Prayers for Sale

For the past two weeks, since I turned in the manuscript for my book, I've been luxuriating in reading things written by other people!  Since November, between having surgery and radiation, and then working on my own book, I really haven't allowed myself to do much elective reading.

Of course, I'm always reading things for CatholicMom.com - wonderful books by authors who've poured their souls into non-fiction, fiction, and children's books that so enrich our lives.  I'm lucky beyond words to have a steady stream of books arriving at my post office box each week for review.  In fact, truthfully, I can't keep up with all of the requests, but I try to do my best.

So this weekend, I gave myself the luxury of enjoying something completely unrelated to CatholicMom.com.  Amazon had sent me the audio version of Sandra Dallas' novel Prayers for Sale.  The 8 discs that came in the CD set represented several hours of listening enjoyment.  I spent a large portion of Saturday doing housework and donating items from my closet, and Sunday driving six hours to and from Santa Clara, so listening to this story was a great way to pass the time.  It reminded me once again how much I love a good story and compelling characters, and how it can become so easy to be wrapped up in a good book

Prayers for Sale is not a Catholic book.  It does, however, have a great vein of spirituality running through it.  I don't want to say too much about that, for fear of giving away some of the book's plot points.  Suffice it to say, I fell in love with the characters in the book and was entranced by the life they lived in a Colorado mining camp.  Listening to a book on CD doesn't quite count as "reading", but it is a wonderful way to enjoy a good story (and it makes cleaning boys' bathrooms much less painful).

Right now, I'm finishing up The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music after having seen the movie with Adam. I'll likely share my thoughts on that great book next week.  Have you read (or listened to) any good novels lately?  I'm hoping this summer to enjoy several good books and would love your recommendations.