I recently participated in the March Faith ‘n Fiction Round Table hosted by My Friend Amy. Amy describes it best…which is good since it’s her baby.

The Faith and Fiction Round Table is a monthly event where a group of diverse Christian bloggers discuss a work of fiction or nonfiction.

A group of us read In the Garden of the North American Martyrs (a collection of short stories) by Tobias Wolff. In all honesty, this was not my favorite book. If you know me, you know that phrasing is a polite way to say I didn’t like the book. The stories all felt depressing to me. But I am really glad I took part in this discussion anyway. It forced me out of my comfort zone. And that is something I am trying to do more.

This was something new for me: To experience a new author. To read a work and discuss it with other people (who I actually haven’t met). To read short stories (not normally my thing). To make myself finish a book I really didn’t like.

Our conversations about the book have been split up into different segments. My portion deals with our favorite stories from the collection.

Amy: My favorite story was probably “An Episode in the Life of Professor Brooke” which comes as no surprise to me, considering it deals with themes I always enjoy exploring, such as self-perception. I also thought it was quite humorous. Did any of the stories stand out for you and why?

Hannah: My favorite story was the first one, “Next Door.” It made me laugh and had me repeating sections aloud.

Simon: I think my favourite story in the collection is ‘An Episode in the Life of Professor Brooke’ or ‘Wordly Goods’ - both had a rhythmic structure to them which worked - they didn’t feel either too forced or too formless. And ‘Wordly Goods’ had nice elements of humour, which didn’t appear in many of the other stories.

Kate: “In the Garden of the North American Martyrs” was my favorite because Mary grew as an individual before the end. This story felt different to me, so I found it interesting that it is the title story.

Stephen: My favorite story was “Hunters in the Snow.” A couple days after I read it, I was camping with some friends, and after we had eaten dinner, smoked our pipes, and were sitting around the campfire trying to keep warm, I pulled the book out of my backpack and read that story aloud. It works perfectly in that setting - the way the story is laid out, the comedic timing, the way the drama builds, all of it.

RC: I have to say something else about “Hunters in the Snow” (apparently my favorite) is that it touched on one of my biggest frustrations, is that sometimes people would rather say “you have problems, I have problems, so let’s all have problems together” as opposed to dealing with things, whether that’s the big things in the world or the smaller issues in our lives. I know some of you read these stories back to back, but after I read one, I felt the need to pause, because frankly some of them said some profound things, that were also kind of depressing.

Does anyone want to share their least favorite story?

I think mine was “Wingfield.” I think I totally missed the point. That’s the army one with the guy that sleeps and lives.

Amy: Same. In fact, I read that story and when it was over had no idea what I’d read.

Simon: Which was the one where people drive around in a truck? I skipped half of that, the only one I found too tedious to finish.

Please check out the other blogs for more discussions on the book: My Friend Amy, Strange Culture, The Fiddler’s Gun, Stuck-In-A-Book, Rebelling Against Indifference, Wordlily

By the way, if My Friend Amy sounds familiar…it is because Amy and I are co-hosting “Kate & Amy’s Book Club” that will be starting on April 15. We are discussing The Fiddler’s Gun by A.S. Peterson. The author was also a participant in this round table. And yes, it truly is a small world! There is still time to get in on the book club. We would love to have you.

Yesterday was a really good mail day. I would have preferred a really good “male” day, but I will settle for fun packages from the US Postal Service instead. They delivered lots and lots of copies of The Fiddler’s Gun by A.S. Peterson. It’s only one of my favorite books of 2009.

You might be wondering why I need multiple copies. Well, they aren’t for me. They are for you. I’ve told you it was coming. And now, it’s here!

That’s right…it is finally time for “Kate & Amy’s Book Club” hosted by My Friend Amy and The Quirky Redhead. It is a book club for anyone named “Kate” or “Amy”. There have to be plenty of those out there. Right? Ok, fine. Just for you, we will loosen up the requirements and pretty much let anyone in the group. But sshhhh! That will be our little secret.

Seriously though, we are so excited to host this discussion of The Fiddler’s Gun. Here is the skinny:

BOOK CLUB DETAILS

Theme: The Fiddler’s Gun by A.S. Peterson  A thrilling tale of Fin Button’s life in the midst of revolution with pirates, fiddles & guns. Oh my! The fiddle and gun play a large role, symbolic of the choices Fin will have to make in her life.

Time: Thursday, April 15 to Wednesday, April 29

Forum:Discussion on facebook (don’t worry, if you aren’t on facebook, we can work something out). Become a friend of Kate and Amy’s Book Club on facebook to participate.

