6/100: In Praise of Stay At Home Moms by Dr. Laura Schlessinger

I really have never cared for Dr. Laura, but this book grabbed my attention for obvious reasons. It was interesting, easy to read, and gave me the reassurance I needed to know I am doing the right thing for my family. I borrowed this from the library, but I plan on purchasing it to read again and again.

5/100 : Friends Forever By Jennifer Weiner

I really enjoyed Jennifer's first three books, Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and Little Earthquakes, but I couldn't manage to finish her books after that. When I noticed Friends Forever in the library, I had to give her another chance. I really liked this book. It had an interesting story line, I could relate to the main character and it kept me wanting to find out what happened next. The ending left something to be desired (I won't ruin it in case anyone decides to read it. I'll just say someone should have apologized and never did...) but overall I enjoyed it!

4/100: A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

I had mixed emotions after finishing this book. It both inspired me and made me uncomfortable.

What I Liked About This Book:
- I really liked how Elizabeth went into detail numerous times about priorities. As a mom with very small kids, they seem to always be first. Jeff has even said to me before that he feels like he has to compete with them for my attention sometimes. While reading this book, I've tried to make a conscious effort to put my husband first. Which brings me to...

What Made me Uncomfortable about this book:
One phrase - 'submit to your husband'. AACK! The idea of submission previously brought to mind timid women who jumped at every command their overbearing husband barked at them. I don't think so! That would NOT be me! BUT Mrs. George made some terrific points on this subject and I'm beginning to understand the true meaning of 'submit to your husband'. (And thankfully I have a good man who would never bark orders at me anyway!)

What I Liked About This Book:
Her focus on prayer and it's importance.

What Made Me Uncomfortable:
The STRUCTURE she seemed to emphasize went along with prayer. When you pray you should have your Bible, a journal, 3X5 notecards, a highlighter, a pen, a quiet place where you won't be interruped...when you pray you should have a list of people you pray for including a chart on how often you'll pray for them (daily? weekly?) and which scriptures you will be praying for them....huh?!?! While reading some of this I wanted to yell, "Lady! I can't even go to the bathroom uninterrupted! How am I suppose to have this whole routine down each day?" So I decided my prayer life will be a little more flexible. I do have my Bible, my journal, a pen and a highlighter with me when I (try to) sit down once a day. Instead of prayer charts, I just shoot a small prayer up whenever I think of someone.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and think it will be one I read and re-read for quite some time. I'm also looking forward to her other books to see what else I can learn.

3/100: Running With Scissors

This book was next month's selection for my book club. I didn't know what to expect because I had never really heard of this book (or the movie that was made a few years ago), but I certainly was in for a surprise! Running With Scissors is the story of Augusten Burroughs, his crazy mom, and his adolescence. At times it was hilarious - but most of the time I found myself dumbstruck and slightly horrified. Between the descriptions of his homosexual experiences (ew) and the weird antics of his adopted father and "shrink" (at one point, the 'doctor' thinks that God is speaking to him through his poo. EW.) I could not believe that people like this truly existed. This book made me feel incredibly normal yet still slightly disturbed. I don't think I would recommend this one to anyone I know.

It will make for interesting book club discussions though. ;-)

2/100 - Viola in Reel Life

Viola in Reel Life is about a young girl from Brooklyn who is sent to a boarding school in South Bend, IN while her parents are in Afghanistan filming a documentary. A typical 'fish out of water' storyline, Viola adapts to the new school quickly and learns a lot about her family and herself. I find Adriana Trigiani's writing a little long winded at times. I feel like she describes things in such bboorrrrinnngg detail and it really isn't relevant to the story. However, I did really enjoy this book. It's not all that predictable, the story is intriguing and I didn't feel like it was all washed out like some young adult books tend to be. I might even pick it up again sometime. (And it mentions Goshen, IN by name! woot! woot! Go G-Town!)

1/100 The Shop on Blossom Street

 This book follows several characters:

Lydia, a two time cancer survivor.
Alix, a tough girl from a broken home.
Jacqueline, a judgmental, rich, member of a country club.
And Carol, a successful business woman who quits her job in hopes of making her in vitro treatments more successful.


This is the third book I've read by Debbie Macomber and it follows along the same storyline - girl is a loner, girl falls for boy, girl dumps boy to assert her independence, girl and boy fall back in love. This one did have a few twists I wasn't expecting and I really enjoyed the ending for each character - particularly Alix.

While predictable, I still find her books charming and her characters are believable and likable. Debbie's books are a fun thing to turn to for a quick read and I look forward to reading the next part of this series.