tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55871506089019578012024-03-17T23:04:10.512-04:00The Edge of the PrecipiceBook reviews by a Christian writer/wife/motherHamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.comBlogger1588125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-13021944610433123782024-03-09T15:36:00.004-05:002024-03-09T15:39:28.883-05:00"The Annotated Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen (Annotated and Edited by David M. Shapard)<span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZQRJQ3lw5D63kcwK7Obk8veNaRrSIkaYsFaE8OhuDmJH3vRgjLQ_hVWaFpw1e1cv-Oun_sdjNtCcqaQIsUm9nwbRqIwYzV9NfMROOxna4kcDBcZ4fllB9qtHvj_Kd34n7bHbIqqBaKpA2KngnGfORujXUYvkJwHLanps0e9QFIWe2OCVgWBx_rgEwmA/s450/annotated%20sense%20and%20sensibility%20Jane%20Austen%20david%20shapard.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="291" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZQRJQ3lw5D63kcwK7Obk8veNaRrSIkaYsFaE8OhuDmJH3vRgjLQ_hVWaFpw1e1cv-Oun_sdjNtCcqaQIsUm9nwbRqIwYzV9NfMROOxna4kcDBcZ4fllB9qtHvj_Kd34n7bHbIqqBaKpA2KngnGfORujXUYvkJwHLanps0e9QFIWe2OCVgWBx_rgEwmA/s320/annotated%20sense%20and%20sensibility%20Jane%20Austen%20david%20shapard.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>This is the second time I've read <i>The Annotated Sense and Sensibility</i>, which pairs Jane Austen's classic novel with extensive notes and commentaries by David M. Shapard. I used this edition back in 2021 when I led <a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/search/label/Sense%20and%20Sensibility%20Readalong" target="_blank">a read-along</a> here for <i>S&S</i>, and I very much enjoyed learning from it. So, when I decided to join the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/janeaustendeepdive2024/" target="_blank">#JaneAustenDeepDive2024</a> reading group on Instagram, I decided I wanted to read all of these annotated editions. We're taking two months to read each book, and really having a great time discussing things very thoroughly. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">That slower pace is ideal for these annotated editions because they really do take a lot longer to read -- there are thousands of notes in here explaining everything from naming conventions to social niceties to the differences between a carriage and a barouche, to what kinds of food would be common in that era for different classes. Because history fascinates me, I absolutely loved reading this edition, even for the second time!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">However, reading a thoroughly annotated book like this is a very different experience from reading the novel on its own. I can't fully immerse myself in the story because, every paragraph or two, I have to stop reading the novel to read an explanatory note. So, because I love history, I found it very enjoyable, but enjoyable in a different way from simply losing myself in the story.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">That means that I would not recommend reading this annotated edition if it is your first time reading <i>Sense and Sensibility. </i>But if you have read it before, and you want to understand the society and world and times that the story takes place in and was written in, then it can be very wonderful.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I know this review is mostly about the annotations, not the story itself. Briefly, this is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne, whose father dies at the beginning of the book, and they and their mother and younger sister must move away from their home and live in a much smaller and poorer way than they are used to. Both Elinor and Marianne fall in love, but their different temperaments and personalities, and the very different nature of the men they fall in love with, means that they have very different experiences in love. The whole book is a meditation on whether or not it's wiser to let your heart by ruled by your head, or let your head be ruled by your heart -- or whether it might be wisest to balance the two. It's a good book, but not a high favorite of mine.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: </b>PG for the text and PG-13 for the annotations, which talk about subjects such as unwed pregnancy in a much more frank way than the text does. Nothing salacious, and no bad language, but not necessarily something I would hand to a young teen, either.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-27231810380876112972024-03-04T23:01:00.000-05:002024-03-04T23:04:40.683-05:00"The Sky-Liners" by Louis L'Amour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4b4TP8O7jqHBOOIs86ib7yuWYBe3cTPJmlfSyTOggmEUcC-k2q__bqE-BYDJgee6sczEpZB6LMilAaSaSbvcYKaKV8KiM3CpRkMo6XWUFqV8khEJdvYzS41A34J-ql_CUurtFxJLYrgOWri-4uWO_37gcQ-Iyd9rCS0fyi7OflIsbIwUe5iQHeYMU-Y/s317/the%20skyliners%20louis%20l'amour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="205" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4b4TP8O7jqHBOOIs86ib7yuWYBe3cTPJmlfSyTOggmEUcC-k2q__bqE-BYDJgee6sczEpZB6LMilAaSaSbvcYKaKV8KiM3CpRkMo6XWUFqV8khEJdvYzS41A34J-ql_CUurtFxJLYrgOWri-4uWO_37gcQ-Iyd9rCS0fyi7OflIsbIwUe5iQHeYMU-Y/s1600/the%20skyliners%20louis%20l'amour.jpg" width="205" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">Two Sackett boys that I first met in <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-sackett-brand-by-louis-lamour.html" target="_blank">The Sackett Brand</a></i> are the heroes for <i>The Sky-Liners</i>. Flagan and Galloway Sackett are about to head west to make new lives for themselves when they take a disliking to the rowdy way a bunch of riders arrive in a small Tennessee town. They decide the rowdy bunch needs some settling down, and they make good on their decision, but doing so embarrasses the leader of the riders, Black Fetchen. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Worse yet, Flagan and Galloway then promise an elderly gent to escort his feisty granddaughter Judith to her father's home in Colorado. Guess who Judith is set on marrying if she can just manage to get away from her grandfather? Black Fetchen, of course.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">By the time the Sacketts reach Colorado, they've had multiple run-ins with Fetchen and his gang, and they end up in a regular feud with his bunch before the book is over. Of course, the Sackett boys come out on top in the long run... and one of them even falls in love with Judith.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This was not my favorite Sackett book, but it was a lot of fun anyway.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Particularly Good Bits:</b> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I went for coffee. It was hot, blacker than sin, and strong enough to float a horseshoe. It was cowboy's coffee (p. 80).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A man with nobody to care for is as lonesome as a lost hound dog, and as useless. If he's to feel of any purpose to himself, he's got to feel he's needed, feel he stands between somebody and any trouble (p. 83).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It</b> PG-10 for violence and a few old-fashioned cuss words.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwutVHbRbxEnCjtAMY4Wl4hcoarg5UiSvcFW9hbqIdMPpSP-gpybqqnhhepVe1tkWN54A0VXNK_olPypLhUDAiUe7YCznYwPOm_S_I1TDXnDFKwZuwNx-e89B4RrNE_KHwC1qbYgaFH8iX5RAFjcJbLFCK0GXKU584nVGhHEiZrXN1M8Xv1Aku1utE58/s700/Mount%20TBR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="596" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwutVHbRbxEnCjtAMY4Wl4hcoarg5UiSvcFW9hbqIdMPpSP-gpybqqnhhepVe1tkWN54A0VXNK_olPypLhUDAiUe7YCznYwPOm_S_I1TDXnDFKwZuwNx-e89B4RrNE_KHwC1qbYgaFH8iX5RAFjcJbLFCK0GXKU584nVGhHEiZrXN1M8Xv1Aku1utE58/w170-h200/Mount%20TBR.png" width="170" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This has been my 8th book read off my TBR shelves for the <a href="https://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2023/01/mount-tbr-headquarters.html" target="_blank">2024 Mount TBR Challenge</a>.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-71802714983917308542024-02-29T19:56:00.004-05:002024-03-04T23:04:59.319-05:00"We'll Always Have Casablanca" by Noah Isenberg<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAx-D6aKMU9XSEWd4mRX0rESznljhyphenhyphennTLmW5dXImF8KbblLzFUAwjJRvEt-aqncqZG0pGg0rGCVfDvQnm-wNut03OW_0k64lGAfSWjE1ss6OQCqMLXx3j7Kut97-QYZX2j5lb3PxnGC2uj6GjWcOWnphJ1WEz_bsYeip2VCJOt2VZii9tRvwNbaYH-uZ0/s1200/we'll%20always%20have%20casablanca.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAx-D6aKMU9XSEWd4mRX0rESznljhyphenhyphennTLmW5dXImF8KbblLzFUAwjJRvEt-aqncqZG0pGg0rGCVfDvQnm-wNut03OW_0k64lGAfSWjE1ss6OQCqMLXx3j7Kut97-QYZX2j5lb3PxnGC2uj6GjWcOWnphJ1WEz_bsYeip2VCJOt2VZii9tRvwNbaYH-uZ0/s320/we'll%20always%20have%20casablanca.