Current book obsessions...

I love to read.  How many times have I said that?  The only book I am reading right now (in the traditional sense) is The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews.  I got it through BookSneeze, which is a pretty cool site if you love to read and write reviews.  I usually will not even pick up non-fiction.  I read a LOT of non-fiction in Bible college and well, I just decided then that I would rather absorb myself in a good fiction story that I can simply get lost in.  The thing about this book is that it reads like a fiction book and so far, I am enjoying it.  The review (with a giveaway!) will come...eventually.  When I finally finish it.  Reading a "real" book, like when you sit and open up a book and turn pages and all of that, is a rare treat for me, so it is taking me longer than I would like but I'll finish it eventually.

On the fiction front, I have recently discovered Pat Conroy.  While I don't have time to sit and read, I do listen to most of my books through Audible.  The last two books I "read" were The Prince of Tides and South of Broad by Pat Conroy.  Prince of Tides was incredibly intense from start to finish.  All about a dysfunctional family and how their lives collide and intersect.  I loved the book.  The writing was excellent!  I listened to this every second I could just to hear how it would end.

Because I had enjoyed The Prince of Tides so much, I decided to see if Pat Conroy just got lucky or if he really was the great author I hoped he was.  South of Broad did not disappoint.  I LOVE Pat Conroy!  I cannot wait to listen to read more of his work.  Great stuff!  If you have read any of his books, what was your favorite?  What should I read next?



Oh Kris and I are also listening (when we ride to work together) to The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan.  AWESOME BOOKS!  We're currently ready for book 5, The Fires of Heaven.  I never thought I would like this fantasy/science fiction genre, but I do.  I really, really do.  And this series is so well-written and is so rich and full.  I'm excited that there are still so many more books that were written in the series.

Lastly, my current obsession is The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  WOW.  I mean really.  WOW!  I'm a third of the way into this book and can't stop listening to it.  It's told from three different points of view and is set during that turbulent time after slavery was abolished, but before us "white people" really accepted African Americans as equals.  It saddens (and angers) me that there are still people out there who see color distinctions.  I think that is why this book has tugged at my heart strings.  I'm passionate about teaching my children that slavery was wrong and that color is just that.  It's just color.  I am SO thankful to live in the time that I do today.  I'm thankful that I can teach my children that people are idiots and the stereotypes are ridiculous.  I'm thankful that I didn't have to live during those turbulent years and that I wasn't taught that African Americans have diseases and should use separate bathrooms and all the other absurd things that really did happen.  I'm fascinated listening to the different perspectives in this book.  Highly recommend this book, even though I haven't even finished it yet!

So, it's your turn.  What is your favorite fiction book?  What should I "read" next?