Books: Friday Five

Jan is trying to pad her library!! The Revgals are doing their bibliographies today on the Friday Five:




I hope some of you received books for Christmas presents; I did and have been reading ever since. Then I discovered a new author from those recommendations that pop up on Amazon.com. Instead of buying those books, I've been checking them out at the library, which will not help Amazon's future recommendations for me at all.


So tell us what you're reading, what you would and would not recommend--five books or authors! And if you don't want to do that freestyle, here are some questions:

I didn’t get books for Christmas. I got a coffee maker (Keurig) so now I have coffee when I can read. And I am going to library, something relatively new for me when it comes to books. I am such a slow reader that I am generally overdue by the time I have read a novel. And non-fiction I can’t read at all in the 3 weeks allowed by the public library. Also, now that I am not commuting to work, I am not listening to books on CD either. But with retirement comes the luxury of TIME to read. The only problem is that I tend to go to sleep while reading. Energy is SOOOO wasted on youth!



1. What books have you recently read? Tell us your opinion of them.


I am finally getting to read all those novels I never had time to read while working.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer. a wonderful book, a kind book in an unkind time about the way people use literature to cope rather than be dominated by evil.

Body Work, Sara Paretsky. Usual Paretsky whodoneit. But I like the Chicago references

The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follet. I read this sometime ago and when it came out on TV I needed to reread it. I like the book much better than the TV series. I tried to read the sequel and found it much darker and much more disillusioned than the first book.

The Case for God, Karen Armstrong. I have not finished this but it is a wonderful history of how people have believed over the millennia. I love her writing and her integrity. I haven’t read everything she has written but a lot of her work. She helps me to recognize what I often cling to as elements of belief are rooted in arcane practices that no longer speak the faith of God to the coming generations and invites me to a FAITH that is not rooted in institutional conventions and more in the relationship with the HOLY. An amazing writer and an amazing writer.

The Organist Wore Pumps, Mark Schweizer. If you enjoy a good laugh at the expense of Episcopalians, read any of Mark Schweizers liturgical mysteries. This is a must read for Piskies, coffee-slugging Lutherans, and recovering Roman Catholics. If you can’t find his work at Amazon, go to his website—just google his name.

The Complete Father Brown Mysteries, G. K. Chesterton. I found this on the Kindle account for $1.99. So quaint and veddy early 20th century British. Fun.

2. What books are awaiting your available time to be read?


Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong

Love, Above the Reach of Time: Two Stories of The Ladies of Llangollen by Anna M. Curren

A Year with the Ladies of Llangollen by Elizabeth Mavor and Thomas Bewick

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larson.

Story of Christianity: Volume 1, The: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation by Justo L. González



3. Have any books been recently recommended?


I am waiting to see what the revgals have to say. I have found more great books on revgals over the years.  I want to read the Autobiography of Mark Twain.



4. What genre of books are your favorite, along with some titles and/or authors you like best?


As you can see, I am a real lover of mysteries, especially British ones or those having to do with historical characters. I am very fascinated with Church and the History of Thought.

5. What have you read lately that you have a strong urge to recommend? (or to condemn?)

I have recommended several in # 1.

Anything by Alexander McCall Smith, Laurie R. King, Will Thomas, Antonia Fraser.