1. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
I wish I had liked this book more. Most of the other reviews I read just raved about how thought-provoking and life-changing it was, but I just felt like it was...blah. I did enjoy getting a peek into wealthy Parisian life, but I just felt like the main characters thought waaaay too much of their own intelligence.
2. Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker
This is a collection of short stories by the author of Dracula (the first really spooky book I ever read). I have to say, these stories passed the shiver test. They still made me feel like I needed to look over my shoulder, and I think "The dead travel fast" is one of the greatest lines ever.
3. Boneman's Daughters by Ted Dekker
As awful as this sounds, I really feel like most Christian fiction is poorly written. It's like the authors can't get a "normal" publishing contract, so they become Christian writers, where the competition isn't as fierce. I'd heard good things about Dekker, but sadly -- it's still poorly written fiction. It actually wasn't too bad until the last couple of chapters, when it seemed like he just couldn't figure out how to tie the story up neatly, and so he just wrote a really hurried ending.
4. Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent
This was a Kindle Daily Deal, so I bought it on a whim. I think it's a pretty fascinating book, especially since it's told from a child's perspective. I didn't read anything that I felt didn't coincide with the Bible, and I hope that the Burpos' story is legit, because it really is a supremely comforting book.
5. The Accident by Linwood Barclay
This was a pretty good standard thriller. The story centers around a married dad, Glen, and his eight-year-old daughter Kelly, who are recovering from the sudden death of Glen's wife, Sheila, who was killed in a drunk-driving accident. Unfortunately, according to the police, Shelia was the one who was drunk and caused the accident. Glen refuses to accept the police's explanation, since Sheila didn't have a drinking problem, and he knew she would never have gotten behind the wheel while she was under the influence. And of course, he's right. There was a pretty good twist towards the end, so I'll check out some more of Barclay's work.
1 comments:
"Comforting" is a perfect word to described Heaven is for Real. I felt exactly the same way. I wasn't sure I bought the story 100%, but I wanted to.
I might have to check out The Accident! It sounds really good. And I also have to admit that I have quite the soft spot for the poorly written Christian fiction--but I do still think of it as such. It's definitely not mainstream and probably never will be.
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