Michelle's Favorite Books

Sunday, December 11, 2011

"Christmas Past" by Robert Vaughan

Every year at this time, I try to read at least one Christmas type book. I found this book on display at the Hunter Library, among many other Christmas books. I am glad I chose this one, because it was really good!

The book is about a successful family that has a very busy schedule. The husband and wife both find a brochure for an old-fashioned Christmas, and decide to try it out. They end up going back in time and experiencing a real pioneer Christmas.

It's a very easy read, and has some fun details about what Christmas was like "back in the olden days." This would also make a great Christmas gift for the loved one who loves to read.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

"Children Of The Promise" Series by Dean Hughes

After reading "Midway To Heaven," then seeing the movie, I decided that I had better look up more books by Dean Hughes. It turns out he has written about 100 books! I am sure they are all fabulous, and I can't wait to read them all!

Right now I am reading the "Children Of The Promise" series, and I am on book two. It's about a family from Salt Lake City during WWII and how it affects them. From what I understand, the books follow this family up until the present day. Very interesting!

Monday, November 29, 2010

"Desolate Angel" by Chaz McGee

This is the first book in the "Dead Detective Series". It's about a detective who gets shot during a drug bust, but his spirit still lingers. He realizes that he was sloppy in his investigations, and he wrongfully charged a girl's boyfriend for her murder. Killings continue, and he tries to help the current detective know who the real killer is. It was suspenseful and interesting the entire way through!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

"The Gift Of An Ordinary Day" by Katrina Kenison

This is such a great book that really helps you put things into perspective! My mom gave me this book for Mothers' Day.

It's about a mom who really wants to make sure her family spends enough time together and slows down to enjoy the little things like being together. They sell their house and move into the country, where they buy a fixer-upper house.

She explains in the book that it's okay not to have your kids enrolled in every sport, play, and activity. The most important thing is slowing down and enjoying those "ordinary days".

Sunday, December 27, 2009

"The Last Valentine" by James Michael Pratt (St Martin's Press version)

This was SUUUCCHHH a good book! I cried at the end! It's about a newlywed couple who are married on Valentines' Day, only to say goodbye to each other one year later on their wedding anniversary when the husband goes off to fight in WWII. He becomes missing in action. It tells of what happens to him, and what happens 50 years later. I HIGHLY recommend it, and I even hear it has been made into a Hallmark movie.

(NOTE: There are two versions of this book. This one is the St Martin's Press version. The other version, the first draft, was self-published by the author through Windsong Communications. He self-published it to get attention, and then it was bought by St Martin's Press. I am now going to read the self-published version. The author told me in an email that they have different beginnings, middles, and ends, but the same characters. The St Martin's Press is more edited than the self-published version.)

UPDATE: This book was made into a movie by Hallmark, and was exceptional! It starred Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Read more about the movie HERE.

Monday, December 14, 2009

"The Lumiere Affair" by Sara Voorhees

This is a GREAT book! It's about a little girl who is 6 years old living in France with her mom and her mom's boyfriend. One day while picnicing, they are hit by lightning. The girl and mom's boyfriend survive, but the mom dies. Twenty something years later, the girl is back in France writing about The Cannes Film Festival, and she looks up the old boyfriend. She finds out a lot about her past. It is a GREAT book!

Monday, September 28, 2009

"The Secret Life Of Becky Miller" by Sharon Hinck

This is such a great book about a mom with a lot to do. I feel like I can really relate to this book, and it has some really great life lessons in it! I have been laughing SO hard every time I come to a part that sounds like me: For example:

Page 12: "A stampede pounded up the stairs. 'Daddy's Home!' Our two eldest danced around Kevin, bestowing hugs, kissses, and tickles. What was I? Strained spinach? I nurtured them all day, abut the instant Kevin walked through the door, he became the hero. My thoughts softened as I watched them tussle. Who not? He was my hero, too."

