Running With Angels by Pamela Hansen

On a beautiful April morning in 2001, Pamela Hansen decided to do something she hadn't done for a very long time. She took a walk. That first walk, which lasted just 10 minutes, was the beginning of an amazing journey that ultimately led to a 100-pound weight loss (without surgery or pills) and the fulfillment of her dream to run a marathon-all in just over one year.

In Running with Angels, Pam shares an honest and open portrayal of both her struggles and success with weight loss, using a marathon race as a metaphor for facing life's challenges. She candidly discusses the pain of living life as an obese person and the hopelessness that accompanies it. More importantly, she offers practical suggestions for anyone trying to reach a goal, particularly a goal of weight loss, and shows how small steps over time can help you realize your dreams.

This book is more than a book about overcoming obesity...it's a book about a woman overcoming heartbreaking trial after heartbreaking trial. Her faith is inspiring! This book was a gift from Lynsey and I loved it. Thanks Lyns!

Where are you now?

by Mary Higgins Clark

A girl is trying to solve the mystery of her missing brother who disappeared ten years before. When other girls start going missing, the police suspect her missing brother may be the killer and she is trying to prove that he isn't.

My thoughts:

This book was different from her other books. It didn't follow really one character a whole lot. It jumped around a lot to various people. Really good mystery- I didn't guess who the bad guy was so I was surprised. It was a short read and kept me entertained. My only complaint is that there was an overload of characters. I had a hard time keeping them straight and each chapter would skip to another person and I would have to go back to remember who everyone was. By the time I had a handle on it, the book was over.

But a good, clean, and mysterious read.

Emily's List

Ok, so I am looking at the other lists, and mine is pretty sorry...but here goes!

Books I’ve read this year:
The Uglies Trilogy
Water for Elephants
The Historian
Goose Girl Series
Twilight Series
Book of Mormon
Cold Rock River
That is all I can remember right now…there are lots more!

Favorite all time books:
I love all Richard Paul Evans Books (LDS)
These is My Words
Twilight Series
Jack Weyland Books (never read one I didn’t like)
Work and the Glory Series

I used to have a list of books I wanted to read, but I can't find it...there were so many that I had, too! Maybe it will surface somewhere....I will just have to take all the books on everyone else's lists and make a new one!

Tierra's List

Great challenge Andrea. For me, I feel like my lists are not that long or impressive BUT again this year has been eventful and most of my reading time was spent over and over again w/ the Cullen family. So here's what I got! In the books I've read this year, the ones w/ stars are the ones I recommend!

Books I’ve Read this Year:
The Twilight Series *****
The Magic of Ordinary Days- Ann Howard Creel *****
My Not So Fairy Tale Life-Julie Wright {LDS Novel} ****
Saving Kristen-Jack Weyland {LDS Novel}
Candle in the Darkness-Lynn Austin **
Proper Pursuit-Lynn Austin **
Red Moon Rising-Vicky Randall's {LDS Author} -She also Lives in my home Ward =) ****
The Story of Camelot-Howard Pyle
The Memory Keepers Daughter-Kim Edwards


Favorite Books of All Time: In other Words, These are the Books I revisit over & over!
1. Twilight Series- What can I say?
I now know what my cousin means when he talks about his love for Star Wars stuff HaHa ~
2. In Your Place-Rachel Nunes- FAVORITE LDS romance story
3. Emily-Favorite by Jack Weyland
4. The Magic of Ordinary Days- Ann Howard Creel-
5. A Wrinkle in Time-Madeleine L’Engle
6. Where the Red Fern Grows- Wilson Rawls
7.Persuasion- Jane Austen
8. Emma-Jane Austen


Books I’m Dying to Read:
Breaking Dawn-Duh!! 20 Days to Go!
Jane Eyre
Tea Rose
Winter Rose
The Wednesday Letters
Uglies Trilogy
The Host
Me & Mr. Darcy
P.S I love You

Amanda's Lists
I have read too many books this year and have far too poor of memory skills to list them all. So these are the ones I can remember off the top of my head worth remembering...
The Host
The Shopaholic Series
Jane Eyre
Enchantment
Ender's Game
These is My Words
The Goose Girl series
Fearless Fourteen
I'm sure I'm leaving some good ones out, but I blame the brain cells my children have drained from me.

Books I want to read are:
BREAKING DAWN
Love the one you're with
Big Russ and Me
Odd Thomas
the Queen's Fool
BREAKING DAWN (did I put that already?)

Favorite books of all time is so tough. The list is so long, but here are a few...
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Twilight series
Harry Potter series
Dandelion Wine
Holes
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Scarlet Letter
The Hiding Place
The Book of Mormon

Here it is....

