My Fall Reading Wrap-Up

Back in September, I signed up for the Fall Into Reading 2007 challenge, hosted by Katrina at Calapidder Days. Through that challenge, I listed ten books that I planned to read before winter came. Later on the in the fall, I added an eleventh book, and I didn't get to two of the books. First, let's talk about the ones I did read...

What Matters Most by Luanne Rice

• Luanne Rice is on my list of favorite authors (along with Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Weiner, and Nicholas Sparks), and her books never disappoint me. This book was a sequel to the only Luanne Rice book I had ever had trouble reading, Sandcastles. For some reason, I just was not getting into that book. Well, reading What Matters Most changed that all for me. It was a great sequel, and it made me glad that I had read the first one. I have to declare the two books together to be another success from Luanne Rice!

74 Seaside Avenue by Debbie Macomber

• This is the seventh book in a series about the residents of a town called Cedar Cove. I love when authors use the same characters for a series of books. When I finish a book, I am often sad if I am not going to be able to find out what happens next in a character's life. Luckily, many of my favorite authors tie their novels together using characters who either cross each other's paths or live in the same area or are related in some way, so there is enough character overlap in the books to keep me happy. This is a fun series that could definitely be described as light reads...but I love them!

The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline

• This book caught my attention on a table at Barnes & Noble one day. I picked it up because it had a beach scene on the cover. I love reading books that happen near the water...be it coastal New England, the Chesapeake Bay area, the Outer Banks, a big lake in the Catskills. I love them all. Therefore, the cover made me pick it up. The description got the sale. It is about a woman who escapes her mediocre life by answering a personal ad and moving, sight-unseen, to a small village on Mount Desert Island, ME. My ancestors are from a small village on Mouth Desert Island, and we use to vacation there every summer when I was growing up. And it is one of my favorite places on earth. I often have thought about how wonderful it would be to just move up there to get away from it all, and this character did it for me. It was the first book by this author I have read, and it will not be the last.

Here if You Need Me: A True Story by Karen Braestrup

• I read an excerpt of this book in Yankee Magazine, and I was drawn to the description. Karen Braestrup is a woman whose husband, a state trooper in Maine, was killed in the line of duty. He dreamed of going to seminary and becoming a minister and serving as a prison chaplain. She went to seminary in his honor and in his place, and she ended up being a chaplain to game wardens in Maine. This book was very moving, and her courage in a time of sadness is amazing. I definitely enjoyed reading her story, even though I am more of a fiction girl!

Between the Tides and Losing the Moon by Patti Callahan Henry

• These books (along with a third that I didn't finish reading yet, When Light Breaks) were ones I found on Amazon, after going through their recommendations for me. I had not read anything by this author, and when I looked in bookstores near my home, I couldn't find any of her books. I ordered these from Amazon, and I am so glad I did. They are my kind of books...they take place by the water, they have strong and well-developed characters, they deal with human relationships, and they are enjoyable to read. If you are a fan of writers like Luanne Rice and Barbara Delinsky, you will love these books!

The Color of Light and Learning to Breathe by Karen White

• I also found these two books via Amazon, and again, they were by an author I had not heard of. They had all the same elements as the books I mention above did, and I loved them just as much. I am adding Karen White to my list of must-reads, although I don't know that I can get her books around here.

(As an aside, I was able to get the books by the previous two authors at crazy-low used-book prices on Amazon. Even paying the individual shipping and handling charges for each seller, these books were ridiculously cheap. And they would have been worth full price!)

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

• This book was not originally on my list. However, my basic rule is that I have to read any Nicholas Sparks books as soon as they are released. He is such an amazing author, and I have loved almost all of his books. I have not yet read At First Sight, but that is because I have developed some kind of mental block against it. It's prequel, True Believer, is the only Nicholas Sparks book that I have not liked, and I haven't yet gotten to it's follow-up. It's on my bookshelf...but it hasn't yet made it to my reading list.

The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans

• This was another latecomer to the list. I was browsing the shelves at Barnes & Noble, checking up on some past favorite authors, and when I came to his section, I found this book that I had not yet read. It was another great read from this author (he wrote The Christmas Box, among other things), and I am really glad I found it!

So it looks like I read ten books throughout that fall challenge. I planned to read ten books, but since I added those last two books in, there are clearly two that I didn't get to. And here's what I have to say about them...

Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

• I have had this book for quite a while, and I just haven't started reading it yet. I pick it up and put it down and pick something else up and never get back to this book. I am a big Susan Elizabeth Phillips fan (and I love all her books that revolve in some way around the Dallas Stars football team), but for some reason, this one hasn't grabbed my attention yet. It's still on my bookshelf, awaiting my attention!

When Light Breaks by Patti Callahan Henry

• I think I am almost saving this book because it's the last of the Patti Callahan Henry/Karen White books that I own. I don't want to be done with them, so I keep putting this last one off. I imagine I will love it as much as I loved the others. But after my trip to the library yesterday, I have some other stuff on my reading list, so I am going to put this away for a lazy, rainy day, so I can fully enjoy it!

And that's it! I can't imagine anyone will read all this, but thanks if you do! And special thank to Katrina for hosting this event! I will not be such a slacker about posting my wrap-up next time!