Blessing #42- Karen Kingsbury

Yesterday, I mentioned my love of reading. There is one genre I never really got into...romance. I guess my brain is too practical and logical to get swept away in a romance novel. However, a few years ago, I discovered that my logical, practical brain has one kryptonite...Karen Kingsbury novels.

I don't remember what made me start reading, but after my first Karen Kingsbury book, I was hooked. Unlike the Christian fiction I grew up with, Karen's characters and story lines are plausible and real. My favorite novels she has written are the Baxter family books. So far, there are about 18 books that all tie together.

I have developed a love/hate relationship with Karen Kingsbury. Sometimes when she reveals a surprise about a character, or puts two of my favorite characters together, I proclaim her to be the greatest Christian author of the 21st century. However, when she has a beloved character get in a car wreck, catch a disease, lose a child, or die, I vow that she is the cruel, and is out to hurt her readers. I call my mother, a fellow Karen fan, and say things like, "How could she do that to Ashley!" "Dane didn't deserve that!" I angrily sulk, but I keep reading and in a few chapters she redeems herself and sets the Baxter's world right again, and once again, she is the greatest Christian author of the 21st century.