Bekah's Book Shelf

A couple of days ago, my friend Cherri left me a note on Facebook asking if I'd ever considered putting together a list of book recommendations. Summer reading looms, you know!

The answer? Nope, but yep! I haven't considered such a thing so far...but there's no time like the present to begin! Sadly, I've had PRECIOUS little time to read in the past four years, so I fear my list might be sad. Cherri said that was okay...small and simple was good for a book recommendation list. So today...I offer you some ideas for summer reading! Howsabout we start with five? Will that get you going?

One.

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Love Comes Softly is my vintage pick for this list. I read it in 1990, when I was a sixth grader and graduating officially from young adult fiction into grown up fiction. This was my very first grown-up book, and because of that, I love it dearly. Janette Oke {pronounced Oak} debuted her way into fiction by publishing this book. {Wasn't the first story she ever wrote, but it was the first one she ever published.} And she was the pioneer, folks. All the Christian fiction we enjoy in droves today can be traced back to this woman breaking into a genre people hadn't experienced in such a way before. Appropriate that it was a pioneer story, huh? {Bonus: Janette is a lovely woman; I've written her letters a few times and she's answered each one personally. Much of my love of words and writing is because of Janette. I'm indebted to her as a writer in more ways than I can tell you.}

Even if you've seen the movie on TV {which I also love...shout out to my pre-marriage heartthrob of Dale Midkiff!} - read the book, because it's not the same as the movie. You'll read a tender story of two young pioneers, each wracked by love lost far too soon, each navigating the physical weariness of pioneer life, each wrestling with the push and pull of longing and fear. It's an inspiring read, and I tell you the truth, I wanted to be part of this Davis family in the worst way for most of my teen years. These characters were real to me and I loved them all. {This book is the first in a series, so if you love it, you've got a handful of books to keep right on lovin'!}

Even if you've read this book before, read it again. I plan to.

Two.

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The Inn at Ocean's Edge is my brand new fiction pick for this list. I read it a few weeks ago and wrote my official review of it here. I haven't read fiction in a long time {regularly, anyway} because I haven't had time, and this book made me want to plunge back in with a vengeance! Colleen Coble is a bestselling fiction author and the CEO of the American Christian Fiction Writer's group - and best of all? She's the most down-to-earth, friendly person ever. I met her last year when she came to the station for an interview on Mid-Morning, and I felt like I walked away with a new friend that day. For someone of her notoriety to be so personable is a gift.

If you like suspense but don't like to compromise a faith component in your reading just to get good suspense, you'll love this book. There's excitement, there's romance, and for me {as you'll see in the review} - there's also a chance you can get so caught up in it that you have no idea how much hair is being cut off your head while you sit in the salon chair! I read this book in one day flat, because I could not put it down.

Three.

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One Light Still Shines is my memoir pick for this list. Lynne interviewed the author, Marie Monville, on Mid-Morning a few months ago, and after that interview, I read her book. Marie's first husband, Charlie, was the man who entered an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania, back in 2006, and shot several girls, killing some and wounding others. Until the news of the shooting broke, Marie was happily married to her high school sweetheart and together they parented three young children...and she had no idea of the extent of the turmoil in her troubled husband's mind.

You can read my longer review of the book here - but the reason I include it in this list is because I was so intrigued by the family on the other side of the news story we all read in the media. To see this man as his family saw him - as a loving husband and father - to see their confusion and grief and journey back to wholeness - to see God's redemption in bringing new love and new life to Marie - was a powerful and encouraging message for my heart. And I appreciated the reminder, as a consumer of information fed to me by the media, that there's always a bigger story. There's always a family left behind in the tragedies...and their need for prayer as they process the crisis that just occurred is very real.

Four.

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Loving God with All Your Mind by Elizabeth George is a book I read several years ago, but it's one I plan to read again in short order after I transition out of my job. First of all, let me say that Elizabeth George is one of those authors I would LOVE to meet in person someday. I've read several of her books and they have so shaped me as a woman and as a believer. I appreciate her approach to marriage and life and have taken many notes, applied many principles, and even led a couple of Bible studies based on her books.

This particular book centers on the truth that our mind is KEY when learning to love the Lord, and it's a great reminder that what we feed our mind and what we choose to dwell on really affects our thoughts, actions, and beliefs. My mind needs some retraining, and I know it, so that's the reason I'm planning to study this book again quickly. I believe Elizabeth's theology is solid and her approach to teaching is gentle and practical. If you need a good study to do, and your mind needs a reset, I highly recommend this book!

Five.

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Lady in Waiting by Debby Jones and Jackie Kendall is one of my TOP PICKS for my single friends looking for helpful reading. I read this book along with my friend Deanna, back in college, and I reread it multiple times in my twenties. I know I didn't do everything perfectly in my single years, but I credit much of my drive to live a fulfilled life while still praying heartily and dreaming big for a someday marriage to the advice offered in this book.

I have the original book, not the updated and expanded one with study material in it, so I've not read that part, but I'm sure it's fabulous, and I know the content of the original book is encouraging for women eager to prepare for marriage, but also eager to not put life on hold until there is someone to hold. If you are single {or single again...or know someone who is single} - I think this one is an important and helpful read.