From Off the Shelf

Drop Dead Healthy

Many of us would like to be healthy – as long as it doesn’t take too much work.  In “Drop Dead Healthy,” A.J. Jacobs spends more than two years striving for bodily perfection and then writing a book about his quest.  No stone is left unturned (the Caveman Workout), no spice is left unsniffed (The …

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In the Kingdom of Ice

I haven’t posted a book review for a while because Tom and I have been busy exploring.  But I’ve still been reading and “In the Kingdom of Ice” is a book that deserves a review.  I saw this book on the “New Releases” table at Barnes and Noble and was intrigued by the second line …

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Gray Mountain

I recently finished John Grisham’s newest novel “Gray Mountain.” I have enjoyed all of Grisham’s novels.  I read all of them as soon as they come out and are available at the library.  His early legal thrillers were gripping and exciting and deserved to be made into blockbuster movies.  I also enjoyed John Grisham’s sidetrips …

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Heroes Are My Weakness

Sometimes, at the end of a long day at work, the most satisfying thing to do is read a fun romance novel.  I like romance novels because they always have happy endings.  I can count on it.  Bestseller novels can be gripping, but I hate investing my time in 300 pages of a book that …

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“Stitches” by Anne Lamott

“Stitches:  A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair” is a wonderful little book that I have been reading and digesting for a while now.  I didn’t want to read too much of it at once – there are so many wonderful thoughts that I like to take time to savor them. In “Stitches,” Anne Lamott …

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Invitation to Pilgrimage

For my morning devotions in January I have been reading the book “Invitation to Pilgrimage” by John Baillie.  John Baillie wrote a wonderful book of prayers that I read frequently, so I was excited to read this small book.  A noted English theologian and Christian apologist, Dr. Baillie delivered a series of lectures on Christianity …

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Of the Imitation of Christ

Now that I finished reading the Bible (see previous post) I have turned to the devotional reading of some Christian classics in the morning.  This week I read “Of the Imitation of Christ” by Thomas a Kempis. “Of the Imitation of Christ” is a small volume written originally in Latin around 1420. It was one …

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In God We Trust

“In God We Trust All, Others Pay Cash” is the amusing and intriguing title to a Jean Shepherd book.  In case you aren’t familiar with Jean Shepherd, he is best known as the writer and narrator of the movie “A Christmas Story.”  The stories used in the movie were based on Jean’s childhood growing up …

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Christy

I first read the novel “Christy” when I was in Junior High (a loooooong time ago).  I read it again 20 years later.  Then they made a television series about it (1994 starring Kellie Martin and Tyne Dalley) and I read it again.  And it was one of the books that I kept to read …

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