books

I don't know if you read it or not, but a few posts back, commenter "Mitch" wrote that she has a problem with the amount of "chick lit" books on my 50 book challenge list, saying at the most, they should count for only a 1/3 of a book (even with that, I'm still at 25+ books!) Personally, I think she is just jealous that I can read such "fluff" when she's stuck reading piles of research. But, because I also love my sister, I will try to cut back on the chick lit. Hopefully, she will approve of the books below (except for #26)! :)

26. Tangled Up in You - Rachel Gibson; romance novel - not chick lit, technically! Fun read

27. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch; okay, Mitch, you ATTEND CMU and you never said anything to me about Pausch??? Seriously!!! If you haven't read this book, read it. You will cry. And laugh. And wonder what your life story would be if written as a book. Don't have time to read? At least watch the lecture here.

28. The Alchemist - Paulo Coehlo; this was published over 20 years ago, but I never heard of it until I started observing the ESL class at HACC. This was a required reading in the class and I went and bought it after the first night. Simple story, written as a fable, compared to The Little Prince in many reviews

29. Missions in the 21st Century - Tom Telford; required reading for the missions committee that I am a part of at my church; should be required reading for all mission committees!

30. The Myth of You & Me - Leah Stewart; we all have those friendships that we have gained and lost over the years; this novel is about such a friendship

31. Paris Hangover - Kirsten Lobe; novel written in diary format about an American who moves to Paris - you might even learn some French in the process of reading this book!

32. The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran; it has been 82 years since this book was first published; simple to read, but contains many hidden truths (along the lines of The Alchemist)

33. Before I Say Goodbye - Mary Higgins Clark; another required text from the HACC class and my first MHC book I've ever read...and probably the last; not a bad writer, but not really my style

There you have it! Not a single chick lit. on the list! Some of you might think I was doing some soul-searching from some of the books on this list, but that isn't the case. I know what I believe and I am firm in those beliefs.

I have a few Jodi Piccoult books sitting here, and I know that they are good...I also know that they will suck me in and I won't get anything else accomplished until I am finished them...so I make them wait... :)