Retirement gives me much more time to read and this year I polished 43 books. I don't write this with much fanfare. I know folks who read 75 or even 100 or more books. Still, I made through about three and a half books a month which is pretty good. I'm looking forward to topping my record this year.
I have come to really love a good murder mystery. This year I discovered Anthony Horowitz, a British author who had come up with a really interesting idea for a series. He has fashioned a former detective named Hawthorne who is something like a modern day Sherlock Holmes. Like Holmes, Hawthorne never misses a detail and sees a crime scene differently than every one else. The kicker is this - Horowitz has inserted himself into the stories! Horowitz is kind of like a poor man's Dr. Watson. All the mysteries are set in England which I like. A sixth book in the series is supposed to come out this year so I'm looking forward to more Hawthorne/Horowitz mysteries to continue.
Another author I really enjoyed reading is Kristin Harmel. She writes stories that are set around France in World War 2. The stories are extremely well researched and she has an amazing ability to communicate just how difficult and heartbreaking Hitler's march into Europe was, especially for Jewish people. I would recommend "The Winemaker's Wife," "The Paris Daughter," or "The Book of Lost Names," to get you started.
One book that was a real delight was Christopher Kennedy's "Jesus Said What?" Kennedy takes some of the more difficult texts surrounding the earthly ministry of Jesus, ones that pastors find challenging to preach on and unpacks them. For example, Kennedy takes Luke 14:25-30, 33 - the texts where Jesus says, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Explain that! Well, Kennedy does so and in a very engaging way. (You'll have to read the book to find out what Jesus is really saying). Each chapter concludes with discussion questions so the book would be good for a Bible study group.
Other books that receive an "A" from me were: Bret Baier, "To Rescue the Constitution," Erik Larson, "Dead Wake," and "The Demon of Unrest," and the J.R. Mathis & Susan Mathis' "Penitent Priest" series.
My friend, Fred, gave me four books for Christmas so I'm starting with an author I've enjoyed reading, Daniel Silva. I'm only a few pages into "A Death in Cornwall," but it's shaping up to be a good read. Hope you find a least one book this year that you can't put down!
