December's Reading List

December was a fun time as it related to books! I gave myself a break from things of "depth" and just read Christmas related things. It was a lot of fun! Maybe you have read something on my list?


Hinds Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard--Okay, so this is the one non-Christmas book I read. All I can say is "WOW!" I had never read it before, though I had long wanted to. If you haven't read it, it is a must. This book is such an encouraging and challenging read. With it, I did a first--I underlined all that spoke to me. It's in pencil, but I still did it =)


Christmas By the Hearth, by Tyndale Writers--This is a delightful collection of Christmas short stories. They all are twenty-five pages or less, so you are able to get one (or even two) done in an hour. Besides "The Gift of the Magi," I love the story "An Aardvark for Cassandra."


The Christmas Child, by Max Lucado--This short story was one of two books I read this December that were adapted into movies I have watched....and loved. I would definitely recommend reading "The Christmas Child," but I love the movie more. You could say that is because I read it first. The book is much shorter and condensed than the movie is and I like the things the movie added. (Bad girl, I know =) To get the synopsis of the story, read the review I did on the movie here.


The Note, by Angela Hunt--This is the other book I read that became created into a movie. While you might think the movie would add things into the book, it actually changed one of the characters from being a female who would do ANYTHING to get ahead (which is the way the book had it) to it being a male bent on getting ahead (which is the movie's way.) Because of the one character, I would just use a little bit of discretion. You can skip a page or two when you can tell what is going to happen. And definitely, watch the movie! I reviewed it here.


Jotham's Journey, by Arnold Ytreeide--For several Advents, my family has done a particular series of books. They are about either a boy or a girl who has some incredible times. Along their journeys, they have interaction with many people from the Christmas story. In Jotham's case, he meets Zechariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna, the wise men; Jotham is one of the shepherds and his uncle is Joseph. However, this year my family didn't do them together....so I read this one by myself. You read a little part each day with the thought to think about afterwards. It was a nice way to do Bible time around Advent. The first time you read the books.....you will be on edge. =)


The Red Gloves Collection, by Karen Kingsbury--Karen Kingsbury is my one of my favorites in the Christian genre. This collection complies four of her short stories: "Gideon's Gift," "Maggie's Miracle," "Sarah's Song," and "Hannah's Hope." I like some more than others, but they are all good stories. You feel happy afterwards. Use your own discretion, as there is some difficult subject material. Nothing bad mind you, but I have to give warning. Like in "Sarah's Song," the woman is telling about her past and how she compromised her convictions and herself to get ahead. I had read a few of these before, but it was nice to read them all again!

So, have you read any of these?