The Girl Who Played with Fire

I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this summer and could.not.wait to read the rest of the trilogy. As you may have noticed though, I was having lots of trouble finishing Book Club books this fall... so I knew that Aaron and I were going to Mexico over Christmas and asked for the last two books for Christmas. I read this book in about 2 days laughing on the Mexican beach!

This book is about Lisbeth and Mikael Bloomkvist again. This time Mikael is looking into the sex trafficking business of Sweden. When a couple ends up murdered, all signs point to Lisbeth. Her friend, Mikael, believes that it isn't her. You learn a lot more about Lisbeth's past in this book. It was also not nearly as disturbing as the first book.

I.loved.it!!!

Pages: 630

Read: December 2010

Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story

What a FUN Christmas book! I was laughing out loud as I read this one! Kinda made me think about James in a few years.

This is the story of a young boy in Catholic school and his classes Christmas program. Of course many things go wrong and you will just be laughing. I loved the innocence of this 5th grade boy and really pray that my son can be so innocent as well. If you have ever been part of a Catholic school or have just heard stories about them, I think that you will LOVE it!

I suggest that you get the book and read it next year during the holiday season.

Pages: 288

Read: December 2010

Same Kind of Different As Me

This book was sooooo amazing! Especially since we read it right after Hell.

This is a book about 2 men and how their paths cross because of one Godly woman. Denver is a black man born to share-cropping parents in Louisiana. Ron is a man living the high life in Dallas/Fort Worth. Denver ends up becoming homeless and Ron's life is changed by his friendship with Denver.

This book opened my eyes to so many things. I had no idea that share-cropping was still happening so recently! Wow! I really loved reading about God's hand in their lives. What an inspirational story! READ THIS BOOK!

Pages: 256

Read: November 2010

Hell

I love getting to read Robert Olen Butler books. I am not sure if others in our Book Club love him, though... This was our October pick in honor of Halloween. Again I did not finish it.

The main character of the book is now residing in hell. He was a news broadcaster and it also one in Hell. It was really fun getting to see all of the people that Butler has put into hell. Basically anyone who is famous. Makes you want to live your life so that you don't end up in hell, that's for sure! I don't think that I even got half way through. I did save the book though so that one day I can finish it....

Pages: 240 pages

Read: October 2010

The Blind Side

Man, I can't believe that it has been 6 months since I posted!!!! Obviously this year has been crazy busy!

This was our September book for Book Club. While I did really like this book, I did not finish it (you are going to see me say this numerous times...).

I loved the beginning of the book where it talked all about the position that Michael played and how that position evolved. I think that if you have a man in your life that loves football, this would be a great book for him. I also did not realize that Memphis had such a poor area. I don't know why. Reading about Hurt Village though made me really sad. I loved reading about how he connected with this family. It made me think about some of my students and I loved the teacher who believed in him. He is a smart guy, he just needed to take oral tests.

I would definitely recommend this, especially if you want to read the same book as your husband.

Pages: 352

Read: September 2010

The Better Part

When I was on Amazon ordering Raising Boys, I researched Catholic books on prayer. This one really looked interesting to me. I am so thankful that I ordered it!

This book teaches you how to meditate each day. The beginning of the book teaches you how to meditate. There are even examples of what this would look like. A novice like me needs all the help she can get! Then it includes the four gospels along with insights into those gospel readings. The most powerful part of this book for me has been one of the steps of meditation: the commitment.

In the few short weeks of reading this book and beginning to meditate, I can already see a difference in my prayer life. I am so thankful that God led me to take my relationship to a deeper level with this book.

I highly recommend this one for any Catholic looking to grow. It really will help you to committing time in your super busy life to meditation and growing closer to Christ.

Pages:1024

Read: Began Beginning Sept. 2010

Raising Boys

Crazy as it may seem, I am not one to read lots of parenting books. They just stress me out. I think that some knowledge of what to expect at different ages is good, but too much stresses me out! I was interested in reading a little bit about raising a son though. Boys are just foreign to me. :)

This book really was a nice read. It discusses how boys and girls really are different. Gave some great advice for raising boys. Talk to them lots was the main piece of advice that I took from this. I already knew this, but it is always good to be reminded! Steve Biddulph gives some really interesting research that I liked reading about the research behind the advice.

This book might be a little hokey in places but overall I really did enjoy it. I would highly recommend this for boyMoms like me.

Pages: 216

Read: Beginning Sept. 2010