For a long time, I predominantly read Science Fiction and Fantasy. And even then it was fairly shallow reading. There is a lot of serious SF that I have never read. I dip into Mysteries once in awhile. I also touch on classics fairly consistently.

This year has been a great year for stretching my reading a bit and trying different genres. I have read a lot more nonfiction this year. I’ve read a lot of new authors, but much of it can still be put in the same 3 genres above. The one area I’ve diverged is what I guess is more contemporary stories. Not a mystery to solve, not an alternate universe. Just life today. The Jodi Piccoult books fit here.

This week I read one that I guess crosses three genres. I see it as part historical fiction as it describes the life of slaves in the 1800′s in the US. It also has a contemporary story of a family, broken and struggling to understand each other. The third genre is African American. It fits into that genre because it was written by an African American woman and it is about African Americans. But somehow putting it into that genre means people who aren’t African American don’t know about it and don’t read it.

I found the book after reading this post on 5 Minutes for Books talking about seg-book-gation. Author Bernice McFadden wrote a letter (you should go to that link and read it) about why good books and authors are disappearing because they are being put into the small category of African American writing and not getting exposure.

I picked Nowhere is a Place. In some ways it was not an easy read because the depiction of the life of the slaves is well done and shows the pain and frustration of that life. In others, it was a very easy read because the story is so well written and pulls the reader along. I will definitely read more by this author and others in this artificial genre.

Since the last update, I have completed these on my list:

• The Story Girl by L. M. Montgomery (a 999 book) – pleasant read about a group of children and the stories they live and hear.
• The Girl in the Orange Dress by Margot Starbuck (a 999 book and book club) – autobiography of a woman who has come to terms with being adopted and with the love of Christ. She writes well and it was a very interesting read. It has already sparked some discussion and will be an interesting book club night.
• Canterbury Tales by Chaucer (a 999 book) – I read half of it and it’s rather surprising. Readable  (David Wright translated) and much more bawdy than I expected. But, I have too many other things that I want to read, so I’m moving on with this unfinished.

Added to the official list:

• Magic for Marigold by L.M. Montgomery (a 999 book) – another great book. This one had a really wonderful scene of a young girl realizing her great-grandmother was also a young girl once.

These still to finish:

• Selected Writings of Thomas Aquinas (a 999 book)
  
• A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
• Wings of Fire by Charles Todd

I’ve read these extras:

• Magyk (Septimus Heap #1) by Angie Sage. A friend brought this book to the beach to read and I ended up reading it instead. Fun reading so her son should enjoy it!
• The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. I picked this up at a used bookstore at the beach and realized as I read it that I had read it before but didn’t remember enough to spoil it for me. Having recently read Jane Eyre this was fun. Quirky humor.
• Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde. The 2nd volume. Lots of fun
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, because it was referenced in the 3rd vol of the Thursday Next series. Much darker than I realized or remembered. I won’t put it on my list to read again, but I can see why it sticks around.
• The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde. The 3rd volume. The chapter on Wuthering Heights made a LOT more sense after reading WH, so I’m glad I took the time to do it. I’m focusing on 999 books, then I’ll jump back in to this series.
• Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World by David Jeremiah. Good biblical reminders of what we have, Who we trust, and how we are to respond.

Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World by David Jeremiah is my latest Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers pick.

As expected, the message is biblical, relevant, and encouraging. The writing is comfortable and easy to read. After an introduction that reminds us, in some very interesting ways, just how chaotic things have gotten in the past year, Dr. Jeremiah calmly and patiently reminds us of great truths. He consistently points to Christ as our Savior and only hope.

I am consistently in need of reminders of what God has done for me, what He promises me, and how I should respond. This book is a great reminder, every chapter provides Scripture and practical evidence of the Truth and what my response should be.