Long time, no write!

Work's been so busy lately, which can make it a little hard to write. At least, when my work also involves writing, albeit nonfiction!

I did recently review Karyn Henley's Eye of the Sword. It's a rollicking fantasy, though the portrayal of angels was not my thing.

The one thing I have managed to update daily is Daily Duffy, if tiny bears and/or Disneyland Resort interest you. I can hardly wait to go back again...!

Disneyland Dream Suite

So I've never been in the Disneyland Dream Suite and never will be there...but here's the most amazing trip report I've ever seen on it!

http://micechat.com/forums/disneyland-resort/171427-joes-epic-overnight-disneyland-dream-suite-trip-report-lots-pictures-2.html

As for writing, the main thing is to plow along, I think, and not get distracted by the Internet.

D'oh! I did pretty well at lunch today and my story finally seems to be progressing. One big part of writing is not only giving your characters a goal, but giving them goals the reader can care about. One of the problems I had was that my main character had a goal, but not one that was very interesting...so I upped the stakes.

Not wanting to die is a less abstract goal!

It's Like This, Cat - Mini-review

So as I mentioned earlier, when I went on vacation the return flight home had no wi-fi. I had downloaded "It's Like This, Cat" by Emily Neville after running a search for free books involving "Coney Island."

When I started reading, I had forgotten all about it and assumed it was an indie book. It seemed perhaps a little simplistic and at the start I could tell the male point-of-view character was written by a woman. Other than that, it was kind of a sweet read, definitely entertaining in an airplane.

So then when I looked at home I realized it won a Newberry Medal in the 1960s as a children's book. Ah well.

My main complaint is that the cat initially draws the reader in, but by the end of the story the cat seems insignificant. The author even reminds the reader that everything happened because of the cat, but I feel like if you need reminded, the story hasn't done its job.

Obviously it's a good story, though, what with the Newberry and all. It's kind of funny how even a self-published author would mentally criticize something they thought was an "indie" book. Though in fairness, I was at a writing panel at Tus-Con one year and the group of writers, led by an author/panelist, figured out how we could improve the opening paragraphs of Dune. So I think it's more my writer's editing tendencies than it is judging a book because of my perceptions of the author.

I think.

Ways to Plan a Novel - Part 2

I've repeatedly alluded to using the Snowflake Method to plan a novel. The problem is I always see possibilities, even when I'm more than halfway through WRITING the novel.

Speaking of possibilities, I was recently struck by an urge to time-travel back to 2003, so I brought out my old DVDs of the short-lived show Tru Calling. The premise is that when Tru Davies (who conveniently works in a morgue) is near a person who had an unnatural death, the person may call for her help. When that happens, the day rewinds and she wakes up when the day started (a la Groundhog Day) and has to try to save the victim. Not every episode is great, but I found it enjoyable.

Rewriting a story and publishing BOTH VERSIONS? Yes, that's my idea of a perfect job. No wonder I like time travel stories so much.

In fairness, I also happened to see my first episodes--the last two of Season 1--when my parents were in Ohio and my grandfather was at death's door himself. So the thought of rewriting life to "fix" the deaths touched me more than it may have otherwise. I guess that's part of the beauty of writing. You never know when your story might hit someone at the exact right moment, when a story that's "just OK" will seem jaw-droppingly amazing to them, or even bless them unexpectedly.

Oh, and speaking of writing, Doris Egan (more famous for Buffy and House) actually blogged about where the show was going before is (already short) second season was cut shorter. Her blog in general is fascinating if you're interested in TV writing at all.

Update on Blogger

So those who follow my blog may recall that Blogger recently made me want to throw my computer out the window.

What's odd is that shortly after I did all that complaining, and shortly after I wrote a sternly-worded bug report to Blogger, the "Switch to Old Blogger" option randomly seemed to appear in my settings. I admit, maybe it was a coincidence, and maybe the option was always there (though I really thought Blogger had said "Old Blogger is gone forever and you can never have it back"). Maybe Google has an automatic logarithm to figure out how upset someone is when they submit a bug report--or just looks for words like "revert" and "old version" and then gives that option. Or maybe it's just a blessing that either came when I needed it, or when I opened my eyes to it. Whatever it was, I'm grateful.

Anyway, for now, blogging is fun again! Yes, I know someday Google will switch to new Blogger, but hopefully by then it will be a little more functional!

(EDIT: As I submitted this post, I got a "Conflicting Edits" error, even though I only have one Blogger window open anywhere. Oh, Blogger. Up to your old tricks again, I see!)

