August 23, 2011

What's on My Nightstand - August

August days are waning. Mercifully, the temperatures drop ever so slightly, hinting at cooler days ahead. Tomatoes will soon give way to apples. Shades of green will melt into brilliant hues of orange and red. Cool evenings under the reading quilt are nearing. I am giddy with anticipation.

Since last month,

I've completed:

~Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. This story of unusual friendship in ancient China was beautiful and haunting at the same time.

~Saving CeeCee Honeycutt.  A friend passed this Southern charmer along to me. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

~The Help. I had concerns that the book wouldn't live up to the hype, but it did.

~Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (audio). One of the best books I've ever "read". I've found myself cringing, getting goosebumps, and laughing through tears as I've listened to the true story of Louis Zamperini, a 1936 Olympian who survived a plane crash at sea and 2 years as a Japanese POW in WWII.

I've tried:

~The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion. I decided to put this one down for now in favor of Tim Challies' first book, which I had not read.

~Snow Falling on Cedars.  This one didn't grab me as much I'd hoped, so I returned it to the library after a few chapters.

I've picked up:

~The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment (Kindle). I had been wanting to read this book by Tim Challies for a while, and decided there was no time like the present.

~Emma. It's been far too long since I've read any Jane!

I'll soon be starting:

~Abigail Adams (audio). I haven't read anything about the Revolutionary War era in a while, and this biography piqued my interest.

~Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus


I'm constantly looking to:

~Spurgeon's Morning and Evening

~Matthew Henry's Method For Prayer

~Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

~Paul Tripp's A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble

You can click on over to 5 Minutes for Books to see what others are reading.