Some of you book lovers might be interested in this bloggy book exchange over at Overwhelmed With Joy.

Also, Barb is giving away a set of Debbie Macomber’s books over at her place.

And while we’re on the subject of free stuff…I’ll have my own little giveaway to announce in the next day or two. And yes, you can rest assured that it has something to do with Monk & Neagle. Because I am nothing if not predictably obsessive.

A couple of months ago I got an email from Lynne Bowen Walker, an author who has written a delightful book called Queen of the Castle. It’s such a fun book to read; it’s interactive and inspirational and practical and chatty and everything good…perfect reading for a mama on the go.

Well, today Lynne is starting a blog book tour, and I asked her if I could be the first stop on her tour, primarily because it was way easier for me to remember May 1st than any other date in May.

PRACTICAL AS ALWAYS, I AM.

Not to mention:

WINNING OVER THE AUTHORS OF AMERICA, ONE BLOG POST AT A TIME.

Ahem.

So I asked Lynne a few questions about her book, and she was kind enough to participate in my amateurish interviewing efforts, oh bless her heart:

What in the world made you decide to write a book? And once you decided to write one, how in the world did you find time to tackle it?

It was kind of accidental, really. I kept finding myself writing magazine articles, all on the topic of The Importance of Being a Homemaker. After about 20 or so, it finally dawned on me that homemaking was my passion, and that even though I’m not exactly gifted at it, maybe I should write a book encouraging other women who love their homes and families but could use a little help.

And the joy of being forgetful is that every time I pick up the book and read a little, I think, “Oh! What a good idea!” I clearly really really need to read this book myself.

As for finding time, I wrote it in short bits, while waiting for my kids to be done with Little League practice, while I was in the auditorium waiting for the band concert to start, that kind of thing. I ran into one of my son’s football coaches recently, and after learning that I wrote a book, he said, “Oh yeah, I always did see you waiting in the car reading or writing something!”

Where did you get all the great “words of the week” that you feature? And how did you decide what would go into each chapter?

I love to read, and a lot of the authors I read use really big words. So as I came across words I didn’t know, I looked them up, then put my favorites in Queen of the Castle along with the definitions. Now we can all use really big words. :)

Deciding on what to include in each chapter came about because I love magazines, so I looked at each chapter as three short magazine essays plus some practical sidebars. When I came across great quotes or recipes that seemed too good not to share, I threw those in, too.

At the end of each chapter I included a Bible verse and a prayer, because any wisdom I have on how to live life as a homemaker comes from the Bible, and any strength I have to carry out what I know comes from asking God for help.

I also included a “Chocolate Break” at the end of every month because a girl’s just gotta have her chocolate. Otherwise we get cranky.

What audience did you have in mind when you wrote this book?

I figured moms of little ones would be interested in reading books about how to get their kids to stop biting, and moms of older ones would be interested in reading about how to get their kids into a good college, so it was that middle stage of motherhood that I pictured as I wrote – the moms who were heavy into chauffeuring kids to soccer practice, and who spent most of their spare time in the laundry room trying to determine if that was blood on the shirt and how exactly it might have gotten there.

But I’ve been gratified to hear that women of all ages have enjoyed the book, especially those who are grandmas and even great-grandmas. I think Queen of the Castle kind of celebrates the job we do in raising our families, and women who’ve already done that job appreciate being recognized.

Would if offend you to know that I kept my copy in the, um, bathroom, and that’s where I would read it, a few pages at the time, because it’s QUIET IN THERE?

Not at all, I think it’s a perfect bathroom book! And many moms would be envious that you actually get some quiet time in there.

I’ve also heard that it’s a good right-before-bed book, when you can barely keep your eyes open but want just a few minutes of reading time before dropping off to sleep.

There are so many great quotes and great recipes in your book - as I read, I thought that you must have been collecting both for years. Did you? Or did you accumulate them all as you wrote?

I did collect them for years. And I wrote the book over a period of years, too. So while it was at times frustrating to make such slow progress on writing the book, I think in the end it made it richer than it would have been had I been able to knock it out quickly.

What’s the best way for someone to order a copy of your book - and to make sure that they have it in time for Mother’s Day? (It’s a perfect Mother’s Day gift, you know.)

Thank you for the blatant plug, Boomama! Christianbook.com and Amazon.com both carry it, and I think they can ship pretty fast. Also, some Christian bookstores and Borders and Barnes and Noble stores carry it, so if you need a copy right away you might give your local bookstore a call to see if they have it.

Just for the record, I don’t believe I’ve ever been referred to as The Queen Of The Castle.

But The Queen of Fried Chicken? You betcha.

It’s a title I wear with pride.

And I’ll never relinquish my throne.

It’s true.

I can’t STAND the word “pit.”

