Books Books and More Books

Josh and I have been looking at townhomes to buy so we can get out of our apartment after 4 years (that's another story for later). So, since I love to be organized, not procrastinate and clean I have already started packing. The thing I started packing first was the bookshelves in our guest bedroom/Shiloh's craft room. I have two regular sized bookshelves and one tall skinny bookshelf. Every shelf has at least 2 rows of books on it because I ran out of space. It didn't look like a huge amount to me, but once I started packing I was amazed at how many there were. I also found myself pulling some out of boxes that I wanted to re-read. I am sure that I cannot find time to re-read all the ones I pulled out before we are out of the apartment but I can sure try.

I have so many different types of books. I have books about God, faith, prayer, worship, theology, history, biographies, children's books, books of quotes, social work books, poetry books, etc But I also have tons of mystery and suspense books. I love these books so much because I can just get lost in the story. I don't feel like I have to read deep, thought provoking books all the time. I love the escape of a good mystery novel and enjoy reading just to read.

So, since reading and all of my books have been on my mind I decided to write a list of my favorite books. I have a feeling this is going to be hard to do since I LOVE books and LOVE to read. (these are in no particular order)

1. "I'll Love You Forver" - this is a sweet kids book about a mom who rocks her son to sleep until she gets too old. Very sad at the end, but precious!

2.Anything by Mary Higgins Clark. I started reading her mysteries in 8th grade and was hooked. Two of my favorites are "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "I've Heard That Song Before". I really get into books like this and feel like I am involved in the story.

3. My bible. The bible I use now is small, worn and very colorful from things I've highlighted and notes I've written. I also have all of my bibles back to kindergarten. They are each special for unique reasons.

4."Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst. This book makes me laugh and is great for kids.

5. Books by James Patterson. I love the Women's Murder Club series and the Alex Cross series. Some of the other "stand alone" books are ok, some I thought were not so good.

6. "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maruice Sendak. I used this book in therapeutic groups often. Great pictures!

7. " I Love You, Ronnie". This is a beautiful book by Nancy Reagan. It is full of letter that her husband wrote her and a memoir of their time together.

8. "Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom. I really love any of his books but I think this one is my favorite.

9. "2000 Years of Prayer" complied by Michael Counsell. I have barely made a dent in this book. It has prayers written by people from the West, the East, Prodestant, Catholic, etc. It is such an expereince to read prayers written by people thousands of years ago that are just as powerful if I pray them now.

10. Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary. These were some of my favorites as a kid.

11. "Three Little Words" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter. This is a memoir of a girl who grew up in the foster care system and was eventually adopted. Parts are hard to read but it is an amazing story written by an incredible young woman.

12."Power of a Praying Wife" by Stormie Omartian. I loved this book!! I read and re-read many of the prayers, adapting them for my marriage and situations. It taught me alot about prayer but specifically how to pray for Josh. I read "Power of a Praying Woman" in college and liked it. I recently tried to go back and read it again but didn't like some of the things said so I haven't been good about finishing it.

13. Max Lucado books. When I would read this in middle school and high school I would have a notepad with me to write notes on and I would underline things I liked. Some of these books have been powerful in my life and faith. Two of my favorites are "Traveling Light" - (I read this during a difficult period in college and it really made me think differently about burden we hold on to) and "No Wonder They Call Him Savior" (this book makes you think differently about Jesus).

14. This last item is just a general category or group of authors - I love anything that grabs my attention and keeps me engaged. Other authors I like are Linda Howard, Julie Garwood, Iris Johanson, and Mary Jane Clark.

I could probably go on for ever- especially if I was at home looking at my bookshelves. Who knows, there may be a part two to this post soon. I would love to hear some of your favorite books if you want to share!