Sisterchicks on the Loose- Robin Jones Gunn

274 pages

First Sentence: When my husband, Jeff, tells this story, he says it started the day I dyed my hair green.

I am really glad I decided to try something new for this reading challenge.
I normally do not read "chick lit" but I have been curious about Sisterchicks and the Yada Yadas, so I decided to give it a try.

I loved this book. This may be the best book I've read this year (next to Harry Potter, that is ;-)). I liked it even better than "The Yada Yada Prayer Group." It was a fun, feel-good, beautifully written book. I can't wait to read more in this series.


Book Description
SISTERCHICK (n.): A friend who shares the deepest wonders of your heart, loves you like a sister, and provides a reality check when you're being a brat.

Unlikely best friends Sharon, quiet mother of four, and Penny, former flower child/motorcycle mama, hatch a plan for a "post-kids" trip to seek out Penny's only living relatives somewhere in far-off Finland.
The land of reindeer, saunas, and starry nights holds infinite promise for the free-flying sisterchicks, who feel their hearts fill with a new zest for living . . . and a fresh view of the One who flung the galaxies across the heavens!

Last sentence (or 3 ;-)): Forever eighteen. Forever knit together by the same hands that dimpled the moon with His thumbprint. Forever sisterchicks.

2008 total: 11
pages read: 5,083

The Yada Yada Prayer Group

385 pages

First Sentence:
I didn't really want to go to the "women's conference" the first weekend in May.

I liked this book.
I am surprised that I liked it, to be honest.
I thought it was going to be a lot of fluff, but it isn't.

It is a fun book, but it also tackles some serious issues and gives you a few things to think about.

I'd recommend it. :-)

From an Amazon review:
The "Yada Yada Prayer Group" is a diverse group of women thrown together to pray during the Chicago Women's conference. But when one of the women's sons is shot while they are still at the conference, they band together to pray round the clock. When the conference comes to a close they discover that they don't want their prayer group to end. While at first they try to keep it going via email, they soon find it is worth the extra effort to meet in person.


Last sentence:
Lifting my face and with awkward grace, on one leg and two crutches, I began to dance.


2008 total: 10
Pages read: 4,819

Spring Reading Thing 2008

I've decided to join this challenge because, for some reason, I tend to read less during the spring and summer months.
Hopefully this will keep me motivated. ;-)




I may completely change the list later on. lol
These are not the type of books I usually read-check out the rest of this blog if you don't believe me. ;-)

If I start reading these and absolutely hate them, I will have to change the list. I know, I know. I'm fickle. I'm totally aware of this. lol


Here is my reading list:

The Yada Yada Prayer Group

Sisterchicks on the Loose

Sisterchicks do the Hula

Sisterchicks in Sombreros (if my request on PBS gets accepted- been waiting for 2 days)

Village Diary - Miss Read

The Red Tent (I must admit, I feel a bit reluctant to start this one. I'm not sure why. I may end up removing it from the list.)

something by Jodi Picoult (Depends on what I can find at the library. I've never read anything by her, and I'm ready to give it a try).

Quite a Year for Plums

111 pages

This book actually has 220 pages, but I didn't finish it.

I like Bailey White.
I loved "Mama Makes Up Her Mind" and "Sleeping at the Starlite Motel."
When I saw this one on Paperback Swap, I snatched it up right away.

Well.

I wish I hadn't.

This book is the worse I have read in a long time. Possibly the worse book I've ever read.
It is excruciatingly boring and confusing.
There is no plot..... unless you count endless facts and discussions about chickens a plot.

There is a character list at the beginning of the book.
I had to look back at it at least twenty times (no kidding)
There were a lot of characters and they weren't introduced in any way in the novel (except for the character list).
They didn't have any distinguishing traits or anything to tell them apart- except by looking back at the character list.
There is almost no descriptions of anything at all.

I hated this book.
Hated. it.

2008 total: 9
pages read: 4,434

Thr3e- Ted Dekker

404 pages

I loved this book!
It was fast paced and kept me guessing right up to the shocking ending.

I am thankful for the few good Christian writers out there.
It's refreshing to read something that is real; something without both the vulgarity in many contemporary novels and the cheesy-churchy-shove-a-moral-lesson-down-your-throat quality of most Christian fiction.


Thr3e cheers for Ted Dekker!!
(sorry, couldn't resist. ;-))

From Publishers Weekly
Dekker delivers another page-turner with this psychological Christian thriller about Kevin Parson, a 28-year-old seminary student who suddenly becomes the target of an evil nemesis called Slater. Obsessed both with Kevin's downfall and the number 3, Slater initiates a game in which Kevin must answer riddles to avoid Slater's destructive, potentially murderous retribution. Slater particularly wants Kevin to publicly confess a secret sin, and Kevin is at a loss as to what that sin might be. Once Dekker establishes this premise, he masterfully takes readers on a ride full of plot twists and turns. Not only does he spin a compelling tale of cat and mouse, but he also creates a narrative world in which it's possible that no one is quite who he or she seems. Dekker gradually discloses his protagonist's nightmarish childhood and delivers an almost perfect blend of suspense, mystery and horror. Dekker's prose is strong, putting him in a league above many other evangelical Christian writers and showing improvement over his previous work. Aside from following certain Christian fiction guidelines such as making his gorgeous 20-something characters entirely virginal, Dekker eschews most of the conventions of evangelical fiction. His spiritual message is subtle and devoid of the theologically and politically conservative agenda present in other novels.


My TBR Pile:
Village Diary- Miss Read
Quite a Year for Plums- Baily White
The Yada Yada Prayer Group- Neta Jackson
The Red Tent


2008 total: 9
pages read: 4,423

House- Frank Peretti / Ted Dekker

354 pages

Hmm..... what do I say about this book?

I liked it for the most part.

On one hand it was suspenseful and fast moving.

On the other hand, it left some things unexplained.
It was confusing at times.
Some things were very obvious from the beginning, and I still don't get "The only way out is in."

You won't fully understand what is going on until the very end.
The explanation was simple. I was hoping for a bit more.

I guess, all in all, I will say this book was good. I liked it, it was a good read, but it won't be on my list of favorites.

2008 total: 8
pages read: 4,019