Out of all the end-of-the-world type books that I’ve read, this one scared me the most by far.  Not because it was the most violent, gruesome or death filled, but because it was the most real.  Most of these books contain some fantastical characters, some huge, unimaginable nuclear disaster, or other elements that keep the story removed from reality.  In Forsthcen’s book, the only disaster is that the electricity goes out.  And society falls apart in a matter of days.

Forstchen intended his book to be a warning about EMP’s, which terrorists could use to silently destroy anything that has a computer chip in it–cell phones, cars, communications, computers, radios, planes, etc.  At times, it reads a bit stiff and preachy.  But over all, it was fast paced, exciting, frightening, and kept me awake at night for a week.

OK, so I got what I deserved reading this book.  When you read a “tell all” book written by a famous actress, you should expect the strange.  Spelling writes about what it’s like to raise children in the limelight.  She herself longed for, and never got, a “normal” childhood.  Now she’s trying to create an idyllic normal childhood for her children.  Someone should tell her that if you want “normal,” maybe you should cancel the reality show being filmed in your house.  Maybe you shouldn’t let your best friend (she calls him her “gay husband!”) sleep in your bed when your real husband is out of town.  Maybe you don’t need to spend an entire chapter documenting the “normal” Halloween costumes you and your kids wore one year.  Maybe you shouldn’t live in Hollywood.  Maybe you shouldn’t write “tell all” books!

Lia is consumed with guilt over her friend Cassie’s death.  Unable to cope with her feelings, she wrestles to maintain control over her eating instead.  An emotional and disturbing book about the destructive power of eating disorders, and the strength needed to overcome them.

I’ve come to the point in my blogging life when I just simply have to make a list of books.  I’ve read some great ones lately, but I don’t have the time to write posts about them all.  So in no particular order, here’s what I’ve been reading the last few weeks:

Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop:  A great juvenile historical fiction about the anti-child labor movement in the U.S.

The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center: The perfect chick lit for a new mom.  Center writes with humor and honesty about being a new mom, yet somehow manages to throw in some romance at the same time.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See:  Explores women’s friendship, secret writing and foot binding in China.  Even though the book is about so much more than foot binding, what will stick with me are the graphic descriptions of the foot binding process.  I had to skip several pages because I was feeling nauseous just reading about it.

Rutka’s Notebook: A Voice From the Holocaust: A newly discovered journal, kept by a 14 year old Jewish girl, living in Poland.

The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller: Made me want to go back to teaching.  Can’t wait for my own kids to read!  Pre-teachers and current teachers should read this book to regain perspective on what our job as teachers is all about.

Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons  A love story.  Mostly good, but the ending was just strange.  I wouldn’t bother with it.

The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect us From Violence by Gavin DeBecker:  Absolutely fascinating.  A must-read especially for women.  De Becker is a well known security professional, and writes knowledgeably about how to protect yourself by listening to your intuition.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon:  Set in Spain.  Young Daniel unravels the mystery of a stranger who is roaming through Europe, burning every book he can find by Daniel’s favorite author.

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos:  A companion book to Belong to Me.

Where the River Ends by Charles Martin:  Look out Nicholas Sparks.  Martin’s southern romance is much sweeter and deeper than anything Sparks has written recently.  Doss and Abbie battle cancer together through a river journey.

The Carlson sisters leave their homeland of Sweden to come to America.  But once they arrive in Chicago, the land of opportunity is so much different than they expected.  Did they make a mistake?  This is a sweet, somewhat predictable story.  It’s much better than Austin’s last book, A Proper Pursuit, which I didn’t even finish because it was so horrible.  My biggest complaint about this book is my complaint about most Christian fiction: Even though authors try to write about female characters finding strength in God, they almost always find a handsome husband too.  Is it possible to find God without finding a man?

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