Page 17: "Mommy! The Washer's walking" Kelsey's strident voice echoed in the dingy basement....I took a step toward the washer in frustration, my food landing squarely in a puddle....Great. I had been two loads away from catching up on the laundry. My one domestic goal for the day. And I'd been so close to reaching it. If I had time, I would collapse onto the wet floor and cry. I'd survived Saturday's bake sale at the school, even without Doreen's help decorating. Church and a potluck dinner had filled our Sunday. Over the weekend while I wasn't looking, dust bunnines, scattered toys, and dirty laundry had commandeered the house. I will not call Kevin to whine. I will not call Kevin...."

Page 21: "Kelsey, what have you done?!' My voice rose two octaves. She ignored the histrionics and heaved a very mature sigh. 'Haircut.' How had she perfected the teenage eye-roll at the age of three?!"

Page 35: "The clock on the screen warned me - only five quiet minutes before Kelsey finished watching Sesame Street and Micah woke up from his brief morning nap. I cherished every moment with my email. Kevin called it and addiction. He claimed I couldn't walk past the corner desk in the kitchen without clicking on the check for messages. The way I saw it, email provided the new community. Our town had no village well where women drew water and chatted. Instead, I found comfort sending short notes to my friends. Exchanging news. Gathering information. My emails provided a portal into the world beyond Fisher-Price toys and baby talk.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

"Just Take My Heart" by Mary Higgin Clark

A book about an actress who is murdered, and the only suspect is her husband. This is one of those books that what you THINK is going to happen, couldn't be further from the truth. Everything comes together and all the characters are tied together in the last five pages.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

"The Wednesday Letters" - Jason F. Wright

Russ' Grandma mailed me a copy of this book, and I absolutely LOVED it! It's about 3 grown children who have to plan their parents' funeral. Their parents died on the same night, one of cancer and the other of a heart attack. They discover that their father has been writing their mom a letter every Wednesday since they were married. They discover some family secrets, and have to deal with them. It's really really good!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

"Bikini Season" - Sheila Roberts

This was SUCH a cute book! A cooking group of friends all decide they need to lose weight, so they form a "Bikini Club" support group instead. A girl getting married can't fit into her wedding dress, one has health problems, one suspects her hubby of cheating, and one wants to make partner at her law firm. The girl getting married runs into an old crush, and may be marrying the wrong man.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

"The Twilight Series" books - Stephenie Meyer

9/17/2008 There are 4 books in the series: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. A human girl falls in love with a vampire and a werewolf.

"Charlotte's Rose" - A.E. Cannon

This book is about a young pioneer girl who volunteers to carry a baby across the plains after the mom dies in child-birth. It's a really good book.

"My Sister's Keeper" - Jodi Picoult

3/22/2008 I bawled my eyes out at the end of this book!!! It's about a 2 year old little girl who comes down with leukemia. Her older brother is not a match for a donor, so the parents become pregnant with a genetically engineered baby to keep the little girl alive. Thirteen years later, the genetically engineered baby (Anna) sues her parents for rights to her own body. She has donated multiple things to her older sister (Kate) to keep her alive, and now they want her to donate a kidney. It's a really good book, and the outcome is NOT what you would expect!!

"What The Dead Know" - Laura Lippman

2/17/2008 A book about 2 teenage girls who mysteriously disappear. Thirty years later a girl comes forward saying she's the younger sister. It's hard to put down when they uncover clues about why she is or isn't who she says she is.

"The Secret Of A Pioneer Christmas" - Patricia Ellis Anderson

12/13/2007 This is a fun book that tells how to have an old-fashioned Christmas. It includes recipes and instructions on how to make gifts.

"The Time Traveler's Wife" - Audrey Niffenegger

12/10/2007 This book is about a man who time travels and visits his wife as a child. She meets him when she's 6, but he doesn't meet her until he's 26. It's a very good love story and different from all the others out there. I cried at the end and thought about it for days.

"Second Glance" - Jodi Picoult

9/15/2007 I am convinced this author is a genius by the way she created many characters and had them come together in the end. It's a great book about the paranormal, and the past with the way it connects to the future. It also talks about Vermont in the 1930s and the Sterilization Laws and such. A VERY HARD TO PUT DOWN BOOK once you get past chapter 4!

