Spring Reading Challenge 2012 Wrap-Up!

Today I'm wrapping up the Spring Reading Thing Challenge hosted by Katrina from over here.

My original list had 11 books listed, some of which were Christian non-fiction ones.  I read all the books on the original list except for 4.  Three of those 4 are still being read. One is on my husband's Nook (Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. I am about half-way through). One won't be complete until the end of September as it is the study book I am using as leader of a small group (Protecting the Family from Spiritual Bondage by Charles Stanley). The 3rd book, Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult is one I have just started last evening. For some reason I am having trouble "getting into" it and I NEVER have trouble getting into her books! But I'll read more tonite and hopefully will start to like it. I can't imagine NOT liking one of her books!!

To complete this wrap up, I am going to take the questions that Katrina posed to us and answer them below:

• Did you finish reading all the books on your spring reading list? If not, why not?

I did not finish all the books on my original reading list because most of them had a very long waiting list at the library and one of them was not available unless I bought it. Which I didn't want to do. I was hoping I could at least download it to my nook but it wasn't available! (The Max Lucado one, Outlive Your Life .)

• Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?

I wanted to stick to my original goals but one afternoon I was browsing through the library and saw a couple of books that piqued my interest. So I added those! :) I just couldn't resist them!!  Those titles were: Mudwoman by Joyce Carol Oates; Eternal on the River by Joseph Monninger; Flies on the Butter by Denise Hildreth; and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

• What was your favorite book that you read this spring? Least favorite? Why?

My absolute favorite was Eternal on the Water.  The main reason I loved this book so much was because it was about a man and woman who were naturalists (my spiritual temperament) and who loved Maine and kayaking.  There was a spiritual component to this novel although it is NOT a Christian fiction book. The spiritual stuff could almost be identified as "weird or new age-y" but that didn't bother me because of where the author was going with the story line. It dealt with love, death, a horrible disease, nature, and the challenges of kayaking in a wilderness area. It also dealt with facing trials.  It was just a delight to read. I didn't want the book to end but sadly, it had to and in a way that left a huge impression on me.

My least favorite was Mudwoman. I was very disappointed in this book by this famous author.  It left me feeling bogged down and stuck.  It was an odd book and the character was odd. I wasn't sure at all where the author was going with this story. It was too confusing. It centered around abandonment issues but just didn't grab my attention.

• Did you discover a new author or genre this spring? Did you love them? Not love them?

I discovered The Hunger Games series author Suzanne Collins!!  I also discovered one of my favorite Women of Faith ladies, Nicole Johnson. I read her book The Fresh-Brewed Life (Christian non-fiction) and it was so good I found my self highlighting large portions of it.  It changed my devotional life for the last few weeks AND it has helped me learn to live life fully so I can fully live.  I LOVED reading The Hunger Games and am waiting for Book 2 to be available at the library although I may just end up buying it and giving to my teens since they also enjoy the series.

• Did you learn something new because of Spring Reading Thing 2012 – something about reading, about yourself, or about a topic you read about?

I definitely learned some new things (ways of looking at my self, others, and my walk with Christ) by reading The Fresh-Brewed Life.  I am also learning about some subtle sins from Respectable Sins (when I can grab the Nook away from my hubby! LOL)

And for about 10 days during the last part of this reading challenge, we were without internet so I learned that reading is still my favorite way to spend a late afternoon or early evening out on the deck or curled up in my fave armchair.

• What was your favorite thing about the challenge?

The favorite thing for me, about this challenge, is that I actually completed an entire Christian non-fiction book that I LOVED and now I want to go back through the book and take notes for further meditation. I also liked the fact that I could go and check out other people's lists/posts to get new reading ideas!

So...to wrap it up:  I read a total of 11 books and still am working on 3 from the original list.  (Oh and I had started one that just was "icky" so didn't even talk about it here....it was too graphic and icky language for me so I'm not counting that one since I didn't make it past chapter 2!!).

I hope we have another Reading Challenge soon!  I don't think there is a summer one even though it's the summer months where I read the most!  I am now officially on summer vacation as today was the last day in the classroom!!

HAPPY READING, EVERYONE!