Fall Reading List

Last week I took my National Board Dental Exam Part II, so I am now refilling all the time I was spending studying.  Of course a lot of that time is spent with my wonderful husband.  The other time I am using to try and work out more often and start my fall reading list.  Here it is:
1. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova ( I have started this one before but life happened and I never finished it.  I was really enjoying it so I have picked it back up.  The story has a neat twist between history, folklore, and fiction.)
2. Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (This one is actually waiting for me a the library.  Pretty excited to read it.  I heard it is what you should read if you miss Harry Potter. haha)
3. Power in the Pulpit - Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix and The Supremacy of God in Preaching - John Piper (These two are the reading assignments for the IDM class Ryan and I are taking at Brook Hills with our pastor, David Platt. Should be challenging but a really good way to help me learn best how to teach the bible to my college girls small group.)
4. The Help - Kathryn Stockett (I know I am behind since the movie is already out and it seems everyone has already read this book, but my mom lent it to me and I have heard it really is great.)

This Week's Answers: Favorite Book

Image From The Manhattan Rare Book Company

I have always felt like books have had the power to transport you into another world. Authors have the distinct privilege of inventing scenes, characters, and plots that allow readers to immerse themselves. If you have never truly lost yourself in a book, you are not reading the right stuff. Whether it is the hauntingly beautiful worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, the bleak prose of Ernest Hemingway, or the way that John Steinbeck crafts his characters and scenes, when I read a good book I feel like I have been there with the characters. I feel what they feel. The sights and sounds are there, as are the glories and the disappointments. So here is my list of the best books I have ever read.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. This is my all-time favorite book. The story is compelling as you follow the Joad family on their trek to California in order to try and find work. Every book I had read before this had to have a fast pace story or some sort of plot ploy in order to keep my attention, but Steinbeck's writing is breathtaking. Even when he takes an entire chapter to step back from the narrative and describe a scene unrelated to the plight of the Joads, I can't help but hang on every word. I'm in the middle of reading through all of Steinbeck's published work because I loved this book that much. If you haven't read it, please do. It is definitely worth the wait.

Image From Info Addict

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien is the master of fantasy. While Peter Jackson made good on The Lord of the Rings by doing an excellent job of portraying Middle Earth on the big screen, nothing beats reading about the world from Tolkien himself. I first saw the kind of cheesy animated movie from the 70s when I was young and decided to read it probably in middle school. I've read it three times since then because the story, the characters, and Middle Earth itself is so engrossing. Very good book.

I could list several more that I might call favorites, but these are the two that I would consistently rate as the two best books I've ever read. If you want some more, here are a few that I would say are close to belonging on the list.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Any poetry by Walt Whitman or Carl Sandburg

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Jurassic Park and The Lost World by Michael Crichton

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene