I wouldn't be writing if it weren't for my readers and so to celebrate you I'd love to send you one of these titles:) Beginning this coming Monday, January 4, I'll be drawing a name every day for 5 days. The winner each of those days will get to pick their book, though it's better to win on Monday than Friday, as there will only be one book left by week's end! Here are the books:The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana by Melanie Dobson
Paper Roses by Amanda Cabot
Sarah, My Beloved by Sharlene MacLaren
Stand-In Groom by Kaye Dacus
I must admit I haven't read all these books - only one! But they're new 2009 Christian fiction releases and I hope you'll enjoy them. If you'd like to be entered please leave a comment and I'll add you to the hat. Thus far I have these names:
Virginia C, Mary B, Lori B, Kathleen, destrella, Patti, Carla, Nancy Huggins, Adge, Kav, Ashli, Stacey, and Kristen. If you've been entered by accident, please let me know and I'll up the odds of winning for other readers:) On the other hand, if I've overlooked someone, please tell me and I'll be happy to add you!
2010 is upon us with many new releases to choose from. Looking back, which books (other than mine!) did you enjoy most in 2009? Inspirational or otherwise? Fiction or non-fiction? It's a privilege to share and celebrate books!
Miss a meal if you have to, but don't miss a book. -Jim Rohn
You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me. -CS Lewis
I LOVE to Rohn quote! So true! I'll have to forward that to my son and his family! Sometimes I wish we didn't need to sleep at night because there are so many books out there I'd like to read!
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you and your family in 2010!
Linda
http://www.grandmaslettersfromafrica.blogspot.com
Happy New Year!!!
ReplyDeleteThis giveaway is a great idea and so thoughtful of you, Laura!
After TFD, the book I most enjoyed was The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent. A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist was a super book. I also enjoyed the Susan Page Davis historicals that I read.
I love that C.S. Lewis quote. I wish we could sit down to a cup of tea and talk books some day!
Thank you so much, Carla, for chiming in here:) I am so blessed to have you for a reader. Thanks to you I bought Susan's White Mountain Brides book and even wrote to tell her that you introduced me to it and her:) Very nice lady! I'd love to read Kathleen's book, esp. since I met her at the book fair. Am curious if there's a romantic element in the book?
ReplyDeleteOh, I'd love to sit down with you, Lewis, and an oversized cup of tea, too. If not here, heaven!
Happy New Year to you!
Linda, Me, too! One of my resolutions is to miss more meals and read more books! I've often thought the very same thing as you - wishing we could go without sleep in lieu of our beloved books!
ReplyDeleteI bet your time in Africa broadened your reading experience. Have you read any of Alexander McCall Smith's books set over there? I hear they're terrific! And they're on my list:)
Wonderful to start 2010 with you and Carla, Linda!
Yes, Laura, I have read the first 2 or three of Alexander McCall Smith's books. They are charming! It amazes me that he--a white person--was able to write with such insight into an African's thoughts, etc., and that he--as a man--wrote with insights into a woman's thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI'm also reading "Say You're One of Them" by Uwem Akpen (sp?)(the current Oprah book club selection), five stories set in five African nations. I just finished reading Tracy Kidder's "Strength In What Remains" about a Burundian man who escaped the genocides there in 1994. Very moving.
I'm looking forward to reading your books, too, but first I have to finish these galleys!
Have a nice day, a nice weekend!
Hi, Laura! Happy New Year! Thank you so much for brightening up our January with this lovely giveaway : )
ReplyDeleteVirginia, Wonderful to hear from you here! I know you love to read so hope you win a book:) If not for you I couldn't have a giveaway so am glad to do it. May there be many more!
ReplyDeleteThinking of you this New Year's day!
Yes, those galleys have a way of trimming our time away, Linda. Praying for you as you finish yours. Mine are due this coming Wednesday. Thank you for the book ideas. It's really interesting hearing what people are reading, especially heart-changing books like you've alluded to. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun giveaway!! I could always use another book.. ha ha! (my hubby may disagree with that)
ReplyDeleteDid you have a nice New Year? Any celebrations?
The boys and I tried to stay up but all fell asleep in the living room by 10:45. oh well.
Please add me I am in need of some new books, re-reading old ones now, hope you are haveing a great New Year and may God bless
ReplyDeleteI follow you all over the place.
mamat2730(at)chiarter(dot)
Edna, I was hoping to hear from you and was going to leave this post up for a few days so I could! Glad to know you are in need of some new books. I would love to send you another! You're on my list for Courting Morrow Little but think I've already told you that. Bless you for taking time to stop by. I pray you and your family are having a great New Years Day!
ReplyDeleteLisa, So happy to add you to the hat:) Great to start the new year with a new book!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog pics you posted. Happy days at your house! We are not nocturnal critters, I'm afraid and were in bed by 9pm!
My goal today was to read more but so far no good:) Bless you, Lisa!
Hi Laura, hope this finds you have a wonderful new year! I love Christian fiction books and these looks just wonderful. How sweet of you for the give away. May your new year be blessed with many wonderful ideas for more books for you to write! Have a great weekend, blessings,Kathleen
ReplyDeleteKathleen, So happy to enter you in the giveaway! And I really appreciate the kind thoughts behind your comments. I do pray this will be a wonderful reading year for us all - and a stellar writing one for we writers. I think you're both! Bless you.
ReplyDeleteLaura,
ReplyDeleteWhat Linda said about Alexander McCall Smith's Botswana books. I am continually amazed at his ability to inhabit the heart and mind of a female character. His Scottish series, featuring Isabel Dalhousie, is good too, but the Botswana series is... precious (couldn't resist!). If you like audio books at all, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series is a good one to listen to, as you will have all those lovely African names forever ingrained in your memory. I'm eagerly awaiting the latest one from the library.
