is a dark book about a dysfunctional family. I liked that book as well because it was thought provoking and made me appreciate my family.

Amazon summary:

Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds—against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn’t fit the mold. Rosemary Smith Walls always told Jeannette that she was like her grandmother, and in this true-life novel, Jeannette Walls channels that kindred spirit.

6. The Help

If you haven't read this yet, you must! (Before watching the movie) It is wonderful. Interesting, thought provoking, and funny

Amazon Summary:

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

Last I will leave a quote from my Aunt Saundie. She always says,

"Reading makes you a more interesting person."

I would have to agree! So go become more interesting...

Please share some of your favorite books! I am always looking for something new to read.