Reading Log for March, 2012

This month I discovered a new favorite author - Janice Holt Giles.  Her books are mainly American/Historical Fiction.  I can't believe I had never heard of her before!  She deals with strong characters, the people who created this nation.  So far I have read three, and all of them deal with members of the Fowler family.  These are not a "family series" like John Jake's The Kent Family Chronicles.  They are heavy on historical background, but very focused on a particular person time period.

First, and most famous is Hannah Fowler, which I gave a solid 5 out of 5.  This takes place in Kentucky, during the time of the American Revolution, and follows a strong woman named Hannah Fowler as she and her husband Tice build a new life in the wilderness.

Next is The Believers, also a 5.  Hannah's daughter Rebecca and her husband become involved in the Shaker movement of the early 1800s.  The story of a woman who is trapped in a cult-religion by her husband, and how she tries to live and honor her commitment to her marriage.

I think I have skipped a few in chronology, I am reading them as I find them on Bookmooch and Paperbackswap, or getting them loaned to me.  The Great Adventure takes place in the American West, at the end of the Mountain Man era, and follows Joe Fowler (Hannah's grandson) who is a beaver trapper.  Joe has a Utah Indian woman named Betsy that is his "squaw" and it was very interesting to learn how these relationships worked, and see the dignity of the woman Betsy.

Other books this month include Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne (4) as a read aloud to the younger boys, and the psychological thriller Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson (4).  THIS was a page turner.  As the result of an injury, Christine has amnesia.  Every night when she goes to bed she loses her memory of the day.  Each morning she wakes up thinking she is a child or young woman.  She does not know she is 47, or recognize her husband, or have any clue of who she is.  Every day her husband Ben tells her who he is, that she had an accident, etc.  Christine has been approached by a doctor who wants to write a paper about her, and she begins to write about each day in a journal.  Every morning he calls her and tells her who he is, and where to find the journal.  Each day, as she reads, she begins to remember, and things don't add up.  Sure, there were some pretty obvious holes in the plot, but it was still a fun, fast-paced thriller.  No gratuitous violence, more use of the "f" word than necessary and a few sexual parts that I didn't think were necessary.

Other than that, still moving along in a Bible study, Bible reading plan, Knowing God by J.I. Packer and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with the older boys.