Rory Gilmore Reading List

I loved Gilmore Girls when it was still on the air.  And today, I found the wonderful treasure that is Rory Gilmore's Reading List.  This is supposedly a list of all the books Rory has read on the show.  I've marked the ones I've already read and hope to add some more to that list soon.

1984 by George Orwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - READ
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - READ
Archidamian War by Donald Kagan
The Art of Fiction by Henry James
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner - READ
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Babe by Dick King-Smith
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney - READ
The Bhagava Gita
The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy
Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel
A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Bridgadoon by Alan Jay Lerner
Candide by Voltaire
The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer - READ
Carrie by Stephen King
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White - READ
The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman
Christine by Stephen King
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - READ
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
The Collected Short Stories by Eudora Welty
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty
A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare - READ
Complete Novels by Dawn Powell
The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton
Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père
Cousin Bette by Honor’e de Balzac
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky - READ
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Cujo by Stephen King
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
David and Lisa by Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Da-Vinci Code by Dan Brown - READ
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller - READ
Deenie by Judy Blume
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson - READ
The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx
The Divine Comedy by Dante
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells - READ
Don Quijote by Cervantes - READ
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhrv
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn
Eloise by Kay Thompson
Emily the Strange by Roger Reger
Emma by Jane Austen
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Ethics by Spinoza
Europe through the Back Door, 2003 by Rick Steves
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Extravagance by Gary Krist
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore
The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan
Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 1 of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Rolkien (TBR)
Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein
The Five People You Meet in Heaven By Mitch Albom - READ
Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce
Fletch by Gregory McDonald
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President by Jacob Weisberg
Gidget by Fredrick Kohner
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
The Godfather: Book 1 by Mario Puzo
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky - READ
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
The Gospel According to Judy Bloom
The Graduate by Charles Webb
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - READ
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - READ
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - READ
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Hamlet by William Shakespeare - READ
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling - READ
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling - READ
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (TBR)
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry (TBR)
Henry IV, part I by William Shakespeare
Henry IV, part II by William Shakespeare
Henry V by William Shakespeare
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Holidays on Ice: Stories by David Sedaris
The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III (Lpr)
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss - READ
How the Light Gets in by M. J. Hyland
Howl by Allen Gingsburg
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Iliad by Homer
I’m with the Band by Pamela des Barres
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Inferno by Dante
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Iron Weed by William J. Kennedy
It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare - READ
The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Lady Chatterleys’ Lover by D. H. Lawrence
The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Lord of the Flies by William Golding - READ
The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - READ
The Love Story by Erich Segal
Macbeth by William Shakespeare - READ
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Manticore by Robertson Davies
Marathon Man by William Goldman
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir
Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R. Mencken
The Merry Wives of Windsro by William Shakespeare
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
Moby Dick by Herman Melville - READ
The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion by Jim Irvin
Moliere: A Biography by Hobart Chatfield Taylor
A Monetary History of the United States by Milton Friedman
Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret
A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and It’s Aftermath by Seymour M. Hersh
My Life as Author and Editor by H. R. Mencken
My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru by Tim Guest
Myra Waldo’s Travel and Motoring Guide to Europe, 1978 by Myra Waldo
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult - READ
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin
Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen
New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Night by Elie Wiesel
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism by William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, Barbara E. Johnson, John P. McGowan
Novels 1930-1942: Dance Night/Come Back to Sorrento, Turn, Magic Wheel/Angels on Toast/A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell
Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - READ
Old School by Tobias Wolff
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
Oracle Night by Paul Auster
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Othello by Shakespeare - READ
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan
Out of Africa by Isac Dineson
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
The Portable Nietzche by Fredrich Nietzche
The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - READ
Property by Valerie Martin
Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Quattrocento by James Mckean
A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall
Rapunzel by Grimm Brothers - READ
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe - READ
The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman
The Return of the King: The Lord of the Rings Book 3 by J.R.R. Tolkien (TBR)R Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
Rita Hayworth by Stephen King
Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert
Roman Holiday by Edith Wharton
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare - READ
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
The Rough Guide to Europe, 2003 Edition
Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller by Henry James
The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - READ
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - READ
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman
Selected Hotels of Europe
Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
A Separate Peace by John Knowles - READ
Several Biographies of Winston Churchill
Sexus by Henry Miller
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Shane by Jack Shaefer
The Shining by Stephen King
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Snow White and Rose Red by Grimm Brothers
Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore
The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht
Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos by Julia de Burgos
The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
Songbook by Nick Hornby
The Sonnets by William Shakespeare
Sonnets from the Portuegese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
A Streetcar Named Desiree by Tennessee Williams
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway - READ
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
Swimming with Giants: My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins and Seals by Anne Collett
Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - READ
Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Term of Endearment by Larry McMurtry
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - READ
The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom - READ
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962 by Sylvia Plath
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - READ
Unless by Carol Shields
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyers
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground and Nico (Thirty Three and a Third series) by Joe Harvard
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Walt Disney’s Bambi by Felix Salten
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
We Owe You Nothing – Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews edited by Daniel Sinker
What Colour is Your Parachute? 2005 by Richard Nelson Bolles
What Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire - READ
The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum - READ
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontee - READ
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks by KD McCrite

