Books, books, books!!

I've been wanting to write about books for a bit now, so now I have lots of books I would like to share with everyone!!
First and foremost and most importantly, I'd like to share my thoughts on the Bible. I have now successfully read through the entire bible 7 and a half times. I have read the KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLV and Amplified. I have read the KJV and NKJV 2x as I like to have a better knowledge in these ones as they are the ones most commonly used in church. I am almost finished the Old Testament in the Amplified and will be reading the New Testament till the end of the year. I LOVE the BIBLE!! My favourite is the KJV, however I really enjoyed the NLV. The Amplified is kind of annoying to read, because it is filled with a thesaurus for every other word! I preferred the books that Solomon wrote in the Amplified the best though. When I was new in the Lord, my first 2 years I read the NT probably about 20 times over and over! It was so thrilling to someone who didn't know a thing about living a Christian lifestyle:) I enjoy having these different versions around for Bible studying. I would like to hear others thoughts on the different versions and maybe discuss them further.
Right now I am reading a Jack Cavanaugh book called the Sacred Page. It is quite different then the books that I typically red, although I've always liked historical fiction. This is the first book I have read of his. It's about Henry VIII and when the Bible was banned and a person could be executed or thrown in jail for having one. It is interesting as he writes about the first English translations of the Bible-the Tyndale. The writing in that version is so neat!
I have also finished a book called The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck. It is so good and I recommend it to let your teenager read or listen to it after you have had the chance. I did with Myles and he was so thankful to hear it on cd. It is life changing:) It is about a 12 yr old boy who wanted a bike for Christmas, but his mother, recently widowed, could only afford yarn to make him an "ugly sweater". It is based on true story.
For anyone who hasn't been blessed to read Lynn Austin, she is my absolute favourite modern writer! I totally recommend ALL her books as they are all page turners and she has such a vast difference to all her books. I am in the process of collecting the Chronicles of the Kings series as it was absolutely incredible! It really gets in depth with the stories behind King Ahaz, King Hezekiah and King Manasseh. They are based on the bible and history books, so very knowledgeable and helpful to understand how great King Hezekiah was from a father like Ahaz.
I also really like to read books that take me away to other countries and lands that I've never been to. Some good books to read to go away on a mental holiday are Passage to India, EM Forester, The Sunflower (about Peru)Richard Paul Evans, The Last Promise (about Italy), Richard Paul Evans and of course I like to visit PEI with LM Montgomery! I also read the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini which is written in Afganastan. It is NOT a holiday, however, but you do get an idea of the land and the way of life. I also got a better understanding of why our Canadian troops are there.
I also read Mary Higgins Clarks latest and was somewhat displeased with it. Just not as exciting and as thrilling as her work generally is.
I'm still on the waiting list for Nicholas Sparks and Richard Paul Evan's new books and will update as soon as I get them! Should be real soon:)

Would love to hear your comments about any of these or other books that you are reading! If you have any favourite authors I'd like to know who they are and why you enjoy them! Thanks and happy reading:)