Updated List

I've only read nine of the 100 so far! Time to kick this reading thing into high gear...

1. God is the Gospel
2. American Gods
3. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
4. Atlas Shrugged
5. Life of Pi
6. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
7. Confessions from an Honest Wife
8. Telegraph Days
9. The Courage to Start
10. Mirror Mirror
11. The Sirens of Titan
12. Gates of Fire
13. Something Happened
14. A Thousand Acres
15. Good Faith
16. Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel
17. No Need for Speed
18. Anna Karenina
19. Get Out of That Pit
20. Jesus, the one and only
21. The Bluest Eye
22. Prodigal Summer
23. The Know-It-All
24. The Witches
25. Fantastic Mr. Fox
26. The Myth of a Christian Nation
27. For Whom the Bell Tolls
28. Out of the Silent Planet
29. The Four Loves
30. The Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde
31. Unspoken
32. Unafraid
33. Finding Stefanie
34. Lies My Teacher Told Me
35. The Executioner's Song
36. Love Beyond Reason
37. Middlesex
38. The Shack
39. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
40. The Joy Luck Club
41. Hinds' Feet on High Places
42. Mountains of Spices
43. A Walk in the Woods
44. Fast Food Nation
45. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing
46. The Maltese Falcon
47. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
48. The Poisonwood Bible (re-read)
49. Two Rivers
50. It's Not News, It's Fark
51. The Road
52. Persuasion (re-read)
53. The Silver Chair (re-read)
54. Lucky Man
55. Matilda
56. The Adventures of Augie March
57. Possession
58. Everything's Eventual
59. Written By Herself
60. Perelandra
61. That Hideous Strength
62. Memoirs of a Geisha
63. The Time Machine
64. Peculiar Treasures (re-read)
65. On a Whim (re-read)
66. Coming Attractions
67. Last Light
68. Night Light
69. True Light
70. Your Money or Your Life
71. The Perfect Thing
72. Moneyball
73. The Fifth Book of Peace
74. Early Bird
75. An Anthropologist on Mars
76. Exclusion & Embrace
77. A Short History of Nearly Everything
78. Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs
79. Predictably Irrational
80. Finding Battlestar Gallactica
81. Hopes and Impediments
82. The Love Dare
83. Redeeming Love
84. Sappho's Leap
85. High Fidelity
86. Pilgrim's Progress
87. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (re-read)
88. The Pillars of the Earth
89. The Confessions of Nat Turner
90. A Christmas Carol
91. Gulliver's Travels and Other Writings
92. The 158-Pound Marriage
93. The Winged Seed
94. Driving Mr. Albert
95. Notes to Myself (re-read)
96. The Emotions
97. Mel Gibson's Passion and Philosophy
98. How to Win Every Argument
99. The World As I See It
100. Twelve Steps for the Recovering Pharisee

45. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing

I have been wanting to read this Melissa Bank novel--really a series of interconnected short stories--for years now. I had read snippets before and a particular phrase always struck me as both interesting and romantic:

"'Well,' he said. 'Get over here.'
And so I went."

It may have been where I was in my life at the time versus where I am now. Or perhaps it was just that reading that in context of the rest of the novel gives it a new meaning. Either way, I now see that this small paragraph is simply descriptive of the narrator's tendency toward co-dependence. It is not romantic, but sad.

I liked the book as a whole, although individually I can see the stories being poignant as well. I love a happy ending though (spoiler alert) so for me it was satisfying for things to eventually turn out well for the narrator.

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.