Friday Finds 03/27/09 & Updates

Can you believe it is Friday already? At first this week seemed to drag for me, but the last few days have flown by.

Before I get to my Friday Finds and have ...

Two Quick Updates:

First - Remember this post where I told you about the recommendation I made to my best friend? She called me this week to say that she read the 2nd book I recommended too. It was also by Katherine Center and is called THE BRIGHT SIDE OF DISASTER. Stacy was raving to me about this book on the phone. According to her, the characters are completely believable - they are the people you know in real life. Sometimes she wanted to smack them, sometimes she wanted to hug them, but always she felt like she KNEW them. Stacy highly recommends this book (along with EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL).

And second - I told you about my concerns about Kiddo's reading in this post. Now I'm happy to say ... Kiddo's reading is improving!!! He's been working with a tutor once a week for just over a month, and we've gotten tips on how to help him from reading specialists. This week I've spent more time having him read to me (which means we are staying up later at night, since I get home from work so late) and it really seems to be helping. He has almost conquered ARE YOU MY MOTHER? - he knows all the words and just take a few seconds to figure them out. He's also been reading some Dr. Seuss books, although those are more difficult for him. He IS getting it little by little though, and I'm thrilled.

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And now, here are the books that have made it to my TBR list this week:

1. Time Bandit: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea, and One of the World's Deadliest Jobs, by the Hillstrand Brothers - If you have ever seen "Deadlist Catch" then that title makes complete sense to you. I LOVED that show. Dreambee reminded me that I want to read this book. Be sure to hop over and watch the videos she posted from the show, especially if you've never seen it before - it is amazing!
   
   
2. The Secret Keeper, by Paul Harris - This book, "set in war-torn Sierra Leone, tells the story of one man's search for the truth in a nation where the rules of civilized society simply don't apply." I volunteered for the June TLC Book Blog Tour for this book, so you'll definitely hear more about it then.
   
   
3. The Odyssey, by Homer - RebeccaReads has done it again. First she convinced me to add The Iliad and now The Odyssey. Check out her post to see why. Although honestly, I will probably do these on audio (they were originally stories to be TOLD after all).
   
   
4. Visa's for Life, by Yukiko Sugihara - A while back I learned about the children's book based on this story. It is amazing and I'm glad to know there is an adult book as well. Follow the link to Matt's Book Blog to learn more about this heroic man.
   
   
5. Going Too Far, by Jennifer Echols - I'm not usually a fan of YA (*gasp*) but this particular book looks really good. OCD, vampires, and rants, oh my! reviews it at this link. According to the review, it has the same intensity of passion as the Twilight books ...
   
   
6. 10 Things I Hate About Christianity, by Jason T. Berggren - Although the title is off putting, I think this might be a very good book. From what I understand, it takes some of the main complaints made by both Christians and non-Christians and tackles them head-on. I've seen this around at several blogs but Bookfoolery and Babble's review is the best one I've read so far. Go check it out to get a better idea of what this book is all about.
   
   
7. Apologetics for a New Generation, edited by Sean McDowell - MizB says this has some great information for the current generation seeking to defend their Christian faith.

That's it for me this week ... hop over to MizB's to see what everyone else has found. Have a great weekend everyone!