Last C.S. Lewis Interview; Tetris at MIT

Found this through Matt Mikalatos' blog; the reported last interview with C.S. Lewis. Some fascinating thoughts about Christianity, writing, space travel, and even a brief touch on C.S. Lewis meeting Billy Graham!

http://good-report.com/4827/from-the-archives-c-s-lewis-the-final-interview-may-1963

And this is pretty cool. Tetris on a building at MIT.

Joined the Dark Side--I mean, Pinterest

Finally started a Pinterest account. Can't say I've done terribly much with it...I'm not sure it's quite my way of doing things. (Particularly given that there are some concerns about potential copyright violations.)

Right now I'm mostly using it like a set of photo albums.

But yeah, I'm there. Are you using Pinterest? If so, has it sucked up all your free time and/or ruined your life yet? :)

Alternative to Google?

So lately I've been getting kind of twitchy over Google's privacy policies. (I know, ironic that I say this on Blogger, a service run by Google.) Namely, the idea of personalized search, selling everyone's personal information, etc. I've been looking for an adequate alternative and I think I may have found it in Goodsearch.

Is it really worth a halo?

As I understand it, Goodsearch runs through Yahoo and it gives a penny per search to the charity of your choice. Elsewhere on the site they note half the revenue goes to the charity of your choice. I can't swear to you that it is legit, although it has been profiled on major TV networks. Once you're set up, you can change your default search engine in your browser (on mine, to the right of the address bar) to Goodsearch.

I'd say the results are fine for about 90% of the things I search. And I'm one of those people who runs a LOT of searches. I signed up about 2 weeks ago and the site says I've earned just over $4.00. Not bad for something that's free to me.

If the search doesn't get me what I need after a couple tries with different words, I just change my search browser to Google and find what I really want. But Goodsearch is a way to give less of your personal data to Google (while giving it to another party, but at least you earn some money in return...probably). Works for me.

How to Use Freegal from your library

OK, one of my friends was having trouble figuring out how to use Freegal so I thought I'd put up some visuals. Your library may work slightly differently, but this should be the basic method.

1. Go to your library's website and find Freegal.

2. At my library, you go to the "My Library" menu, and then choose "Freegal."

Click to enlarge

3. Enter your library card number and library PIN.

4. Enter in the artist (or other search criteria) of your choice. You can download 3 free songs each week.

Click to enlarge

When you've downloaded your 3 songs you will see a message "Limit Exceeded." That just means you have to come back next week (Monday at 12:01 AM Eastern time) for more music.

I have a list of some of the Christian artists on Freegal here.

Look! I saved you $3/week! You know what you can do with $3/week? Buy my book. Or more seriously, pocket it or give a couple extra bucks to charity/your church. Enjoy!

Review: Marie-Grace and Cécile (American Girl)

So I recently finished reading the 6 books of the Marie-Grace and Cécile books in the American Girl series. It's an interesting set because there are 2 main characters, each with 3 stories. (Traditionally the American Girl dolls had 6 stories each, and they'd sometimes be given a sidekick/friend who got 1 book of her own.) There are 2 different authors for the stories (Sarah Masters Buckey for Marie-Grace's books and Denise Lewis Patrick for Cécile's).

I'm basing these reviews off our system at the Kinyn Chronicles blog.

Ridiculously simplified summary: 2 girls from different worlds become unlikely friends and face a yellow fever epidemic in 1853 New Orleans.

Christian content: (not rated) The American Girl books are not Christian books and I don't expect them to be such. The main characters do go to church and pray together in times of turmoil. A very ill character imagines she'll be an angel when she dies, which isn't really a Biblical viewpoint. A character says "mon Dieu" which the book translated as "good heavens" (though the glossary also notes the more literal translation "My God!").

50 possible points; in each category, 6/10 (or 3/5) would constitute 3 stars, or average.

Compelling - 8 points (out of 10). I had a hard time getting into the second book, Meet Cécile--it was one of those books that just didn't flow for me immediately for some reason. Book 3, where the fever picks up (along with some unlikely elements) is where things get going for me. (From the American Girl site it sounds like some kids (?) would disagree.)

