Indian Historical fiction

Hey ladies!
I recently discovered Indu Sundaresan. She's a great Indian author who writes Indian historical fiction. It's really interesting... and I'm finding that I'm enjoying it. I'm drawn in to romance and drama in the thick, hot, arid Indian desert, and I can almost smell the jasmine hanging from the trees. :) So far, of hers, I've read: "The Twentieth Wife," "In the Convent of Little Flowers" (short stories), and "The Splendor of Silence" (mentioned on my blog a few summers back). Enjoy!
~kak

Why I Stayed

If any of you were into the Ted Haggard fallout a few years back, I recommend the book Why I Stayed, by his wife, Gayle Haggard. She writes honestly, and it's an interesting and well-written inside look at the circumstances leading up to, surrounding and following the whole thing. Initially I started reading the book because I truly was (cynically) curious why she did stay. But then I got hooked on the story and found that it is a real picture of God's grace and power in the middle of a very dark time.  Recommended!

Here are some of the books I've been reading recently:

Half-Broke Horses: A True Life Novel by Janette Walls--I really enjoyed this one. Walls tells the story of her grandmother's life--written in novel form. One review I read of it called it a Little House on the Prairie for adults. Probably not that classic, but good nonetheless.

5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter by Vicki Courtney--A good book about how to address some cultural issues with your daughters--geared for conversations with older girls, but I think it's important to start thinking through some of those issues.

So Long Insecurity: You've Been a Bad Friend to Us by Beth Moore. I love Beth Moore's stuff. There were a couple of really powerful chapters in this book.

Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin. I read this for our upcoming book club. I've read most of his books--actually, I just picked up the only one I haven't read at the library today. Martin sort of reminds me of a Christianized Nicholas Sparks--romance, tragedy, renewal. Each book has been a good read; after a while the protagonists begin to seem the same . . . Has anyone else read any of Martin's work?

This is a great idea, I often read books based upon what you all recommend! I have been reading a lot lately, and have read some really great books. I've read:
The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog: and other stories from a child psychologist's notebook--this was excellent. It really explained the effects of childhood trauma on the brain and how therapists can help to unravel that for them to heal and redevelop the damaged areas. I highly recommend it.

In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms by Dr. Laura Schlessinger--this was decent, a lot of good points, but mostly stuff we already know, and very poorly written. It was hard for me to follow. It sounded like she just wrote down whatever came to her mind.

Miserly Moms--this is the book that mom gave us. It had some great ideas for saving money, a lot of stuff we already do, but interesting.

Strong Fathers Strong Daughters by Dr. Meg Meeker--this is a great book, intended for fathers (duh) but a fascinating read for moms too! I highly recommend it!

Behind the Burqua--very fascinating! I want to read more books about Afghanistan. This gives you a glimpse of what life was/is like in Afghanistan and it also addresses domestic abuse, enough to make you pull your hair out! Great book!

Let me know what you guys think of thesse books, if you get to read them! I'd like to read the new Francine Rivers book, as well as the book that Kak recommended. Love you all.

New Francine Rivers novel!

I just picked up Francine Rivers' latest novel, Her Mother's Hope, last night at B&N. I had no idea that she was even coming out with another book anytime soon, so when I saw it, I was excited. I read till 2am last night and have been trying to sneak a little in here and there today. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the book is actually two stories. The first half follows Marta, a young girl growing up in Switzerland, emigrating to Canada and then the US. The second half is the story of her daughter, Hildemara, growing up in the US... and since I've just started the second half, I don't know much more. It is written in typical F. R. style and explores the mother-daughter relationship model over three generations, (not unlike Leota's Garden.)

I also recently finished a loan from Shel, Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall. I'd seen and heard a lot about the book going into it, and although I liked the story, I am not a big fan of the writing style. It's a good story, but for some reason I felt like it just lacked something. (Maybe that's just part of being a true story, though, and not a novel-- you can't just rearrange events and facts to make a better read.)

I also just finished (sorry, guys, I'm wrapping it up here ;)) The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. This was my book club's read this month, and it was decent. I don't know that I would totally recommend it... it was interesting-- about five women in the 1960's who start a writing club-- but also had a few gritty parts (sexually graphic-- but not in a good way) that I could've down without. I did tackle some interesting issues though-- cross-cultural racism, infertility, and fidelity. If you are looking for a quick read, it's not bad.

Great idea, Sarah!!

Ok, so for some reason, I went to Amazon.com to find my book title, but I can't get the book image to copy here. Oh well.

Anyway, I read "Finding Nouf" by Zoe Ferraris last month. It was completely out of my league--something I would typically walk by in a bookstore. A friend had sent it to me with high recommendations--and I honestly could NOT put it down. I read it in one night.

Although it's a murder mystery, this book is very well written. It's set in a wealthy arab oil city, complete with muslim traditions, laws, and burkhas. One can almost hear the 5-time-a-day call to prayer over the loudspeaker. "Finding Nouf" is fast paced, and kept me enthralled for 6 hours. I highly recommend it. I'll be bringing it to Sanibel with me if anyone would like to read it.

A Measure of Mercy

I recently finished this book, A Measure of Mercy by Lauraine Snelling. It is the first book in the "Home to Blessing" series, which, if any of you read the Red River of the North series, is the second series to follow that. It picks up with Astrid Bjorklund as an 18 yr. old medical student.

Unfortunately, I can't say that I really recommend the book. It's typical-for-this-genre light reading, but I felt like the story dragged along, and by the end of the book, very little had actually happened plot-wise. It is the first in a series, though, which might explain why it read more like the first few chapters of a similar book might.