Book: If you need a book, email me at thequirkyredhead@gmail.com. All those books sitting on my living room floor need a home. The books are $11 (includes shipping). Payments can be made through cash, check or paypal. If you already have a book, start reading or rereading to be ready to discuss it starting April 15.

Goodies: Since this is for a book club, we receive a reduce price on the books. And Mr. Peterson is graciously sending us some additional fun items to help our discussions (including bookmarks, discussion guide, and a digital copy of the limited edition companion book, The Fiddler’s Gun: Letters). We might even be able to convince him to stop by and answer a few questions from the group.

So if you are interested in the book club, please let me know. And if you aren’t, think about it again. It’s going to be fun.

To help convince you: My Friend Amy’s review and The Quirky Redhead’s review

When I find something good, I want to share it with others so they can enjoy it too. It could be a book, restaurant, store, website, or anything you can imagine. If I like it, I’m going to talk about it. And in some cases, I will talk a lot!

So in case you weren’t aware, I am a big fan of The Fiddler’s Gun by A.S. Peterson. I was a patron of the book. I reviewed the book. I have given away multiple copies of the book.

And now…drum roll please….I am co-leading a Facebook Book Club for The Fiddler’s Gun in March. My Friend Amy and I are working out the details and will let you know more before too much longer. But you can let your excitement start building! And just so you know, the author has some exciting things that he is offering to book clubs.

In the meantime, check out Amy’s blog, My Friend Amy. She works in adult literacy and has been blogging about books for several years (that’s a long time in the blog world). When I started dabbling in book reviews, her site was one of the ones that helped steer me in the right direction. 

This book club is a first for me, but I think it is going to be lots of fun. Hope some of you want to be a part of it. Just let me know if you do.

At my house, I know the rules. Trash has to be out on Monday night. Front porch light stays on all the time. Laundry is done when you run out of clothes. Shoes don’t have to be put away until the pile in the living room exceeds the one in the bedroom. I know the rules because I make them.

But I spend a huge part of my life at work, where I don’t make the rules. And at times, it feels like I don’t even know the rules!

Fact: The business world is dominated by men.

Fact: I am in the business world.

Fact: I am not a man.

Hmmm, if A = B and B = C, therefore…ok, I won’t make you do equations. But to any woman in the business realm, it should be pretty clear that some areas are more difficult for us.

Shaunti Feldhahn did extensive research for “The Male Factor” to help show women how men think in the workplace (and one of the points is that men think differently at home and at work). Basically, she has written down all those unspoken rules to give women a playbook to use in the business arena.

The book is enlightening and frustrating at the same time. Enlightening because it made me realize some of the ways I sabotage myself every day when I deal with my male colleagues (and most in my industry are male). Frustrating because I have gone years without knowing some of this. And because some of the unwritten rules are downright aggravating. She doesn’t say that women have to follow these rules, but she does want us to be aware of how they affect us.

If you work with men, I recommend this book. It won’t be a fun, entertaining read; but it will be educational. You can purchase the book from the publisher.

I received a review copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Thanks to everyone for participating in the Christmas Book Giveaway.

The winners are:

Andrea Jeffcoat - Angry Conversations With God

Becky Stephens - The Fiddler’s Gun

Diantha - On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and North or Be Eaten

David Kelly - The Pioneer Woman Cooks

I will mail them out this week. Hope you enjoy these books as much as I have this past year.

Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere.

Jean Rhys

 And here’s to a new year of just that.

In honor of my birthday, Christmas, and people who actually read this blog of mine - I’m having the first annual Favorite Books of the Year Christmas Giveaway. In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, I think events sound much better with an official sounding title. Oh, maybe I should name it “The Official Favorite Books of the Year Christmas Giveaway”.

I’ve talked about most of these books during the year, but here is a brief recap.

The Quirky Redhead’s Top Five Books of 2009 (in the order I read them)

• Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir by Susan E. Isaacs- A story of Susan’s “middle class, white girl tragedies” and her quest to find God. She ultimately takes God to marriage counseling, with funny and real results. We have completely different backgrounds, but I could really relate to what she felt. Some of the lines kill me, like “Sarcasm is a viable form of communication”. I completely agree, even though at times I cross the line from sarcasm to snarkasm.
• On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: Adventure. Peril. Lost Jewels. And the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree. by Andrew Peterson- The hilarious yet poignant fantasy saga of the three Igiby children in a fight for their lives. Full of danger, excitement and the aforementioned toothy cows. Loved by three generations in my family. See the story of how I discovered the book here.
• North! Or Be Eaten: Wild escapes.  A desperate journey. And the ghastly Fangs of Dang. by Andrew Peterson- The continuation of the Igiby children’s journey. Don’t get too comfortable though. The story doesn’t end here, so the danger mounts. See my review here.
• The Fiddler’s Gun by A.S. Peterson - A thrilling tale of Fin Button’s life in the midst of revolution with pirates, fiddles & guns. Oh my! The fiddle and gun play a large role, symbolic of the choices Fin will have to make in her life. See my review here.
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes of an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond - The step by step pictures make the recipes easy. The butter and cream make the recipes good. Ree makes this cookbook fun. See my story of the Atlanta book signing here.