I've read so many books this year, it's hard to remember them all. I'm "resolving" right now to keep a list starting for 2010.
My most anticipated book of last year was Diana Gabaldon's latest in her long running time-travel series. She's taken these characters through such fascinating times, from 1740's Scotland to the American Revolution. The last book left off in 1778 or 79.
The most helpful research book proved to be The Iroquois in the American Revolution.
Thanks for entering me in the drawing!
Laura, I don't want to enter your drawing, but I did want to say I've read the bottom three books on your list, and they were all very good.
ReplyDeleteI can't pick a favorite book that I read in 2009 because I read so many good ones. Yours, however, does stand out. You have a remarkable Voice and a gift with words. I look forward to reading Courting Morrow Little this year.
A very Happy New Year to you and yours, Laura! Maybe next year I can donate 2 of my books for the Reader Appreciation Week... if it's something that would be of interest for you.
ReplyDeleteCould you add my name to the present list of names for the drawing... I could use a great book to read before bed each night.
Lori, My pleasure! I love finding out what you all are reading and have added some to my list, esp. TIitAR. How's that for an abbreviation?
ReplyDeleteGuess I'll fess up and tell you what I'm reading curently - Eckert's "That Dark and Bloody River" which chronicles the 18th-c. struggle for the Ohio River Valley. Also, am about to read Susan Paige Davis's White Mountain Brides which deals with Indian captivity, etc.
I am so anxious to read the McCall Smith books! I was over visiting his website (which is delightful by the way, African music and everything) and noticed he has a couple of new ones coming out.
Oh, the joy of books! Thank heavens for the gift of reading!
Dana, That's so thoughtful of you to want to add to the drawing next time - will do:) I need to order myself and will do that soon! I've heard bedtime reading is highly reccommended as it slows down your clock and is sleep inducing. Sometimes I read in bed with a flashlight so I won't keep my husband up!
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you and it's a pleasure to enter you in the drawing. I'd love sending a book to Kentucky!
Keli, You are such an encouragement to me. Thank you for your gracious words! I, too, think it's almost impossible to pick a favorite book as each are unique and convey a special message, esp. Christian fiction. I can't help but say here how excited I am for you in your own writing journey. What a Christmas gift - an agent and manuscript requests! It's a joy to keep up with you, Keli.
ReplyDeleteI've been mulling this over -- I've read sooooo many books this year and it has been the first year I've read Christian fiction. I know, I know -- what was I thinking all those years before????
ReplyDeleteObviously I wasn't. Anyway, I have so many new favourites that it's hard to pick so I narrowed it down to historical fiction because that's your genre. So:
A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist.
It's set in 1643 -- the Viginia colonies and I enjoyed that era since it isn't written about as much as the late 1800's say. Deeanne has developed wonderful, believable characters with just enough stubborness to keep them annoying! LOL. And yes, that's a compliment. And there's plenty of twists and turns, witty dialogue, heartbreak and hope -- it's just a really good read.
The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller
Romance and mystery at the turn of the century and Carrington Bouwer (our heroine) is intriguing. Her unorthodox upbringing has freed her from some of the more conventional notions of the times. She is free-thinking and strong-willed; determined and unwavering in her quest to make a life for herself in a trade traditionally dominated by men.
Her romantic interest is not only her boss, but he's straightlaced, opinionated and just a bit narrowminded at times. And that makes for great character dynamics.
The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander
I could definitely see this book played out on the big screen. It's that kind of a majestic read. McKenna and Wyatt are unforgettable characters, each with their own set of demons to overcome before they can find happiness together. Both are strong and determined (aka stubborn) and fight their growing attraction and there's enough angst and drama in the plot to really stir things up. I especially appreciate the research Tamera must have done in order to give her readers such a vivid portrayl of life in Colorado in the 1870's.
For my favourite Inspirational books:
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver
It's a book about finding God and keeping him close in the midst of the fast-paced lives we women all lead. Her writing style is fresh and funny (she refers to Martha of the NT as the original Martha Stewart) and each chapter ends with a little block of inspiration -- you can just read it and reflect or actual take it on as an assignment. There's also a study guide at the back if you wanted to make it into a group study or even an individual study and go a little deeper.
Just for You by Max Lucado
A simple 'adult' picture book (64 p) that explains what Christ has done for YOU. Lucado's words are simple, but he has compiled them in such a way that it's a fresh celebration every time you read it. It looks like a short read -- but it's not when you factor in the contemplation time.
Kav, I was so hoping to hear from you here:) And I really appreciate your synopsis of best-loved books!!
ReplyDeleteI did read this first book by Dee Gist and am anxious to read Tamera's - think I'll start with the one you named here. Don't fret over not tapping into the inspy market till recently. I write for them and I read mostly in the secular market! But I'm very particular and don't read the gritty stuff. Mostly biography and history and the cleaner fiction. I think I'd really like Judy's book -the cover is so unique as is the subject matter. And we have quite a few Max L. books about the house, even his wonderful devotional Bible.
I don't think it's an accident you listed Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. Lately I've been looking for Bible studies to do personally and this one sounds so intriguing. Maybe because I'm a Martha but want a Mary heart.
You are a blessing, Kav. Thanks so much for chiming in here. Consider yourself entered in the drawing. It won't be the first book I've mailed over the border:)
Happy New Year, Laura! I hope 2010 brings you all your hopes and dreams!
ReplyDeleteSame back at ya, Bobbi! We writers must stick together:) Especially us Kentuckians!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Laura for this sweet give away! blessings,Kathleen
ReplyDelete