“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”

~Harry S Truman

I absolutely LOVE to read. My mom instilled that desire in me since I was a young girl. According to her, when I was three years old, I saw my brother and sister reading and demanded she teach me how or I would figure it out myself.

Raising my kids right.

Since then, I always make time for reading. Even if I haven’t had time to read a whole book, I am always reading articles or blogposts online to fulfill that need.

Because of our shared love of reading, Mom and I decided to add to our With Me Wednesday posts a Read With Me Wednesday and eventually a Watch With Me Wednesday for YouTube, Netflix, and Movies we like.

Reading and creativity go hand-in-hand. By reading fiction, you open up your mind to new possibilities and impossibilities. By reading non-fiction, you can learn about anything that’s been done or you could ever do in whatever field of study you can think of. A reader has the whole world at his or her fingertips.

I have been asked at times what my favorite book is, and I am confident that I will never be able to answer that question. I have read so many books over the years and have enjoyed so many. I have reread multiple books but to decide which was my favorite is not something I want to commit to.

However, I CAN give a list of some of my current favorite authors.

So here are three of them (in no particular order):

1. Ted Dekker

I have read almost every one of his 30+ books. If you like fantasy, psychological thrillers, and intense in depth series then he has the books for you. I would start with either THR3E or Blink. He is a christian author but isn’t overtly preachy. Almost every time I read one of his books, I end up staying up way too late for a couple nights because it is so hard to put down. Before I had kids, there were a couple nights I stayed up till 4am to finish his books. He pulls you into the story, and you can’t close the book and let it go on without you.

2. Steven James

I have read seven of his books. The Patrick Bowers Files and the Jevin Banks Experience are both thriller series that are quite intense. The first series follows an FBI detective that tracks and catches serial killers. He gets pretty graphic at times, and they can be pretty dark as he looks into the evil that motivates these crimes. They are fascinating stories. He is also a christian author who is not over the top in his message. He is known as a “master storyteller,” and it’s so true. He is consistent and informative, bringing in true to life facts to make the story believable.

3. Karen Kingsbury

And now for something completely different. My mom has seen Karen Kingsbury in person three times (once at a convention and twice for a book signing at the store she used to manage). According to mom, she is a sweet, down to earth lady.

Mom and Karen Kingsbury

She is a christian author who writes what I would describe as emotional family dramas that grip your heart and bring tears you never would expect from a book. While reading one of her books, my husband walked in to me bawling my eyes out. I told him I know it is just a book but to let me weep. They make you laugh and cry. Mom said she tells the story about Karen’s husband asking her why she was crying while she was writing. She said that so and so died, and he said “well you killed her!” After reading her books, you feel like you know these people and feel everything that they are going through. Every time I finish a series, I feel like I am saying goodbye to a close friend. We have one of her children’s books, Let’s Go on a Mommy Date, and I cry every time I read it to the kids.