My next book review will be "Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks" by KD McCrite.  This is the second book in her April Grace series.  I read and reviewed the first book here - "In Front of God and Everybody".  I can't wait to read and review this second book.  It has gotten great reviews on BookSneeze so far.  Here is the description, etc.:

Just when April Grace thought the drama was over . . .
After an automobile accident, Isabel St. James—resident drama coach and drama queen—needs help putting together the church play. Mama insists April Grace and Myra Sue will help. April’s fall is now devoted to spending every afternoon with Isabel and Myra Sue—if anyone is as big of a drama queen as Isabel, it’s Myra Sue. Plus, she’s dumb. (Okay, not dumb, but "older sister dumb.") If that’s not enough, Isabel is wreaking havoc in the community trying to get Rough Creek Road paved, the new boy at school will not leave her alone, and then Mama drops the biggest bombshell of all . . . April Grace is no longer going to be the baby of the family . . .
Girls will completely relate to April and love her sense of humor as she deals with siblings, boys, and the many changes that come with growing up.

Softly and Tenderly by Sara Evans

Well, I know I said I would give a review of Sara Evans' first book in this series before the second book, but there was another book coming out through BookSneeze that I had to get, so I read this book out of order and will go back to read the other one next.  My review for this book is short and sweet -- even though I enjoyed the book, I admit that I really just skimmed (sped-read) the book.  I will definitely have to read it more thoroughly after I read the first one in the series.  Here is my review:

I enjoyed this book by Sara Evans.  I didn't know that Sara had written any books.  I am a huge fan of hers, so it made me like the book even more to know that she wrote this, especially with all of her and Jay's children's running about.  Even though I couldn't relate to the problems Jade faced in this book, I felt a connection to the character.  It was a great book to see how God can take the worst situations and use them for His good.  It really warmed my heart to know that good Christian books are still being written -- by new authors!!  I recommend this book to anyone -- and I will definitely be going back and reading her first book in this series, as well as the third one coming out in 2012.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://booksneeze®.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Softly and Tenderly by Sara Evans

Softly and Tenderly

By Sara Evans with Rachel Hauck
Published by Thomas Nelson

My next book review will be Softly and Tenderly by Sara Evans.

Book Description

Maybe out there in the country she could catch her breath, learn to breathe again.
Happily married and owner of two successful boutiques, Jade longs to begin a family with her husband, Max. But when she discovers that Max has an illegitimate son—who he wants her to help raise—Jade’s life is turned upside down.
She flees to her childhood home, a rambling Iowa farmhouse, with enough room to breathe. There—while her mother’s health grows fragile, and the tug of her first love grows stronger—Jade begins to question everything she thought she knew about family, love, and motherhood. In the wide-open landscape, Jade begins to see a future that doesn’t rest on the power of her past but in the goodness of God's tender mercies.


Upon research of whether this was the County Singer, Sara Evans (it is) ... I found that she has written 2 other books in this series. 

The Sweet By and By was published in January 2010.

And Love Lifted Me will be published in January 2012.

I have already downloaded The Sweet By and By to read before starting Softly and Tenderly, so I will give a review of that one first.

Be on the lookout for it in the coming weeks!

God Bless!