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">I really love learning about the creative process. Whether it is how someone writes and edits their book, how movies are made, how songs get written -- it all fascinates me. Especially if I am familiar with the creative work in question. So about 3/4 of this book absolutely fascinated me. Isenberg has meticulously put together a behind-the-scenes look at how <i>Casablanca</i> (1942) came to be, from the writing of the stage play <i>Everybody Comes to Rick's</i> through the post-production editing and scoring for the film. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I think the coolest thing I learned from this book was that almost everyone involved, aside from Humphrey Bogart and a handful of other actors and crewmembers, were actually pretty recent immigrants to Hollywood from Europe. Many of them experienced the kind of refugee situation that is shown in the film, waiting desperately for an exit visa and hoping against hope to make it safely out of Europe before the Nazis completely overwhelmed everything and everyone. That is going to make this film extra poignant the next time I watch it. I had realized that, obviously, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid and Peter Lorre were European and had probably come to Hollywood in part to escape the Nazi threat. But even director Michael Curtiz was originally Hungarian, and the actors playing the Nazis in the film were mostly native Germans who had fled Germany. Making this pro-freedom film must have been so immensely satisfying for so many involved, and yet heartbreakingly real, too.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The last couple chapters are about how the movie has influenced Hollywood and society, and I mainly skimmed those.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, if you like learning about how movies get made, this is a cool book. For adults.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> R for discussions of sexual topics, mainly things that couldn't be shown in the film, but also sections from fairly explicit sequels that have been written over the years by people who want to fill in the things the movie only hints at or leaves open to interpretation. You can skim those bits, but they aren't always easy to spot coming.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-32073910201240192892024-02-16T19:44:00.000-05:002024-03-04T23:05:08.105-05:00"Kling Klang Gloria" by Jenni Sauer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjS9JCy1cJHT3GCLl0nQLYEjjEwmCLnRL1lVdq4K9Ru4MUAZZPSmyScdDQadGJo0RjtlvEyfW19M0Qo0AD_cpher78heBvdXbFyx1SLD40VgleFCFl-79YPg7oB-7NUUeO-pp0V6KoOtVvoWOJCBbcJ_fkwr69CWWAAlab00ykT4zO2J8S85p3vre04QI/s3345/kling%20klang%20gloria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3345" data-original-width="2133" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjS9JCy1cJHT3GCLl0nQLYEjjEwmCLnRL1lVdq4K9Ru4MUAZZPSmyScdDQadGJo0RjtlvEyfW19M0Qo0AD_cpher78heBvdXbFyx1SLD40VgleFCFl-79YPg7oB-7NUUeO-pp0V6KoOtVvoWOJCBbcJ_fkwr69CWWAAlab00ykT4zO2J8S85p3vre04QI/s320/kling%20klang%20gloria.jpg" width="204" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">I think this may be Sauer's best book yet. Certainly, it is her most complex book yet. <i>Kling Klang Gloria</i> is a follow-up to <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2022/05/rook-di-goo-by-jenni-sauer.html" target="_blank">Rook di Goo</a></i>, meaning it is book two of the War on Taras series. It reads fine as a stand-alone, but you are going to enjoy the last section more if you have already read <i>Rook di Goo</i>. And, since that last section is my favorite part of the book, overall, I definitely do recommend you read the first book first.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">And now you're like, um, Hamlette? Jenni Sauer has like five other Evraft books out too? Which you have also reviewed? How is this book two?</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I'm so glad you asked! This is book two because it is the second book in the War on Taras series, which takes place in the Evraft Galaxy. The other books take place there too, and they sometimes involve characters who were in these books. And that's about as much explaining as I can do. I suggest visiting <a href="https://ivorypalacepress.com/" target="_blank">Sauer's website</a> or connecting with her on social media to learn more. Or just read the books and figure it out! That's what I did ;-)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, <i>Kling Klang Gloria</i> starts out as a Sleeping Beauty retelling of sorts, then morphs into a King Thrushbeard retelling. Princess Zariya wakes up from a cryogenic sleep and discovers her planet, Taras, has been overrun by their enemies. The palace where she grew up has been leveled and the capitol city razed. What's left of the Tarisian population is scavenging for survival and avoiding the occupying troops as much as they can.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Zariya is welcomed back by the only remaining royal guard, Thrush, who has faithfully waited all these years for her to awaken. Together, they set off across the planet, looking for safety and purpose, basically. Slowly, Zariya learns what happened to her planet and her people, and she slowly picks up clues as to Thrush's past, too. Woven throughout the book are flashbacks to how and why Zariya was frozen and what her life was like beforehand.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Zariya was viewed as a spoiled and nonsensical girl all her life, treated as if she did not have a mind or will of her own and should just be a pretty puppet. The only person who ever understood her was a boy named Arian, her only friend, but the two drifted apart as they grew up, leaving Zariya bereft and confused more than once as Arian stepped farther and farther away from her. Zariya loves to fix things with her hands and has a genius for mechanical things, but struggles to understand social expectations and emotional cues, which makes me assume she is meant to be somewhere on the autism spectrum. Maybe? </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Thrush starts out didactic and gruff, but mellows as he starts to trust Zariya and protect her because he wants to, not because it's his duty. The two grow close and begin taking hesitant steps toward a romantic relationship, but this is more a coming-of-age story than a love story. Their romance is sweet and very slow-burn, and I liked it a lot.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Particularly Good Bits:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Funny, that living scared her more than dying did. But she had gone to so much trouble to survive, that was exactly what she intended to do (p. 18).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">People were minefields of emotions and social constructs Ziya had never learned to read no matter how hard she tried (p. 267).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">They weren't perfect. Neither of them. But maybe they could be imperfect together (p. 395).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> PG-13 for some intense situations, violence, fake marriage as a cover story that involves Zariya and Thrush sharing a bed (innocuously) multiple times, and some mentions of menstruation and tampons that might not be something younger readers would appreciate/understand. There's no cussing, no smut, and no gore, but there are brief mentions of someone having been tortured and several instances of hand-to-hand combat and other acts of violence.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXl20Yez2HWbmrCvQSMU8kk1efTCnb1Xtuq5lSEWGuG5scMLSBuL45aN8oGKqHrtqeI23WThhwusk9pKDjcNJnKWgeaRMx9xwgbKnfH0ecrkpeXFcX-2gWK5vT-aJ1XCW4TOTML2KwDvZmKcDxQWJOgWpnINeFYr1dMIarmNXN2lhBBD9DgwInIfUhgCg/s700/Mount%20TBR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="596" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXl20Yez2HWbmrCvQSMU8kk1efTCnb1Xtuq5lSEWGuG5scMLSBuL45aN8oGKqHrtqeI23WThhwusk9pKDjcNJnKWgeaRMx9xwgbKnfH0ecrkpeXFcX-2gWK5vT-aJ1XCW4TOTML2KwDvZmKcDxQWJOgWpnINeFYr1dMIarmNXN2lhBBD9DgwInIfUhgCg/w170-h200/Mount%20TBR.png" width="170" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This is my 6th book read from my TBR shelves for the <a href="https://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2023/01/mount-tbr-headquarters.html" target="_blank">2024 Mount TBR Reading Challenge</a>.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-54081586951436859932024-02-10T16:06:00.000-05:002024-02-10T16:06:34.046-05:00"A Very Bookish Romance" by Abigayle Claire, Sarah Holman, J. Grace Pennington, Kellyn Roth, and Kate Willis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMUmQvd7KKTLuTbLZjvXZPbaovwCmweA9k0kfy4QC3icZ2UfFADKGEkcteDzboapPtMoTcXGWNxxUYGffkWzBRCFh0I6Cu0Doh7jrOs9y8O3mlRM__H3IA-N41ieGviDCC0olcxlM-BpuWRleYC4ahdYW8BpH9dETbnipGg40CHZ6DNZ61tbJoXnMTZk/s2000/a%20very%20bookish%20romance.