Great Reads

"The more you read, the better reader, writer and speller you will become!" This quote is written on top of Hannah's reading log assignment every week. I'm not sure about the spelling part (thank goodness for spell check) but reading definitely helps me write better and it increases my vocabulary.

I am an avid reader. I always have been since I could read.  I loved going to the bookstores (they are pretty non-existent in my town now but remember B. Dalton?) and to the library. As a child, I wanted to be a librarian. I love the smell of new books. Old books.. I could go without. I actually have two friends that are librarians. One of which is a children's librarian at our neighborhood library.

But I am not reading now. I am stuck in a reading rut. I have plenty of books piled high to be read but do not have the urge to pick up any of them. Ever since I started blogging in June, I want to write not read.

But when I do read, I read until I'm done with the book. Sometimes I finish a novel in one day. It's that good of a read.

I read mainly secular and christian fiction, sci-fi (Star Trek only), and teen (as a teacher I try to keep up with what they are reading).

When I find an author I really like, I try to read all of his/her books. And there are quite a few that I love to follow.

I absolutely love Christian fiction, but there are some secular writers that I follow that write as if they are Christian. Bottom line, there is no foul-language in the books. That's a big turn off for me. Although I may make an exception or two if the story is really enticing and well written.

Here are some of my Recommendations:

I'll start with the Secular Fiction:

Nicholas Sparks: (all of his books are great reads)
Some of his books were made into a movie such as The Notebook and The Last Song. The books were way better in my opinion.  He's a very young author (46 yrs old with his 17th book published this year). His writing is down to earth and his characters are always relateable. He writes as if he is a believer but his books are never promoted as Christian books. A Walk to Remember is one of my favorites.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; The Girl who Played with Fire; The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Trilogy by Steig Larsson
These books have language and violence in them. No doubt about it but they are such an incredible story you cannot put the book down after you start. When I first started with Book #1, the first 75 pages are dry dry dry... basically he's introducing the characters and the background. I almost gave up on the book but I stuck it out and it was a quick read after the problem was introduced.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
Same with this book: fast forward to Chapter 5 where the great conversations between Mac and God start. But don't skip the first five chapters. It sets you up on why the book is called The Shack.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
So eye opening and engaging on what it was like for black ladies' as maids in the early 1960's. Excellently written. And yes, they made a movie out of this book also.

Teen:
The Twilight Saga: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Absolutely loved these books; I'm a sucker for a good love story and I'm not afraid of vampires. (Loved watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Loved the movies also but I digress..

I'm planning to read The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. This is becoming a movie also.

Science Fiction:
I loved watching Star Trek: TNG. It was my favorite out of all of the ST series. I enjoy reading cross-over stories that bring in the captains and crews from all the different series into one big storyline.

Star Trek: Tales From the Captain's Table by various authors

Nine captains share about their adventures when they come together at a bar to hang out.

Star Trek: Destiny Trilogy by David Mack

Gods of Night (Book 1),  Mere Mortals (Book 2), and  Lost Souls (Book 3)

This trilogy takes place a year after the fall of Practor Shinzon. There's an ancient mystery which three star fleet captains get involved to solve through space and time. 

STNG: Imzadi & Imzadi II by Peter David

I loved Troi and Riker so it was fitting to read their back stories in these two novels.

Star Trek Titan Series

At the end of the STNG movie, Riker married Troi and eventually got his own ship: the USS Titan. This series focuses on their adventures. Different authors write these books and some are good and some are just okay. It's interesting to see where they go from here. I guess if they could make another TV series this would be the logical choice.

Didn't realize how long this post was getting. I'll continue on my favorite Christian reads in a future post.