My Library

This is one of those posts I've been meaning to sit down and write for a while.

It's one of those that as an author you feel kind of obligated to do.

So many people ask me, What's your favorite book? or What are you reading? 

Well! I'm here to answer that question.

If you were to ask me what my favorite book is, I would automatically say Little Women. It's a classic and I absolutely love everything about it. It's also the book that made me fall in love with reading in the first place.

Others include Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë...

Save the Date by Jenny B. Jones (she writes Christian fiction and they are absolutely fantastic)...

The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry...

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (this one is absolutely amazing. It's a book that will change you forever.)...

And I think Divergent by Veronica Roth would also make the list.

What am I reading right now?

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I'm only about 75 pages in but I'm loving it. I also look forward to watching the movie (it has Emma Stone in it and she's one of my favorite actresses) after I finish the book!

I have SO many books I'm wanting to read and are sitting on my shelf waiting for me but my schedule has been jam packed lately so we'll see when I get to those!

From now on, I'll make sure to keep you updated on what I'm reading as I'm always reading SOMETHING!

If you haven't read any of these, I strongly suggest them to you.

Joanne Harris says it best, "Some books you read. Some books you enjoy. But some books just swallow you up heart and soul."

These are the books that have "swallowed me up heart and soul" and I hope they do the same to you as well!

~Bailey

P.S. Aren't all of these covers SO lovely?!

The Giver Series: Book Review

Jonas- The Receiver of Memories. He has the capability to see beyond. He's only twelve. Yet he, unlike all others, has feelings. He knows love.

Kira- The Weaver. She can weave and embroider with her eyes closed, her hands moving without controlling them. Fifteen years old and orphaned, her gift brings more than she would ever imagine.

Matty- The Healer. He's a young boy with a passion for life, for animals, for people.

Claire- The Birthmother. The girl who has never known love until one day, she gives birth to a son who was taken abruptly from her.

These four characters in The Giver series sculpt the plot and make their place in your life- permanantly.

I just finished the last book in this series.

The first book in this series is The Giver. It's a captivating story about a village where people don't feel.



They are told who to marry. They are told what job they will take. Their lives are meaningless- lived day by day under the commands of the Chief Elder. Things are the same day after day. No surprises, no interruptions.

That is, until Jonas's Ceremony of Twelve. He is not assigned- he is selected. Selected to be the Receiver of Memories- a task not even he was aware existed.

The second book is Gathering Blue. 



Kira lives in a village of cruelty- a cruelty no one is aware of until they are deep in the middle of it.

Her gift of embroidery and weaving lead her to a place she would haven't dreamed of. There she meets Thomas, the carver, and together they discover what their village has been hiding from all of them.

It's something that Kira decides she's going to change.

The third book is Messenger. 



Matty is living with the Seer, the man who is blind but able to see in a way others are not.

They live in The Village, a village that welcomes those who are injured and hurt- those who are not welcomed in their own communities.

But one day, things begin to change. Leader finds himself in the face of a decision- one, in the end, made by the people. They want to shut the village to newcomers.

But Matty and the Seer can't do that. There's someone who must be rescued. And that could change everything- for all of them.

The final book to this series is Son. 



Claire was designated as Birthmother at her Ceremony of Twelve.

It's not what she thought- not what any of them thought. It's real pain. 

It's knowing love and pain and loss.

When her son is taken from her, her son that she has fallen in love with, she knows that she must find him.

Whatever the cost- she must find her Son.

I flew through these books. They aren't the type of books that I normally read.

But they were absolutely exceptional.

I LOVED this series.

And I think you will, too.

It's so fascinating and thought provoking.

They were great for an early summer read.

I highly suggest this quartet of books by Lois Lowry.

Read these books- you'll go places and find yourself in thought for days.

~Bailey

P.S. They're making a movie of The Giver and while it looks completely different from the book, I'm definitely going to go see it. It's one of the reasons I had to read the book- because I can't see a movie without reading the book. Nevertheless, I'm excited for the movie to come out!

Bailey Flanigan Series: Book Review

So remember that book series I mentioned a while back? And how I promised to do a post on it?

Well, this is it.

I have to say that I refused to read Karen Kingsbury for the longest time because my grandmothers read Karen Kingsbury and that just seemed a bit weird.

However, my mom got me one of her books last summer before I left for Uganda. She bought it because of the title- Leaving, The Bailey Flanigan Series 

The main character's name is Bailey, so she bought it for me. I didn't have time to read it while we were there and since then I hadn't tried it because, you know, teenagers don't read Karen Kingsbury.