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1242" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMUmQvd7KKTLuTbLZjvXZPbaovwCmweA9k0kfy4QC3icZ2UfFADKGEkcteDzboapPtMoTcXGWNxxUYGffkWzBRCFh0I6Cu0Doh7jrOs9y8O3mlRM__H3IA-N41ieGviDCC0olcxlM-BpuWRleYC4ahdYW8BpH9dETbnipGg40CHZ6DNZ61tbJoXnMTZk/s320/a%20very%20bookish%20romance.jpg" width="199" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">I am a little sad that this is the last "A Very Bookish Holiday" title. The series of Christian novellas has been a lot of fun, and has introduced me to some authors I might not have tried otherwise.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Like in the previous installments of this series, each novella in this collection retells a classic book, but also has the characters in the novella reading that classic and thinking about how it relates to their own situation. Which sounds awfully meta, but I promise it works in a charming and cute way. After all, what avid reader hasn't seen parallels between something in their life and a beloved book? That's part of what makes reading so much fun!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Of the five novellas here, my favorites were "The Artist of Hearthstone Cottage" by Kellyn Roth and "Daisy's Heart" by Abigayle Claire. Interestingly, those were the two that are based on books I am not very, very familiar with!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Here's a little bit about each novella:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Daisy's Heart" by Abigayle Claire is inspired by <i>Charlotte's Web </i>by E. B. White, which is a book I actively avoid because I can't stand spiders. However, I did read it as a kid, so I do remember vaguely what it is about. But this story stands beautifully on its own -- it's about a young woman, Daisy, whose parents have died, leaving her to care for the family farm and her younger, developmentally challenged brother. She wants to save the farm, she wants to raise her brother well and give him a good home, and she wants to maybe have time to think about going out with the kind handyman who helps her out from time to time... but she's under an awful lot of pressure. Learning to accept help, even ask for it, is a big part of Daisy's character arc. I happen to be writing a book that revolves around that theme myself, so this story resonated really strongly with me.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"A String of Paper Hearts" by Sarah Holman is inspired by <i>Pride and Prejudice </i>by Jane Austen. It's about a college girl who can't stand this loud and socially awkward guy, but ends up having to spend a lot of time with mutual friends and coming to realize maybe she is way too prone to judging people on appearances. This was a good story, but I was a bit taken aback by the repeated denunciations of anyone who likes any movie version of Austen's book that is NOT the one released in 1995. First of all, I thought Austenites had grown past that particular nonsense a few years ago, and second of all, it was jarringly at odds with the novella's theme of not judging people for having different opinions or likes and dislikes from your own.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Southeaster Lodge" by J. Grace Pennington is inspired by <i>Northanger Abbey</i> by Jane Austen. This one was very cute, all about a girl who takes a job cleaning a family-owned resort that hides a few mysteries and secrets. She falls for the owner's son, who manages the resort, but some poor choices in friends threaten their emerging relationship. I really appreciated that there was no horrible John Thorpe character in this.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"The Artist of Hearthstone Cottage" by Kellyn Roth is inspired by <i>The Tenant of Wildfell Hall</i> by Anne Bronte, which I have never read. This one is set in Britain in the 1940s, unlike all the others, which are set in the USA in the present day. I love the 1940s as a setting, so that definitely endeared the story to me. Plus, it felt very relatable -- its about a mom struggling to balance raising her toddler with being an artist. Her husband died during WWII, and she has moved away from everywhere and everyone she knows so she can start life over again with her son. She makes some new friends and finds a new love interest, but needs to come to terms with her past before she can truly move forward with life.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Lore in Love" by Kate Willis is inspired by <i>Little Town on the Prairie</i> by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In it, a teen gets a part-time job helping watch toddlers and babies at a Christian school/daycare. Sometimes, she gets a ride to her job from one of her mom's friends, but sometimes, it's that friend's quiet teen son who gives her a lift. A sweet relationship slowly develops between them. This one also features a younger sibling with developmental challenges, and the friendship between those two siblings was really lovely.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> G. Absolutely nothing here that you couldn't read aloud to a child.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEb3neP-RNKKLnSGScAWPO7jbvHcgcdTvFKi1jQL2NvBXvxOz3yMZWBD0hjUj9R160DOmdgnd0YlkOhYClHsD6CQOBstvXzj5C7pqs2NBftHpQKcZxUPKslUsBnKzDQd-rLdCp4ntnxTByD2EnASR5EH5iemO-lw7r1yxBo6oN1YzPAsHQOPPhQ9LrM4/s700/Mount%20TBR.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="596" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEb3neP-RNKKLnSGScAWPO7jbvHcgcdTvFKi1jQL2NvBXvxOz3yMZWBD0hjUj9R160DOmdgnd0YlkOhYClHsD6CQOBstvXzj5C7pqs2NBftHpQKcZxUPKslUsBnKzDQd-rLdCp4ntnxTByD2EnASR5EH5iemO-lw7r1yxBo6oN1YzPAsHQOPPhQ9LrM4/w170-h200/Mount%20TBR.png" width="170" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This has been my fifth book read off my TBR shelves for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (I didn't receive my copy until it was released in 2024, but I had pre-ordered it in 2023, so it still counts!) and my third for the <a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2024/01/announcing-cozywinterchristianfictionch.html" target="_blank">#CozyWinterChristianFictionChallenge</a>. </span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-8794060489862959562024-02-07T09:27:00.002-05:002024-03-04T23:05:25.768-05:00"Shadowed Loyalty" by Roseanna M. White<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-v2sDwPcPZiqWorT_W52qUXxhEZDjZKOUY089iL9BGazmcE-R8gHE38j6Sml4YLOjgYn8z5zrUUunRi71jnEGa1jZr3rxFLg4Wif8gdbTOOXTiLYvdpYXKJk2y_jMGHOBeVqBcGNU3CqbvtKqtjQ0RWLaZxTa-NTbR4ysndCNHhliYr6uyjDiZawSuI/s1360/shadowed%20loyalty%20roseanna%20m%20white.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="907" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-v2sDwPcPZiqWorT_W52qUXxhEZDjZKOUY089iL9BGazmcE-R8gHE38j6Sml4YLOjgYn8z5zrUUunRi71jnEGa1jZr3rxFLg4Wif8gdbTOOXTiLYvdpYXKJk2y_jMGHOBeVqBcGNU3CqbvtKqtjQ0RWLaZxTa-NTbR4ysndCNHhliYr6uyjDiZawSuI/s320/shadowed%20loyalty%20roseanna%20m%20white.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, White can write characters that feel so realistic that I feel like I have met them in real life. On the other hand, when she writes a character who frustrates and annoys me, that can start to get to me. So, this book was very well-written, and very engaging, but one of the secondary characters drove me NUTS.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Sabina's father is a mafia don. Her fiancé Lorenzo's father is one of her father's right-hand men. Their fathers have agreed that, although their Chicago mafia organization is a family business, these two children of theirs are not to be involved in it. They are clean, free in conscience and mind as well as in reality. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">But, can they really be free when their families are involved in so much corruption, violence, and criminal activity? That's the question at the heart of the book.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Sabina has felt neglected and ignored by Lorenzo ever since their engagement. She is flattered when Roman, a handsome newcomer to Chicago, pays attention to her. Their involvement grows deeper and deeper... until one fateful day when he reveals himself as an infiltrator, a Prohibition agent who was using Sabina to get close to her father and take him down. (This happens in the very first chapter -- it's not really a spoiler, honest.) The bulk of the book is about Sabina and Lorenzo trying to figure out if they still want to be together, and how much their families' involvement in crime is going to affect their futures.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Roman is the secondary character who drove me crazy. Ugh. The guy had this unwavering fixation on Sabina that made me want to shake him pretty much every time he showed up on the page. So annoying. Very well-written, to be honest, but very annoying to me personally. Might not bother you at all!