Water for Elephants

I finished reading Water for Elephants and I must say I quite enjoyed it. I had no idea what to expect before I started reading it. Oh wait, maybe I did. A guy is a vet and he joins the circus. That's pretty much it. But other than that, no idea. It was really good though. Parts were a little bit funny and I chuckled, "ha ha." Parts of it were intense. Parts were a little bit gross. And there were a few racy bits.

As is says on the back of the book:

As a young many, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and for Jacob the circus was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray home for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was ultimately their only hope for survival. 

 

I'd say that's a pretty good summary of the book. Somehow book covers always say it best : ) I would go into more details but I don't want to ruin it for any of you if you are reading it or want to. Apart from that it was entertaining and was the reason I didn't do dishes for about two days straight. Books will be the end of me.

The next book on my list is The Help, one of my friends has it so we are going to swap books! I'm so excited! Really. It's a little sad how excited I am about reading a book. I just can't help it. I LOVE reading!!

"Choosing to See"

I finished reading Choosing to See the other day. What a story. In the pages of this book Mary Beth Chapman (the wife of Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman) opens up her heart and shares her life story. Parts of it made me chuckle at some unfortunate and embarrassing moments but for the most part I was pretty much blubbering, sobbing, and crying the whole time. This woman and her family have been through a tragedy I can't even fathom going through, and through it all they keep their hope and faith in Christ. It is incredible. You will be blessed when you read this book.

Mary Beth Chapman shares her journey from the time she was a little girl, to when she met Steven Curtis Chapman, the beginning of their marriage, children, adoption, and tragedy. She shares her life and through it God is glorified. 

Read it. You will see the power and grace of God and how He is the Creator and Father of us all. You will also cry, a lot. Guaranteed. I was just telling The Hubs about different parts in the book and he started tearing up. The Hubs does not cry. I told him to read it, but he said he didn't want to cry and after seeing me in uncontrollable tears while I was reading it he didn't feel so adventurous. But that should not stop you.

The Chapmans adopt and she shares this journey, I am grateful she did. Reading this book only reaffirmed my desire to adopt our children. The whole time I was reading (and after) all I could think about was how I want too, need to adopt. Even before reading this book I felt the calling on my life to adopt our children, but this was a definite source of encouragement and reaffirmation of that call. And it makes me want to start now. But we can't . . . so we will wait for the Lord's perfect timing.

a book

I've been reading a lot lately. Probably a little too much. I only say that because I have neglected to do everything that I should and ought to be doing. It's a little problem I have. I'm working through it though. At the moment I'm not reading. My obsession with reading is probably why I haven't written anything for a few days. I'm too preoccupied with my book to even get online. oh my.

Anyhow. On Saturday I finished reading Sweetwater Run. I saw it at the library and liked the picture on the front. And since I try not to judge a book only by it cover . . .  I read the little summary on the back and thought I'd give it a read. It's about a girl (well, she's not a girl exactly, she in her 20s) and she lives in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky (or as The Hubs would call it, Paradise). Anyhow, it's set in the late 1800s and she is livin' with her hubby in their little cabin. But then her hubby is accused of stealing his own donkey. Crazy. I know. But that's the story. And so her hubby goes off to prison and it's the story of her struggling to make it on her own while he is away and finding her inner strength and faith. There are other characters in the book (obviously) but she's the main one. I quite liked the book. It is wholesome and has a good message. It's written by a Christian author and so throughout the book there is scripture and such. It's not too much, I think it's written just right. You should read it and let me know what you think.

Personally, I love reading books that are set back in the day and up in the mountains, I feel like if I weren't here now, I would have been there then, back in the 1800s. Living a simple little life. Growing things in my garden. Feeding my chickens. Chopping snakes heads off when they come inside my house. You know. Like that. Anyhow. That's probably another reason I enjoyed the book. You should give it a read : )

toodles