Musical Advent Calendar: Looking for a good book?

I'm always on the lookout for something good to read. By that I mean something that can hold my interest, is well written, and does not contain anything offensive. There are all kinds of books that could meet the first two criteria, but not the third. Too often, I am intrigued by the back blurb and get caught up in the story, only to find it's a "page skipper." You know, those books where you can tell a sex scene is coming up, skip two or three pages, and pick up the story again. Usually, the skipped pages are gratuitous. If I just ripped them right out of the book, it wouldn't make any difference to the plot. Some books have violence that is so graphic it just turns my stomach. I don't want to read things like that. It is commonplace for authors to have their characters use language I find offensive.

I don't like to waste my money or time on books I have to self-edit, or stop reading all together. Even worse is paying for a book that is poorly written. There are some books I have read, or struggled valiantly to read but couldn't finish, that should have had some major rewriting and editing before they were published. What were those publishers thinking?

But I have a great new source to find books worth reading. The second annual Whitney Awards were held last weekend in conjunction with the sixth annual LDStorymakers Writers Conference. The Whitneys were named for Elder Orson F. Whitney, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who stated, "We shall yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. . . . In God’s name and by His help we will build up a literature whose tops will touch the heaven, though its foundation may now be low on the earth.” The Whitney Awards recognize the best works by LDS writers each year. For a long list of books worth reading, here are the five finalists in each category:

Best Novel of the Year

Bound on Earth
by Angela Hallstrom

Fool Me Twice
by Stephanie Black

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, Book Three)
by Brandon Sanderson

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
by Jessica Day George

Traitor
by Sandra Grey

Best Novel by a New Author

Bound on Earth
by Angela Hallstrom

The Reckoning
by Tanya Parker Mills

Spare Change
by Aubrey Mace

Traitor
by Sandra Grey

Waiting For the Light to Change
by Annette Hawes

Best General Fiction

Bound on Earth
by Angela Hallstrom

Fields of Home
by Rachel Ann Nunes

Keeping Keller
by Tracy Winegar

The Reckoning
by Tanya Parker Mills

Waiting For the Light to Change
by Annette Hawes

Best Historical

Abinadi
by H. B. Moore

Isabelle Webb, Legend of the Jewel
by N. C. Allen

Master
by Toni Sorenson

The Ruby
by Jennie Hansen

Traitor
by Sandra Grey

Best Speculative Fiction

Ender in Exile
by Orson Scott Card

The Great and Terrible: From the End of Heaven (Vol. 5)
by Chris Stewart

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, Book 3)
by Brandon Sanderson

The Host
by Stephenie Meyer

The Wyrmling Horde: The Seventh Book of the Runelords
by David Farland

Best Youth Fiction

The 13th Reality
by James Dashner

Alcatraz vs. The Scrivner's Bones
by Brandon Sanderson

Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague (Book 3)
by Brandon Mull

Farworld: Water Keep
by J. Scott Savage

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
by Jessica Day George

Best Mystery/Suspense

Above and Beyond
by Betsy Brannon Green

Do No Harm
by Gregg Luke

Fool Me Twice
by Stephanie Black

Freefall
by Traci Hunter Abramson

Royal Target
by Traci Hunter Abramson

Best Romance

Seeking Persephone
by Sarah Eden

Servant to a King
by Sariah Wilson

The Sound of Rain
by Anita Stansfield

Spare Change
by Aubrey Mace

Taking Chances
by Shannon Guymon

And here are this year's winners!

2008 Best Novel of the Year