Hello everyone. I know that I’ve been SEVERELY lacking in the blogging department. Its easy to get really into it and become obsessed, but one thing comes along and you can’t do it like you used to and it becomes just as easy to get un-obsessed. Part of my problem is also the lack of a laptop. The battery finally burned out on that thing….so there you go. My pathetic lack of blogging excuses. And now moving on! I have been, however, completely enjoying myself reading, reading and more reading!!! A couple of the books were books that were on my personal to-read list and one was a wonderful opportunity provided by Tyndale Publishing. I’m never short of books to read, and in fact I get distracted all the time and lose track of what I wanted, and new books come along, or blogging opportunities and it goes on and on! That’s why I was so glad to have been introduced to Goodreads.com by one of my friends. I can organize my books!!! Hallelujah!! If you haven’t made your way over to Goodreads I highly suggest you do. Look me up and we can be book pals on there.

Now on to the reviews……

My first review is for Springtime of the Spirit by Maureen Lang. This particular book is part of a series called, The Great War Series. I had never heard of it before, but I love anything historical in nature. Springtime is book number 3 and I definitely will be picking up the first two of this series. I was given the opportunity to read this book through the publishing company, Tyndale Publishing. It has been since my pre-teen years that I have read Christian fiction. I had just never found a book that interested me; and you would be more likely to find me reading True Crime, historical Non-Fiction, or a mystery crime fiction type book. So, when I was asked to review this I jumped at the chance; not only for the Christian-fiction aspect of it, but because it historical in nature. This book is set in 1918 Germany, with a great setting and real-life people woven into the story line, which I thought was really cool. The book was an easy and enjoyable read. Some sections seemed to drag on a bit, but I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the weaving in of Christian principles and attitudes. It played right along well with the story and fit in wonderfully. Parts of the book were very emotional, and as always – me being a girl – i was quite happy with the way the book ended. Anyone who is looking for a Christian Fiction book to read, with a little romance, a little History, this is the book for you. I think it is difficult to do all that in one book, and do it will might I add. Maureen Lang has certainly done that in this book.

3 1/2 out of 5 Stars from me on this one

My second book is Laura by Donald Zochert. This was a personal pick of mine that I had picked up randomly in my local book store. Never having heard of it, and growing up with Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie, I picked it up. The fact that it was a biography about Laura Ingalls and that it was small were added bonus’. Anyone that enjoyed The Little House books or Rose Wilder’s books, or even the tv series, back in the day, should read this book. I loved it! When I think of the Little House books I view them as very biographical in nature, so reading a biography-type book had never really occurred to me (as silly as that might sound). I learned so much about the more historical aspects of her, and her families life. Things that may have been touched on in her books, but now to greater detail. Census information was included, and more historical information about the locations in which she lived were given. I learned so much about Ma and Pa and there lives and families. And more information was given about the younger siblings, Carried and Grace. The pictures that were included were wonderful; and really, reading this book has made me want to plan a trip to these locations even more than I had considered before. There is location information given, if you should ever want to travel there yourself, for the various places talked about, in the back of the book, as well. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in this topic. I think it would be a great book for your older children to read as well.

4 out of 5 stars for this one!

My final book review for today is J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets, by Curt Gentry. This was an interesting experience, this book. I had picked this one up at my most favorite used book store, the Paperback Exchange. If you are ever, ever in Reno, Nevada you should immediately check this store out. I chose it because I had never read anything about J. Edgar Hoover, past what one is taught in school or generalizations in history books. I didn’t really know much about him, and the fact that there is a major motion picture in the works, it jumped to the top of my list of books to read. This was an amazing biographical/historical type book. Amazing. I learned a lot I didn’t know, I learned more about things I already knew. The one downside is that it is an extremely information-dense book. Wow, is really all I can say further about that. It literally took me about 6 months to read because I occasionally had to take some breaks from reading it, and read something else to let my brain take a rest. I would recommend this book to someone that likes this type of book. Keep your smartphone or laptop near by because you’re going to want to look stuff up. I looked up many names I couldn’t remember from earlier, and many times I would look up stuff to learn more because the book made me want to learn more about it. I learned so much that isn’t in your average history book and I learned perhaps too much about Mr. Hoover.

I hope you enjoyed the book reviews my friends!! please check out my goodreads profile for more great books and book reviews! And if you have read any of these books, or just have another book to share that is like these please do! I’m always looking for books to add to my to-read list!!