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Particularly Good Bits:</span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Brother Judah said once -- I don't remember when, but it stuck with me -- that forgiveness isn't a ticket you buy, a one-time thing bought and paid for. Forgiveness is a train you choose to ride through life's journey. You have to stay on it, even though sometimes you don't know where it's taking you" (p. 127)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">People were never just what they did, or just where they found themselves. People were never just their sins (p. 246).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The job of a candle was to shine despite the fact that the darkness could never comprehend it (p. 260).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> PG-16 for quite a bit of non-descriptive sexual content. As in, there are extramarital affairs going on, some side characters are prostitutes, and there are mentions of petting. A few on-page kisses, and everything else is pretty tasteful and non-titillating, but I wouldn't hand this book to my tween daughters. There is also some violence, including shootings and fistfighting.</span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTf6CtJUf2fYbp57HbwlVXFpY9w_R6r06C7vcDI4eXvozaVlYDJaYipSqhx_bu03nX6LpUScYXAICNr8NbkOx7aLB1YbnMTqmYj25w_Ei8__sEK5wcOUJGbjsA4VsAmFvWnE-aTNw4hE-DL2UeXvVwAv5wwtdnK5jUCJBPsk8HIuzCQrzt1d7NJU_nu4/s700/Mount%20TBR.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="596" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpTf6CtJUf2fYbp57HbwlVXFpY9w_R6r06C7vcDI4eXvozaVlYDJaYipSqhx_bu03nX6LpUScYXAICNr8NbkOx7aLB1YbnMTqmYj25w_Ei8__sEK5wcOUJGbjsA4VsAmFvWnE-aTNw4hE-DL2UeXvVwAv5wwtdnK5jUCJBPsk8HIuzCQrzt1d7NJU_nu4/w170-h200/Mount%20TBR.png" width="170" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This is my 4th book read from my TBR shelves for the <a href="https://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2023/01/mount-tbr-headquarters.html" target="_blank">Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2024</a> and my 2nd for the <a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2024/01/announcing-cozywinterchristianfictionch.html" target="_blank">#CozyWinterChristianFictionChallenge</a>. </span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-72940843729279877252024-02-06T09:04:00.003-05:002024-02-06T09:04:45.336-05:00Top Ten Tuesday: Be Brief <span style="font-size: large;">This month's first Top Ten Tuesday prompt from <a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/2024/02/top-ten-books-that-can-be-read-in-a-day/" target="_blank">That Artsy Reader Girl</a> is "Top Ten Quick Reads/Novellas." I am only counting novellas intended for teens and adults, not middle-grade or junior fiction, because otherwise the whole list would be just my favorite books from when I was a tween/teen. That would be fun, but not where I chose to go today.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I arranged these by alphabetical order because I didn't feel like trying to figure out which ones would be my next-favorite after <i>Falling Snow</i>, which is definitely tops here. All titles are linked to my full reviews.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdTV51lX3UNGfs64TZweJAzdlwgxjRc3ZiiIcx7FacqlBIc0gFIU6f8zW9A89e-poI-m7dWMvz7FMO3gBLjxaNengpBp_z5faDcdDbTatxWhWXBh3FC-eAISeTHiMXLW9Rho5yIwHBPeXzsYgxO5r_evZPN_3JFIhpQqSyg1mablnOZqVQwpNIFGieVw/s1920/Top%20Ten%20Favorite%20Novellas.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdTV51lX3UNGfs64TZweJAzdlwgxjRc3ZiiIcx7FacqlBIc0gFIU6f8zW9A89e-poI-m7dWMvz7FMO3gBLjxaNengpBp_z5faDcdDbTatxWhWXBh3FC-eAISeTHiMXLW9Rho5yIwHBPeXzsYgxO5r_evZPN_3JFIhpQqSyg1mablnOZqVQwpNIFGieVw/w225-h400/Top%20Ten%20Favorite%20Novellas.png" width="225" /></span></a></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2015/04/corral-nocturne-by-elisabeth-grace-foley.html" target="_blank">Corral Nocturne</a></i> by Elisabeth Grace Foley (G) -- western Cinderella retelling</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2019/02/five-poisoned-apples-by.html" target="_blank">Falling Snow</a></i> by Skye Hoffert (PG-10) -- fantasy circus Snow White retelling</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-goblin-and-dancer-by-allison-tebo.html" target="_blank">The Goblin and the Dancer</a></i> by Allison Tebo (PG) -- fantasy Steadfast Tin Soldier retelling</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2020/12/a-holiday-by-gaslight-by-mimi-matthews.html" target="_blank">A Holiday by Gaslight</a></i> by Mimi Matthews (PG-13) -- Victorian Christmas retelling of <i>North and South</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-lilies-of-field-by-william-e-barrett.html" target="_blank">The Lilies of the Field</a></i> by William E. Barrett (G) -- classic about extending a helping hand across social divides</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-reluctant-godfather-by-allison-tebo.html" target="_blank">The Reluctant Godfather</a></i> by Allison Tebo (G) -- funny Cinderella retelling</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2017/12/a-sidekicks-tale-by-elisabeth-grace.html" target="_blank">A Sidekick's Tale</a></i> by Elisabeth Grace Foley (PG) -- funny western</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-silent-gondoliers-by-william-goldman.html" target="_blank">The Silent Gondoliers</a></i> by William Goldman (PG) -- funny fable</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2016/12/once-by-elisabeth-grace-foley-rachel.html" target="_blank">With Blossoms Gold</a></i> by Hayden Wand (PG) -- fantasy Rapunzel retelling</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2021/10/woman-in-dark-by-dashiell-hammett.html" target="_blank">Woman in the Dark</a></i> by Dashiell Hammett (PG-16) -- hardboiled detective story</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1D6rkoCYhSnCPoeqpE_jNyxfAkHZIBGSbWexDzXBrKb2MLneR34PFUYRxm5yyhuq4lIuflJcka0r1U_ggizjaWKc7yLEbCFVR-D6SXvwgm0DPIJdldgMk1DGhfA23spxanK3ssSMZ789O4MzuVxyYEG_kmsL_iXwUtMb8_dhOU-xEmjTDV3tP3UeYIg/s768/top%20ten%20tuesday%20newest.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="768" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1D6rkoCYhSnCPoeqpE_jNyxfAkHZIBGSbWexDzXBrKb2MLneR34PFUYRxm5yyhuq4lIuflJcka0r1U_ggizjaWKc7yLEbCFVR-D6SXvwgm0DPIJdldgMk1DGhfA23spxanK3ssSMZ789O4MzuVxyYEG_kmsL_iXwUtMb8_dhOU-xEmjTDV3tP3UeYIg/s320/top%20ten%20tuesday%20newest.png" width="320" /></a></div></div></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-11973460965452579452024-01-25T16:58:00.000-05:002024-01-25T16:58:17.298-05:00"The Sackett Brand" by Louis L'Amour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_nG7-3Jdhz2_Gf1pJOkJDwvs7rtGPtToOHGC6ZdIRCZ9pvlpqYAKQe3UT9mYFvTu9HmrCcoin-uozDUGk1fZyMnm2n78Tn7fuopAsJQi_dd_S47IXlk035yJULG0IytQxCRFyJJdTFQH6MIkZpn2SyiM1iL8BCBMmJRFoK1-9VbHPG7YIQmey4P_FLVI/s350/the%20sackett%20brand%20louis%20l'amour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="216" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_nG7-3Jdhz2_Gf1pJOkJDwvs7rtGPtToOHGC6ZdIRCZ9pvlpqYAKQe3UT9mYFvTu9HmrCcoin-uozDUGk1fZyMnm2n78Tn7fuopAsJQi_dd_S47IXlk035yJULG0IytQxCRFyJJdTFQH6MIkZpn2SyiM1iL8BCBMmJRFoK1-9VbHPG7YIQmey4P_FLVI/s320/the%20sackett%20brand%20louis%20l'amour.jpg" width="197" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">Ladies and gentlemen, I now have a favorite Sackett, and his name is Tell.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I am probably going to have to go back and reread <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/07/sackett-by-louis-lamour.html" target="_blank">Sackett</a></i> and <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/09/mojave-crossing-by-louis-lamour.html" target="_blank">Mojave Crossing</a> </i>now because they also star Tell Sackett, and since I now love him, I must go back and appreciate him in those. Though, truth be told, I will probably wait to do that until I have finished reading all the Sackett books. Then I will go back and read all of Tell's books again. Because I have 9 books left to read yet -- he may very well be in more of them! (Please, if you know he's in more of them, don't list them all off to me. I want to discover who each book is about on my own.)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway. Poor Tell Sackett. Poor, dear Tell Sackett. He finally marries Ange, the girl he met back during <i>Sackett</i> and fell in love with. And then someone kills her. And tries to kill him. And nearly gets away with both. So the whole book here is Tell recovering from almost dying and then figuring out who murdered his wife and why. And getting himself repeatedly almost-killed in the process, until he's pretty well cornered by his wife's murderer's henchmen and going to die any minute...