Reading Books

I enjoy reading books, but I don't make the time to read them like I used to because I have so many other projects I am working on right now. Genealogy, genealogy, Olympics, email, blogging, genealogy. And did I mention genealogy? Yes, I am preoccupied with that subject!

A quick paragraph here about that last subject before I move on to the book. I recently received a letter from someone in Switzerland! She is also researching the same ancestors in Pommern, Germany that I am! Somehow we must be distant relatives. I contacted her by email but she was within two hours of leaving on a two week vacation so I have to wait to find out more about her, as well as the ancestors. This all happened after I had put the genealogy to the side for awhile. Now I am back into it again.

As far as books, I usually try to do a little reading when I go to bed. Some nights it is only a page or two before my eyes close - with the book still resting on my stomach and the light on! Not long ago I ordered a 'free' Kindle with reward points from doing online surveys. It is not one of the fancy ones that can access the internet, but can only go to Amazon to download books with wi-fi.

So far I have only downloaded free books. I don't check the site very often so I am sure I have missed some good books that were free for one day, but that is okay. I have plenty on the Kindle to keep me reading for quite awhile. 

One of those free books was the one in the picture above, "Where is God When it Hurts?" by Phillip Yancey. I found it quite interesting. I have often said that we need rain in order to appreciate the rainbow, and that is essentially what Phillip is saying. He goes into some depth of explaining why pain is a good thing, especially physical pain. Pain is the signal our body sends to tell us something isn't right and we might have to pull back. Pain tells us the fire is hot and not to get any closer or get out immediately. Also, the reason people with leprosy are missing fingers, toes, or more is that they lose all feeling so are not aware that they might have cut their foot, or hand, and it becomes infected and eventually lost. So pain is important in our lives. All kinds of pain. I think most will agree that when we go through something painful in our lives, whether it be divorce, someone we love dies, problems at work, etc, it helps us to grow, to do better next time.

This book is worth reading if you haven't read it by now. It has been around for awhile, but it wasn't one that I had a chance to read before.

I have since started another e-book, which title escapes me at the moment. It is based on some of the reality tv shows. Survivor comes to mind because it involves two camps that meet once a week for a competition and the losers have to vote someone off. The story is an interesting concept, and maybe someone will create a reality show from it! It is a fairly quick read - providing I don't fall asleep before reading more than 2 pages. It has a 'show-mance,' too, and people get injured. And naturally, I have to finish the book to find out who wins the big prize in the end! And whether the guy gets the girl after the show ends.