And in fact, a few days ago when Emma Kate and I were talking about Beth Moore’s book Get Out of That Pit, I mentioned my disdain for the last word in the title.

“Well, it’s BIBLICAL,” Emma Kate said.

“I know it’s Biblical, missy,” I replied. “But I just think there could be a better word. Something not quite so dirty. Something that doesn’t make me wrinkle my nose when I say it.”

“Well, missy, I think you can just get over not liking the word, because that’s the word. Period.”

We call each other “missy” a lot, if you can’t tell.

And really, the more I think about it, the more I realize that the word I dislike so much - the word that refers to those deep, dark parts of our lives - it should be something that makes us wrinkle our noses, something that makes us just a little bit uncomfortable. Because the fact of the matter is that we don’t have any business, as believers, hanging out in, well, pits.

(I totally just wrinkled my nose.)

When I started reading Get Out of That Pit, I was a little detached, honestly; Beth (and I say that like she’s my BFF and we shop for shoes together, but I just can’t bring myself to call her “Mrs. Moore”) mentions that that there are essentially three means to pit-dwelling: being thrown in, slipping in, and jumping in. And as I read through the chapter that covered that first point, I wasn’t sure that I could relate. Certainly there have been times in my life when I’ve been thrown in a pit by something someone else has done, but that’s not where I am right now, by God’s grace (see: “victory in Jesus,” “more than conquerors,” etc.).

But then I got to the second route to the pit: slipping in.

And I may have done that a time or two hundred.

You know the drill: you tippy toe! tippy toe! over to something that you have no business messing with - an old hurt, an old habit, an old hang-up (my former pastor’s words, not mine). You mess with it a little - and then you step back. Then you mess with it a little bit more, and you back away again - but maybe not quite as far away as you did before. And gradually, slowly but surely, you slip back into the depths of that particular thing. Instead of keeping a healthy distance away from it, you’re all up in the middle of it. Back in the dead-center of the pit.

I’d like to think, as a fairly intelligent 30-something woman, that I’m immune to doing anything so stupid, to doing anything so self-destructive. But I do - and the devil loves it, no doubt.

There are two areas of my life that have been consistent battlegrounds: discipline and trust. The biggest way the discipline issue manifest itself is with my ongoing battle with weight (sidenote: DON’T GET ME STARTED, but as I told Big Mama in an email the other day, I would like to lose 40 pounds in the next two weeks, so if she needs to find me I’ll be right here starving myself. Which I WON’T, of course. I was just kidding. But sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying, and I’m just keepin’ it real, interpeeps. And now I’m fearful of getting emails telling me YOU DON’T HAVE TO STARVE YOURSELF and PLEASE, WOMAN, EAT SOME CHICKEN, so let me just reiterate for clarity that I was kidding).

The trust thing is an issue that I thought cropped up for the first time in my 30’s, but I’ve really dealt with it my whole life, I think. If I’m not careful I can find myself doing terribly productive things like Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop, and the older I get the more I realize that it’s a pit custom-designed for me, a trap that the devil uses to steal my natural bent towards joy. I’ll think I’m over it, that I’m done with it, that I’m not going to worry about such-and-such ANY MORE - and then BAM! - I seize up like a rusty motor.

If rusty motors actually “seize,” that is. I’ve never been very strong with the figurative language. But you know what I mean.

So in the end, I think the biggest thing Beth’s book did for me is to remind me that these pits that continually beckon me are spiritual battles, and I can’t fight them in my own strength. I try - but at the end of the day, “willpower” is just another word and not a bit of help in terms of climbing out of the pits into which I sometimes slide. What I need instead is His power, because if you get right down to it, there really aren’t any battles that we’re meant to fight alone.

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.” - Pslam 40:1-3

To see more responses to this book or to add your own, head over to Robin’s blog. Also: anyone can jump in the discussion in the comments; you don’t have to have read the book to chime in.

In light of your many sweet comments and recommendations regarding my determination to READ AGAIN, OH MY WORD, my friend Robin made the suggestion that we start a little book club.

And I was all, “OKAY!”

So we’re going to do just that. At least once. Robin’s going to host our first installment at her blog, because oh sweet mercy if you aren’t sick of my blog you should be.

Our first selection? Well, I let Miss Robin pick the book because, as she can attest, I am completely incapable of making such a decision. I changed my mind three times before she told me that the back and forth had been real fun and all but she was going to make this recommendation:

Get Out Of That Pit!: Straight Talk About God’s Deliverance - by Beth Moore

And once Robin made the call, it seemed only fitting since there are several new readers in this corner of the blogosphere who found their way here via The LPM Blog.

We’d love for you to join us. And here’s how our little Bloggity Book Club will work.