Andrea's Lists

Some of my Favorite books I've read this year are:

Peace Like A River - I love this book... it's definitely one I want to own
Jane Eyre - Oh my goodness I loved this one too
Twillight Series -
The Hiding Place - This book changed my life. Loved it. Thanks Lynsey!
Angela's Ashes - I recommend listening to it - his accent makes it so much better
Princess Academy - A lovely feel good book - I like all of Shanon Hale's book
To Kill A Mockingbird -
The Glass Lake -
The Princess Bride - I was surprised that I loved it more than the movie

Books I want to read

The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns -
So Brave Young and Handsome ( Leif Enger, the author of Peace Like a River's second book)
The Secret Garden
The rest of the Ender's Series
Breaking Dawn...you all knew that one!
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas
The Lord of the Ring's Trilogy
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Last Lecture
A New Earth

Favorite Books (Oh this is so so so hard for me. Like picking my favorite child. I love so many but if I had to pick 5 they would be

1. Pride and Prejudice ( really any of Austen's books. I love them all)
2. The Hiding Place
3. Jane Eyre
4. Harry Potter( and by the way Harry is real!)
5. Twilight Books
6. Team of Rivals (Best Lincoln book ever)
7. To Kill A Mockingbird
8. Peace Like a River
9. I Have Lived A Thousand Years: Growing Up In The Holocaust (awesome...you must read it)

I know it's more than 5...sorry it just so hard but I am restraining myself! I have loved everyone's lists so far and I am really excited to see what the rest of you all post!

Challenge lists

What are some of the books I have read this year:(this is just a few of them)

Boy in the striped pajamas
Reading Lolita in Tehran
Change of heart
Prey
Trigger
Beloved
The Appeal
Letters to Emily
Al Capone does my shirts
Book of Mormon

Some of my favorite books:
Kite Runner
Harry Potter Series
To Kill Mockingbird
Secret Garden
Gone with the Wind
Most of the Thoene's series

My most favorite is usually the one I just finished.

I am currently reading "Death in the family" and "The book thief" and have 6 others checked out waiting to read plus 5 I have bought that I need to get to. I have too many projects and need to get some things done so I can spend more time reading. Thanks for everyone elses lists that have posted so far. It gives me ideas of whats out there and what I can recommend.

Andrea's Challenge

Ok so my prospect of this was that we were suppose to post a topic about it, if it was just suppose to be a comment I am sorry. 

A. The books I have read this year. Ok there is too many so I am going to make a list of the ones I remember.... 

1. The Lovely Bones

2. The Angel Series.... 6 of them

3. On the Street Where You Live

4. Remember Me

5. Two Little Girls in Blue

6. A Walk to Remember

7. The Notebook

8. 5 People You Meet in Heaven

9. Cover Up

10. Blind Side

11. To Love and To Promise

12. Forever and Always

13. Winter Fire and the sequel forgot the title

14. Twilight 

15. Alot of Anita Stansfield books... 6 I think 

16. The Trial

17. The Secret Journal of Brett Colten

18. The Clique Series

To many more to list! I think that I read about 50 or more! 

B.  The best book that I read in my whole life is, The Secret Diary of Brett Colten. I have it and would be glad to lend it to you... it's an LDS book. It's about a girl and her brother died from lukemia when she was two and when she is 16 she finds his diary. It is about how she finds the church, deals with popularity, brother and sister bond, high school, reality, "dumb jocks." I am proud to say that I have NEVER cried at a book, until this one. I will read it again and again. I am going to try to read it once a month... it's too good to put down! 

C. I'm Going to Read: 

More Racheal Anne Nunes books. I am in LOVE with her. 

And yes, I am going to try to read Harry Potter. I have tried to read them again and again but never got into them. 

D. Best Books I have ever read in my life: 

1. The Lovely Bones

2. The secret Diary of Brett Colten

3. the Angel Series

4. Any book by Rachel Anne Nunes... seriously any of them

5. Any Mary Higgins Clark... any of them also

So there you have it, my challenge complete. Feel free to reply at anytime :) .

Book I am DYING to read: Chasing Yesterday by Rachel Anne Nunes

Lynsey's List

okay i know i've been the biggest slacker and i'm SORRY to all of my book club buddies! hopefully when i am settled in arizona by my good friend ANDREA i can get back to reading! so here are a couple of things.

1) books i've read this year:

this is sad but true. i've only read
the twilight series
the host
the book of mormon

my reviews are....i love them all!