I love each of these books. Really, I do. I talk about them all the time. The titles and especially the subtitles are terrific. Since I want you to love them too, I will be giving away a copy of each of these books.

There will be four winners. Each winner will receive a copy of one of my favorite books (except for the Andrew Peterson books which will go together). Here are the rules (C’mon, I’m a rule person…you should have know there would be rules, but don’t worry, they are pretty easy.)

• Leave a comment on this post answering this question: If you wrote a book, what would you name it? Don’t worry, winners will be selected by random number, so creativity (while appreciated) is not required.
• Only one entry per person.
• Comments will remain open until December 27, Sunday at noon.
• Winners will be notified on Monday, December 28.

See, I told you it would be simple. So start commenting!

If you are impatient (like someone else I know), you can buy the books here.
Susan E. Isaacs
Andrew Peterson
A.S. Peterson
Ree Drummond

A while back, someone gave me a gift card to Barnes&Noble. Hey, it pays to sing in funerals. I finally used it last week when I discovered a fabulous little thing…they sell used books. So I was able to make my money go just a little farther. And for some reason, I actually like old books and library copies. Maybe it takes me back to all the good memories of reading in bed when I was younger or sitting in the library with a favorite book.

I ordered a couple cherished childhood favorites that I didn’t already own and a couple I have been dying to read that I think will become treasured possessions.

• The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
• Lilith by George MacDonald
• The Wheel on the School by Meindert Dejong
• Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

It is fun to check my mailbox when expecting great books like these. One has already come in the mail, and I am eagerly (and impatiently) waiting on the others.

Buying these books reminded me how books have influenced my life. In honor of that, keep watching the blog. I’m soon going to have a Christmas giveaway of my 5 favorite books of 2009. They are good ones, so you don’t want to miss it.

What are some of your favorite books?

Have you ever done something that seemed completely normal to you yet everyone else thought it was completely insane? Welcome to my world!

A 5 1/2 hour road trip to spend less than 10 minutes with someone isn’t so bad.  I mean, people spend hours and hours planning a wedding just to see it come and go. So what’s wrong with driving two states over to see PW in the ATL at a signing for her new cookbook. Did I really do that? Why, yes…yes, I did!

Being the planner (and list maker) that I am, I called the bookstore to get the low down and found out that they would give away armbands starting at 9am Monday morning. So much for my plan to drive to Atlanta on Monday. Oh well, at least I found out ahead of time. I ended up driving there on Sunday night.

Side note: When you forget to grab your CDs, you have to come up with creative ways to stay alert if there aren’t any good radio stations. I spent the last hour of the drive singing as many different songs from musicals as I could think of. It made me miss Bess, my younger sister. She is my “Broadway buddy”. 

I arrived at Borders at 8:59 the next morning. Got in line and eventually received the Holy Grail of book signing wristbands: Orange A (the 1st color and letter). Then I headed out to make the most of my day in Atlanta.

I’m not a mall kind of girl. But with one just a few blocks away, I figured it was the easiest way to spend the afternoon. Much to my surprise, I had a great time: bought Christmas presents, found a perfume that doesn’t give me headaches (Strawberry Flowers by Fresh), ate my favorite salad at California Pizza Kitchen, and found a hilarious White Elephant gift for my Sunday School party. Wow, a wonderful afternoon and the signing hadn’t even started.

I finally made my way back to the bookstore and was amazed at how big it was. It was a good thing - they needed lots of space to accommodate all the other Pioneer Woman fans. Since I was in the first group, I had my book signed by 6:30.

But I found that I couldn’t bring myself to leave. ‘Cause here’s the thing…the whole event really wasn’t about Ree. (Sorry Ree!) It was about people, mainly women, who have formed a community around a blog. People who might be seemingly different, but who have a good deal in common when you get down to it.

So I hung around for a couple more hours. To enjoy the party.

There were cute babies and children galore.

There were old friendships being strengthened.

There were new friendships being made.

There were comparisons of favorite Pioneer Woman recipes.