Characters - 8 points (out of 10). I didn't expect to like Marie-Grace, but she has several moments where she is genuinely shy. I was incredibly shy as a child (my dad called it "painfully shy") and still have a lot of those traits. I adore seeing shy and introverted characters in fiction, though I don't see many of them. Cécile is the exact opposite--rather bubbly and outgoing. She won me over in Marie-Grace's book (not written by the author of Cécile's books) but I didn't feel quite as drawn to her as I did to Marie-Grace, who has the advantage of being the newcomer to New Orleans (and thus the one that's a bit more relate-able). A few supporting characters stood out for me, particularly Ellen (Cécile's Irish maid) and Marie-Grace's father (doctor), but I didn't think many of them were very memorable. The books are really about the two main girls, though.

Writing/editing - 7 points (out of 10). I didn't find any typos or anything, but the writing had a lot of things that writing groups will drill out of you. The writing is few of adverbs, "was"es, telling phrases like "Maman looked stern", and such. (If you ever reread the old American Girl books--and even the Rebecca books--those sorts of issues are common throughout the series.) It did take a little while to get used to the style but once I did it wasn't too distracting.

Plausibility/believability - 3 points (out of 5). The historical aspects felt more or less "right" to me, but I'm honestly not sure how much interaction a black and white girl would have actually had (though as a modern girl I love to see it!). Both main characters had some special talent I thought rather implausible--Marie-Grace has an outstanding singing voice, and Cécile (like the last historical, Rebecca) dreams of being an actress. (Unlike Rebecca's 1914 parents, Cécile's parents don't seem expressly mortified by this.) I feel like this was sort of a fantasy of 1850s life more than a realistic portrayal, though again, that's not terribly uncommon for the series.

Positive - 3 points (out of 5). I like books with happy endings/that make me feel hopeful. These have a mostly happy ending. Sadder than a typical children's book, but much more optimistic than an adult historical novel.

Gut reaction - 3 points (out of 5). I really enjoyed these books overall, even if they are perhaps sort of escapist, so I'd like to say my gut reaction is that I liked them. Unfortunately, some of the art is just stiff and awkward-looking, and art has always been a big part of these books. The tiny sketches in the books are not nearly as high-quality (or useful!) as they were in the other books I remember. (Others complain that the books don't use the same structure as the original books--Meet Kirsten, Kirsten Learns a Lesson, etc. As much as I liked the idea of comparing different holidays and milestones across time, they changed that a few books ago so I'm used to it by now.)

Bonus points to balance reviews - (5 points)

Total points: 37, or 3.7 stars

VNSA Book Sale Tips

Just a few little tidbits about the VNSA Book Sale (a wonderful annual book sale in Phoenix). Mostly because last year's post got quite a few pageviews from people wanting to know about it!

When should I arrive at the VNSA book sale?

I can't tell you for sure, but if you're not there WELL before opening (I heard someone in line mention 4 AM), you can expect a wait. Our experiences in the past 2 years:

2011: Arrived around 9 AM; got in around 10:20 AM
2012: Arrived around 10:30 AM; got in around 11:45 AM

My brother and his wife (and baby!) arrived right around 11 and I reckon they probably got in at noon. So if you're not going to get there at 4 AM, the wait time decreases the later you arrive, but the wait seems to be pretty steady from 9-10:30 or so.

(It FELT like the line was longer in 2012 versus 2011--in fact, it probably was, but the line would move more slowly earlier in the day.)

Anyway, there is still plenty of cool stuff there even if you arrive at 11...but I'd say there's more cool stuff there if you arrive at 9.

How much does it cost?

If you park at the Coliseum, it was $7 this year (the fairgrounds get that money; not VNSA). The sale is free, but the longer you spend there, the more likely you are to spend more money...

What should I bring?

Definitely bring some sort of bag or bags to carry your books in. In years past they had plenty of bags for all, but the supply seems to be diminishing; I'm not sure they had ANY in 2012. If you plan to buy a lot, or even just something heavy, you likely won't regret bringing a rolling suitcase or backpack. (A rolling suitcase makes it very easy to buy more books, though.) You can get a shopping cart at the sale (just have to wait a bit), or the other option is to find an empty box and throw your books in and carry that.... Yeah, if you're not going for a cartload of books, go ahead and bring a bag.

Wearing sunscreen is smart if you'll be out waiting for an hour (and if you get there before noon, that's not unlikely). It's not a bad idea to bring a bottle of water for the line.

And I'd definitely suggest you bring a friend or two! You'll save on parking and it makes the line more fun. If you're the type who can strike up a conversation with anyone, that's fine too. Otherwise, I think a newspaper would be a pretty good idea. I'd hesitate to bring a book because I don't know how they'd figure out it wasn't theirs, but several people had some so there must be some method.

Can I hold someone's place in line?

