The Greatest Survival Stories Every Told: Seventeen Incredible Tales by Lamar Underwood
My thoughts: I traveled to the south pole, the Andes, the Gobi desert, and many other fantastic places. I enjoyed getting these short bits of thrilling excitement as I read this book during my work breaks. I highly recommend it to fans of adventure stories.


Feeling for Bones by Bethany Pierce
My Thoughts: This introspective novel takes you through the spiritual awakening of 16 year old Olivia Monahan.  She is uprooted from her home when a scandal in the local church costs her father his ministry. The family retreats to the seclusion of a small Pennsylvanian town, where a host of rich characters all play part in Olivia's struggle to understand her disillusionment with Christianity and gather courage to fight the eating disorder threatening her health.
This was good, it alternates between happy episodes and positive characters in Olivia's life, and the crisises brought on not only by Olivia's problems but also her friends and her families. Parts of it, especially the ending, are almost mystical. Read this one when you are in the mood for reflection.


I also tried Open Season by C.J. Box, which I had heard good things about and I wasn't dissapointed.  It is a good solid mystery with an environmental angle and an outdoorsy feel. 


I also recently read Violet Dawn by Brandilyn Collins, one of my favorite Christian suspense authors.  She didn't let me down, as right in the opening scene a woman finds a dead body in her hottub.   Another one of my favorite Christian authors is Tim Downs, and in First the Dead his quirky character of Nick Polchak is back.  What makes Nick quirky?  He is a forensic entymologists who is fascinated by insects and who uses his knowledge of the bugs that inhabit dead bodies to solve crimes.  If you like CSI and have a strong stomach for the details of murder investigations you'll love this one.