“The Oatmeal Crispies are to die for.”

“Aaaww, isn’t Charlie cute.”

“Really, I need to try the meatloaf.”

“Aren’t the step by step instructions great?”

There were bags and coats flung aside as everyone settled in for the duration.

There were moms trying to keep the cute children entertained.

And then there were moments when the cute kids got a little grumpy as the night wore on.

But most of all, there was laughter and conversation as we all enjoyed the experience. All brought together by a common love of The Pioneer Woman.

And then it was time to hit the road because I literally had miles to go. It was a quick adventure, but so worth it.

Hey, they don’t call me the “Adventure Queen” for nothing. I even have the necklace to prove it.

What have you done that seemed crazy to everyone else?

Beauty gets to me. That is probably true of most people. But sometimes it causes an actual physical response in me. It could be a line of haunting melody, the reflection of pilings on a lake, a glimpse of someone I love. As I exhale caught up in the wonder of what I see or hear, I forget to take another breath. I often close my eyes, overwhelmed, as my body forces me back to reality and that next breath. At times, I am prepared. Others, not so much.

As I read the first two pages of The Fiddler’s Gun by A.S. Peterson, these lines stole the air right out of me.

…time has a way of leading a person along a crooked path. Sometimes the path is hard to hold to and people fall off along the way. They curse the road for its steep grades and muddy ruts and settle themselves in hinterlands of thorn and sorrow, never knowing or dreaming that the road meant all along to lead them home. Some call that road a tragedy and lose themselves along it. Others, those that see it home, call it an adventure.

And quite an adventure follows. The Fiddler’s Gun tracks Fin Button through her teenage years at the Ebenezer orphan house, where her sharp tongue, quick fists and lack of feminine grace don’t allow her to fit in. She finds solace in Peter LaMee, a fellow orphan, and Bartimaeus Gann, the cook with a fiddle, a gun and a past. As the Revolutionary War begins, Fin’s world is turned upside down. The next few years mold her into the woman she will become, as she trades in the confined life of an orphan for that of a pirate on the high seas. I don’t want to give anything else away, so suffice it to say that her voyage takes her through some dark and dangerous times.

I had high hopes for this book, since I have followed the author for a while now. I can’t say that it lived up to my expectations because it wasn’t what I expected. This book is not a light, entertaining read that you toss aside once finished and never think of again. It is so much more. There is depth, emotion and characters that you will care about. There is excitement, battles and mutiny. Though full of all these things, it also explores the simple yet universal desire to find a home, a place where you are chosen just for who you are. And that is something that anyone should understand.

Oh, and if all that doesn’t convince you that you should buy the book…Fin has red curls, just like me. So what’s not to love?

This is book one of two, so I don’t know how Fin’s story ends. But I hope that time will ultimately see her home.

You can ask to borrow my copy of The Fiddler’s Gun, but I will say no. Now that I have it, I’m not turning it loose. And my copy is already marked up because I underlined my favorite parts. So go buy your own copy of the book from the Rabbit Room.

I received a review copy of the book from the publisher. In all honesty, I had already pre-bought the book. But the review copy let me read it just a little quicker.

The Twilight Saga books have evoked intense reactions. Some favorable, some not. Last week, the 2nd movie of the series came out. Some of my friends planned their entire week around the movie, making it a huge event. Large groups of them bought tickets for the midnight showing. And this was on a work night for most people. Also last week, someone else told me that Twilight is the only book he has ever thrown across a room. And I don’t think it was a matter of throwing things for joy, like the broken plates you see in Greek movies. Very different opinions on the same thing.

I guess I fall somewhere in the middle. I have read the first three books (waiting for the 4th from the library) and found them to be ok, but not great. But I have been concerned at how consumed some people have become. It feels like women, in particular, think of these books as a grownup version of Disney fairytales. The famous pastel princesses have been replaced by blood. Fairytales are fine, as long as you also remember that they don’t represent reality.

Touched by a Vampire by Beth Felker Jones isn’t another vampire fiction book. The book was written from a Christian perspective in order to look at some of the overarching themes in the Twilight Saga. It includes thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter and a study guide at the back of the book. The book explores:

• Dangerous Romance
• Love
• Abstinence and Sex
• Gender Roles
• Ideal Family
• Marriage
• Children
• Strength
• Purpose

I can’t say that I always agreed with the author, but it got me thinking about these different issues and my opinion on them. This would be a great book for parents and teachers whose children and students have read the books or seen the movies. They could use the ideas in the book as conversation starters to talk to their teenagers.

You can purchase the book from Multnomah Books.

I received this review copy of the book from the publisher.