Winter Reading Challenge

I recently stumbled across the Winter Reading Challenge on A Joyful Heart's blog, and since I'm always up for reading, and the chance of winning an Amazon gift card (my most desired gift card of all time) is too good to pass up, I'm in.

Boy was that a convoluted sentence.

Moving along, and trying to write in a more intelligible fashion, this winter I'm continuing reading the Bible in the Message translation. I'm following the Robert Murray McCheyne plan, which takes me through the New Testament and Psalms twice, and the rest of the Bible once during the year. I'm a little off track with it, but I'm trying to get back where I'm at the same day in each column at least. Based on this, I should finish Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Luke, John, Romans,1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude, Revelation.

I'm also doing something I rarely do - rereading fiction. I'm working my way through Sharon Newman's Catherine LeVendeur historical mystery series. There are 10 books & I've just finished the first two. These are just such good books. The final one in the series is new to me, and I'm really looking forward to it, although I'm enjoying them all. Since I want to be able to cross items off as I finish them, I'll go ahead & list them all

1. Death Comes as Epiphany
   
2. The Devil's Door
   
3. The Wandering Arm
   
4. Strong as Death
   
5. Cursed in the Blood
   
6. The Difficult Saint
   
7. To Wear the White Cloak
   
8. Heresy
   
9. Outcast Dove
   
10. The Witch in the Well
    

Other books I have out from the library and would really like to finish before I run out of renewals include:
Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry. I loved his book Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time so I was happy to see he had a new book out. I didn't like this one anywhere near as much as I did the other one, and it took me quite awhile to finish it. I kind of wish I hadn't bothered, not that it was bad, just that I could have spent my reading time on something I'd enjoy more.


Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose . I've started it but need to get back to it.
Ok, I am officially giving up on this one. I just cannot get into it.

3 Seconds: The Power of Thinking Twice by Les Parrott. I heard an interview with him and thought he was a very engaging speaker, so I'm interested in the topic and how he presents it. I've started this one, and am enjoying it so far.

The Beautiful Ache: Finding the God Who Satisfies When Life Does Not by Leigh McLeroy. Because the subtitle called out to me.

Finally, a few books that I own:

Mac OS X Leopard Edition by David Pogue. A late Christmas present, this will be useful since I'm new to using a Mac. And by "new" I mean since last May. That still counts as new, right?
I'm using this as a reference rather than reading straight through it.

Canon Digital Rebel XTi Digital Field Guide by Charlotte K. Lowrie. Another one that will be useful as I learn how to take advantage of all the great features on my new camera.
Another one I'm reading as a reference.

The Mother of All Pregnancy Books by Ann Douglas. At least the first part of it where it talks about pre-conception and conception things. I don't think I'll read the parts about pregnancy itself unless I actually become pregnant, because I just don't think I can take it. I actually did read the entire thing, and had surprisingly few pangs while reading it.

The Hour That Changes the World: A Practical Plan for Personal Prayer by Dick Eastman. I want to establish a better habit of prayer.
And I'm already rereading it.

I'm sure there will be more, but this'll do for now. I'll update as I go along & cross out books I've completed.

Update: In addition to the above, some of the other books I've read since posting this are:

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy. An excellent poetic juvenile book about the Holocaust

Shell Game by Sarah Shaber. A light mystery that was perfect when I wasn't feeling well and anything involved would have been too much.

Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop. Another great juvenile book, this one about a young mill girl in Vermont in the early 1900s.

Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff. Another juvenile book about a young girl during WWII.

A Resilient Life: You Can Move Ahead No Matter What by Gordon MacDonald. I thought this was great.