Books You Might Want To Read

Grandma Moses started painting at the age of 78. Toni Morrison published her first book at the age of 40. Madeleine L'Engle's best know work A Wrinkle in Time wasn't published until her 40's.

I go through the list of "late bloomers" in my mind to remind myself that I still have time.

Meanwhile, I have friends out there that have actually written and self-published books. I am really excited for them, and this sad, little blog post is my way of cheering them on.

First on this list is Elizabeth Adams. In 2014, she published a Jane Austen fan-fiction novel called The Houseguest, and I cannot imagine anyone who enjoys reading Austen not liking this book. Not long after, E.A. wrote Green Card. Similar to novels like those of Emily Giffin, Green Card is a modern romance novel. Although I am typically not into this genre, I  found myself completely sucked into the story, love-hating it all the way through. (A word of warning. Green Card is a strong PG-13, so if juicy make-out scenes make you uncomfortable, just stick with The Houseguest.)

Next is D. Marie Prokop. The wife of a friend from my old youth group, I don't know her well, but she has my admiration. She knits! She plays the guitar! She is as short as I am (I think)! And aside from a children's book, she has also written a full-on, young-adult, sci-fi trilogy while raising two boys, working at a farm-to table cafe, and being married to my old friend, Todd. I read the first two installments of her Days of the Guardian trilogy in quick succession, and was eager to read the third, but when I went to look for it on Amazon, realized she hadn't published it yet. Torture. Thankfully, she published the third book a few months ago, so the rest of you won't have to suffer the suspense I had to.

Lastly, C. R. Leverette, a guy from the church we frequent, just put out a novella called Trouble in Peaceful Haven. What I loved about this read was Leverette's combination of two genres: sci-fi and western.

It's winter out there. The Super Bowl is over. Daytona isn't until the 21st. You can only watch so much TV before your brain starts to fry. So if any of the above books spark your interest, just shell out a few bucks and get yourself something to read.