After you finish reading Beth’s book, you’ll write a post on your impressions of / questions about / lessons from the book. You do NOT have to write a five-paragraph essay seeing as how you’re no longer in eleventh grade; you can just write a loose, informal response to the book. Typical blog post fare. If you have trouble getting started, there are some study questions in the back of the book that will help.

After you post your reactions on your blog on Friday, March 9, head over to Robin’s blog, where she’ll have a Mr. Linky (no idea what a Mr. Linky is? Look at the end of this post). You’ll put up a link to your book club post on the Mr. Linky…and then we all can make our way through all of the posts by using Robin’s place as a hub. This isn’t a long-term committment; we’ll just try it one time and see how it goes.

It’ll be simple. It’ll be fun. And hopefully it’ll be edifying for us all.

Also: if you’d like to participate but don’t think you can afford the book right now, send me an email and let me know…I think I can round up some people who will cover the expense of a few books so that money isn’t a hindrance. And if you’d like to donate a book or two, email me and let me know that as well.

Hope to see you at Robin’s on March 9! Let me know in the comments if you plan to join us, and I’ll email you a link for a sidebar button so that we can get the word out.

Love y’all!

Well OH MY SWEET GOODNESS, internets - it’s not every day that a girl gets two or a hundred and twenty seven book recommendations. Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me a-heapin’ plenty of options from which to choose (by the way, thank you for this embarrassment-o-bloggy riches, too, and boy oh boy aren’t the nominations well-deserved because lists of books! they are funny! and riveting! and sure to make readers return for a very long time!).

[burying head in hands]

Anyway, it actually made me feel really good to read your comments, because 1) my theory about the high level of your collective intelligence was confirmed and 2) I realized that I’ve read more than I thought over the last few years. Surprisingly, I’ve managed to read all the Sophie Kinsella and Jennifer Weiner books, some Francine Rivers and Jodi Piccoult, a whole bunch of David Sedaris, and a good bit of Southern literature, including my annual re-reading of To Kill A Mockingbird (side note: I get teary-eyed just thinking about that book, and today when I quoted one line from the last chapter in an email, I literally had to go find a Kleenex. It moves me way down deep in my soul). And now that I’ve read all of your comments (every single one - and taken notes, to boot), I’m ready to dive back into reading again and find some new treasures.

Initially I was going to pick ten books. But I couldn’t pick just ten. Y’all reminded me of so much that I’ve wanted to read and forgotten about, and while I don’t have any delusions about finishing all the books within this calendar year, I’m going to do my best to finish the list before I’m, you know, 60.

As I am ever-so-fond of saying, everybody needs a goal.

And just so you know: I only picked one series to tackle because I know I can’t handle more than that. I also tried to pick a variety of authors, though certainly there’s a strong bent toward women. I tried to strike a balance between Christian and mainstream stuff, and needless to say the recommendations that I didn’t put on my list this time will enable me to have a ready-made list of books to read in 2008. And 2009. And forevermore.

So…without boring you any longer…here’s what I’m going to (TRY TO) read:

At Home In Mitford - Jan Karon
A Walk In The Woods – Bill Bryson
Fair & Tender Ladies – Lee Smith
For Women Only - Shaunti Feldman
Get Out Of That Pit - Beth Moore
Gods In Alabama - Joshilyn Jackson
House – Ted Dekker & Frank Peretti
Lily White – Susan Isaacs
Peace Like A River – Leif Enger
Prep – Curtis Sittenfeld
Raney - Clyde Edgerton
SAHM I Am - Meredith Efken
The Debt – Angela Hunt
The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfeld
The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
There Is No Me Without You – Melissa Fay Greene
Traveling Mercies – Anne Lamott
Velvet Elvis – Rob Bell

There are no links because, honestly, I’m tired. But I’ll try to get those up in the next day or so. I’ve set up a separate blog page to keep track of what I’m reading and what I’ve finished - and there’s about to be a little link to that in the upper left hand corner of the blog. I think I know what I’m going to read first - but I’ll decide for sure tomorrow.

Also, my friend Robin and I have been emailing today about doing a little book club thing-y over at her blog in case some of you might want to read along. Plus, I know Katrina has a Spring Reading Challenge coming up, so I’m going to take a section of this list and try to plow through it this spring and summer. I hope lots of y’all will join in with that. I was a total chicken the last time Katrina did a reading challenge and wouldn’t commit because, well, I was SKEERED (that’s “scared” for those of you who don’t speak Southern-ese), but this time I’m going to jump in feet first.

Thanks again, y’all, for all of your great suggestions. I have had several people email me to tell me that they were making lists based on your recommendations - including my dear friend Bubba, who’s about to get on a very big plane and fly across a very big pond. So you’ve done a public service, oh yes you have.

Happy reading, everybody!