Flashback! When I was a kid, getting up for school Monday through Friday was always hard. Morning always came too soon. But on Saturdays, there was a very important reason to be up early- Saturday morning cartoons! My favorite part was watching Schoolhouse Rock in between shows- do you remember singing along with "A noun is a person, place or thing", "Conjunction junction" and "I'm just a bill"? I can still sing the preamble to the constitution.

I Can See Clearly Now by Brendan Halpin is a fun novel set in 1972 New York City about a group of young people hired to write educational but hip jingles. These songs will run in a series called Pop Goes the Classroom and will air between cartoons on Saturday mornings (sound familiar?). Sarah is shy, Peter soulful, Levon's stage name is Apollo Von Funkenburg, and only Julie really understands the business. Taking lead of the group is semi-famous folksinger Pamela Sanchez, whose free spirited ways do not exactly mesh with the corporate world of television. It all seems like an Age of Aquarius dream, until relationships and deadlines become a very vivid reality. Forcast: Warm and Sunny. And I'd love to hear the "Funky solar system" song!

Ok, I admit when I heard the title The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, my first thought was that there would be alot of talk about cows in the book. Guernsey cows. I wondered why people would be so enamored with a book about a dairy farm. Now that I've read the book, I discovered that's not what it's about at all- and in a good way!

The book is written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (her niece) in a series of letters, and Guernsey refers to an island in the English Channel. Set just after World War II, writer Juliet Ashton has become popular with her book Izzy Bickerstaff Goes to War. She receives a letter from a man named Dawsey Adams who found her name in a used book, and a correspondence ensues. Juliet is intriguied by Dawsey's mention of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which turns out to be a group formed on the spur of the moment to avoid capture by the Germans. Letters from other society members follow, and Juliet is so intrigued by their stories that she goes to visit Guernsey, where she learns about their lives during the war, and how the literary society brought them together. With fewer cows than I expected, but lots of both humorous and meaningful moments, this book goes in my "what an enjoyable read" category!

Recently I presented a workshop for Kentucky Public Librarians about what's happening in Contemporary Christian Fiction. Popular authors such as Beverly Lewis, Janette Oke, Jan Karon and Wanda E. Brunstetter are here to stay, but Christian fiction is really branching out. Mysteries, Thrillers, Chick Lit, Science Fiction and Fantasy, and even Horror are finding their audiences and present a wide variety of reading choices.

If you're looking to find a good Christian fiction read, a great place to start is with The Christy Awards, which recognizes the finest in writers and writing in a number of different genres. Here are a few of the 2010 nominees (others can be found on the Christy Award website):

 

Contemporary Standalone:

June Bug  by Chris Fabry

The Passion of Mary-Margaret  by Lisa Samson

Veiled Freedom  by Jeanette Windle 

 

Historical

A Flickering Light  by Jane Kirkpatrick

Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin 

The Swiss Courier by Tricia Goyer & Mike Yorkey