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">...and then the cavalry arrives. Only they aren't the U. S. Cavalry, they're a whole heap of Sacketts from all across the western half of the country. (This is not really a spoiler, because they start to congregate about halfway through the book.) Tell's brothers Orrin and Tyrel, their cousin <a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/07/lando-by-louis-lamour.html" target="_blank">Lando</a>, and some spiffy new Sacketts I hadn't met yet but look forward to meeting -- they find out there's a Sackett in trouble, and they hustle over to help as fast as they can hustle.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This book, y'all. It hit SO many big sweet spots for me! Cavalry arrives to save the day? Check. Assemble a team of heroes? Check. Vow to avenge someone by bringing their killer to justice? Check. One dude taking on a huge force and slowly whittling down their numbers through superior skills and intelligence? Check. Bad guys turning on each other? Check. Surviving by making do with what you can find in the environment around you? Check. I mean, it's like this book was written for me. Wow.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">So, yeah. I loved it. A lot. I'm already looking forward to re-reading it.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Particularly Good Bits:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">One thing I've learned over the years: never to waste time moaning about what couldn't be helped. If a body can do something, fine -- he should do it. If he can't, then there's no use fussing about it until he <i>can</i> do something (p. 23). (This is basically my entire attitude toward worry.)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> PG-16 for quite a bit of violence and deadly peril, plus an off-page assault of a woman that, if it wasn't rape, was going to be except she died first. The word 'rape' is never used, but intent is there in the subtext.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnu-oxN6zqKQ3PMfKP6unAA0DVbNEswQGsUQ3HLUoOxybHW5leAv9aCfMaz5DdswJbOf2LwvhgEIoZJ4-DArKZZcJ0TTi5o2wNVEe7p57_b2vUazI6tPK7yyu-pwq83z8_bIoOk2HQrrk-ji63s7afTI8v8pvM7v3iAmWwTNqxoEaPKH8kSkyAcB1vA2o/s700/Mount%20TBR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="596" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnu-oxN6zqKQ3PMfKP6unAA0DVbNEswQGsUQ3HLUoOxybHW5leAv9aCfMaz5DdswJbOf2LwvhgEIoZJ4-DArKZZcJ0TTi5o2wNVEe7p57_b2vUazI6tPK7yyu-pwq83z8_bIoOk2HQrrk-ji63s7afTI8v8pvM7v3iAmWwTNqxoEaPKH8kSkyAcB1vA2o/w170-h200/Mount%20TBR.png" width="170" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">This is my third book read off my TBR shelves for the <a href="https://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2024/01/january-mount-tbr-reviews.html" target="_blank">2024 Mount TBR Reading Challenge</a>. </span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-39690551907361425062024-01-23T09:55:00.004-05:002024-01-23T10:07:54.492-05:00"Up from Dust: Martha's Story" by Heather Kaufman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYndniyOSLZjhfmcQ-X7rEwkgF7_5ISU9pymRcIR0VyYqd1guJ07zghYfa_y4FE0y-wTVtBM2m5ZzRnJ9X2U5InlC3ChqhVVY8QipZt5JsnO1BL2bfJ-nZyYlZyh9EsYtCYxoP2mSE6rV2rptW8Yip-DUXbdjCJXwOY8FLeHYB_LyNdAq-MgvbJxC2jf0/s346/Up%20from%20Dust%20Heather%20Kaufman.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYndniyOSLZjhfmcQ-X7rEwkgF7_5ISU9pymRcIR0VyYqd1guJ07zghYfa_y4FE0y-wTVtBM2m5ZzRnJ9X2U5InlC3ChqhVVY8QipZt5JsnO1BL2bfJ-nZyYlZyh9EsYtCYxoP2mSE6rV2rptW8Yip-DUXbdjCJXwOY8FLeHYB_LyNdAq-MgvbJxC2jf0/s320/Up%20from%20Dust%20Heather%20Kaufman.jpg" width="208" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">I know we are only a couple weeks into the year. But I suspect this is going to be my #1 favorite new read for 2024.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I already love Kaufman's contemporary fiction, <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-story-people-by-heather-kaufman.html" target="_blank">The Story People</a></i> and <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2022/01/loving-isaac-by-heather-kaufman-again.html" target="_blank">Loving Isaac</a></i>. When I learned she was writing some historical fiction set in Biblical times, I got very excited because, as you know, historical fiction is one of my favorite things to read. And, when I found out her book would be focused on Martha from the Bible, sister to Mary and Lazarus, well... I started to count down the days until there would be advance copies available from the publisher, in hopes I could sign up to get one. And I did! So, this book releases TODAY, but I have already finished reading it, hugging it, crying over it, rejoicing over it. Get yourself a copy so you can do the same!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">So, I have a bit of a personal connection to Martha from the Bible, which goes way back to college. I attended Bethany Lutheran College, and their motto is <i>One Thing Needful</i>, which comes from the Biblical account of Jesus visiting siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus at their home, and Martha being super stressed out by trying to get a meal on the table while Mary sits by Jesus and listens to him teach. Martha asks Jesus why he won't tell her sister to help out, and Jesus says that Mary has chosen the most important, most needed thing, which is learning from him. And, of course, the point of all that isn't that we should never serve others, or that meals are unimportant, but that we should not try to dissuade others from listening to and learning about Jesus. Nor should we let day-to-day stresses keep us away from Jesus.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">And y'all, I have heard soooooo many sermons and homilies on this Bible story. I think they hit it in chapel once a month. I attended chapel every day for four years. I heard that story a LOT. Which is good, because it's one I needed to hear a lot -- I very often get bogged down in day-to-day stresses and chores and being busy busy busy busy busy. I need to make sure that does not get between me and learning about and from my Savior. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Since I have such a personal connection to that account in the Bible, I have been hesitant about reading any fiction about those particular people. Because a lot of people do NOT get the correct lesson from that account, and that always bugs me. Too many people see it as a condemnation of acts of service, or as a way of saying "doing things" is lesser than "learning things." It gets abused a LOT, folks. Watch out for that.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway. I KNEW that Heather Kaufman was going to avoid those theological pitfalls. I KNEW she was going to handle these real, historical people with respect and honor and kindness. All of them. And I was totally right. She did!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUFG_u0G_CiOQZ8EmDYAASVBENn7E7-U_xCNTOEb5JUFYSMsYrTtQZJWJdVOEis8uGzgfCWDg-_NDP29VVdFT6zuwzCWjK_in77kSHhmnZBsaMuQN2Y2eLkfhC86I0Vi3jDcTRQmwsAYp8RI817yLiA5r5FkE2KpdvripOYNc0iDw1z2tBET8KngPNOs/s1409/IMG_20240123_094806_857.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1409" data-original-width="1409" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUFG_u0G_CiOQZ8EmDYAASVBENn7E7-U_xCNTOEb5JUFYSMsYrTtQZJWJdVOEis8uGzgfCWDg-_NDP29VVdFT6zuwzCWjK_in77kSHhmnZBsaMuQN2Y2eLkfhC86I0Vi3jDcTRQmwsAYp8RI817yLiA5r5FkE2KpdvripOYNc0iDw1z2tBET8KngPNOs/w400-h400/IMG_20240123_094806_857.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(From <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rachelkovacinyauthor/" target="_blank">my Instagram</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Kaufman gives us a fictional Martha who is bowed almost double under the weight of guilt and sorrow and worry and fear. The whole first half of the book is about a young Martha, in her mid-teens, trying to raise her younger sister because they have lost their mother. Young Martha falls in love, but her life is very difficult -- her father is remote and sometimes emotionally abusive, her little sister Mary is wild and wayward, and her brother Lazarus is trying to grow to manhood before he's really ready. Martha's young life is basically one huge mess, and yet, falling in love grounds her in a calm she has never known.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Which totally doesn't last. This is not an easy book to read, emotionally. It did bring tears to my eyes, more than once. But you know how some people are like, "This book destroyed me! You should read it!" Well, this book did not destroy me. It built me up. That is the best kind of fiction. (You should read it!)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The second half of the book is about Martha as an adult. Her life is still chaos. She's closed herself off from those around her, she's focused on working and doing and getting things done as much as possible, and she's... pretty much a picture of a lot of people I see every day. Just focus on tasks so you don't have to think or feel.