A couple weeks ago I was absolutely desperate for something to read. There that book was on my shelf. Staring me in the face with it's pretty hardback cover and lovely crisp, cream pages...

So I read the first couple chapters. Though I wasn't too crazy about her writing(it was in third person...I prefer first), I was hooked with the story and I couldn't wait to see what would happen.

I read almost half of it in one sitting. *Ask my mom, it's true.*

That night before bed, I opened my computer and looked it up only to find out that it was a FOUR BOOK SERIES.

I hadn't paid attention to the bold words on the cover- Bailey Flanigan Series. 

But now that I had begun...I was gonna have to finish it.

I'm not a super fast reader but within a week and a half I had finished the first book. The day after I finished it I made a trip to the library to pick up books two and three- Learning and Longing. It was a Tuesday...and no, I don't know why I remember that.

By Friday night I had finished the second one and Saturday morning I woke up and started the third.

I do believe by the next Tuesday I had finished Longing and was on my way back to the library.

When I held that final book in my hands, I felt this amazing sense of accomplishment. But I was also really sad because there wasn't another book after this. I already felt myself dying a little bit on the inside.

As I read the first page, I was so sure I knew JUST what was going to happen. Two days later- I felt like my world was being turned upside down. *Again, ask my mom, she'll tell you.*

Because I had NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.

And it was KILLING me. By Friday night things were okay again and I had less than one hundred pages left...a beautiful conclusion underway.

I made those last one hundred pages last FOUR DAYS...mainly because I couldn't bear parting with those characters and moving on. *I know. I'm a nerd.*

In the end, I absolutely LOVED all four books. {Number 3, Longing, was my favorite.}

These were the kind of books that fill you with every kind of emotion possible.

I laughed. I {almost} cried. I was devastated..I rejoiced. After the last page, I was filled with happiness.

This series, no matter how old you are, is one worth reading.

The plot is enthralling. The characters beyond lovable. Each page seems like a new adventure and it's magical. It begins with a girl named Bailey seeking God's plan for her life. (Sounds a lot like me!) She pursues her dream. She glorifies God. She finds love in the most unexpected place.

But through the whole thing she pursues God and His plan...and it just so happens to end with an amazing happily ever after.

Over and over and over again, Mrs. Kingsbury reminds us that our story is God's story in the first place. We are His children. Girls: we are His precious daughters! We are a treasure to Him.

So, this summer if you're in need of something to read- run to the library and pick up this series. You'll be glad you did.

~Bailey

Oh. And Mrs. Kingsbury, I owe you an apology. I judged your books by their cover and I'm sorry! I love the way you tell stories. They were beautiful and I loved them. Thank you for following God's calling and writing.

Read Books. Go Places.

Over the years, I have read a great many books.

Some were novels. Some story-books.

Some were read to me. Some I read myself.

Nevertheless, a book is a marvelous thing. Words strung together, sentences paired, conversations created to make something wondrous, sometimes even adventurous.

When I was younger, I loved to have stories read to me. Sometimes at night we would sit in the living room, gathered together, reading books together as a family. If dad didn't read, he without a doubt fell asleep. But when he did read, the stories seemed to come to life a little bit more.

Around age twelve or thirteen, my mom insisted I read a book entitled, Little Women. It seemed dull, boring and I didn't want to read it. When I became bored one day with nothing to do, I finally gave in and began devouring the pages. The characters were enchanting, the writing beautiful and the story captivating. I fell in love with the lives of Jo, Beth, Amy, Meg, and Laurie, too, of course. This story of four Little Women became my first favorite book.

My best friend began suggesting books, and to her, I wasn't really a reader. She, however, was a reader. Emily read books all the time, she always had a new story to share with me. One day she basically handed me a book and said, "Read this." I read it. And after reading Little Women and several others, I guess you could officially say I was a reader.

Because I am a reader, I am a writer. New books still captivate me with their stories and characters, if they are good books.

I learn to write by reading. I better my writing by reading things by better authors than me.

But in every book I read, I go somewhere new. I learn new things.

In each page turned, in each character I read about, my imagination grows.

In each scenario, each place I read about, I go somewhere new.

Some people say reading books is a boring thing to do.

When you read books, your imagination is given the chance to grow, to go places you would have never dreamed of going.

When a character dies, when you finish a fabulous book, your heart aches and it feels as if you are leaving a piece of you behind.

So I sit here writing, hoping you will read this, or at least read something.

Because I go places in my writing, in this gift He has given me.

God, for His glory, has given us the gift of imagination. Use it.

Read books. Go places.

~Bailey