8. Telegraph Days

This is a Larry McMurtry book which was recommended to me by my husband. I have not historically been a McMurtry fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this 1800s Western told from the point of view of a young female telegraph operator. She had run-ins and/or relationships with all the famous historical figures of the day: Wild Bill Hickock, Jesse James, even George Custer ("Georgie"). Overall very entertaining and a good read.

83. Redeeming Love

I would recommend this book to anyone! It is an amazing story of GRACE. I like Francine Rivers anyway, but even if you are not a fan of hers, you should read this book.

32. Unafraid

I finally finished the Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers. This was a good book about the life of Mary (and Jesus, of course). Although it was about the life and death of Jesus, mostly, it was told from a mother's perspective. I can't really say much else. I liked the book!

33. Finding Stefanie

This is the third book in a series of novels by Susan May Warren set in southeast Montana--really closer to Sheridan, Wyoming than anything in Montana. Still, it has been fun to read about this ranchin' family, their struggles and victories, and spiritual growth. And their romances, of course. This was the last book in the series and focused on the only daughter in the family, Stefanie. I liked seeing things from her point of view since she was the "good girl" who had stayed home to take care of the ranch while her brothers were off "finding themselves." See the title? Now it's Stefanie's turn to find herself. She manages to do so without leaving the ranch at all. I enjoyed this book because I liked the entire series and got to know each of the characters. There was also a sub-plot about foster kids that was well-written and poignant.

31. Unspoken

This is the fourth book in Francine Rivers' Lineage of Grace series. I love this series, because Rivers takes a Biblical story--sometimes no more than a paragraph long--and makes an entire novella out of it. This one is the story of Bathsheba. In a weird way, it reminded me of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. Stay with me here. Remember when they first got together, and Katie kept saying things to the press about how she dreamed of being Mrs. Tom Cruise ever since she was a little girl? Well, that is how Rivers chooses to depict this story. We start with Bathsheba as an eight-year-old, swooning over the not-yet-king David. Even after she gets married, she pines for David, and well, if you are familiar with the Bible at all, you probably know "the rest of the story."

What I really like about Rivers expanding on these stories is how relate-able she makes the characters. I mean, no offense to the Bible, God, etc. but sometimes when you're reading through it's like, "Well, that was a stupid move, David. Anyway, back to my life..." It is hard to connect with the motivations of all involved and all the intricacies of what went on. However, I'm not suggesting that each Bible story should be a novel. The Bible is already massive. Can you imagine? 'These next few chapters will become a 500-page book.' Heaven forbid. That's probably one of the reasons we're warned not to "add anything" to the Scripture. It would just be way too long!

Anyway, this story is all about how God redeems and restores us even when we've messed up big time. It's pretty awesome. 'Cause HE is pretty much awesomeness itself.

14. A Thousand Acres

After reading Moo and part of Good Faith, I find Jane Smiley's writing to be so distinct. The only way I can explain it is that her narrative voice comes across as a friend telling me the story, yet with a subtle sarcasm underneath, as if she doesn't believe what she's telling me. It's actually really cool! I don't know anyone else that writes like that, except maybe Charles Dickens, a little bit. Also, Smiley tends to paint characters in a flawed yet likable way, which I think is a difficult thing to do. This makes her characters seem real.

Spoiler Alert! A Thousand Acres is very depressing. What do I mean by that? Well, to steal a line from Phoebe of Friends: "It should have been called 'It's a Sucky Sucky Life and just when you think it can't suck anymore, it does!'" Yep, from the opening line on, things just keep getting worse. I am really glad the main character survives--in the literal sense. People kept dying and being blinded and having to get jobs at Perkins... you just never knew what disaster was going to strike next. In a sense, this novel was all about possession. Of land, but also of another person's space. It was interesting how many of the themes overlapped. (This, by the way, is the key to writing a Pulitzer-prize winner!) Discord in marriage, horrible parenting, incestual rape, farming. It's all one and the same.

Even though it was REALLY DEPRESSING, I enjoyed this book. Because of Smiley's writing style itself (as aforementioned), but also because I finished reading the novel with a sense that the present is all about the past. Instead of trying to cover things up and go with the flow, confronting one's past is the way to move on. It was interesting to me that I felt good after reading this. It is one of those books that you keep thinking about days and weeks after reading. (It helps that my friend Bekah read it too, and I get to discuss it with her in a few days!) In some ways, I feel like everything I read in the book was a backwards lesson. In other words, DON'T handle things how these people did. Those are some of the best life lessons.

Audiobooks We Listened To (Driving To and From Montana)

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, read by Sissy Spacek


2. 48 Days to the Work You Love, written and read by Dan Miller (partial)

3. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, written and read by Steve Martin

4. Mirth of a Nation [comedy sketches], written and read by many authors (partial)




5. Pure Drivel, written and read by Steve Martin (partial)



6. The Screwtape Letters, written by C. S. Lewis, read by Ralph Cosham (partial)