They had signs saying not to, and I'm not sure what would happen if you tried cutting. Actually, we saw my brother, his wife, and their baby across the rope and stopped to chat with them for about 30 seconds. The people behind us started moving past us, despite the fact that we were still probably 30 minutes away from actually entering the building so there wasn't anything to gain by moving ahead instead of waiting for a minute. Anyway, yeah, I wouldn't try it if I were you.

Why is the line so long?

Probably the fire marshal not wanting everyone to get burned up in case of an emergency. It felt less crowded inside this year, but that might be due to the areas I was browsing.

What can I find there?

Almost anything. I didn't even look at half the sections this year, but I browsed the tiny books, the old books (but not the really old/rare books, which require you to leave your bag/suitcase/boxes/etc. outside), the old magazines (some from the 60s!), craft books, sewing patterns, children's books, textbooks (not many of those), DVDs (lots of popular movies, I think around $3), CDs, kids' DVDs, business books, finance books, and even some National Geographic CD-ROMs. Yes, I got the whole collection from the 1920s for $1, and yes, you can kind of sort of view it in a newer Mac; the viewer itself doesn't work but fortunately all the pages are images and appear to be organized in such a way that I can view them chronologically. :)

How do you decide what to buy?

Everyone has their own strategy. If you're on a very tight budget, your best bet is to not pick up anything unless you really want it (and maybe to just bring a small bag or no bag at all!). If your budget is a bit more flexible, I'd suggest you pick up everything you think you might want (provided you can carry it!). When you're done browsing, or your arms are too tired, you can set your things down (usually on the floor, granted, though this year there was some vacant space at textbooks by 11 or so) and sort through what you want and what you don't want. Anything you don't want, you can put in a conveniently located discard box and it will be placed back in its proper area.

What did you buy there?

To be honest, I haven't done much with the books I got last year, so I tried to be cheaper this year and gave myself a budget of $20. (Spending less time helped, too!) So here's what I got for $19.50 this year.

Did you go to the 2012 VNSA Book Sale? Any great finds? Any tips?

Super Bowl Commercials?

No, I didn't particularly watch the Super Bowl, but fortunately, with the Internet, you don't have to watch the game if you're not a fan (or don't have a fan in the household)...and you can still see the commercials! (Frankly people say they watch for the commercials but I found several years ago the commercials weren't worth it...nowadays the best ones are online before or shortly after the game anyway.)

Anyway, yes, the Audi one was the one that made me laugh.



Though the M&M one was also ridiculous yet funny.



Did you have a favorite ad?

One Good Thing about SOPA and PIPA

The Wednesday blackouts provide an excellent excuse not to really write a blog entry. :P

I'm honestly not sure online petitions ever do any good, even if they're from Google. But https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/ is an excellent way to test that theory with just a few seconds of your time.

The English Wikipedia has links to contact your representative, which might do a bit more good. Though whenever I write my Congressman, he sends back a pre-written message a month or more later. It goes something like, "I'm glad you support me on (insert several things I disagree with, including the thing I asked him to stand against)." Well, maybe this time will be different...

Pirate of My Heart by Jamie Carie

I won this book for free in a pirate-themed contest. ARRRRR! There is actually very little pirating; only a few chapters even take place on the sea, with the romantic lead being a merchant captain, not a pirate at all. Despite that, I found it enjoyable…if you like historical romances full of misunderstandings, with a bit of classic melodrama, this is a perfect book for you. Nice little historical tidbits, though the main pull of the story is the romance.

The main issue I had was that the editing felt like it was done by someone younger than me, and I'm only in my early 30s. I'm honestly sure if that means the market is changing and I'm the one with hangups, but the few Love Inspired and other romances I've read didn't have these techniques. The word "alright" is universally used for "all right," though it's my understanding that "alright" is a relatively modern way to spell "all right." (As recently as the 1990s I recall a Reader's Digest article nothing "alright is never all right.") That word still drives me up the wall to read. I was shocked to read the word "Noooo" multiple times--my English teachers wouldn't even let me put a question mark and an exclamation point both at the end of the same sentence, so I can't imagine what they would have done with that. And I couldn't find any evidence of the name "Kendra" being used prior to the 1940s, let alone the 1700s (though I'd like to be proven wrong there). I don't know if this book was rushed to market or not, but I feel like another pass of editing would have strengthened the style and perhaps even made some plot points a bit more realistic. Shouldn't bother any readers who aren't also writers/editors, and I'll bet a lot of writers/editors won't have a problem either. It just jarred me.

