Reading During the Holidays

Who knew it could be so hard to read a book or two during the holidays?  Maybe a better question would be: Who on earth thought it could be easy to read a book or two during the holidays?  Believe it or not, I did manage to read 10 books in November and December, bringing my 2009 total to 110 books!  Crazy, that.  Here's what I read in the final months:


-Tom Trueheart, Ian Beck.  Andrew has been bugging me for ages to read this book, and I finally did!  It was a fun adventure book that touched on many well known fairy tales, putting a new spin on them.


-Tirzah, Lucille Travis.  This was a reread for me; I read it aloud to my kids this time through.  I enjoyed the perspective on Old Testament history that the author provided in this book.


-A New Kind of Christian, Brian D. McLaren. Some interesting thoughts to consider for any Christian, or anyone interested in modern evangelical Christianity.


-The Johnstown Flood, David McCullough.  One of my favorite books of the year.  An incredible moment in American history detailed by a great historian and writer.


-Fairest, Gail Carson Levine.  By the author of Ella Enchanted, and written in the same style, Fairest was a very enjoyable book to read to my girls.  Thought you knew the story of Snow White? You may think differently after reading this story.


-The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami.  Totally not my style, but very well written and engaging all the same.  This was a Book Club pick--I love how the Book Club makes me branch out.


-Mayflower, Nathaniel Philbrick.  Apart from the misleading title, this book was well written, well researched, and informative.  I know more about King Phillip's War than I ever did before, now I just have to find a book to teach me more about the Mayflower.


-The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster.  This book reminded me greatly of Roald Dahl's BFG for some reason.  It was a great allegory surrounding a very bored boy.


-Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout.  I flew through this book.  I just could not stop reading it.  The writing was lovely; fluid yet to the point.  The characters very real to life, the stories heartbreaking but satisfying.


-Justin Morgan Had a Horse, Marguerite Henry.  This is the story of how the Morgan horse came into being.  I'm no expert on horses, but this was a great little piece of history to read, and a very enjoyable story.