My sister gave me her copy of The Spark by Chris Downie. The author is also the founder of SparkPeople, a website that's helped millions of people around the world meet their weight loss goals in a healthy way. I love SparkPeople, though I've fallen off the wagon more times than I can count. Every time I do, I cancel my account with SparkPeople, and every time I decide to give it another try, I resubscribe. I'm hoping that being able to read the book will help to motivate me to change my life.
When I got home, yesterday, there was a package from the UK in the mail. I knew it was a book the second my husband pulled the envelope out of the mailbox, but I had no idea what it was. The book is Random by Craig Robertson and came by way of Royal Mail from Simon & Schuster UK, enclosed with a note that said, simply, "with compliments." I must tell you, I am so thrilled to get this book because it's the first ARC I've ever received. I got it when I signed up for the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge at Book Chick City and plan to push it to the top of my casual reading list.The third book came today. It's called Plain Paradise by Beth Wiseman, about a woman who gives her child up to an Amish couple and then wants to reconnect with her after 17 years. I ordered the book from BookSneeze, but realized today that the book is Christian Romance, which isn't something I normally read. I'm going to read it, and do the review, which is the terms by which I came by the book in the first place, but I'm also going to watch BookSneeze for anything that's not strictly Christian, as I don't like to delve into religion. If it turns out BookSneeze is a religious program, I'll likely cancel, even though they give out free books.
So, there you have it. I also signed up for the Library Thing Early Reviewers program and have signed up to receive some ARCs. Crossing my fingers I'm lucky enough to win one. There are a few on the list that I've requested that I really would love to have. Until then, I have Broken to keep me company.
I hope you enjoy _The Spark_. I haven't ordered a copy yet, but I love Sparkpeople!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the books and The Spark program!
ReplyDeleteI'm very wary of Christian fiction as well.. something about christians thinking they can't read a novel unless it preaches to them makes me annoyed. I read books that are about people with kids, even though I don't want kids, or books about religion even though I'm suspicious of religion, and it doesn't kill me. Not every fiction book published goes against Christian "values" and hell, I have yet to meet a Christian that fully follows their "values" but don't get me started.
That said, I read Beverly Lewis' "The Shunning" about an Amish girl last year and I liked it. The Amish have always rather fascinated me. The religious stuff in the book felt appropriate to the settling and not obnoxious or preachy. I didn't LOVE the book, but it wasn't bad, so if they are a religious book company, you could get that one for free -- you might like it.
But then I picked up the sequel, "The Confession." Right from the start, the religious part was too obnoxious and in-your-face. Still, I read about two chapters, but I could immediately predict where the whole story was going from there and I gave up. Skimming the rest of the book proved I was right.The story was so cliche and predictable and self-righteous. Don't get that one. I haven't read any other Beverly Lewis books since, out of disgust.
I liked the Janette Oke book, "Love Comes Softly" (and liked the movie, too) but didn't care for the sequels (books or movies) so you can maybe get that first book free, too, if you like, and you might not hate it.