Thursday Thirteen

Hat tip to my uber-cool friend and Christian broadcasting sensation, Cindy, for tuning me into the Thursday Thirteen.

Thirteen books I re-read at least five times during the year:

Bad Luck & Trouble
Lee Child

Body Politic
Paul Johnston

Dave Barry is from Mars and Venus
Dave Barry

Die Trying
Lee Child

Last Man Standing
David Balducci

Mama’s Boarding House
John D. Fitzgerald

Odd Thomas
Dean Koontz

Silent Joe
T. Jefferson Parker

The Bone Yard
Paul Johnston

The Chosen
Chaim Potok

The Hiding Place
Corrie Ten Boom

The Long Winter
Laura Ingalls Wilder

Visions in Death
J.D. Robb

Notes on selected favorites:
Bad Luck & Trouble
Die Trying
I’ve written about my undying love and appreciation for Mr. Child’s Jack Reacher series before, but these are (so far) my two favorite books in the series. Bad Luck & Trouble is the first book to feature an amazing ensemble cast, including characters who hold their own against tough-guy Reacher.

My favorite Reacher book, however, is definitely Die Trying. In a case of mistaken identity, Reacher takes part in the botched-up kidnapping of a female FBI agent. Along the way, there is a great story that includes militia mind-set, remote cult-like camps in Montana, explosions, and page-turning angst in who may or may not be a double-agent.

Body Politic
The Bone Yard
I discovered Paul Johnston, the amazing, award-wining Scottish crime-writer, after I checked out his Water of Death when it was given a 5 star review on The Mystery Reader. I became hooked on his Quintilian Dalrymple series which is set in futuristic Scotland and centers on a non-conformist private-eye.

My only regrets are that he has only written five “Quint” novels, and since they are published exclusively in the UK, they are very hard to find in the US. Currently, I only own the two on the list and have to rely on local libraries for the other ones – which I check out repeatedly.

Dave Barry is from Mars and Venus
I bought this at a garage sale for 25 cents when I was in high school, and I’ve had it ever since. I grew up reading Dave Barry’s humor column in the Sunday newspaper. Often, I’d read it out loud as Mom and Dad and I drove home from church. We usually laughed the whole way home.

When I was 15, Mr. Barry did a satirical column on why teens shouldn’t smoke. I sent him a letter about how great I thought the column was, and he mailed me a hand-written post card telling me how much he appreciated my comments!

This book, in particular, never fails to cheer me up, no matter HOW depressed I get. There are too many funny lines to remember them all, but I think one of my favorite-favorites is when he talks about people writing him nasty comments, but how he can’t reprint them since “this is a family newspaper. Let’s just say I get a lot of people who say ‘duck shoe’ to me.”

Mama’s Boarding House
This was a rare find at on old book store! I grew up reading The Great Brain juvenile series.

Mama’s Boarding House features the same cast of characters, but in a grown-up setting and written in novel form. All the old favorites come back, and we get to see them as they grow, age, and prove it doesn’t matter how old you are…what you do with your life matters to others.

The Hiding Place
My all-time favorite book will always be The Hiding Place, as it holds a special and sentimental place in my heart. In this post, you can read my thoughts after I first read The Hiding Place as a twelve year old.

What’s your favorite book?