Still, there was a lot to like. I loved Kendra's playful accusations of Dorian being a scoundrel and such. As I noted, despite the title, there is little piracy and the male lead is not a pirate except in a very figurative sense. Could be just as well since REAL pirates aren't so romantic. I was surprised to find myself liking Kendra, despite the fact that she is one of those women who is the most beautiful woman you've ever seen and who can win every heart.

An entertaining escape with a page-turning conclusion!

@juliebihn on Twitter

Yes, I'm on Twitter and I've actually started Tweeting. And I kind of like it! I've made a few random confessions there.

Follow me if you are on Twitter too! If you message me that you read my blog, I'll definitely follow you back.

50 things I am thankful for from 2011

OK, 2011 was kind of a rough year, but there were a lot of good things too. I decided to look through my blog to see things I was thankful for.

1. A Rotterdam November
2. Ragefest 2011
3. Camping chairs at Ragefest 2011...I must be getting old but man it was sweet to not have to stand for 10 hours straight.
4. New cell phone!
5. Finished a draft of Flight from Endwood
6. VNSA book sale...
7. ...and gingerbread unicorns!

8. Tucson Festival of Books 
9. Florida Renaissance Festival..
10. ...with Maggie! 
11. Also Wonderfool
12. Seeing Skillet live with Rachel and Emily (especially Hero with pyro!)
13. Discovering squirrel monkeys are cute.
14. The Tampa Bay airport....
15. ...and falling in love with my Tiny Duffy.
16. Trying to devote 100 hours to writing/prayer/church/God.
17. Twice!
18. Mom
19. Recalling San Diego
20. Making myself laugh
21. Getting a much-needed new laptop
22. Never being hungry all year
23. Dad
24. Sooooo many wonderful friends.
25. Liberty Bond Cat
26. Watching the Back to the Future trilogy
27. Winning free books O_O
28. Getting a Kindle!
29. Kindle sleeve
30. Homely unicorns
31. Chalk drawings
32. Providence
33. And procrastination
34. Talk Like a Pirate Day
35. Prescott, Arizona
36. My brother
37. Old forgotten music
38. Winged unicorns
39. Halloween
40. TusCon
41. The Healer and the Pirate - published!
42. On Lulu too!
43. And no more editing!
44. Working on the next book
45. Freegal
46. Disneyland!
47. Love is Breathing 
48. New blog devoted to beloved Tiny Duffy
49. Pizza pizza, yum yum
50. BABY!  I am an aunt!

Happy 2012, everyone!

Which is better? Steak or pizza?

Why is it that food-related jingles are so catchy? Even when they aren't selling a particular product?





Seriously, I have sung both of these songs. More than once. Though I don't have all of Jimmy Fallon's pizza party song/dance memorized so it's usually more improvisation.

(Today was actually a very special day but I'll talk more about that next Monday. :) )

Daily Duffy

If you like the Duffy the Disney Bear photos I've been putting up sometimes, you might enjoy my new log, Daily Duffy. I put up a new Duffy picture every day...just a tiny dose of cuteness.

Be careful, tiny bears!

Surprising Christmas Album by Our Hearts Hero

NOTE: You can get this album FREE on NoiseTrade!

"Love is Breathing", the new Christmas album by "Our Hearts Hero," is different from any Christmas album I've heard (by Christian artists or not).

Perhaps the most striking aspect to me is that every song is about Jesus' birth--not a single song about chestnuts or snow or anything. The closest to a "secular" song is the excellent (and currently FREE on their website!) Carol of the Bells, but they threw in an interlude of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" in the middle to fill it out.

Now, granted, I'm sure there are plenty of all-religious Christian Christmas albums out there. But it seems like even many everyday Christian rock albums throw in a remake of a secular song, and most Christmas albums seem to have some religious songs and some secular ones. To hear an album that's so heavy on rock but all REAL Christmas songs is something special in and of itself.

Others have noted that from the titles of the songs you might think it's an all-original album, when it's not. (Though this close to Christmas, I imagine you're probably buying from an online outlet, and if you listen to the previews you'll figure it out quick enough.) "Love is Breathing" is the only fully original song. Most of the others have at least some snippets of new music and lyrics and/or new and unique arrangements. I think giving the songs names like "Glow" (for "Gloria in Excelsis Deo") is fair, because the majority are not really the old songs, but not something completely new, either. Relient K does some of this in "Let it Snow Baby, Let it Reindeer," especially in their version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" where the verses are made up but the chorus is classic. But I think several of the songs on "Love is Breathing" one-up that classic album in that regard.