"RoseMarie Reid: An Extraordinary Life Story" - Carole Reid Burr

8/3/2007 A great biography about a designer of swimsuits. She gets credit for the swimsuits of today. She also helped redesign the LDS temple garments, and even introduced nursing garments and maternity garments.

"The Stork Reality" - Malena Lott

I absolutely loved this book about a woman who unexpectedly gets pregnant. She fears telling her husband. It's fun to read about the changes they go through and how they prepare for the baby.

"A Good Yarn" - Debbie Macomber

This is a great book about a group of people who meet in a knitting group. They are all different people with different lives, and it tells each of their stories. It's very interesting and easy to read.

"The Five People You Meet In Heaven" - Mitch Albom

6/20/2007 A great book about an amusement park worker who doesn't think his life made a difference in the world, but finds out just how significant he was after he dies and meets 5 people in heaven. They show him how much his life really meant.
(SIDE NOTE: This is the same author as "Tuesdays With Morrie".)

"Momzillas" - Jill Kargman

This book is the funniest book I've ever read! A mom moves with her daughter and hubby to New York City "upperclass", and has to deal with rich moms who hire nannies to raise their children. Very funny twists and turns! (Some language)

"Small Change - The Secret Life Of Penny Burford" - J. Belinda Yandell

6/20/2007 This is a great book about a wife who puts all of her husband's loose change into a bank account and uses it for good.

"Christlike Parenting" - Glenn I. Latham

This is probably the best parenting book I've ever read! It talks about a gentle approach to parenting instead of yelling, and it really works!

"Big Hair and Flying Cows" - Dolores J. Wilson

This is a hilarious book about a girl who works in her father's auto mechanic shop. It's got humor, romance, and suspense.

"The Five Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth" - Richard Paul Evans

This is a great book about managing finances and staying out of debt. It's very simple and easy to understand advice.

"The Sunflower" - Richard Paul Evans

10/30/2005 This was a great book about a girl who's fiance broke up with her a week before the wedding, so her and her best friend go to the Amazon on a humanitarian mission to get her mind off of the canceled wedding. There she meets a doctor who has also had a hard life. It was so good I read it in 2 days.

"Midway To Heaven" - Dean Hughes

6/3/2005 A very good book about a father who is not ready to let his "little girl" get married, so he schemes against the boyfriend. It's a very fun, light read. I laughed many times while reading this book, and it gave me insite as to how a father feels when he has to let his little girl go!

"Letters For Emily" - Camron Wright

This is a very good book about a Grandpa who died of Alzheimers and left secret messages for his grandaughter. The author wrote this book based on his own grandfather.

"The Wedding Dress" - Virginia Ellis

5/14/2005 This book is about three sisters, two who lost their husbands and parents in the Civil War. One fears she may never marry because most of the men died in the war. The other two sisters make a pact to make sure she marries, and even make a wedding dress for her. Before one husband died, he set up an agreement with his friend that if anything happened to him, he would go to his wife and bring her his wedding ring. This book won the Readers Choice Award at the Hunter Library.

"The Photograph" - Virginia Ellis

This fictional book is set in times of World Ward II, right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It's a love story, but it also describes very well what the women who were left behind had to go through while their men went off to fight. I highly recommend it. It's one of the best books I have read in a long time!

"The Wedding" - Nicholas Sparks

3/13/2005 A very good love story! If you have seen the movie or read the book "The Notebook", you will love "The Wedding," which is the sequel. A couple of people told me they quit reading it after the first few chapters because it was depressing. It DOES get better!

"The Guardian" - Nicholas Sparks

4/13/2005
This book is about a 25 year old woman who is a widow and decides to start dating again. Her husband's best friend is in love with her. It's a very cute story!

"House On The Hill" - Annette Lyon

3/5/2005
A very good love story set in Logan, UT during the construction of the Logan Temple. An excellent read!

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