2) some of my all time favs, or ones i would read again & again:

-beach music (rated R for language, FYI & there apparently is a naughty couple of pages but i read my sister's copy & she ripped it out! so i am still innocent :)
-the princess bride
-beauty
-ender's game
-the kite runner
-the hiding place
-my sister's keeper
-the street lawyer
-the da vinci code (even amid all the hype, i really loved that the book made me think about historical aspects of jesus & his followers)
to kill a mockingbird (glad you reminded me of that one, andrea!)

i'm sure there are a million others but i can't think of them right now.

one if have been dying to read:
a thousand splendid suns

now everyone else GET GOING on this!! if i can do it, so can YOU!!!

love, lynsey

Favorites

I didn't want to have to bring this cheesy poster back. Believe me, it pains me to have to do this but desperate times call for desperate measures. Don't make me do this again!!!


Something has felt strange lately. I feel like the Book Club, my sweet little Book Club Child, hasn't been feeling too well. It's just been sluggish lately and for me, a woman who gets a drug like high every time she goes to the library, that is sad. So....in an effort to liven things up around here I am making demands. OK, maybe demands was too strong. Not demands more like a request, OK more like a plea to all you out there in the blogosphere....especially you book club members!! I want lists and LOTS of them. I want lists of:
a. The best books you've read in the last year
b. The best books you've read in your life( I know it will be hard but you can do it) c. Your "I'm gonna read this book someday" list
d. Your all time favorite book

...and this could go on and on. Just pick one of the ideas above or make up your own list idea and post about it. We'd love to know what you love!

And if your not a Book Club member you can do one of the following:
1. Post your list in the comments
2. Become a Book Club member...come on folks this is the best option. Just leave your email address in the comments and I will add you
3. Or you can email me your list at prestonandandrea@gmail.com and I will post it for you.

Now I have a little incentive to get you going... a prize!!! Andrea's Bookclub's First Official Giveaway. Everyone who graces us with a list (before the end of July) will be entered in a drawing( your name on a slip of paper in my husbands ball cap) and the winner will receive any book of your choice. At the bottom of your post tell us the book you're dying for and it just may be yours!

Change of Heart

If you have previously read any books by Jodi Picoult you will definitely like this one. This book deals with choices, forgiveness and salvation as Shay Bourne, a wandering carpenter, tries to right a wrong committed in the murder of Elizabeth and her policeman step-father.
"Change of Heart" is told through the eyes of four people, June Nealon, mother of Elizabeth and Claire who is desperate need of a new heart, Maggie Bloom, an ACLU lawyer who is trying to help Shay get what he wants; Lucius, a fellow inmate also serving time for murder; and Father Michael, Shay's spiritual advisor and one of the jurors at his sentencing.

If you are someone who is prone to tears when you read this is a definite keep the tissues close by. It gives one a chance to reflect, what if I had to make a choice of letting my child live with the heart of the the man who killed her sister or letting her die. Could my love for my child be enough to forgive the heinous crime committed against my family?

I'm just glad I don't have to make this choice. I enjoyed the book, even better than I did "My sister's keeper" and I think you will also.

Escape

The dramatic first-person account of life inside an ultra-fundamentalist American religious sect (FLDS), and one woman’s courageous flight to freedom with her eight children.

I must be honest as state that I didn't really read but listened to this. I get through a lot of books while I clean house. I must also be honest and state, I didn't get a lot of work done. This book was too captivating.

At age 18, Caroline Blackmore became the fourth wife of Merril Jessop, man 32 years older than her. Over the next 15 years, her every move was dictated by her husbands whim, where she lived, where she worked, how she spent her money. A world similar to a prison camp where the guards are the other jealous wives and children. She becomes the mother of eight children, one of who is handicapped, which was considered a punishment for not being totally subservient to her husband. Merril Jessop goes on to take more wives, in hopes of finding the ideal wife and to secure his place in Heaven. In 2003, she is able to sneak her children out of the house and to SLC. The final pages deal with her triumphs as she adjust to a new life. Caroline should be admired for her strength in fighting to gain her and her children's freedom, overcoming unbelievable odds.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I LOVE this book. I love it so much that every time I read it I'm changed. I leave the book heartbroken that it's over, wishing I could just spend one more day in the "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama...one more day with Scout and Jem, one more day with Boo Radley and Dill, and definitely one more day with Atticus.
Atticus is the parent I want to become, the father we all wish we had and the lawyer we need more of. This book is a classic and I feel inadequate in trying to review it. It's a beautiful book that teaches us volumes on prejudice, love, courage, and family.