Here We Go Again

Today I started Here We Go Again, a biography by Betty White. I loved the Golden Girls and like seeing Betty White in lots of star roles lately. I thought it would be interesting to learn more about how she got started in show business.

Finished #46

I finished The Pilot's Wife last night. This book was really hard to put down. I kept wanting to see what would happen and what new secrets would be revealed. I liked the book, but didn't care for the ending. I just think a lot of things were left unresolved.

293 pages

The Pilot's Wife

I started The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve last night. This is the story of a pilot who dies during a plane explosion leaving a wife and 15yr old daughter behind. As they investigate the crash, they begin to learn more about the life of this pilot. Right now I'm a few chapters in and we are getting present story (where the wife is dealing with the death of her husband) and flashbacks (about how they met). So far I am really liking the book and am interested to see what secrets they find about his life.

Finished #45

I finished Heaven is for Real today. This is a great book that I would recommend to anyone, believers or not. At first I thought, "Really the dad's a pastor, of course he would know what Heaven is like" and I kept thinking of ways to doubt the story. But some of the things mentioned were just amazing. The most interesting to me was the people he met in Heaven. Even if we haven't read the Bible, most of us can say that angels have wings, the gates are pearly white, and there are clouds and sunlight. Those descriptions weren't impressive, but meeting people in Heaven that he didn't know in real life were what impressed me. It was a very heart warming story.

This book has also made me want to start reading the Bible again, which I gave up a few months ago. Hopefully I can get back on track with that.

162 pages

Heaven is for Real

Today I started Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent. I've heard really good things about this book and my friend Pam bought it for me for my birthday. I'm really excited to read it. So far Colton has told his parents that the angels sang to him while he was in the hospital. It's really interesting to hear stories of what the boy has said so far. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Finished #44

A couple weeks ago in childwatch I didn't have any kids to watch. I was really bored, so I rearranged all the toys and then dug through the book bin. I was able to find a Baby-sitters Club book in the bin. I started reading it and then 2 kids showed up. Luckily one was a baby who just slept the entire time I held him and I was able to read half the book. I decided to take the book home with me last night and finish it.

It was The Ghost at Dawn's House. I don't remember reading this one when I was younger, but it was fun to hear about all the babysitters club girls again. So many things I had forgotten since I read them last. It was a cheesy, but fun read. I hope Norah wants to read these books some day, because they really are quite entertaining.

148 pages

Finished #43

I finished Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil on Tuesday night. I really didn't realize that this book was non-fiction until after I started it. There are some very interesting characters in the book, and I can't believe they are real people. I was confused by the timing in the book and when some events actually occurred. It really did seem to read more like fiction than non-fiction. I was really interested in the history of Savannah. It is some where I would love to visit some day. The houses and town sound beautiful, plus there are lots of famous landmarks. I do get a little creeped out by all the voo doo spells though. Some parts were boring and a little confusing, but overall I liked the book.

386 pages

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

I started Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt yesterday. I never really knew what this book was about. It's set in Savannah, GA and goes through the lives of several unique people living in the town. This book is a true-crime book, but I haven't gotten to the murder yet. So far the back stories of the characters and history of the town is very interesting. I would love to see the town of Savannah some time just based off of the descriptions given in the book.

Finished #42

I read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls while we were in Las Vegas. This story was so sad and unbelievable, but I still couldn't put it down. I read it in one day and have to say it is one of the best memoirs that I have ever read. It's about Jeannette's childhood and how the family never had any money and traveled around the country constantly finding new places to live. The dad was a major drunk and the mom is pretty crazy. I can't believe that some of the stories in this book were true, but I haven't found anything that disputes them.

I had read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn right before this book and thought the stories were a little similar. Later in the memoir, Walls mentions Betty Smith's book and says that she could identify with Francie's character. I could see a lot of similarities in the 2 families in the books. This story was amazing and I would recommend it to everyone.

288 pages

Finished #41

I finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith while I was in Las Vegas. I really liked this book. It reminded me a little of Angela's Ashes, but had a more positive take on poverty. I loved how Francie and Neely were always able to find the good in the people around them. There were lots of interesting characters and stories behind them. I think one of the important messages was that families stick together no matter what.

674 pages (large print)