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Then Jesus Christ steps into this closed-up, broken, heartbroken mess that is Martha's life. Into the wayward, searching, desperate mess that is Mary's life. Into the confused, earnest, hopeful mess that is Lazarus's life. And, as they come to believe that, yes, this Jesus is the Messiah that they and all Jewish people have been waiting for since a few days after the world began... their lives are transformed. They are not <i>fixed</i>. But when they stop trusting themselves for solutions, when they center their hearts on God and trust him to care for their every need, and when they stop trying to "be enough" in and of themselves, their lives truly are transformed.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I especially loved the depiction of a difficult and combative sisterly relationship being healed. I know some sisters who have not been friends for many years, and this gives me hope that they can also one day discover that they do love each other.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This book weaves fictional lives for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, incorporating the real events that the Bible tells us about them. It's a masterful piece of fiction with so much truth and hope inside, that I know it's a book I will reread many times in years to come.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Particularly Good Bits:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Worry is like a ravenous beast, child. The more you feed him, the more he wants and the harder he'll go after it. Take it from an old woman who knows... do not give your worry one more scrap of food" (p. 99).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I would choose to turn my eyes from what I lacked and look instead to what Yahweh in His wisdom had chosen to give me. I would not waste this day weeping (p. 172).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"When bitterness chokes the life out of a man, he comes to love his hurt more than Adonai. And when knowledge becomes its own reward, a man comes to love his mind more than Adonai" (p. 219).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I opened my eyes and stared at the Christ. I didn't understand this path. In truth, I did not want this path. But it was the path that Yahweh had given me, and perhaps that was enough (p. 271).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Some need no excuse for their hatred other than self-interest" (p. 280).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> PG-10 for non-detailed references to menarche, kissing, and childbirth. A woman dies in childbirth, which could be distressing to younger readers. No bad language, smut, or gore, but some violence occurs off-page and we see the results.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirU8EepyJC_BZBaGg0R-t0LggOGvMvNscTyGIyNcLkld2k0_3Z6cDgu2LUgZpcK9OSggPXfrxQ3Qm6MnRccgCw0QqBESf5PQ7TGxLPRLvokdEk868ffH8zB-on5G2cHc73iVm7hI6f5OJpwTln8kO5qTfJ1dFtsV9KXRjmoWB1GFaUIh8F7PEv8zqsylo/s700/Mount%20TBR.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="596" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirU8EepyJC_BZBaGg0R-t0LggOGvMvNscTyGIyNcLkld2k0_3Z6cDgu2LUgZpcK9OSggPXfrxQ3Qm6MnRccgCw0QqBESf5PQ7TGxLPRLvokdEk868ffH8zB-on5G2cHc73iVm7hI6f5OJpwTln8kO5qTfJ1dFtsV9KXRjmoWB1GFaUIh8F7PEv8zqsylo/s320/Mount%20TBR.png" width="272" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This has been my second book read from my TBR shelves for the 2024 Mount TBR Reading Challenge and my first for the #CozyWinterChristianFictionChallenge.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of <i>Up from Dust</i> from the publisher. I read the whole book, and my thoughts and opinions expressed here are my true ones.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-90076021522459253072024-01-19T11:16:00.003-05:002024-01-19T11:17:02.495-05:00Announcing the #CozyWinterChristianFictionChallenge + Giveaway<span style="font-size: large;">I am co-hosting a reading challenge for the next six weeks! Through March 1, fellow Christian author Laurie Sibley and I are challenging readers to brighten the winter days by reading some Christian fiction. We have announced this challenge on Instagram (my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C2SOM81LrpC/" target="_blank">kick-off post is here</a>), but you don't have to be on IG to participate! Bloggers are welcome too.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikr9TY-gMkohe65XLFgMSfaiWmm5IMcLlNxZjOtcsUwbNHtXa-73z5nWCoqIZiyg3rGmxZVj0B8OzdgHQq-FypwFaRnlv0ln8IXLaGxaNsrh8182OiZn1__3oMjOCzugx9oxDIOGql32E1V48x3DjAw-TGwYuEqkZbjnBwRHG8ZZuQGpDuy8PLyvLGyRc/s1080/%23CozyWinterChristianReadingChallenge.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikr9TY-gMkohe65XLFgMSfaiWmm5IMcLlNxZjOtcsUwbNHtXa-73z5nWCoqIZiyg3rGmxZVj0B8OzdgHQq-FypwFaRnlv0ln8IXLaGxaNsrh8182OiZn1__3oMjOCzugx9oxDIOGql32E1V48x3DjAw-TGwYuEqkZbjnBwRHG8ZZuQGpDuy8PLyvLGyRc/w400-h400/%23CozyWinterChristianReadingChallenge.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">Want to join? It's easy! Copy that bingo board for your own use. Cross off the things you do between now and March 1. You are welcome to combine prompts if you wish -- for example, you could read a Christian fiction book published before 2000 that is part of a series, and cross off two squares. You could read a Christian fiction book by a new-to-you author that a friend recommended, and cross off two squares. You could reread a favorite Christian fiction book while snuggled up under a cozy blanket with a cup of hot tea while it snows outside, and cross off four squares! </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The books you read for the challenge <b>should</b> be Christian fiction, since this is specifically a Christian fiction challenge. However, you can decide for yourself if that means the books are labeled "Christian fiction" by the publishers or if they are simply written by an author who professes to be a Christian. For example, even though <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> is not explicitly Christian fiction, J. R. R. Tolkien was a Christian, and his writing is imbued with Christian themes and truths even though he does not mention Jesus Christ or the Bible in the books. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">As you cross things off, you can also use those as entries for the giveaway! Every square crossed off counts for one entry, and has a corresponding entry button in the giveaway widget. Every bingo you make (four crossed off in a row, horizontal or vertical or diagonal) counts for an extra four entries via the giveaway widget. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">And, if you want a few extra entries, you can get those by subscribing to our author newsletters! You can <a href="https://mailchi.mp/f2881dd4ccd6/rachelkovacinymailinglist" target="_blank">sign up for mine here</a>, and for <a href="https://www.lauriesibley.com/newsletter" target="_blank">Laurie Sibley's here</a>. If you do subscribe to either/both of those, don't forget to enter that into the giveaway widget to get your entries!</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKbn0uiRtQ2TtwGUMvPChwjrUrsA-XAqWPaBEd5uifuTS2UZwxxC-L_2WnnFHjz0ZAYnW4fw8qih8YZWqdo8JvMJd0A_tmzWj3vX-1lK0xLJfW7g1F7OnGg3FAFOHJrPSR5u9tS_Zp9WnO6xz4yV94l3HwN-172bxs6izKMwzqCCiZDJXFQAjVEnNk4I/s1553/%23Cozy%205b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1553" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKbn0uiRtQ2TtwGUMvPChwjrUrsA-XAqWPaBEd5uifuTS2UZwxxC-L_2WnnFHjz0ZAYnW4fw8qih8YZWqdo8JvMJd0A_tmzWj3vX-1lK0xLJfW7g1F7OnGg3FAFOHJrPSR5u9tS_Zp9WnO6xz4yV94l3HwN-172bxs6izKMwzqCCiZDJXFQAjVEnNk4I/w279-h400/%23Cozy%205b.png" width="279" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">For your convenience, here is the giveaway widget:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="2b4f811778" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2b4f811778/" id="rcwidget_rynk3xyk" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">You can also access that widget by <a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2b4f811778/?" target="_blank">visiting this link</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Feel free to share this with friends! The more, the merrier :-)</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-8822705627934369332024-01-15T17:12:00.004-05:002024-01-15T17:12:38.850-05:00Do You Like Sibling Stories?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCF4u9Y2DdHdyWtujy15xco89yYTYxYQan2MtsaPoZQ8oNU2all0FsTi5LlGetBxYZksfvEtq679uAw3jmqpG-oF3UCx0mQw7dSJMEtsmaCcQiMRRxuXfGXnZdzPEWBO4OXtKBP5D13_q0zyrL4uRzCG3ga7yO5nxiiLNvB8DxkcZaZvzgB95IoGLavvE/s1080/Sibling%20Stories%20Week%203.