Today we have the lovely Laura Frantz sharing with us five books that have impacted her life. Laura’s own books have been listed three times by our previous guests. This doesn’t surprise me in the least, as I just love love love her writing – so much so we awarded her latest release, The Colonel’s Lady, a
Book Review Sisters Opal Award.
So let’s take a look at which books have impacted Laura’s life!
Five Books That Have Impacted My Life
Laura Frantz
1. Christy by Catherine Marshall
This was my first foray into Christian fiction and I’ll never forget it! Rich and multi-layered, this story stayed with me and set the standard for the kind of fiction I love most. Francine Rivers and Liz Curtis Higg’s novels remind me of Christy. I went on to read all of Marshall’s books, both her sequel, Julie, and her non-fiction titles. They’re all great!
2. George Whitefield’s Journals by George Whitefield
I love so many George’s from the 18th-century – George Washington, George Rogers Clark, and now George Whitefield, the famous evangelist. How can you not love a man who was described as “all life, fire, wing, and force”? There’s never been another preacher like him.
3. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I read all of the Little House books but this remains my favorite. It has a sweetness to it that isn’t found in many books – an echo of a bygone era. I’ve always been encouraged that the author first published a book in her late 60’s – or so I’ve heard!
4. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
Though I love the Anne of Green Gables books, this adult romance by Montgomery tops my list of favorite books of all time. I’ve even reread it several times, something I almost never do. And I never thought I’d fall in love with a hero named Barney Snaith. But…thud!
5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I first read Bronte’s classic in college and then reread it all over again. It’s haunting and powerful and full of the angst and passion I love
.
About Laura Frantz
Laura is a lover of history, is the author of
The Frontiersman’s Daughter,
Courting Morrow Little, and
The Colonel’s Lady, and currently lives in the misty woods of Washington with her husband and two sons. Her next book, Love’s Reckoning – the first in a four book series – releases in September 2012 and can be
pre-ordered now.
Connect With Laura
Website & Blog: www.laurafrantz.net
Thank you Laura for coming by and sharing these great books with us!
Helen is a strange combination of fiction editor and web strategist. That’s because she loves fiction and the internet – and analytics! A former business analyst and IT support manager, Helen now spends her time parenting her three children as well as running her editing and web agency businesses. As a book reviewer and fiction editor, her one true love and specialty is Christian romance fiction.
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What an interesting list Laura! Some I've heard of but others I hadn't… Will have to check them out. I LOVE hearing about books that have inspired MY favourite authors, especially ones that have impacted my life… such as yourself!
LOL about what you wrote about Barney Snaith 🙂
Oh, so good to see Noela here AND Helen and Jess:) Good evening to you – or maybe morning over there!! We just had a true Northwest supper of salmon patties, oven fries, and a little kale from the garden and are going to watch Merlin in a bit:) Our kind of a happy evening!
Glad that Barney comment made you chuckle, Noela – he's so dreamy that I hope you get a hold of a copy yourself!! He actually has another name which is quite hero-like but I'll not spoil it for you:)
I'll be sure to check back tomorrow and see if anyone else has come by. For now my kiddos are yelling for some Merlin magic! Bless you all!!
Really interesting list Laura! The L.M. Montgomery one looks really interesting 🙂
I like this series. I wonder what 5 I would pick, I'd have to really think.
And I downloaded the Blue Castle Sample to my kindle to remind me to buy it when I get through my TBR pile…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA – Oh, my TBR pile frightens me.
Love the list. There are some really great choices here! I am reading one right now called, "The iChurch Method: How to Advance Your Ministry Online" by author Jason Caston. The purpose of this book is to help ministries advance the Kingdom online and take the gospel to the world. I love everything about it! I love learning how to reach more people with the gospel. http://www.theichurchmethod.com/
Laura – I know it's a bit confusing of us when we say your post is going up on the 22nd and it appears on the 21st for you 😛 I wasn't sure if you'd still be up when it posted!
I have a confession to make Laura … I've never been able to finish reading Jane Eyre! I started "trying" when I was 12 years old. I don't know how many times I've read the first couple of chapters, but never got any further – I'm not even sure why! One day perhaps I will get there … particularly since you rate it so highly 🙂
The Blue Castle sounds great, particularly since it's by L.M. Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables is such a wonderful story, so I imagine The Blue Castle would be at least just as good!
As for Merlin … I've never watched it. Have you been watching that Once Upon A Time? It only started here last week, 2nd episode tonight. So far I'm intrigued enough to continue.
