Chritstmas Jars

Hope grew up wanting to be a big time newspaper reporter, she had worked her tail off getting to the top and was just waiting for the BIG story that would put her there. She didn't have an easy life by any means, she was raised by a single mother and wasn't wealthy or close to it. One very hard Christmas she received a much needed anonymous gift when she was feeling very broken. She decided that if she wrote a story about the gift-giver then maybe that would catapult her to the top of the newspaper world. Her search changes her life forever.

This is another tear jerker for me. I love this story. It makes me want to be the Maxwell mom. Don't know who that is? Well, you had better read the story then.

I am loving this reading Christmas stories only. Of coarse I should probably clean my house before starting another book!

Grade: B+

Promise Me

I love Richard Paul Evans. He is one of my most favorite author. His books are so well written, interesting and they often teach about love, hope and forgiveness. Many, if not all, of Evans' books have wonderful messages.

Promise Me is no different than any of his other books. What a wonderful story. It is about a woman with a 20 year old secret, and finally after so many years she is able to share her secret with someone else.20 years earlier was a dark miserable time for Beth, her marriage was falling apart and her daughter was sick with something that no one could explain or fix. Life was hard and then one Christmas she unexpectedly meets Matthew. The hottie that says hi...to her and changes everything.

The only thing about this story that I wasn't crazy about was that I wanted to know so badly what happened next that I finished it in 2 days. The curse of a great book. It is a sweet story set during Christmas time.

Grade: A

Favorite Quote: "Whatever I can do, baby. That's what I do, whatever I can do."

A Heart Like His

This is the 3rd time (maybe) that I have read this book-oddly enough it is the 1st time I have ever finished it. Go figure. I love this book though, especially the first half (duh). This time around I took my time in reading it...about 6 months. It was nice to read a chapter here and a page there and think about it and see how I can apply it in my life. It is such a wonderful thought provoking book.

The first chapter challenges the reader to open up their heart and let God's love in. The best way to do this is to serve, to think about others and make time for the moments we often pass by. The goal isn't to add more to our to do list, in fact it is quiet opposite. The goal is to simply open our eyes and heart enough to notice moments and people we can love and serve. Most often this can be done in a phone call, a short visit, note, or something else that we are probably doing anyway even taking the time to say hi to someone in the store, or being friendly enough that talking with a stranger isn't out of the ordinary.

I love this book, because it reminds me what "it" is all about and "it" isn't all about me.

Grade: B

The Christmas List

I love this time of the year when I can pick up only Christmas stories. I have three books that I own that I read every year. I hope to add to that number this year.

The Christmas List is about a man who wakes up one morning and reads his own obituary. If there is ever a moment that makes a person take a look at their life, it is seeing what other people thought of it after you die. James Keir didn't die...but he did get a good hard look at how people saw him while he was alive. After being angry and ready to destroy a few lives for the mistaken death, Kier realized that this was a second chance at life that not many people get.

This is a pretty easy read (I got through it in 2 sittings) but maybe that is because this is the 3rd time reading the story. I am learning quickly that with each year I am still deeply touched by the story and I end the book with tears streaming down my face and a pile of tissues close by. I love it!

If you need a sweet Christmas story-this is a great one.

Grade: B++ (or A- depending on how you want to look at it)

The Princess Bride

I know we have all seen this movie...multiple times in our lives. And if you are the last person in the world to not have viewed it...umm what rock are you living under? Oh was that mean? Sorry, but The Princess Bride is one of those great movies that is just fun to watch over and over. There are a few times that I have wondered about the book, but I honestly didn't think the book would be as fun or entertaining as the book. I kind of figured that it was a basic story and the movie people decided to make it the funny, exciting, love story that we enjoy so much.

WRONG!!!

The book had me laughing out loud in parts, and other parts where it was so intense I couldn't wait to get to the end...go figure since I knew how the story started and ended and everything in between besides the Zoo of Death.

It really is delightful. I can't wait for my kids to be old enough for me to read this to them before bedtime.

Since most everyone in the world knows the story already from the movie, it is a pretty easy read. But there are enough little bits added in that you don't want to go skipping around. William Goldman is a delightful author! This is a must read...so take a few days this Christmas season and sit down to read this fun book. If you have kids old enough for the adventure and fighting part of it read it with them. I would bet money it will make you smile!

GRADE: A+

Roses

Oh man, should I be embarrassed that I was able to read a 609 page book in a week? Or that it was my second big book for the month? This was another great read. So thanks Brit for the suggestion!

Roses is what I would call a tragic love story. Mary is a 3rd generation cotton plantation owner and a lover of the land, she fell deeply and madly in love with the oh so handsome Percy who is a timber man (not the kind that climbs trees and cuts them down, but the kind that employs the cutter downers). Both were dedicated to their land and their family business which spanned over generations and filled with tradition, however one of them is a little bit too nuts over the land she grew to love. And in the end feels she has to decide between the man she loves and the land she loves. Her decision effects many many people, until she decides it is time to make it right and in the process crushes hearts and dreams in the process. In the end....oh wait I don't want to spoil it.

I know I haven't painted the loveliest pictures of all, but it is a beautifully written story with lessons of love, family, friendship, loyalty and making sure that the choices we make are the best we can for the right reasons. That we need to realize that the choices don't just effect only 1 or 2 people but many and many people.

Be warned there are a few parts that I was surprised made the book...there is one that comes to mind right away and I will say that if I had been warned but if I had known that was in the book I still would have read it. (is that bad to admit?) There were also 2 really naughty words...which I was surprised the author put in there since there really wasn't much swearing in the rest of the book.

It is beautifully sad story and I am so glad I read it. The author did a wonderful just making the reader love the characters and care what the end result is for everyone involved. I love it when I actually care what happens to the characters.

GRADE: B

The Forgotten Garden

The library FINALLY had this book available...it seems like the waiting list was forever long. It was perfect-I was able to check it out and take it on my trip to VA! It was the perfect book to read on the long airplane rides.
It is pretty much three versions of the same story...you might say that isn't possible but it is! It takes place in the early 1900's, around the 1970's and 2005. It is about a little girl who is abandoned on a ship to Australia in 1913...and when I say little girl I mean she is about 3 or 4. Way too tiny. She only has a small suitcase with a few clothes and a book of fairy tales. The dock master finds her and after searching for someone to claim her without luck he and his wife give her a name (Nell) and raise her as their own. She is delightful and well loved by everyone. Her father is plagued by the secret of how she came to be and goes against his wife's wishes and tells her how she came to be part of their family. It turns her world upside down and inside out.

Decades later life didn't turn out like Nell had thought it would as a young girl but she is learning to be content. She then decides to find out who she is and where she really comes from. 30 years later her granddaughter finishes the hunt for the truth.

It is such a great book, I was warned by a few that the first few chapters where hard to get through, but then the story took off and was wonderful. I don't know what those guys where reading...I loved this book from the first page. The only hard thing was that I kept thinking this was a story that took place in America and I didn't recognized city names...and then I would remember (over and over) that it takes place in Australia and England. Also...since this story does take place over 3 generations I was constantly starting a new chapter a little confused as to where I was and with what character. Other than those two small things this was a wonderful story. I would love to see it turned into a movie.

Grade: A