If you're the type who doesn't want to hear another rendition of old classics, then this may not be the best pick for you. But this album is full of fresh and unique takes on truly classic songs.

And it's a joyful album, too. Many Christmas albums, as well-intentioned as they can be, are kind of somber. The upbeat takes on the songs, coupled with the fact that there's absolutely no longing for absent family or snow or the like, makes this a very Christmasy album.

Their own original song, "Love is Breathing," has some amazing lyrics from the point of view of a shepherd. The chorus goes "Love is breathing, Hope is screaming tonight in the baby's cry. I have mercy and I saw grace inside of this newborn's eyes. And everything we know's about to change. And He's laying in the stable in a manger asleep on the hay."



(My one issue with it is the Digital Rights Management on the Amazon version, but that's probably Amazon's fault, and it's Christmas so I'll save that vent for another day.)

Anyway, if you like Christian rock at all, hurry and buy "Love is Breathing" by Our Hearts Hero. The sooner you buy it, the more time you have to listen to it before Christmas!

(FTC disclosure--I got the single "Bells" free from ourheartshero.com and got hooked into paying $8.99 for the rest of the songs!)

Tons of Free Christian Music on Freegal

Edited 3/25/12

So last week I talked about Freegal, which is a system that some libraries subscribe to that allows patrons to download free and legal MP3s (usually 3/week). More info here.

I suggest you go right now and check your local library website.  If they have Freegal, you can get yourself some music!  If not, then you could check other city libraries that you may be able to get a card to (like if you're in a suburb, try the big city).  If they also don't offer it, then move along; this post will be pretty dull to you.

I was actually just going to post that you can finally look up songs by genre on Freegal, but I just checked and couldn't get it to work.  Again.  So below is a list of some popular Christian artists on Freegal.  The below is not a comprehensive list, but it gives you a starting point.

I suggest you use "Advanced Search" and search by artist. Asterisks are for my own use, as I'll be checking back to download some more songs from them later.  And once you've grabbed some free songs, maybe you can head on over to iTunes or Amazon MP3 and show some love to one of your favorite smaller artists.  :)

Skillet - Skillet; Ardent Worship: Skillet; Alien Youth; Hey You, I Love Your Soul; Invincible; The Early Years
Don't Miss: Angels Fall Down; Will You Be There (Falling Down)

Stellar Kart - Everything Is Different Now; A Whole New World EP
Don't Miss: All My Heart; Something Holy; Rescue

*Disciple - Disciple; Southern Hospitality; Horseshoes & Handgrenades
Don't Miss: Still working on it

Fireflight - For Those Who Wait; The Healing of Harms; Unbroken and Unplugged
Don't Miss: Unbreakable; For Those Who Wait

Wavorly - Conquering the Fear of Flight
Don't Miss: Praise and Adore

*Relient K - The First Three Gears; Forget And Not Slow Down; The Bird And the Bee Sides; Let It Snow Baby, Let It Reindeer; Is For Karaoke EP; Is For Karaoke EP Part 2
Don't Miss: Softer To Me; For The Moments I Feel Faint; Forward Motion; Getting Into You

*Subseven - Free To Conquer; Subseven the EP
Don't Miss: Faded Letters; Mayday (from Subseven the EP)

Red (I had to use Advanced Search and look up Artist and Album) - End of Silence; Innocence and Instinct; Until We Have Faces
Don't Miss: Already Over

The Chemistry - The Chemistry
Don't Miss: Still Alive

Nevertheless - Live Like We're Alive; In the Making…
Don't Miss: Live Like We're Alive

Plumb - The Best of Plumb; Plumb; Simply Plumb; candycoatedwaterdrops

Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown; Live; Nothing Is Sound; Stars; Oh! Gravity., The Best Yet

The Fray - The Fray; Heartbeat; Over My Head (Cable Car); Reason; Acoustic in Nashville Bootleg No. 2; How To Save A Life; Live at the Electric Factory (Bootleg No. 2)

Eleventyseven - Galactic Conquest; and the land of fake believe

*House of Heroes - The End Is Not The End; Meets the Beatles EP; The Acoustic End EP; Suburba; The Christmas Class; Lovesick Zombie; The Rebel Jesus

Jars of Clay - A ton of songs



Are any of your other favorite Christian bands on Freegal?  Did I miss any songs that you consider "Don't Miss"?  Leave a comment!