BOOK REVIEW

The Waiting Place Learning to Appreciate Life's Little Delays

By Eileen Button

This book was a great departure from my usual reading lists.  The book was formatted in a way that you could read as little or as much as you wanted and then put it down to read something else and come back to this one again.  It took me a while to get through it because .. well, I had a lot of "Life's Little Delays" that stopped me from reading as much as I used to.  But all in all, this book was a great book that let me put those "delays" in perspective in my life.  Eileen Button showed that there are so many different ways to handle the "waiting" in your life -- whether it be for something as simple as wanting a yard statute removed or as heavy as praying for her baby to get well.

I would recommend this book to anyone who needs help with the waiting in their life.  It puts everything in perspective.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://booksneeze®.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Awaiting New Book to Review

I just signed up to get a new book from BookSneeze.  This book is The Waiting Game: Learning to Appreciate Life's Little Delays by Eileen Button.  I hope this book is as good as I am expecting it to be.  I really need to learn about "The Waiting Game" and how to appreciate "Life's Little Delays".  Looking forward to receiving it.

Description:

A collection of essays describing the beauty and humor that can be found in what often feels like a most useless state—The Waiting Place.

We all spend precious time just waiting. We wait in traffic, grocery store lines, and carpool circles. We wait to grow up, for true love, and for our children to be born. We even wait to die. But amazing things can happen if we open our eyes in The Waiting Place and peer into its dusty corners. Sometimes relationships are built, faith is discovered, dreams are (slowly) realized, and our hearts are expanded.

With humor and heart-breaking candor, Eileen Button breathes life into stagnant and, at times, difficult spaces. Throughout this collection of essays she contends that The Waiting Place can be a most miraculous place—a place where beauty can be experienced, the sacred can be realized, and God can be found working in the midst of it all.

Includes stories on waiting for:

the day to end a place called home the fish to bite a baby's healing church to be over a husband's return children to grow a mother's acceptance a loved one to die As Eileen says, "To wait is human. To find life in The Waiting Place, divine."

Review: Rejoice (CD): Women of Faith Worship CD (by Women of Faith Worship Team)

This "book" review is a change from my usual reviews because it is a CD.  I got this instead of a book because I thought it would be a wonderful change and I love that I had a chance to get a CD instead of a book this time.  That was a nice surprise.

REJOICE captures the unbridled joy, awestruck adoration, and reverent worship audiences experience over the course of a two-day Women of Faith event.

In arena events across the U.S., the Women of Faith Worship Team leads audiences into deeper communion with God. Through the songs on this new studio recording, they bring that experience to the listener, no matter where they are. There’s a sound for every situation; a song for every emotion. This is not just worship for women - it’s music for anyone and everyone who is ready to rejoice over the incomparable love God has for us.
Includes:

1. Beautiful Redeemer
2. So Good
3. Forever Reign
4. Come As You Are
5. Hosanna
6. Our God
7. Glory To God
8. You Brought the Sunshine
9. Greatness of Our God
10. Great Is Thy Faithfulness

This CD was an awesome change from my usual music taste.  I loved the way the Women of Faith Worship Team put a contemporary spin on these beautiful songs.  These women harmonize beautifully together.  It is definitely a CD that I will listen to for a while.  It is an uplifting and encouraging CD of music that helps get me ready for a day of worship!  Very glad that I picked up this CD through BookSneeze.  Thanks, BookSneeze!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

In Front of God and Everybody: Confessions of April Grace by K.D. McCrite

   I recently read the book In Front of God and Everybody: Confessions of April Grace by K.D. McCrite as part of the BookSneeze® blogger review team.  Below is my review.

This book is a great book for teenagers, young adults and adults alike.  I am 29 years old and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  I grew up in the "country" in Alabama and April Grace could be a combination of me and all of my friends growing up together during my childhood.  I can't wait until the second book in this series comes out!!

April Grace is a typical tween (11 years old) living out in the country -- a "hillbilly" according to her new neighbors, Isabel and Ian.  They are your typical California couple who have lost everything and Ian has decided they need to "get back to their roots" by moving to the country.  Her sister, Myra Sue, LOVES Isabel and hangs onto every word she says.  I love that April Grace says exactly what's on her mind and doesn't hold back anything ... that's what makes this book so hilarious!  There are also serious moments that gets April Grace to thinking and she realizes in the end that she needs to be more like her parents -- who see the good in everyone, never judge, and put others ahead of themselves.  They are good Christian people and you can see it through their actions.  Although not written, there is a lot of swearing that is implied.  April Grace just says that she can't repeat what they said.  It is a great book and has a lot of great talking points for the young girl in your life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://booksneeze®.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Miracle Monday ...

