Happy New Year!
For my first blog of 2007 (this is rather a momentous occasion!) I thought I would answer a question that is regularly posed to me. Because of the large amounts of reading I do, I am asked: “What are the best books you’ve read recently?” And so I give you my top ten list of novels I read in the year 2006. It was hard to rank them; they all deserve the #1 slot, but after careful consideration, this is the order I finally chose. Click on the title to read the full review!
1. “I Capture the Castle” by Dodie Smith. This book “captured” my imagination right from the start with a heroine who reminded me so much of myself. A heart-warming and romantic story, it’s my very favorite read of the year.
2. “A Place Called Morning” by Ann Tatlock. A grandmother plagues herself with guilt after her grandson dies in an accident in her home. She learns the meaning of self-forgiveness and discovers many things about herself along the way. I found this book to be emotional, inspirational, and uplifting even though it speaks of sorrow.
3. “Fire By Night” by Lynn Austin. I love historical fiction, and this book is an excellent example. Our heroine is spoiled and self-centered, badly in need of a wake-up call. When she witnesses one of the most brutal battles of the Civil War, she decides to go be a nurse in the hopes of winning the respect of the man she loves. But she learns much more than how to bandage a wound. And, as an added bonus, this book contains one of the best kisses I’ve yet found in a book.
4. “A White Bird Flying” by Bess Streeter Aldrich. This is the story of a young woman who wants more than anything to be an author, and feels that romance will only slow down her ambition. It’s not until she finds true love that she understands how love and dreams go hand in hand. There are some beautiful descriptions and turns of phrase in this book.
5. “Halleluiah” by Scott Featherstone. The story of the writing of Handel’s “Messiah,” the book shows us the temperament of the great composer and everything that led up to the writing of one of the world’s most famous pieces of music. While much of this book is fiction, the incidents surrounding Handel himself are based on fact.
6. “The Brothers” by Chris Stewart. This book falls into the category of “LDS speculative fiction,” meaning, an LDS look at what might have been or what might be. Taking place in Heaven before the creation of the world, the story looks at the plan our Heavenly Father devised for us and how we reacted to it. I found it to be very eye-opening and uplifting.
7. “Wake Me When It’s Over” and “The Counterfeit” by Robison Wells. I include both the book and the sequel as one because, just like love and marriage, you can’t have one without the other. These books are fast-paced suspense, side-splitting humor, and tender romance all wrapped up into one. I highly recommend them.
8. “Faraway Child” by Amy Maida Wadsworth. In America, we are now diagnosing one in every 199 children with autism. This novel addresses the issue by showing us a mother’s very real reaction to finding out that her daughter is autistic and the emotional struggles she goes through as she reexamines her hopes and dreams for her daughter.
9. “Dead On Arrival” by Jeffrey Savage. The sequel to “House of Secrets,” “Dead On Arrival” takes us down a spooky path of mystery and suspense, ending on a fever-pitched note of tension. You will want to block out some time to read it cover to cover.
10. “Unsung Lullaby” by Josi Kilpack. The main characters in the story are infertile and fear that they will never have a family of their own until a past indiscretion of his brings to light a secret. A story of forgiveness and redemption, I enjoyed this story very much.
I would like to make some honorable mentions as well, not included on this list of 2006 reading simply because I read them in 2005. They are, in no particular order:
“The Believer” by Stephanie Black
“Out of the Shadows, Into the Light” by Candace Salima
“Mummy’s the Word” by Kerry Lynn Blair
“Rebecca” by Daphne DuMaurier