Heather's Best of '08

I also was wondering how I was going to pick my best read of 08. As I type this, I still can't figure it out.



I am terrible at picking books out. I am not a literary or grammar person. I just like a good story and don't even care how well it's written as long as I am entertained. I always go for the same type of book. If left on my own I will get a Christian Romance based prior to the 1900s. The other books that I love are anything based in Ireland or Scotland. I want a book that is going to leave me very happy.



I love it when Reese hands me a book, because I would NEVER pick it unless she told me too. Some of my favorite books are because she just happened to hand them to me. This year Reese recommended The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, Saving Grace by Denise Hunter, The Happy Room by Catherine Palmer and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I loved each of these books but A Thousand Splendid Suns was a very difficult emotional read.



I also did something a little bit different this year and read books about lives of real people. I Am Proud of You was a wonderful story about Mr. Rogers and his influence on one persons' life. Steve and Me was written by Terri Irwin and told about life with The Crocodile Hunter. The Last Lecture was a good read by Randy Pautsch, he died in 08 of cancer. Missing Identity is a must read! There is too much to say about that book and I can't break it down in one sentence. Those families were put through fire and now because of their faithfulness have amazing testimonies of God's goodness even in terrible circumstances.



I can tell you one thing, there was only one book out of my 29 that I didn't like and that was Happiness Sold Separately. I truly did not get the point.



I am rambling now because I can't pick which one was my favorite. I learned the most from The Shack and it truly changed by life, but I don't know that it was my favorite. I also broke my "No Oprah Books" rule and read Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Those were both extremely long, but great books (although they did have some sex and violence so if that bothers you, don't read them.)



I wish I could pick the book I finished this week - Safely Home by Randy Alcorn because that would be my favorite!

Okay, so I'm looking over my list and I have decided that Sabrina by Lori Wick is my favorite of '08.

In general I know that when I read a Lori Wick book I will be happy at the end. People in her books tend to have good lives where good things happen and everything is good. In this book she touches on the subject of prostitution and everything is not good. I loved the forgiveness and redemption in this book.

So there you have it. It wasn't my most exciting read of '08 but because none of them stand out as an ultimate favorite, I am picking an old standby author.