Christy ~ Catherine Marshall

Christy, a young, ambitious, passionate girl, is sitting at a meeting where a missionary is describing a new school he has opened and is calling for a volunteer teacher.  The speech grabs Christy and she jumps at the opportunity.  Everything happens so fast and before she knows it she's on a train headed to the Cutter Gap missionary school.

But when she arrives things are much more primitive then she ever expected and she questions her choice.

Is she cut out to be here, in the wilderness mountains?  Can she really teach these children?  Can she survive without the comforts of the home she knew?

As she begins to settle in she comes in contact with two very different men.  One makes her angry and feel like a child ... yet something interesting about him draws her.  One she falls in love with ... or so she thinks so.

Can she stay and teach?  Can she love this man?  Will she turn and run?

This book was very well written.  Marshall is a very good writer and I loved how she describes things!  Yet, this book didn't "grab" me until about half way through.  It was fun to read, but there wasn't anything that really made me feel like "I just have to find out what happens" until, as I've mentioned, about halfway through.  But maybe it was just me.  Although after I got to that point where I "just had to know" it was very interesting and attention grabbing. And, just from my point of view, it ended just like I wanted. :)

There were times in the book where I felt like each chapter was just a different story about the same people.  Sometimes she referred back to things she talked about in the earlier chapters, but not often, until, again, about halfway through.

I do recommend this book.  Be wary though, there are some parts that could have been left out.  They are not terrible, but questionable.

The Pursuit of Holiness ~ Jerry Bridges

"Be holy, for I am holy," commands God to His people.  But holiness is something that is often missing in the Christian's daily life.  According to Jerry Bridges, that's because we're not exactly sure what our part in holiness is.  In this book, Bridges helps us see clearly just what we should rely on God to do - and what we should accept responsibility for ourselves.

This was the second time I've read this book and it was so helpful both times. Very convicting yet extremely helpful at the same time, as I already mentioned.  Bridges is very easy to understand and his writing flows very smoothly. I highly recommend this book.

A Study in Scarlet ~ Arthur Conan Doyle

This is the first story in the series of writings starring the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. In his tale Sir Arthur Conan Doyle introduces the reader to Mr. Holmes and his crime-solving companion Dr. Watson. The good doctor has returned to London after a stint in Afghanistan, having served for the military. While on his tour of duty he is injured, and now he is in back in the U.K. to recover. Watson lives on a fixed income and yet he needs a place to live. A friend introduces him to an acquaintance who is in a similar predicament: Sherlock Holmes. The two men become roommates, and it doesn’t take long for Dr. Watson to notice Mr. Holmes’s eccentricities and his unbelievable skill of deduction. Watson accompanies Sherlock on a case aiding Scotland Yard. A murder has been committed, but there is no sign of the killer. In the end the crime is solved by Mr. Holmes, of course, much to the amazement of Watson and Scotland Yard. Thus Holmes begins his lucrative detective practice. The rest, as they say, is history. J

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I LOVED this story! I thought it was so fantastic that I couldn’t stop reading it. From the very moment the reader is introduced to the character Sherlock Holmes you just HAVE to keep reading about him and his peculiarities. The manner is which the author writes him is just amazing and draws you in. I was baffled as to how Holmes found “his man”, but then Arthur Conan Doyle takes the reader back and explains it all, and his explanation kind of added a twist to the narrative. No wonder readers 100 years ago were clamoring for more stories featuring the unique character. My only minor complaint is that Doyle uses many words that modern readers (well, at least me) might not be familiar with. Recommended.