What I'm Reading For The New Year

I just got 2 new books from Savers.  I was really excited about the first one.  I think it is called The Body Broken or something like that.  It was supposed to be about answering God's call to love others.

Big LOSER.  I read chapter 1 and could not understand how the title had anything to do with the book.  So I skippy dipped the rest of it just to make sure.  No Scripture.  Nothing but more of the same as chapter one.  Good thing I didn't spend much money on that one!  Hopefully somebody will snatch it up on Paper Back Swap next week.

My other new book is this one...

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I like Max and all but to tell you the truth the only reason I'm reading this one right now is because its COLD outside!  My "library" is a little room off the garage.  And even though it has heat in there I'm too lazy (and cold) to go figure out how it works.  So I'm reading something I already have in the house and by the time I'm done maybe it'll be warmer out and I can shop my shelves again.  If not, Honey will have to buy me something else.  

Job.  Almost done.  I don't understand the whole "patience of Job" saying and whenever I hear it I wonder if they truly know who Job is.  Yes he was patient  but God also paints a very honest picture of his discouragement and pain and the way he dealt with it.  If you haven't read Job.  Please do.  It's awesome.  

Acts.  The historical account of the early church.  I love this part...."And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.  And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."  Acts 2:46-47  My pastor preached on this recently about the intention, gladness, and enthusiasm of the early church.  I would love it if we could reproduce that and I wonder how it would look today.  

I'm reading this with LB.  We are doing a mother/daughter Bible study with it with some friends in our homeschool group.   Its a terrific book so far and I'm looking forward to our first meeting next week.  

That's pretty much it as far as my reading goes for now.  But get this.  I read a fiction book.  All the way through to the last page.  I know right!  Gram gave it to LB and I read it first.  It was a historical fiction about George and Martha Washington at Mount Vernon.  I know that sounds boring but  I have to say that I kinda liked it.  It wasn't stellar, but it was fun to read something that had a story to it instead of all the be-a-better-fill in the blank  books I usually read.  

So now I'm wondering....is that something I really want to start?  I've always thought fiction to be mostly a waste of time.  Besides I don't have the attention span for it.  There's only a handful of movies I can sit through, let alone a whole book.  But give me a personal growth, cookbook, or learn-more-about-God book and I'm all over it.  

I found that I enjoyed the character Martha's quiet, yet gently firm ways in the book and thought I might need to imitate some of that in my own life.  I can see how a well written book can be inspiring even if its not real.  But then again, is it the "turning aside after empty things that can not profit or deliver" (1 Sam 12:21)?  I don't know.  What do you think?   And if you are a fan of fiction, who are some of your favorite authors?