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCF4u9Y2DdHdyWtujy15xco89yYTYxYQan2MtsaPoZQ8oNU2all0FsTi5LlGetBxYZksfvEtq679uAw3jmqpG-oF3UCx0mQw7dSJMEtsmaCcQiMRRxuXfGXnZdzPEWBO4OXtKBP5D13_q0zyrL4uRzCG3ga7yO5nxiiLNvB8DxkcZaZvzgB95IoGLavvE/s320/Sibling%20Stories%20Week%203.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">Over on my other blog, Hamlette's Soliloquy, I've just announced that I'm hosting a blog party next month. We Love Sibling Stories Week will run February 19-23, and you are cordially invited to join the fun! For more info, you can <a href="https://hamlette.blogspot.com/2024/01/announcing-we-love-sibling-stories-week.html" target="_blank">check out the announcement post here</a>.</span>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-42467478227695783742024-01-13T11:51:00.003-05:002024-01-13T12:19:30.200-05:00"The Legend of Bass Reeves" by Gary Paulsen<span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5M1Fi2LeeICYfKj62rmqlBc7qBGZG0nVGJy6aodlqEgyDalyMWwS1iFBYpL0hes2O4Zat4o01xe4cgvBBQFNcUfaVDrn9kzA9S2AIAuiWLTHLMW0FUJpiTjEADS9vbCZ6ZRa8fjegg8kjBmazC-7_nTm7UhS-YYFj1Iy8YlSo1jetZtm-eJhIqYJTe6Y/s700/the%20legend%20of%20bass%20reeves%20gary%20paulsen.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5M1Fi2LeeICYfKj62rmqlBc7qBGZG0nVGJy6aodlqEgyDalyMWwS1iFBYpL0hes2O4Zat4o01xe4cgvBBQFNcUfaVDrn9kzA9S2AIAuiWLTHLMW0FUJpiTjEADS9vbCZ6ZRa8fjegg8kjBmazC-7_nTm7UhS-YYFj1Iy8YlSo1jetZtm-eJhIqYJTe6Y/s320/the%20legend%20of%20bass%20reeves%20gary%20paulsen.jpeg" width="219" /></a></div>Funny thing: I thought I had read this book before. I assigned it to one of my homeschool co-op classes to read for this month, remembering it as an exciting recounting of Bass Reeves's adventures as a U. S. Marshal in the Old West. I started reading it this week to have it fresh in my mind for our discussion next week... and discovered I had actually only read the last 50 pages or so before. About half of the book is actually about Bass growing up in slavery in Texas. Then it explores why he ran off to Indian Territory as a young man, and how he found friendship and belonging there among the Creek tribe. Only the last third is about his career as a lawman.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The book is fictional in that Paulsen writes about Bass's life as if he was writing a novel, with all kinds of situations and dialog that are supplied by the author. Historians really know very little about Bass Reeves's early life growing up in Texas, so a lot of that is filled in based on typical conditions and experiences of that time and place. The subtitle of the book is <i>Being the True and Fictional Account of the Most Valiant Marshal in the West</i>, which gives you an idea of how this is a blend of real and imaginary things.<br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">It's actually a deeper, richer book than I remembered... but also a bit sterner stuff than I would ordinarily have assigned to my 3rd-thru-5th-grade class. I don't know if the reading level is above them, but there's some content here that I might have shied away from for them, such as a handful of bad words, mentions of torture and massacre (very lightly described, but could be really hard for very sheltered or sensitive kids to read about), and a pretty serious look at life as a slave. (There's also a whole introduction that I would just advise most kids skip, to be honest.) It does address the kinds of racism that Bass faced, and did an okay job pointing out that black, white, and native peoples all had different prejudices that worked against their getting along together. It felt a little heavy-handed with that once or twice, but overall I think it was a really fair and sensible depiction of the era.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway... class time next week could be interesting! Happily, most of the kids in that class are into books like Goosebumps, so I don't think they'll find it scary. And none of them are what I would consider quite sheltered. We shall see how it goes! I do know one of the nine-year-olds was about half done with it when I bumped into him earlier this week, and when I asked him what he thought of it, he said it was really interesting and not hard to read. SO... it will probably be fine. But I have definitely learned my lesson about relying on my memory about books I haven't read/reread within the last few years!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: </b>PG-13 for the aforementioned scattering of bad language, as well as non-detailed descriptions of torture and massacre (naked dead bodies and scalpings are mentioned, along with vague description of mutilation, such as referring to "people being cut up"). The word 'rape' is used once in the book, but not defined, and the word 'prostitute' is used in the introduction, but not defined. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PsQdc5e0UPcSdMJMtPPu6lLYGBzUh3gn3hMUkMKQfY0fNG5KoMmjv_f8KfOO3upiE1dDmIkYXSEtX-d46BrIDtYdJbzcGJQC6Yt04edamFJL792IMc5el4a85ZjIKY_dsstEQHyaJKq51CCd6XfwSENOcVoEY7Q98rDhWxw3KidekCly8wZSRcKdgEU/s700/Mount%20TBR.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="596" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PsQdc5e0UPcSdMJMtPPu6lLYGBzUh3gn3hMUkMKQfY0fNG5KoMmjv_f8KfOO3upiE1dDmIkYXSEtX-d46BrIDtYdJbzcGJQC6Yt04edamFJL792IMc5el4a85ZjIKY_dsstEQHyaJKq51CCd6XfwSENOcVoEY7Q98rDhWxw3KidekCly8wZSRcKdgEU/s320/Mount%20TBR.png" width="272" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">Because it turns out I actually hadn't read most of this book before, I am counting it as my first read for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge this year.</span></div></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-27707140611485784252024-01-09T18:08:00.002-05:002024-01-09T18:08:51.013-05:00"Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love" by Patricia C. McKissack and Frederick L. McKissack Jr., illustrated by Randy DuBurke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKO7_zVP5SGpXbIIn9ulul1co4dMpbId74DGoLSXYh7wDPbrM7mY-rjE5_IjZPAf50L-QsxcucPBF6tGD2himdA8B2yYjKnO4wYX8XZuYBNbpSYWysXEIre6D6h5JZKHpRZFpuAZrOR4v7rS7eE74ET6xOMmyFnKz8NAm_a2e2BN79o5osW4Ysn1vuxc/s400/best%20shot%20in%20the%20west%20the%20adventures%20of%20nat%20love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKO7_zVP5SGpXbIIn9ulul1co4dMpbId74DGoLSXYh7wDPbrM7mY-rjE5_IjZPAf50L-QsxcucPBF6tGD2himdA8B2yYjKnO4wYX8XZuYBNbpSYWysXEIre6D6h5JZKHpRZFpuAZrOR4v7rS7eE74ET6xOMmyFnKz8NAm_a2e2BN79o5osW4Ysn1vuxc/s320/best%20shot%20in%20the%20west%20the%20adventures%20of%20nat%20love.jpg" width="238" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">What a fun and engaging way to present the life of "Deadwood Dick," also known as Nat Love, one of the Old West's premiere cowboys! This fast-paced graphic novel presents Nat Love's life and adventures in a way that mixes the flavor of tall tales with a healthy dollop of facts. It's written as if an aging Nat Love is writing down his experiences for a newspaperman, which is a fun way to frame the stories, especially since they are all taken from Love's autobiography.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Is this a 100% factual biography? Nope, and it doesn't pretend to be. The authors acknowledge that, while historians are pretty sure Love embellished some of his adventures, there are quite a few that have been verified by outside sources. Instead of trying to sort the totally true from the exaggerated, they simply picked a nice collection that showcase the diversity of Love's adventures.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Nat Love was born into slavery in Tennessee in 1854. He left home in his mid-teens and went west, working as a cowboy for twenty years and gaining fame for his prowess as a horse-breaker and bronc rider, as well as his skill with a rope and gun. If you want to learn more about him, I wrote an article about Love for the <i>Prairie Times</i> a few years ago, which you can <a href="http://prairietimes.com/article/natlove.htm" target="_blank">read online here</a>. Or you can find a copy of this graphic novel and read that!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> PG for a little rough language and some mild mentions of violence.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-66088801523778846222024-01-06T22:45:00.005-05:002024-01-07T22:12:31.412-05:00"The Mistletoe Countess" by Pepper Basham<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5FYZhqOBLZkwAcYlmFnpxgJiGthWANSd9m0aK_EHdbfi98VVVQkglXyhe2eFFREAwqQNFdfn1IrVj04BS4nmkaaxRBCvq_dZLxMgB0OTJ2VTC7mILuoo3NSpYOZYWx8fu2m4DfQHQjQb9angWowfgmE3c5CkXryeoAsVtn8Vhx0IywI0S4KFyyrlZCU/s2437/the%20mistletoe%20countess.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2437" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5FYZhqOBLZkwAcYlmFnpxgJiGthWANSd9m0aK_EHdbfi98VVVQkglXyhe2eFFREAwqQNFdfn1IrVj04BS4nmkaaxRBCvq_dZLxMgB0OTJ2VTC7mILuoo3NSpYOZYWx8fu2m4DfQHQjQb9angWowfgmE3c5CkXryeoAsVtn8Vhx0IywI0S4KFyyrlZCU/s320/the%20mistletoe%20countess.jpg" width="210" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Do you ever thoroughly enjoy a book, except for one small aspect of it? Or, do you ever want to recommend a book to lots and lots of people, but feel like you have to attach a caveat to that recommendation?