That brings the total for the year to 217 books, 68 magazines, and 5 abandoned.
I currently have 297 books on my "to read list". If I can repeat this pace next year, and not add any more books to my list (yeah, right!), I should be done in less than two years. :-)
Mary's Song
by Susan Count
A lame girl tries to save a lame foal. The story moves quickly with some character development, but not a lot. The main character faces some consequences for dishonesty and disobeying her father, but I'm not sure if the overall lesson isn't "the ends justify the means." The theology is a bit off. It's an OK story, but the writing is ... I don't know...kind of flat?
Selah's Song
by Susan Count
A sequel to "Mary's Song", though I think this one was written first. Mary's granddaughter is spending two weeks in the summer on her grandfather's ranch, longing and begging for a horse. She finds and helps rescue a horse that was lost in a traffic accident two years before. The horse is injured and wild, but begins to learn to trust Selah. Then they take her to a trainer friend of her grandpa's and make an amazing transformation in just six weeks. The timing of all these events seems a bit far-fetched to me. The girl is pouty and bratty when she doesn't get her way, and the trainer is so impatient and rude with people, I can't imagine how he could possibly manage to work wonders with the horses in such a short time.
Plain Promise
by Beth Wiseman
Romance novels aren't my usual genre, but my daughter received this at a white elephant gift exchange and I wanted to be able to have a conversation with her about it. The writing is well done, with suspense and cliff-hangers at the end of almost every chapter. It was hard to put down, and I read it in less than 24 hours. The characters are complex and well-developed. They talk about their faith in God and how it is not always easy to trust him when things don't seem to be going the way we want them to. There is a bit too much time spent alone between unmarried people and too much physical affection before any commitment is made, for my taste. It was interesting to learn some of the Amish ways and thoughts, especially in light of recent Bible study lessons at our church discussing how Christians should be separate from the world (and how not to be). Some of the Amish characters in this story express that nobody seems to remember why some of the rules they follow are there, but they must follow them because it's part of the their faith. But their relationship with God seems to be based on keeping the rules, not on faith in Jesus as their savior. I don't know how realistic it is for an "Englischer" to convert to being Amish, as several characters in this book have done. I did appreciate that the Englischer considering it in this story was advised that he could know and have a relationship with God anywhere, not just by becoming Amish.
Family Patterns
by Kristin Eckhardt
This is the first in a series called the "Patchwork Mysteries." The main character is a woman who restores old quilts. Her grandmother disappeared without a trace one night 90 years ago and her grandfather was always the prime suspect. She finds an old baby quilt that belonged to her father (who was 6 when his mom disappeared) and had been missing for 90 years. She begins tracking down clues, attempting to find out what happened to her grandmother and clear her grandfather's name. The story was clean and full of suspense. It had me guessing right up to the end. Only one caution: There is one character who is being stalked by an ex-boyfriend. I didn't feel there was anything graphic or too scary, but it might possibly bring up bad memories for someone who has been in that situation.
Voices of the Alamo
by Sherry Garland
Free verse poems and detailed paintings describe different people and groups who lived, worked, fought, and died at the site known as the Alamo.
The Boy in the Alamo
by Margaret Cousins
Historical fiction about a 12-year-old boy named William Campbell who followed his older brother and Davy Crockett to the Alamo, survived along with the women and children, and went on to fight in the battle of San Jacinto with General Sam Houston. I picked this up in the used section at a homeschool store without really knowing anything about it. It was very readable, with numerous pictures, not too gory with the battle scenes. We will be reading this out loud later in our course of Texas history.
One of Fannin's Men : A Survivor of Goliad
by Isabel Marvin
Another used book store find. Historical fiction about a Mexican family who rescues a soldier shot during the Goliad Massacre. Based on a true story. Excellent story and well-written. This is also on our read-aloud list.
The Fifer of San Jacinto
by Lee McGiffin
This old book sells for $30 or more on Amazon. I got it for $6 at the homeschool store. It is a historical fiction story about a boy who moves with his mom from Virigina to Texas. His father, who was planning to be a schoolteacher in Texas, dies along the way. They spend nine months getting settled, planning to go back to Virginia as soon as they've saved up the cash to pay the way. But then, they get caught up in the events of the Texas Revolution. The boy ends up in the battle of San Jacinto, and then decides Texas will be his home, since he's fought for it.
Davy Crockett
by Janet and Geoff Benge
A biography of David Crockett, as he kept moving westward in Tennessee and finally into Texas to die at the Alamo. A typical Benge biography.
Six Feet Six
by Missie Rowland James
A 1931 biography of Sam Houston. This copy belonged to my great grandmother. It was a readable, thorough biography. It was interesting that this book mentioned a few details on which some other books I'd read were based (i.e. The Boy in the Alamo, and the Fifer of San Jacinto). There's one paragraph toward the end of the book that some might find offensive, or at least politically incorrect, these days (regarding slavery and the civil war).
Retreat to Glory: The Story of Sam Houston
by Jean Lee Latham
I remember starting to read this in my 7th grade history class but was interrupted and never got to finish it. The title has been stuck in my head for all these years. I looked for in years past but never could find it anywhere. I finally tried again recently, and now I see it all over the place. I managed to get my hands on a copy for a reasonable price. This is by the same author as "Carry On Mr. Bowditch", which I absolutely love, so I was extra eager to read it. I think it would be considered historical fiction rather biography, and although it was perhaps not quite as engaging as Mr. Bowditch, it was very interesting and fun to read. A few "d---" and one or two vain uses of the Lord's name, but otherwise clean and not gory. If I don't read it aloud to the kids, I will definitely encourage them to read it for themselves.
Juan Seguin : A Hero of Texas
by Rita Kerr
Historical fiction biography of Juan Seguin. His father was a friend of Moses and Stephen Austin. Juan had gone out from the Alamo as a messenger a few days before it fell, so he was spared and went on to survive the battle of San Jacinto as well. I assume that the town of Seguin, TX is named after him and his family.
Texas Cavalier
by Rita Kerr
Historical fiction biography of James Butler Bonham, who was a friend of William Barret Travis. He was famous for riding out of the Alamo as a messenger, and then returning though he knew it was certain death.
The Story of the Christian Church
by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
A history of the Christian church from the time of the New Testament apostles until about 1970 or so. Growing up, I don't remember being taught about church history and I was always puzzled as to how the church got from what was described in the New Testament to the all-powerful Roman Catholic church of the middles ages to the multitude of denominations seen today. Reading this book through quickly helped me start to understand just a little bit.
Christian History Made Easy
by Timothy Paul Jones
This covers much of the same territory as the book above, though this one is written in a bit more of an engaging and conversational style. There are lots of pictures, sidebars, internet links, and review questions. He seems to treat all the different characters throughout church history with fairness, neither vilifying nor idolizing any one. I would rate it at least PG-13, if not more, for some graphic descriptions of atrocities committed against and by Christians and for frequent mention of sexual sins. There is a companion set of DVDs (which I haven't watched yet). Reading these two books back to back helped me understand more than I did before about church history, though I still get lost in all the names and dates sometimes.
And the usual assortment of magazines:
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