Today's blog is all about the Miracles I have experienced this past week.

I am from Alabama -- born and raised here.  I currently live outside of Birmingham.  I was raised in a small town in DeKalb County, Alabama (Northeastern part of the State).  I lived in Tuscaloosa for 2 years to attend the University of Alabama.

My "home" has been devastated by the tornados that plowed through the state last Wednesday.  After heading back "home" this past weekend to help out where needed and check on loved ones, friends and neighbors, I decided that today's blog would definitely be a "Miracle Monday" blog.  All of the Miracles below are Miracles that these people still have their lives, but read the stories with each one.

It's a Miracle that my best friend (from high school), Shelley's, family are still alive.  Yes, they lost their homes - three of them.  Yes, they lost most/all of their belongings.  Yes, they lost their vehicles.  But they still have their lives.  All 8 of them had God's hands protecting them as they sat in that tiny bathroom and watched their world crumble around them.   It's truly a Miracle that Shelley's mother, father, sister, brother-in-law, 2 nephews, niece, and grandmother are still here and enjoying the Blessings that our community is laying on them.

It's a Miracle that another friend's family are still alive.  Tabitha's family's home is still standing (for the most part), but every window is broken, the roof is missing and trees are down all over their yard.  They have 2 young children.  My parents visited them to see if they needed anything and my mother gave her $30 -- all the cash my mother had at that time -- Tabitha didn't want to take it from her.  My mother told her to take it from Braylon, Bailey, and Abigail (her grandchildren -- my nephew, niece and daughter) for her 2 children.  They lost all of their toys -- mom told her to buy them more toys.

It's a Miracle that my Aunt Louise and her family are still alive.  They took shelter in Louise's grandson's in-laws storm shelter and made it through ok.  But just a few feet from their house, a neighbor lost her life and her husband is barely hanging on to his life.

It's a Miracle that my parents, brother, sister-in-law, their kids, Uncle Ken, Aunt Denise, Cousins Bethany and Shalana and Shalana's husband, John all are still alive.  My dad told me that he didn't think they would make it.  My opinion -- looking at the damage -- is that the tornado formed about a quarter mile from their house before it tore toward Highway 75 in the Lakeview community and headed toward Fyffe and Rainsville -- cutting a path of destruction.  The only damage around their house was 2 huge old pecan trees were uprooted and thankfully hit the pasture behind their houses.

It's a Miracle that, so far, ONLY 250 or so people have died.  Many, many more could have and many more could be added as they are still shifting through the rubble.

I am so blessed that none of my family was killed in this terrible storm.  I am so thankful that the Lord chose to spare their lives.  Please pray for our state and the surrounding states that suffered from these storms.

Booking Through Thursday ...

I just finished reading the book "Heaven Is For Real" by Todd Burpo.  This was an AMAZING story of Colton Burpos' trip to Heaven while he was being operated on at the age of four.  Colton tells his story in bits and pieces because he doesn't understand what the big deal is.  It is such a humbling book that makes you really think of how we as adults think of God, Jesus, Heaven.  Colton has taught me to really praise God in the way that little Children do.  I have walked away from this book with such a heavy heart about the way I need to change my life.

Here are some points from the book:

• No one is old -- Colton saw his "Pop" (his father's grandfather) in Heaven and only knew him from an old picture of when he was 29.  He didn't recognize him from a picture that Todd kept on his desk of Pop as an older man.
• Jesus Loves the Children -- This was a point that Colton made over and over to his parents.  He was supposed to tell everyone that Jesus Loves the Children.
• Colors -- The colors in Heaven are so vivid and amazing that apparently we don't even have most of them here on Earth.
• Light/Dark -- Todd posed this question to Colton to try to challenge him about his experience.  He asked how they found each other in the dark.  Colton told him that it never gets dark in Heaven because God is the Light in Heaven.

This book is a great read and will give you chills.  It has made me rethink my walk with God and I am trying to get back on the straight and narrow.  It is a quick read -- so READ UP!!

