Books I Read in April (#9-10)
Here is a recap of the books that I read in the month of April.
First up was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Typically speaking, for me books always trump movies. The Wizard of Oz is an outlier in that I love the 1939 movie more than the book. Maybe it is just because I grew up watching the movie and never got around to reading the book, but the book is really different and I felt like the screen did a better job of telling the story. I have not seen the recent remake, Oz the Great and Powerful so I can't say if it did the book (or original movie) justice. But this is one case in which I loved the movie more than the book. I gave this book a 3/5 on Goodreads.
My second book in the month of April was the third in the Chronicles of the Kings Series by Lynn Austin. The Strength of His Hand continues the story of King Hezekiah from the Bible. While it is a fictional account of history (my favorite genre), it did a great job of bringing to life the story of the kings and the prophets from this period. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I kept finding myself wanting to shake King Hezekiah and tell him that he is making the wrong decisions for his kingdom! I have really enjoyed this particular series and would recommend it to anyone who wants to gain more perspective of what it might have been like during this time period. I gave this book a 5/5 on Goodreads.
Our Life Group has started reading The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler. I will write a full review when we finish it.
And the congregation we worship with continues to work its way through The Story and I continue to enjoy reading the Bible in this format. Especially in conjunction with the corresponding sermons on Sundays – which I have looked forward to hearing every week.
If you like historical fiction, especially Bible-based, you might want to check out Francine Rivers' books. She has a series on women of the Bible, fleshing out the stories of Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary, Rahab and Tamar, called "Lineage of Grace." I believe she has also written about some men of the Bible but I've yet to get a hold of that series.
ReplyDeleteAnother Rivers book, "Redeeming Love," is a fictionalized modernization of the story of Hosea and Gomer - kind of. It's set in the Gold Rush era and is, hands down, my favourite fiction book.
Finally, different author, there is a retelling of the story of Joseph that is riveting! Unfortunately, I can't remember the author's name and can't find a link to the book on Amazon without knowing the author. I'll find out and let you know.
Thanks for the suggestions, Wanda. I keep meaning to read some of Francine Rivers' books. One of these days, I will get around to it :)
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