Books I Read in 2008 Part 1
Explore my curated list of books read in 2008, featuring top picks, hidden gems, and must-read titles from a year of literary adventures. Discover recommendations and reviews!
Book
A Day with a Perfect Stranger
by David Gregory
Mattie Comisky is convinced that her husband Nick is turning into a religious nut when he comes home with an incredible story about eating dinner with God, but a chance meeting with a stranger while away on business changes Mattie's opinion.
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Book
The Friday Night Knitting Club
by Kate Jacobs
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Once a week, an eclectic group of women comes together at a New York City yarn shop to work on their latest projects—and share the stories of their lives... At the center of Walker and Daughter is the shop’s owner, Georgia, who is overwhelmed with juggling the store and single-handedly raising her teenage daughter. Happy to escape the demands of her life, she looks forward to her Friday Night Knitting Club, where she and her friends—Anita, Peri, Darwin, Lucie, and KC—exchange knitting tips, jokes, and their deepest secrets. But when the man who once broke Georgia’s heart suddenly shows up, demanding a role in their daughter’s life, her world is shattered. Luckily, Georgia’s friends are there for encouragement, sharing their own tales of intimacy, heartbreak, and miracle-making. And when the unthinkable happens, these women will discover that what they’ve created isn’t just a knitting club: it’s a sisterhood.
Book
Return
by Karen Kingsbury
Determined to leave behind his faith and his family in order to embrace a free-thinking future, Luke Baxter discovers an awe-inspiring secret about his past that forces him to return to his home for answers. Original. $75,000 ad/promo.
Book
Fame
by Karen Kingsbury
When Katy Hart, an innocent from the Midwest, is cast with heartthrob Dayne Matthews, she is unprepared for the glamour and temptation of Hollywood and uses her faith and strong morals to teach her co-star some important life lessons.
Book
Forgiven
by Karen Kingsbury
Famed Hollywood actor Dayne Matthews struggles to deal with the shocking discoveries he has made about his past and to find the strength to forgive.
Book
Found
by Karen Kingsbury
John Baxter attempts to fulfill his wife's dying wish to find their firstborn son, actor Dayne Matthews embarks on a personal search for truth, and theater director Katy Hart makes a decision that may completely transform her life.
Book
Family
by Karen Kingsbury
After finding his firstborn son, John Baxter looks for a way to tell his other children, while a sensational Hollywood trial reunites Dayne Matthews and Katy Hart, but just when love has the chance to win, doubts and presumed scandals push them further apart.
Book
My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult
Written with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity, this novel is about a teen who was conceived as a bone marrow match for her sister Kate, and what happens when she begins to question who she really is.
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Book
Waiting for Morning
by Karen Kingsbury
“I’m afraid there’s been a car accident...” As Hannah Ryan waits for her family to return home from a camping trip, she realizes she has everything going for her—a husband other women admire, two charming teenage daughters, and a loving Christian home. As the sunny afternoon turns into twilight, her uneasiness grows along with the shadows. Then a car pulls into Hannah’s driveway, bringing two police officers...and devastating news that shatters her life forever. In the days that follow, Hannah struggles with unspeakable feelings of sorrow and rage—feelings that fuse into one chilling purpose for living: revenge against Brian Wesley, the drunk driver who has caused all her pain. In her fury, Hannah shuts the Lord out of her life. She’s determined not to forgive Wesley or the God who allowed this tragedy to happen. Can two caring people help Hannah rediscover her faith...before bitterness destroys her?
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Book
Someday
by Karen Kingsbury
When Dayne and Katy Matthews take on separate movie projects, tabloid rumors talk of trouble and unfaithfulness between the two; meanwhile, the Flanigans recognize the deep loss of the Christian Kids Theater program, and lead a final effort to keep the theater from being torn down.
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Book
A Time to Embrace
by Karen Kingsbury
John and Abby Reynolds, behaving like newlyweds after a near-divorce, are called upon to be beacons of faith to their children and the community when John, a high school coach, is paralyzed in an automobile accident caused by star football player Jake Daniels.
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Book
Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER **THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL, NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES** “Eerie, beautiful, and devastating.” —Chicago Tribune “A stealthy hit with staying power. . . . thriller-like pacing.” —The New York Times “Thirteen Reasons Why will leave you with chills long after you have finished reading.” —Amber Gibson, NPR’s “All Things Considered” You can’t stop the future. You can’t rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play. Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever. Need to talk? Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) anytime if you are in the United States. It’s free and confidential. Find more resources at 13reasonswhy.info. Find out how you can help someone in crisis at bethe1to.com.
Book
After the Leaves Fall
by Nicole Baart
Escaping a life marked by loss, young Julia DeSmit leaves for college--the perfect place to reinvent herself--but one wrong decision changes her forever, and she returns to her grandmother's farm, weary and defeated. Original. 10,000 first printing.
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Book
A Moment of Weakness
by Karen Kingsbury
Had they found each other again after all these years, only to lose everything that matters most? As children, Jade Conner and Tanner Eastman were best friends—until scandal drove them apart. Then, one golden summer, they find each other again. Through endless days they share their hearts and souls and dreams of forever. Then, in a moment of weakness, they make a decision that will tear them apart for nearly a decade. In their own separate corners of the country, Jade and Tanner have become fighters for religious freedom. Now Jade’s unfaithful husband is determined to destroy her in a custody battle that will rock the nation and shake people’s understanding of faith and freedom. Could Jade lose her only child because of her faith? Only one man can help her in her darkest hour. And only one old woman knows the secret about that summer and the truth that can set them all free.
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Book
Where Yesterday Lives
by Karen Kingsbury
At thirty-one, Ellen Barrett has already won a Pulitzer prize. Sadly, though, her skill as a journalist far surpasses her ability to sort out her troubled past. When she returns to picturesque Petoskey, Michigan, for her beloved father’s funeral, it’s a traumatic emotional and spiritual journey for Ellen—a rediscovery of what is truly important and eternal. Will facing her past tear Ellen apart—or teach her what is truly important in her life? Ellen Barrett, thirty-one, is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist with an uncertain marriage, a forgotten faith, and haunting memories of her picturesque hometown and the love she left behind. The eldest of five siblings, Ellen longs for the time, long ago, when they were happy—when they were a family. Then tragedy strikes. Now Ellen’s beloved father is dead, and she must leave Miami and return to her childhood home on the shores of Little Traverse Bay in Petoskey, Michigan. As she returns to a world that was, an avalanche of memories is unleashed. And so Ellen’s quest begins—a quest to make peace with the people who still live there, with the losses and changes that time has wrought, and with the future God has set before her. Story Behind the Book “Each of my novels is a piece of my heart. Where Yesterday Lives was my first-ever novel, and as such it is somewhat autobiographical. The childhood story of Ellen Barrett, her love for her parents and siblings, is my story—though her current story and struggles are fictional. On Every Side sheds light on the struggle for religious freedom in today’s climate; something I am passionate about. Finally, When Joy Came to Stay is the story of one woman’s battle against depression and the secrets of her past.” —Karen Kingsbury