Other books I have reviewed ...

Here is a list of the other books I have reviewed from BookSneeze (Thomas Nelson).  I will try to post the actual review at some point.  The list starts from the first book I received to the most recent.

1. Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go by Lucille O'Neal
2. Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God by Max Lucado
3. The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews
4. The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews
5. Love, Charleston by Beth Webb Hart
6. Save the Date by Jenny Jones
7. We Be Big: The Mostly True Story of How Two Kids from Calhoun County, Alabama, Became Rick and Bubba by Rick Burgess and Bill Bussey
8. Time With God For Mothers by Jack Countryman

I had trouble getting through a few of the books, but most of them are awesome.  So glad that I found BookSneeze and started getting these books.  This is an awesome experience to read and review books that I probably would not have even looked at before.

Book Reviews Starting Soon ...

I have been a BookSneeze Book Reviewer for Thomas Nelson for a while now.  Since I have started my OWN blog -- instead of my daughter's -- I have decided to start posting my reviews on here.  My first review will be:

In Front of God and Everybody: Confessions of April Grace by K.D. McCrite

I haven't started reading this book yet, but it looked like a fun read, so I chose it as my next book.  I will try to update the blog with all of my other reviews soon.  Hopefully this will be a quick read, so start looking out for it soon!

Here is the description from BookSneeze's website:

If God wanted April Grace to be kind to her neighbors, He should have made them nicer!

Growing up in the country is never easy, but it sure is funny—especially if you happen to have a sister obsessed with being glamorous, a grandma just discovering make-up, hippie friends who never shower, and brand new neighbors from the city who test everyone’s patience. From disastrous dye jobs to forced apologies and elderly date tagalongs, you’ll laugh ‘til you cry as you read the Confessions of April Grace!

Here are just a couple of April's thoughts: On her sister, Myra Sue: "How anyone can be that dumb and still be able to eat with a fork is beyond me." On senior citizen lovebirds: "What if they started smooching right at the table in front of God and everybody?"

In spite of all the loony characters in her life, April Grace is able to learn from her parents as they share the love of God—to even the craziest of characters!

Below is a book preview widget for the book listed above.  Feel free to preview it ...

Four Things ...

Four jobs I’ve had:

1) Legal Secretary @ JBPR

2) Library Assistant @ JBPR

3) Sales Clerk @ Video 2 Go

4) Fast Food @ McDonald's

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1) Step Brothers

2) Sweet Home Alabama

3) Meet the Parents; Meet the Fockers (haven't seen the latest - Little Fockers)

4) Wedding Crashers

Four places I’ve lived:

1) Argo, AL

2) Birmingham, AL

3) Tuscaloosa, AL

4) Tenbroeck, AL

Four TV shows I love:

1) One Tree Hill

2) American Pickers; Pawn Stars (Reality shows on Discovery, History, etc.)

3) Kitchen Nightmares; Hell's Kitchen (Any reality show with Gordon Ramsey)

4) Family Guy

Four places I’ve vacationed:

1) Gulf Shores/Orange Beach

2) Atlanta

3) Chattanooga/Gatlinburg

4) Washington, DC

Four of my favorite dishes:

1) Chicken (Any)

2) Steak (Any)

3) Pizza (Pepperoni & Mushrooms)

4) Pork Chops (Any)

Four of my favorite restaurants:

1) Konomi Japanese (Trussville)

2) Outback Steakhouse

3) Longhorn Steakhouse

4) Olive Garden or Brio

Four sites I visit daily:

1) Yahoo!

2) Regions/Discover

3) Ebay

4) Plain Chicken Blog

Four places I would rather be right now:

1) Home 

2) Beach

3) Gatlinburg

4) Home!

20 Question Tuesday

20 QUESTION TUESDAY

1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals or are they members of your family?

I don't have pets at my home in Trussville, but my parents and Dustin's parents have dogs.  My parents' dog, Nikki, and Dustin's parents' dog, Abby, are definitely members of the family.  Abby was originally Dustin's dog and just stayed with them after he moved out.  And Abby is where we got the idea for Abigail's name!

2. If you could have a dream come true, what would it be?  

Right now, my dream come true is for me to be the kind of mother, daughter and wife that God wants me to be and for my daughter to grow up to be a great Christian lady.

