Three Books

With my summer reading list being finished nearly finished, I have moved on to some fall reading. My September stack consists of a couple of Christie's mysteries, a book that I've been meaning to get to forever and a day, and one cozy novel featuring Jane Austen and a bookshop in London. They're on my nightstand and I can hardly wait to get into them! In the meantime, the three most recent books that I've finished are:

Still Life by Louise Penny // My book club chose this fast-paced mystery for August. It's the first in a series that people have been talking about. We decided that we enjoyed the setting and the style and that Penny had us all tricked into suspecting the wrong person. The jury is still out on whether this a series to dive into. There were a few characters that none of us could like (Nichol in particular) and some themes that we weren't crazy about. This is the perfect fall mystery even if the series doesn't come through.

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald // I challenged myself to read this before my birthday and I made it! This was Fitzgerald's second novel and is all kinds of depressing. I am a firm believer in Fitzgerald writing what he knew. Reading his work kind of breaks my heart, but then, it also reminds me how hopeless life becomes when God is not the center of it. This book beginning when main character was 25 and taking place mostly in New York was enough to make me love it right from the start. It got off to a strong start and slowly fizzled out, but it's classic Fitzgerald, so if you like him, you'll like it. I may have even enjoyed it more than Gatsby.

Let Me Be Woman by Elisabeth Elliot // This was another book that I challenged myself to read before my birthday. A lady at church gifted it to my Mom and she (my Mom) was nice enough to let me read it before she did! This book is a series of short letters that Elliot wrote to her daughter from Cape Cod in the days leading up to her daughter's marriage. The main theme is biblical womanhood. Elliot's messages could be addressed to any woman, no matter what era she finds herself in. As the book progresses, the theme turns more toward what it is to be a godly wife. Elliot was one wise woman and I look forward to reading this book again and again as time goes on.

Linking up with Anne!

What have you been reading?

What are you looking forward to jumping into soon?