Thanks again Laura for being part of our series 🙂 Always a pleasure to have you here!
Nice to see you Melissa! And yeah … my TBR pile is scary too. I can't ever imagine getting through it all. I'm afraid some good books are inevitably going to go unread! But not Laura's, that's for sure 😉
Laura! I was so excited when I saw your name on this blog today. 🙂 I love your list – some I've read and some I haven't, but you've intrigued me to check them out. I've never read any books by L.M. Montgomery, other than the Anne of Green Gables Series, but a hero that's named Barney AND swoon worthy is definitely worth checking into! I love all the Little House books, but I really enjoy Farmer Boy because of the setting and time period. Thanks for sharing your thoughts today!
Helen, I so understand about the JE conundrum. It's a hard book to read. I must confess I read it first in college when I was used to reading difficult things so it seemed almost light to me when mixed in with all that science and math and such. That old style language is difficult to track – and all that narrative!! I wonder what they would think about our books today – lol!
I do hope you get to The Blue Castle at some point. Not everyone likes it but I am just rabid about it!
And you're tempting me terribly with Once Upon A Time – I've heard it's GREAT! You have a lot to look forward to. Merlin is wonderful, too, though we aren't crazy about all that magic and know some folks would pass. But it's so much like the fairytales of my childhood and is lighthearted enough that we love it!
Thanks again for asking me to guest here – you and Jess are simply the best:)
Gabrielle, LOL – I'M the one who's excited to see you here:) Can you tell I'm smiling:) Thanks so much for your thoughts. I give a HUGE thumbs up to Farmer Boy!! Even the cover of our copy is a keeper. My Wyatt, when he was about 8, read it and kept it by his bedside for years after. He's 15 now and he still thinks it's a keeper. When I asked him what he liked most about it, he said all the food descriptions;) Typical boy!
I do think you would join my in swooning over Barney Snaith:) And the heroine, Valancy Sterling, is just a hoot!
Robyn, Love your heart for HIM. It's so wise to keep our minds and hearts kingdom focused. My brother is a missionary in Spain so I understand your thoughts. Bless you!
I had to jump in and say hi to Melissa – I don't think we've ever met but remember you're Naomi's crit partner (or so I think!). I hope you enjoy TBD once you wade through that pile. Mine is MOUNT TBR and it looks like it might crush me! Thanks so much for your thoughts…
And Helen, bless you so much for not letting my books sit for long! I hope/pray you feel that way about Love's Reckoning:)
Jess, It is the BEST book! And it starts off with almost a comic twist, something I usually don't go for but has some deliciously dark humor…but no spoilers here;)
Oh, Laura, I loved "Christy" and the "Anne of Green Gables" series! I wish I still had those books. Barney Snaith sounds like a character not to be missed! I'll have to add "The Blue Castle" to my TBR. It's good to see you here at Helen and Jess' blog. 🙂
Gwen! So good to see you, too, my friend! I have a blog visit intended for you and Gabrielle today as I've missed my blog reading lately:) Glad we're Christy and Anne fans – so wish I could experience those books fresh again. By now you'll be tired of my Blue Castle-Barney Snaith gushing! You're such a voracious, discerning reader, I'd love to know your thoughts if you ever get a chance to read it. I've been wanting to do a giveaway of TBC on my blog but last time I looked the ppback prices were so high I gave up!
Thanks so much for being here on a busy Tuesday:)
Great to see Laura Frantz featured here. I have read all of Laura's books (more than once) and look forward to her next release. As an avid reader I have greatly appreciated her favorites book list on her blog. It has been a source of some excellent new reads for me. I love having sources whose opinion I can trust. It's exciting to share them with my reader friends too.
I would encourage you to put "The Blue Castle" in the top three of your TBR stack. You won't be sorry. Great story line and even greater character development. My husband read it too and loved it all the way to the end. Just my two cents!
Mary, My encourager:) I so love when you appear! It's good to know our mutual book love results in sharing/blessing others. Just when I think I can't keep blogging, you keep me going with a thoughtful comment! I'm actually reading a general market book right now called The Butterfly Cabinet but am not sure what I think yet. It's a bit dark and is based on true 19th-century Irish history and is a debut novel by Bernie McGill. I saw it at Costco and found the cover captivating! But I have a thing about butterflies…
I'll be blogging about an upcoming History Channel miniseries this week and hope to see you over my way. Bless you for being here!
Whoops, got so excited when I saw your name I forgot to hit the reply button. Pls see below:)