3. What would you do with a billion dollars?

Pay off bills -- House, Cars, etc.!

4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood? 

Abigail acting silly!

5. What is your bedtime routine? 

Take out contacts; Get Abigail to bed; Fall asleep with her; Wake up about an hour later; Take off makeup; Clean face; Brush teeth; Go to bed!

6. What activities did you do in High School? If you could go back, would you do the same stuff or something different?

Band, Yearbook, Softball in 10th Grade; I would probably try to stick with softball.  I was pretty good before High School and I would probably try to stick it out and be better.

7. What kind of books do you read?

Nicholas Sparks; Romance, Christian

8. How do you see yourself in 10 years? 

In 10 years, I will still be happily married to my husband, have a 12 year old daughter (wow!), and hopefully be in the exact place that God wants me to be.

9. What’s your fear? 

Heights, Snakes ...

10. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to see outer space? 

NO WAY!

11. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

Set the clock for 15 more minutes of sleep!

12. If you could change one thing about your significant other, what would it be?

I don't know ... This is a loaded question.  :O)

13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?

I like my name ... just don't like the fact that I am called by my middle name.

14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months of rain, what would you choose? 

Sun!

15. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?

One thing?  Pizza or Japanese (Konomi)!

16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most?

I love to just put all of my feelings out there -- whether anyone reads it or not, I don't care -- it helps me to vent.

17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods?

Sweet

18. What items are in your purse right now?

Wallet, Makeup Bag, Checkbook, Keys, Lotion, Medicine, Pens...

19.  (Don't know what happened to this question ...)

20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn’t? 

One Tree Hill ... It is just so addicting, but I know it's not the best show that I should be watching ... AND Family Guy ... again, it is HORRIBLE! but I still watch.

Random Survey about Dustin & I

Michelle & Dustin

♥ What are your middle names? Michelle & John

♥ How long have you been together? 13 years this November

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Since Kindergarten

♥ Who asked who out? He asked me out - was trying to set me up with a friend

♥ Who’ s siblings do you see the most? Dustin's because mine is hardly ever home when I visit.

♥ Do you have any children together? Yes, one - Abigail Kait

♥ What about pets? None

♥ Did you go to the same school? Yes, Geraldine

♥ Who is the most sensitive? Of couse, Me.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Everywhere -- Mostly at home now.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Gatlinburg? 

♥ Who has the craziest exes? Me

♥ Who has the worst temper? Him

♥ Who does the cooking? Me

♥ Who is the neat freak? Him

♥ Who is the most stubborn? Him 

♥ Who wakes up earlier? Me 

♥ Where was your first date? We went to see Waterboy at the movies in Fort Payne

♥ Who has the bigger family? Him

♥ Do you get flowers often? Nope

♥ How long did it take to get serious? Not long -- we were Seniors in High School when we started dating; went to Snead and Alabama together.

♥ Who eats more? Him

♥ Who sings better? I would say me, but he can sing pretty good too.

♥ Who does the laundry? Me

♥ Who’s better with the computer? Me

♥ Who drives when you are together? He does -- he can't stand for someone else to drive.

ABC Survey

A-Age: 29

B-Bed size: King

C-Chore you hate: All of them

D-Dogs: None

E-Essential start to your day: Waking up :o)

F-Favorite Color: Red

G-Gold or Silver: Silver

H-Height: 5'4"

I-Instruments you play: Piano, Clarinet, Saxophone - Those are the ones I can play well, I can "play" others, just not well (Trumpet, Flute)

J-Job title: Legal Secretary

K-Kids: 1 - Abigail Kait 2 years

L-Live: Birmingham, Alabama

M-My mom’s name: Patricia

N-Nickname: Chelle

O-Overnight hospital stay: Only when I had Abigail

P-Pet Peeve: Horrible drivers

Q-Quote: Smile because you never know who's looking!

R-Right/Lefty: Righty

S-Sibling: Older brother - Ryan

T-Time you wake up: 6:00 am

U-Underwear: Victoria's Secret 

V-Veggies you dislike: Carrots!

W-What makes you run late: Abigail!!

X-Xrays you’ve had: None recently, other than teeth -- Finger when I broke it in 3rd grade.

Y-Yummy food you make: Everything I make is yummy.  hahaha!

Z-Zoo animal: Monkey (Abigail's favorite!)

