My Turn...And A Winner!!!!

****I forgot to include the reason I chose this time for my give-away!!!  Although I loved Stephanie's guess, the real reason is much simpler:  it was my 250th post on this blog! :)


This has been so much fun...and so productive!  I have a great start to my reading list now...so many good ones!  Thanks, everyone, for the tips!  And now the part I don't like...picking a winner.  Because I never like to pick just one.  I really wish I had a corporate sponsor or owned Starbucks or something, then I'd send you each a prize just for playing!  But I hope that you've had the "prize" of getting a few book ideas here.  Because really, what is a better gift than a great book? 

So, I wrote each name on it's own piece of paper, put them in a hat, stirred them all around, and presented the hat to Brad.  I even interrupted his dinner for this occasion.  Chili, if you must know.  And cornbread.

After a hand in the hat and a piece of paper pulled out, we have a winner!!!!  (But remember you are all winners.)

The winner-among-winners is................................

(this is my "Sunday-night-I-can't-believe-there's-a-two-hour-lost-recap-and-then-a-two-and-a-half-hour-series-finale-of-Lost-that-my-boys-are-so-crazy-excited-about-and-how-soon-can-I-escape-to-my-room" look.  that's why I look so tired.  Or so Lost.)

Can you read it???  It says, "JACK"!!!!!!  Congrats, Jack!  And doggone it if I didn't time this all wrong, because I do believe you have a birthday soon.  Can we be efficient and also call this your birthday gift???

Now it's my turn.  My book picks for you.  I also love, love, love "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers.  It is a book that really is beyond description.  Tough to read in the beginning.  Really tough.  But power through it, because the impact of this book is so worth it.  And I think anything by Francine Rivers is worth reading. 

I also love The Mitford Series by Jan Karon.  I consider all these "characters" real people.  I love them like friends.  I usually re-read at least a couple of them every summer.  I just can't help but wonder what that Dooley is up to these days.  It makes me want to live in a small town and get to know all the quirky people who live in it.

Too many!  Too many to list!

I do love that Anne of Greene Gables.  And Little House, of course.  And Little Women.  And Put Me In The Zoo.  And anything Winnie-the-Pooh.

At the time I first put this give-away up, I was half way through "Have A Little Faith" by Mitch Albom.  So.  Good.  I had downloaded it from the library for my electronic gizmo, but I'm actually going to buy this one.  I want to underline a few things in it.  I want my kids to read it.  The last page of the book says simply, "I am in love with hope."  How can you not love that?

And now I am not even a quarter of the way through "The Help".  And help me, but this book is laugh-out-loud funny.  And I'm sure something more than humor is coming, but this is so good.  I can confidently recommend it already.  Especially since Connie did.

And for some really light, fluffy reading, the Joanne Fluke books are fun.  She writes a series of "murder mysteries" along the lines of "Murder She Wrote", but there's always some kind of food theme, as the main character owns a bakery and always finds herself in the midst of some murder to solve that the town detective can't quite get on his own.  Of course I recommend you start with "The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder".  Fun recipes sprinkled throughout her books, too.

And, like Brenda, I do love to read cookbooks.  I really read them, not just look at the pretty pictures.  Although I do think it should be some kind of law that cookbooks have pictures. 

I'll stop here and let you rub the blur out of your eyes.

Thanks for playing!  And keep the book recommendations coming!!

Happy reading! :)