Books, books, and more books!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a big reader. Unless, of course, it's some sweet fiction books like Harry Potter, 100 Cupboards, or Daughter of the Forest. And yes, two out of the three of those are legit children's books. Don't judge. However, I have all of these fantastic Christian books hanging around my house that I've collected (or Mr. A has collected) and want to read. The purpose of reading these books is, of course, to focus my heart, mind, and soul on Christ, and hopefully learn some things about my own sin and how to fight it.

Recently, I've actually been reading quite a bit more than in the past. In fact, over the past week, I've finished not one, not two, but three books! And what's more, I have incentive to read now (beyond the obvious). The library here has an adult 'reading club'. Not the kind where you all read the same book and get together and talk about it, although I believe there's one of those around, too. This reading club is basically set up so that you read books, write a little review on them online (or submit a paper copy, but who does that?), and then (drum roll, please...) they enter you for a prize! I have no idea what the prize is. But, it's still an extra incentive to keep on reading :D

So, you can look forward to book reviews in the near future (woohoo!).

Another fun little insight that the book club thing gave me is this wonderful site. It is the book seer site. Essentially, it's the 'recommended books' on amazon.com - it actually uses amazon to come up with it's suggestions. You type in the title and author of a book you have enjoyed, and it gives you suggestions for which books you should read in the future. How awesome is that!

For instance, I put in that I most recently read The Organized Heart: a woman's guide to conquering chaos by Staci Easton. You'll see a book review for that later. These are the suggestions given to me by the book seer:

• Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick
• Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself (Re:Lit) by Joe Thorn
• Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic
• Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ by Russell D. Moore
• Comforts from the Cross (Redesign): Celebrating the Gospel One Day at a Time by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick
• A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller
• When Sinners Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey
• Feminine Appeal (New Expanded Edition with Questions) by Carolyn Mahaney
• The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones
• Practicing Affirmation: God-Centered Praise of Those Who Are Not God by Sam Crabtree

How cool is that?!

I hope this has increased your desire to go grab some good books and get reading!

Grace and peace in Christ,

Mrs. A