On My Nightstand

I'm excited to be linking up, a little late, with Janssen from one of my all-time favorite blogs, Everyday Reading for a Quarterly Reading Link-Up:

I love the idea of recording of what I have read so a link-up is the perfect motivation to get me to actually do it.

While my list of completed books from the past couple of months is shorter than usual, I am happy to see that it includes a lot of spiritual reads all of which I found much more enriching than the fiction reads I naturally gravitate towards.

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Bridge to Haven: I must say, while Francine Rivers is one of my favorite authors I was very disappointed with this one. I had a hard time relating to the main character and found the plot and characters unrealistic and one-dimensional.

Lineage of Grace: This is another one written by Francine Rivers and it is broken down into individual stories about the five women whose names are mentioned in Jesus' lineage. I loved the first four but, being the Catholic girl that I am, I had to stop reading the story about Mary, the Mother of Jesus, because the author's non-Catholic perspective frustrated me too much.

Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse: If you watch the show you just have to read the books. They go so much deeper into each of the stories and characters that I often had to remind myself that the events described are indeed true.

Rome Sweet Home: Since I attended the university where the author of this book teaches, felt I ought to read his most famous book about his and his wife's conversion to Catholicism. Most people who have read it say they couldn't put it down and I must admit, I felt the same way!

The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth: An interesting, in-depth look into the Catholic Mass and its correlation to the book of Revelation. Highly recommend to Catholics especially but also to anyone who is curious about the history and source of the Mass.

The Christmas Note: This Christmas story was written by the same author as The Christmas Shoes and several other Christmas stories. It was short, sweet, predictable, and quite honestly, nothing special.

Finding Father Christmas: I read this book every Christmas Season because it never fails to leave me with that warm, cozy Christmasy feeling. It starts out during a snow storm in a small town outside of London on Christmas Eve. Now if that doesn't put you in the Christmas mood, I don't know what will.

Bridge to Haven: I must say, while Francine Rivers is one of my favorite authors I was very disappointed with this one. I had a hard time relating to the main character and found the plot and characters unrealistic and one-dimensional.

Lineage of Grace: This is another one written by Francine Rivers and it is broken down into individual stories about the five women whose names are mentioned in Jesus' lineage. I loved the first four but, being the Catholic girl that I am, I had to stop reading the story about Mary, the Mother of Jesus, because the author's non-Catholic perspective frustrated me too much.

Wives of the Bible: I started this Bible Study over the Summer and just finished it last week. I would highly recommend it to any woman, married or single. It is quick and easy to do but in depth and challenging at the same time. It taught me a lot about my role as a Biblical, Christian wife and the author offered practical means to apply these principles to my daily life.

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A trip to the library with my boys later this week will hopefully result in a nice, fresh stack of books to kick off the new year!