Books: another one of my hobbies (and a book review)

I told you a while back that I'd discovered that cooking was one of my hobbies, though I'd struggled a little to identify it as such. Another such hobby I have that I often forget to mention is reading. It sounds so pedestrian and yet it's been such an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember, that I don't think of it as a hobby very often. I can barely go to sleep at night without spending time reading (usually 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how tired I am). I never pack a suitcase to go away without including a book or many more!

I've just this last week or so made a very exciting discovery. You see one of my chronic problems is running out of books to read because I read quite fast. It's not a problem in Australia because there's always a library to turn to. People think about various things that missionaries sacrifice when they go overseas but rarely do they mention access to a library. And we live on a limited budget, so buying many books, even eBooks, is not a good option either.

Don't feel too sorry for me, because for the last 14 years we've had access to the school library. But recently I've noticed that I am having much more trouble finding fiction there that I haven't read and also like (there's lots of fantasy and SciFi, but they aren't my genre).

So, back to my exciting discovery: our Australian library card allows us to borrow eBooks! I can't read them on my old Kindle, but a free app on my phone has turned that device into a  huge source of free books! I'm so excited. And instead of filling free pockets of time with too many phone games, I've been reading instead. Oh the joy!

But today, I want to do something I do very rarely and share with you a book that I read recently. A hard-copy book! It's by a friend of mine and fellow Aussie OMF missionary— Christine Dillon (author-signed copy!).

Grace in Deep Waters is Christine's third book in this realistic fiction series. The previous two are Grace in Strange Design and Grace in the Shadows. They are Christian fiction, which I am often a little tentative to touch because Christian fiction can be a bit unrealistic or predictable (with the inevitable romance thrown in). But this series is none of those things. The family that is at the centre of this series faces some very challenging, yet realistic problems in their faith, health, and relationships. And yet the grace of God shines through in remarkable and unexpected ways. So much so that it's hard to put the books down because you want to see how God's going to work in and through these flawed, yet realistic characters.

One reason it's hard to write fiction reviews is the danger of "spoilers" as my son would say. I don't want to wreck your experience of reading this. Though I wouldn't recommend starting this book while your loved one is in surgery, as I did. My heart was a little too raw that morning to deal with the difficult emotions at the start of this book. However, the book moves from a dark and difficult place towards much better things.

It's a treat to read an Australian book with a Christian "heart" by an Australian author. If you have not picked up this series, I highly recommend it! Christine is working on the fourth in the series, and I can't wait to get my hands on that, because the end of this book leaves you hanging, and hungering for more of the story.

(And no, she didn't pay me to write this, neither did she give me the book.)