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

My high school class of 1999!   I truly miss all of these guys and the times we spent together.

Kim Jaynes Lancaster!  We had so much fun together at the University of Alabama and at my wedding.  Kim was always a joy to be around and I am so glad to have met her at UA.

Amanda Bearden Nash, Shelley Frasier Bearden and Lori McCollum Simpson.  These 3 girls were always my best friends in high school.  We have grown apart since then, but now they all live within miles of each other and I am an hour away!  Wish we could get together more often.  Love you girls!!

Daily Bible Verse:
"But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works." Psalm 73:28

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.

It's a new one, but everytime I see it, I laugh so hard!!

Daily Bible Verse:
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.

Snakes!  I couldn't even put a picture of the real thing on here because it was giving me the creeps!!!

Daily Bible Verse:
"It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud." Proverbs 16:19

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.

Me and my Granny at my wedding in 2003.  God called Granny home in 2004 (I believe).  It doesn't seem like it's been that long.

Daily Bible Verse:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.

Jesus - My Faith - Christianity.

Daily Bible Verse:
"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." Psalm 37:7

Day 25 - A picture of your day.

Spent the day getting Abigail's Spring/Easter pictures made at Buck's Pocket!!

Daily Bible Verse:
"For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Hebrews 8:12

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.

Poverty in the world.

Daily Bible Verse:
"Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12:10

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.

Anything by Nicholas Sparks!!

Daily Bible Verse:
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." Philipians 2:3

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.

Sports!!  Enough said.  :o)

Daily Bible Verse:
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Hebrews 10:24 (NIV)

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.

There are 3 things, but I couldn't find pictures for all of them.  And they all happened when we were visiting my husband's parents house in Geraldine.

The house fire at my husband's parent's house -- this is not their house.  Happened about a year or two after we were married ... still scares me to this day.  We were spending the night with them that night and they lost their entire house.

Tornado that hit our small hometown of Geraldine, AL in April 2010.  Again, we were spending the night at my husband's parent's house and were terrified.  I've always been scared of storms, but this one hit less than a mile from their house and even though we were in the safe room, we could feel the whole house shaking.  Very scary night. 

Lastly, I don't have a picture of it, but a shooting that happened -- yep, you guessed it -- in Geraldine when we were spending the night with my husband's parent's.  Happened at the little church down from their house and the man who was shot walked up to their house and beat on the door until we woke up.  My husband and I were the first two to wake up and we had to wake up his parents.  Scary morning and I still dream about hearing someone beating on a door and saying they've been shot.

Those are three things I wish I could forget ...

Daily Bible Verse:
"Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."  Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.

Hawaii!  I would love to travel to Hawaii.  It's such a beautiful place and I want to go there NOW!  :o)

Daily Bible Verse:
"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD."  Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)

Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.

Sorry to the others in these pictures, but I had to share the whole picture.  :o)  The first picture is our Kindergarten class picture.  Note - I am on the bottom row -- the last one on the right in the brown shorts and braided pigtails.  The bottom picture is a picture with 3 other good friends -- I am the second from the left with the blue jacket and glasses.  Yep - I was a pretty nerdy kid by then.  :o)

Daily Bible Verse:
"However, as it is written:
   “What no eye has seen,
   what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
   the things God has prepared for those who love him—"
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.

Myself -- my body image, my weight.  I know this is another thing that I need to turn over to God, but I'm working on it ... :o)  One thing at a time ....

Daily Bible Verse:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

God, the Bible ... trying to get back to where I need to be in my walk with God.

Daily Bible Verse:
(For some reason, I stopped getting Christ Notes Daily Bible Verse on March 31, so here is a Bible verse I receive from my friend, Amanda daily.)
From Friday, April 1, 2011 --
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"  Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.

Way behind again ... here we go ...

Amanda -- one of my best friends from high school.  She really inspires me to be the kind of Christian that I should be.  She is a sold out believer and I could learn so much from her.  Love you, Amanda!!

Daily Bible Verse:
"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."  John 16:24 (NIV)

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.

Go on a cruise!

Visit Disney World again!

Two things I want to do before I die are go on a cruise - to anywhere! and visit Disney World again - I want to take Abigail to Disney World, mainly, but secretly want to go myself!!  :o)

Daily Bible Verse: