I read a lot of fiction. A lot of Christian fiction, both contemporary and historical. A smattering of general market fiction, just to keep a finger on the pulse of what catches readers’ attention.
But I also like to read non-fiction, including Christian living, bios and memoirs, histories, etc. Usually I’ll have one novel and one non-fiction title going at the same time.
I also am a huge fan of audiobooks and always have one on my iPhone so I can listen in the car.
These days I read almost exclusively on one of my Kindles. Yes, I have more than one.
- The Paperwhite stays in my bedroom. It is the perfect ereader for fiction. The e-ink is easy on the eyes, the device weighs mere ounces, and it feels and looks just like a paperback (except I can adjust the size of the type and hold with one hand).
- My Kindle Fire HDX spends most of its time in my office or the living room. I use it for reading research or reference books, especially those with pictures and graphics. and for listening to audiobooks that use the Whispersync for Voice (the professional narrated audiobook follows along with the text on the screen; awesome!).
As I write this post, I only have one book going. A rare thing for me. I am about a third of the way through Unbroken: A World War II Book of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.
No question, this is a dense book (497 pages). It isn’t the kind of story that you can easily speed read because most paragraphs are long and filled with information you don’t want to miss.
Angelina Jolie has directed the movie of Unbroken and become friends with Louis Zamperini (seen together at right), the “hero” of this biography (movie is set to release on December 25, 2014). I plan to be in that Christmas Day audience.
I am sure to need a dose of fiction soon, and the hardest part is deciding which of the books already on my Kindle will be my next read. So many wonderful choices. Do I go with a long book or a short one? Am I in the mood for contemporary or historical? Humor or emotional? Romance or something with suspense? Decisions, decisions, decisions.
So what about you? What are you reading today? And what’s up next on your TBR shelf?
~robin
Robin Lee Hatcher
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I’m currently reading Homefront Holiday, next will be either Beowulf by Ronie Kendig or When a Secret Kills by Lynette Eason.
Thanks for sharing, MaryAnn.
Good Morning Robin,
I recently finished The Queen’s Handmaiden by Tracy L. Higley, and am currently reading Claiming Mariah by Pam Hillman. The next books to be read are A Sensible Arrangement by Tracie Peterson, Critical Condition by Richard L. Mabry, M.D and Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio by Serena Miller…. There are many more on my reading list (I review for Litfuse), including two of you newest books, but I think I’ll stop here.
Blessings,
~Tammi
Some great titles in your mix, Tammi. Thanks!
I’m currently reading a series by Karen Kingsbury about the 9/11 tragedy. The first book was absolutely gripping and I just started the second one. I know what you mean about so many decisions and options. It’s hard to pick what to read when there is so much out there and just so little time 🙂
I read those books by Karen, back when they were first published. Very moving. Have you read A Fall of Marigolds? Oh my. So good.
No, I have not. But it sounds very intriguing. I’ll have to put that one on my list.
I should have given the author’s name. It’s by Susan Meissner. It involves 9/11 but also another time in the history of New York. There was a spot toward the end that the author surprised me so much (in a good way) that I gasped and then burst into tears.
I’m reading ‘A Heart Deceived’ by Michelle Griep on my Kindle (love that thing) right now. Good writing but I’ve only been reading little bits of at a time and have had a hard time getting into it. Haven’t had any extended periods to really dig into it… I usually keep a PB on my nightstand and right now am reading ‘Wishing on Buttercups’ by Miralee Ferrell. Really enjoying it and this series by Miralee.
You already know I’m a fan of my Kindles. 😉 So what more can I say.
Unbroken is one of my all time favorite books. I hope the movie will do it justice – with Jolie getting to know Zamperini, hopefully it will.
I used to just read one book at a time straight through, but now I have several going. I discovered audiobooks a few years ago when I had a long drive every weekday and grew to love them. Now I listen to them while exercising and then and getting dressed and fixing my hair in the morning, sometimes when I’m cooking, and any time I am driving. Currently I am listening to The Seamstress by Sara Tuval Bernstein, an autobiography of surviving WWII.
I keep one book in the bathroom, have one in progress on my Kindle app on my iPad mini that I read in other parts of the house or when I’m out (waiting for appointments, etc.), and often have a Christian nonfiction book near my Bible to read as I have time after devotions.
Usually Christian fiction is my main genre, but this year I signed up for a “Back to the Classics” challenge plus a “TBR Challenge” designed to read books that have been on our shelves for over a year that we haven’t gotten to yet – for me most of those are nonfiction, which takes me a little longer for me to work through unless they’re biographical. I’ve been really pushing to get the books I committed to read before I delve back into other books, but I have your A Promise Kept waiting for me when I feel I can veer from my challenges!
I just finished Bleak House and am planning this summer to tackle The Brothers Karamazov, That will probably be by audiobook. I’ve heard Dostoyevsky isn’t as hard to read as one might think. I hope not! On the Kindle app I’m reading Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal: A Boy, Cancer, and God by Michael Kelley. For my Christian nonfiction I just finished one from the 1950s by L. E. Maxwell called Crowded to Christ: I am thinking something from C. S. Lewis might be next.
When I do get back to Christian fiction, I want to read Beverly Lewis’s latest book and Dee Henderson’s newest one due out soon.
Barbara, thanks for taking the time to reply in such detail. I love that you are part of a classics challenge. I read The Brothers Karamazov two or three years ago, and I didn’t struggle with it as I have with other Russian translations (Anna Karenina).
I am currently reading A Good Yarn, by Debbie Macomber, An Amish Garden, by Beth Wiseman, Tricia Goyer, Vanetta Chapman and Kathleen Fuller, The Doctor’s Lady, by Jody Hedlund and Mary Ellis’ Miller Family Series book 2.
Next, I will read All She Ever Wanted, by Lynn Austin, the 3rd book in the Miller Family Series, the next Blossom Street book, by Debbie Macomber and Belonging, by you. I also have The One Who Waits for Me, by Lori Copeland on the stack.
Wow! You have lots going, Dora. Great authors!
Unbroken was a powerful story (I first became aware of Zamperini during the Nagano Winter Olympics). I listened to that one. It was a CD turner (like a page turner but for audio 🙂 ).
Let’s see… last night I finished Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (sequel to Code Name Verity).
I’m just getting into Tamera Alexander’s A Lasting Impression.
I’m listening to one of the Mitford books (a favorite series read by John McDonough, brilliantly) on CD and listening to Monk’s Hood by Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael series, another favorite) on cassette tape.
And four books on the British Army during the Revolutionary War, for writing research.
Unbroken certainly isn’t an easy read (the suffering is almost physically painful to read) but it is compelling.
I tried reading the first Mitford book many years ago and just couldn’t get into it. Then I picked up the audiobooks on sale, and I got hooked. I felt completely in love with Father Tim and all of the other characters.
Thanks for sharing!
SO many wonderful books available – – I only wish I was a “faster reader” LOL.
I recently finished reading Kim Vogel Sawyer’s amazing book, THROUGH THE DEEP WATERS, and am currently in the midst of Tamera Alexander’s A BEAUTY SO RARE (waving at sweet Tammy – – LOVING your book!!). Next up are A PROMISE KEPT (you might be familiar with this awesome, talented author *wink*), Deborah Raney’s SILVER BELLS, and Judy Miller’s A SHINING LIGHT. I actually dove into your book, Robin, as soon as it arrived, but then FORCED myself to put it aside as I read as an “influencer” for some author friends.
All the authors on this blog (and the previous Writes of Passage) have books that are on my “KEEPER SHELVES” – – because even though I give away lots and lots of books I’ve read to the local women’s shelter, I hang on to my books by you ladies. *smile*. Actually, I think it’s about time for me to invest in yet another book shelf!
Hugs from Georgia, Patti Jo
I so love knowing that all of the authors of this blog (former and current) are sharing space on a keep shelf. 🙂 Thanks, Patti Jo. And I hope you can finish A Promise Kept soon.
Funny you should ask, Robin! I just happen to be reading your book–“A Promise Kept”–and enjoying it very much! I also enjoyed “Unbroken” and hope they don’t make a mess of the movie version.
Thanks, Lynn! And I’m with you. I hope Unbroken is a successful translation to the screen. There will have to be a lot cut out of it because it’s 14 hours of unabridged audio. It’s tough to choose what parts can go to whittle it down to a couple of hours.
My favorite recent reads have been Dear Mr. Knightley and Stone and Spark. I have finally gotten hold of Proof and Poison, which I am enjoying.
Thanks, Kandra. I’ve got Dear Mr. Knightley waiting on my Kindle. Have heard such great things about it.
I’m currently rereading The Negotiator by Dee Henderson. I think this is my fifth or sixth time – I’ve lost count. 🙂
I honestly don’t know what I’m going to read next. I have Jesus>Religion by Jefferson Bethke in my non fiction TBR pile. In my fiction pile I have Beauty for Ashes by Dorothy Clark, The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah Ladd, Flora’s Wish by Kathleen Y’Barbo, Race for the Gold by Dana Mentink, The Husband Campaign by Regina Scott, and I’m supposed to be rereading Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade in preparation for reviewing Meant to Be Mine. So I’m feeling a bit swamped with books, school, and upcoming tests. My reading is defintietly slowing down! And I have no idea how you read more than one book at a time! I’d be so confused! 🙂
Thanks for sharing with us! I think I’m going to go hyperventilate now! lol Not really, I’m just going to continue to ignore my list of things to do and focus on one at a time.
Hope you’re having a great day!
~Sarah
Thanks, Sarah. Your TBR pile sounds great. As for reading more than one book at a time, it helps me that one is fiction and one non-fiction.
I used to think I would be never able to read more than one book at a time…
I read “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston for American Literature class.
Then “Can Man Live Without God?” by Ravi Zacharias and “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life” by Donals S. Whitney. Both of them quite slowly, about two or three chapters per week.
Several weeks ago I started “A Warrior’s Redemption” by Guy STanton III, just to see what it will be like. Well, I had to stop right in the middle of everything because of headache and didn’t have time since to return to that. It’s kind of fantasy-action-Christian book. Fun to read but I need about three days of absolutely free time to finish it. Christmas, maybe?
My next will be “Macbeth” by Shakespeare (class, sigh).
If I had time to read something what I want to, it would be rereading of some Tessa Afshar’s books or some of the books that wait for me in my Kindle. Depends on the mood. Usually I just need some romance – happy-end, no-suspense, no stupid heroine. And it should be something clever, too. It should make me laugh as well.
The last one like this was probably “My Stubborn Heart” by Becky Wade.
Well, of course we are glad to hear that you like to read Becky Wade. 😉
Good luck with Macbeth. I do love me some Shakespeare, but Macbeth definitely isn’t light reading.
My husband hasn’t been able to convince me to go digital. I’ve read a few works that way but I love paper books. I just reorganized my bookshelves and cleared 50 from my collection. Then I designated one to my current and future reads. So here goes the list:
My non-fiction books are all on “how to cook”. The Science of Good Cooking, How to Cook Everything, and Back to the Table by Art Smith. I really want to learn to cook well so these will be on my shelf probably the whole nine weeks the library lets me keep them.
In fiction, I am writing a series that involves quite a few characters in the medical field in the 1920’s, so I’ve been researching how other authors write convincing medical experiences and knowledge without burdening the reader. I just finished Mary Connealy’s Doctor in Petticoats which I thoroughly enjoyed. I am about to start Cathy Marie Hake’s That Certain Spark.
I’m also writing a capstone paper for my Bachelor’s in Education so have several books on alternative views of education Free to Learn by Peter Gray is my current read. But also have Montessori by Lillard, Transformational Teaching by Goral, How Children Learn by Holt among others.
It is also Lent so my current reads for it are Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship and St Francis de Sales The Devout Life.
And if that wasn’t enough on my plate when I cleared my shelves I designated a shelf to books on the craft of writing. I hope to add several works over the next year or two. Just finished Donald Maass Writing 21st Century Fiction and The Art of Fiction by Mixon.
Fabulous reads for Lent!! And I’ll bet your research is fascinating (medicine in the 1920s).
I am reading the book called wishing on buttercups by Miralee, Ferrell
She is any amazing author
Thanks for sharing about Miralee’s book, Danie.
I too wish I could read faster!! The problem with reading other readers lists.is that I see other titles that look interesting and I want to read them!! I am currently reading your book-Beyond the Shadows.That was one I found shared somewhere else!! Am really enjoying it! Have many books on my to read stack-too many to mention. It just depends on my ‘mood’ which will be next!
Oh, Connie. I SO understand what you’re saying. I wish I could read faster too. Thanks for reading Beyond the Shadows. I’m so grateful you’re enjoying it.
I recently read “A Beauty So Rare” by Tamera Alexander (so, so good!), then I read “Murder Simply Brewed” by Vanetta Chapman (couldn’t put it down!). Now I’m reading Debbie Macomber’s “Blossom Street Brides” (good so far). Next on my list is “The Light Between Oceans” by M.L. Stedman. Sometimes it’s hard to choose which book to read next, but I always find one! I have a Nook, but I still enjoy holding a book when I read.
Great books mentioned there! Thanks for sharing!
I love my KIndle Paperwhite, also. On it I’m reading To Whisper Her Name by Tamera Alexander. The audiobook I’m listening to, while I’m on the treadmill, is Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin. I also am reading Darkness Rising by Lis Wiehl (not at bedtime) and a biblical fiction, Shadow of the Sinai by Carole Towriss. I like to read more than one fiction book at a time, but I pick ones of different time periods/settings, so I won’t get them mixed up.
Kay, you are a reader after my own heart!!!
My mom read and loved Unbroken!
I fully appreciate the conveniences of an e-reader. My husband reads books almost exclusively that way now. However, I’m still a paperback girl.
Becky, I attended a webinar today on ebooks and learned that people who read on ereaders or tablets read more books per year than those who reader in paper form. Averages out to 24 full length books per year. Also 43% of American adults read at least one book or magazine on a digital device last year. When you consider most of us hadn’t heard of ebooks ten years ago, that’s amazing! And I was one of those who noisily declared I would never read a book on a device. Man, have I had to eat those words. LOL!
