Beth's comments

Beth's comments from the Reading from the Best Books group.

Note: Beth is no longer a member of this group.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger -- it's fantastic. Lovers of language will love it; the writing is both lyrical and readable.

I liked the Women of Genesis series, too. Rebekah (the one after Sarah) was my favorite!

Right now I am reading "Peace Like a River" by Leif Enger (from seeing a couple of my Goodreads friends read and enjoy it). The writing is simply amazing, the characters instantly likable. My mom read it right before me and thought it was kind of heavy, and I could see that (it's dealing with some hard issues) ... but so far, I really like it.

'Kay, so I hadn't even heard of Rod McKuen, but I Googled him and am now more educated. ;-)

I'm not really one for poetry, but if I were to pick a favorite, I'd say Emily Dickinson.

Well, I am going to go way more shallow and say my favorite writer ever is Dean Hughes. Well, his stuff for adults. I love his historical fiction (Children of the Promise series, etc.) -- very well researched -- and I love the humor he instills in his writing (Midway to Heaven is a great one).

Lately I've also loved just about everything I've read by Lynn Austin, a Christian historical fiction writer. My favorite was the "Candle in the Darkness" series about the Civil War. They are really uplifting books, despite dealing with hard issues. The character growth was some of the best I'd seen.

Well, I didn't care much for Twilight, mostly because I was bugged by Bella's need to put herself in dangerous situations, and how that was romanticized.

Also, I didn't realize this book was in a series. I was expecting some "a-ha" moment at the end of the book ... then I finished and felt like I could have really just read the book flap and gotten all the necessary plot information from there!

On the other hand, it reads very quickly and is pretty well-written for a Young Adult novel. I suspect that I will go ahead and read the rest of the series sometime -- so I guess I must have enjoyed it more than I want to admit, eh? ;-)

Just finished Austenland by Shannon Hale -- a fun, quick read! I really liked it.

I loved "Letters" by Marjorie Pay Hinckley. She seems like a real down-to-earth, genuine, uplifting person, and loved hearing about her life in HER voice.

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom was the most uplifting World-War-II-era book I've read -- and nonfiction to boot (so it REALLY happened!) What an amazing outlook and perspective this woman had!

A couple of "classics" (or, modern classics, maybe) I loved for their descriptions and lyrical writing: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (by Betty Smith) and Cry, the Beloved Country (by Alan Paton). (I think I was the only one at book club who cared for "Cry," but hey.)

Books I liked for their interesting concepts: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (some might say it's a bit gimmicky, but I found it intriguing as a language-lover) and The Giver by Lois Lowry.

I have to give a shout-out to Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. It's written for twelve-year-olds but I found it charming.

Uh-oh. That is more than "one" favorite book! *sigh* Of course. :-)

If I have to pick an absolute favorite, I pick "Letters." :-)

Oh, Keeley! I miss you. :-) Thanks for the nice comment. :-)

As for C.S. Lewis, I just finished Screwtape Letters (finally; I have been meaning to for a loooong time!) and really enjoyed it.

And it's been a few years, but I've read the first two in the Narnia series (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Magician's Nephew) and also Mere Christianity (which was quite the mental workout, if I recall, but very insightful).