I am reading “The Scent of Lilacs” by Anna Gabhart on my Kindle (and on my Kindle app on my phone for those times when I am stuck in a long line). I am also reading and doing the study of “Living So That” by Wendy Blight through Proverbs 31 Ministries on my Kindle Fire. I am listening to NYPD Red by James Patterson and Marshall Karp (also on my Kindle Fire) via my library and the Overdrive app. I love audio books for when I am on the road, working out or house cleaning, but I am not sure about this one yet. One of the readers does a New York accent that is pretty annoying and grates on me a bit. I honestly might stop listening because of it and read it instead. It doesn’t happen often, but on occasion a voice really can make or break the book for me. On paper, I am reading “the 30 Day Praise Challenge” by Becky Harling.
Oh, Kelly! I so agree. The narrator of an audiobook makes ALL the difference. The right one can make an okay book so much better. The wrong one can ruin even a good book. I would do the same thing. Switch to my Kindle and read it for myself rather than listening.
Reading now Chasing Mona Lisa by TriciaGOYER and will be reading Running Scared by Shirley McCoy.
Mary, you’re reading one of my favorite authors. 😉
I am one of those people who cannot have just one book going at once. I normally have five to six books going at once–normally different genres, although a fiction romance always makes the list. I currently have a historical fiction/romance (Eugenia Price’s “Lighthouse”), a historical non-fiction (David McCoullough’s “1776”), a Young Adult (Veronica Roth’s “Divergent”), Apocalyptic (Left Behind Series #6 “Assassins”), and Fantasy/Science Fiction/Thriller (Ted Dekker’s “White” that I am reading for a second time, it is so good). I just signed out a Siri Mitchell book from the library and probably will start that soon–I finished one of her books last night and am really in the mood to read another!
Mallori, you make my two-books-at-a-time (and occasionally three) look lazy by comparison!! Thanks for sharing.
Great topic, Robin. Books are so fun. I’m currently reading The Fireman’s Wife by Susan Farren. It’s research for the novel I’m writing. I recently finished A Stillness of Chimes by Meg Moseley. Really great story, by the way. Up next? It’s between another research book or another Christian fiction title in my TBR pile. Like you, though, I’m not sure which one I’ll choose. 🙂
That movie Angelina directed looks like it will be a really good one. I hope to see it in theaters as well, though I doubt it will be Christmas day for me. Maybe that weekend or something.
Have fun choosing your next book!
Blessings,
Andrea
Proofreader/Writer
writingtoinspire.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing, Andrea. Still haven’t started a new fiction book. I’m too engrossed in Unbroken.
Jerry and I made a tradition of seeing a Christmas Day movie because family wasn’t available. After years of hustle and bustle on Christmas mornings, the day seemed a bit long and empty. Now it would feel strange not to see a movie on Christmas Day. But I’m not usually making plans what to see in April! 🙂
That’s a neat idea, to see a Christmas Day movie since family’s unavailable. April is a bit early to plan, but when you know what you want to see, what could be the harm in it?
Great post, Robin. I read Unbroken years ago and loved it. Powerful story. I’ve just (as in five minutes ago) started Francine Rivers newest, Bridge To Haven. So glad to have a Frani book again!
I think I heard about Unbroken when it released at the end of 2010, but I’m always running behind. I am so eager to start Francine’s book. Have the hardcover for my keeper shelf. But I probably won’t start it until the Kindle version releases on the 22nd, just because holding a heavy book hurts my wrists too much. But that’s only 12 more days.
Just finished Tamera’s A Beauty So Rare and today I started Lip Reading by Harry Kraus. Soooo many good books waiting for me in my stack!
Thanks for sharing, Linda. I’ve been hearing the title of Harry Kraus’s latest a lot. Another book to add to my list! And I’ve never read a Tamera Alexander book that I didn’t love either.
I am reading ” it had to be you” by Susan may warren. Next? I don’t know I have so many books that are good!☺️ I read your book “promise kept” it was awesome!
Thanks for sharing, Brenda, and for the word of encouragement about A Promise Kept.
I recently finished a good biography called Eliza by Keith Terry. I am currently reading The Widow of
Larkspur Inn and it’s quite good.
I have about 50 books on my to read list on my library’s website. I alternate between that list and my ebooks. I just go in the order that I found them!
Tammy, those To Be Read lists sure can grow long, can’t they? My TBR shelf on Goodreads has 371 titles on it at the moment. I need to win the lottery so I can stay home and just read all day long. 😉
I am reading Head in the Clouds by Karen Witemeyer and The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Akexander McCall Smith. I always have at least one on my Kindle and one paper or hardback. I have Kisses from Katie, Unbroken, and Sparkly Green Earrings on the top of my TBR pile but I also have a drawer full to chose from in my end table and am anxiously awaiting Meant to Be You.
Great books, Melissa. Thanks for sharing!