</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This is that kind of book, for me.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I loved the characters. I mean, full-on loved them. And you know that usually means I will love a book. My goodness, Gracelynn was infectiously loveable -- never quite so abounding in endless optimism as to be a "manic pixie dream girl," and never quite so flawed that I lost patience with her. She was simply a very believable eighteen-year-old woman of 1913, with lots of energy and enthusiasm and imagination. In fact, she reminded me of a more-outgoing version of Catherine Morland from <i>Northanger Abbey</i>, as I suspect she is meant to.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">And then there's Frederick, Grace's new husband. Mysterious. Handsome. Reticent. Hesitant. Hopeful. Despairing. Jaded. Yearning. In other words, just the sort of fictional hero I tend to fall for. Add in that he was very kind and helpful, and also very respectful of his new wife, and yet never too-good-to-be-true.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">And I loved the romance. Grace and Frederick enter into an arranged marriage of convenience, under very inauspicious circumstances -- a marriage that Grace instigates, by the way. I usually don't like the whole marriage-of-convenience trope, as it almost always feels forced and contrived. It made sense here. As did the fact that it was an arranged marriage (of sorts). But the best part was Basham's treatment of marital intimacy. She portrayed it perfectly -- as a joyful joining of two people's hearts, minds, and bodies. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">We are not subjected to bedroom scenes, but we fully appreciate that both wife and husband enjoy each other thoroughly, and that their intimate moments serve to enhance their appreciation of each other in other aspects of their lives as well. This is not portrayed in a smutty or titillating way at all -- I never once felt like I should skim ahead or skip whole paragraphs (or pages). And that is absolutely phenomenal. I have never, ever read a book that treated marital intimacy in such a wholesome, healthy, practical, and uplifting way. So commendable.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The mystery was interesting, the side characters were all well-rounded, and the setting was great. Most of the historical details were just right. (I was really annoyed at the very end, though, when Grace and Frederick gave someone a copy of <i>Ulysses</i> by James Joyce -- this book takes place in 1913, and <i>Ulysses </i>was not published until 1921. A twelve-second internet search turns up that info, and both author and editor[s] should absolutely have caught that. Badly done.)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">However.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The writing just occasionally... hitched. There were word choices scattered randomly about that made no sense, or that alllllllmost made sense. Like saying someone should use a spyglass to look at a clue -- clearly, they mean magnifying glass. 'Spyglass' is not simply a synonym for 'magnifying glass,' folks. It's a small, hand-held, collapsible telescope. Think pirates, not Sherlock Holmes. The other glitches were similar -- as if someone wanted to make the writing more interesting and tried substituting "unusual" words for the correct words, only those unusual words didn't actually fit. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I am just going to have to say that the storytelling and characterization and plotting and dialog are all excellent here, but this book needed a better editor. If glitchy word choices don't bug you (and they probably really don't bug like 90% of readers!), then you might very well love this book with no reservations!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Particularly Good Bits:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Romance and marriage proved such daunting prospects in reality, but hidden within the pages of her beloved books, their appeal sparkled with magic and mystery (p. 10).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A deep surge of protection rose within him. He hadn't been able to shield his own innocent heart, but he could attempt to protect hers (p. 96).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The world took on a ruddy glow through her eyes, and his life of loneliness came alive with colors and beauty and hope (p. 101).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Grandfather would say, 'Kindness is your most valiant weapon. People may fight against many things, but against kindness, they fall unprepared'" (p. 103).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Was marriage truly supposed to be this delightful? Clandestine kisses in the study? Stormy nights of passion? Enchanting discussions about anything from fiction to architecture? She hadn't read a single book that painted a picture of marriage remotely close to this (p. 286).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"You are soul mates by choice and will. How closely you wrap your souls around one another is of your own choosing" (p. 194).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> PG-16. Like I said, the love portrayed here never felt titillating or dirty, but I still would not let a young teen read this. There is quite a bit of on-page kissing and such. Their minds don't need to stray these directions just yet. There is no bad language, but there is some violence and several scenes of characters in peril, even deadly danger. </span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-57270268844853745872024-01-03T08:56:00.000-05:002024-01-03T08:56:59.031-05:00Reading Goals Behind and Ahead<span style="font-size: large;">I had a few goals for my reading life in 2023. The same sort I usually have, like clear off my TBR shelves some more, read some classics, read diversely, and so on. Here's how I did with <a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/01/reading-goals-completed-and-begun.html" target="_blank">my 2023 reading goals</a>:</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Overall Goal</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I aimed to read 55 books in 2023. I read 96. Yay!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6d_b-ZHIZ6OW5ajCVh0h5z0ffjWPAxwkkclu1XUydaH4XUw6L7DtlELTn3EW-V8IskqlagVpSiTw4LEVakOW2olO0RhKcsLfvErLHpxXdeVjxYIYHBJ0qE4O8Ln1E2gFmLmyGx8oiqgh1Oxau416EBhXWPjhmkH6OX69_zTHy3LHyGoeaVlJbsFuX3rM/s3718/IMG_7433.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2758" data-original-width="3718" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6d_b-ZHIZ6OW5ajCVh0h5z0ffjWPAxwkkclu1XUydaH4XUw6L7DtlELTn3EW-V8IskqlagVpSiTw4LEVakOW2olO0RhKcsLfvErLHpxXdeVjxYIYHBJ0qE4O8Ln1E2gFmLmyGx8oiqgh1Oxau416EBhXWPjhmkH6OX69_zTHy3LHyGoeaVlJbsFuX3rM/w400-h296/IMG_7433.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Classics Club</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I wanted to read at least twelve books from <a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-4.html" target="_blank">my fourth Classics Club list</a>. I read fourteen! You'll find all their reviews on that page or <a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/search/label/Classics%20Club" target="_blank">right here</a>.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQgB1owwh8vGBmRqN6Z2bSiEHP7RdoWIVqLHdJD0rZOsXGERnC37yvlF8wym1NHp2Dza48sZQuzgAjypOAO9QriXApqUMTkYuHg3r2qzwXzliaK9i9VM5WgRyt9J2XLgP755FQtZXq0xQGlMFDJ5Vh9bqQsbVkJLoClX0ExtELCt9zbUSxybf-xmpjQc/s4007/IMG_7437.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="4007" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQgB1owwh8vGBmRqN6Z2bSiEHP7RdoWIVqLHdJD0rZOsXGERnC37yvlF8wym1NHp2Dza48sZQuzgAjypOAO9QriXApqUMTkYuHg3r2qzwXzliaK9i9VM5WgRyt9J2XLgP755FQtZXq0xQGlMFDJ5Vh9bqQsbVkJLoClX0ExtELCt9zbUSxybf-xmpjQc/w400-h299/IMG_7437.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Diverse Reading</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I wanted to read at least twelve books by or about people who are different from me in some significant way. I read fifteen! You can find reviews for most of them <a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/search/label/Diverse%20Reads" target="_blank">right here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">#TheUnreadShelfProject2023</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I had twin goals of reading at least 50 books from my TBR shelves AND whittling down the number of unread books on my shelves to 450. I read 61 books from the to-be-read books I own, but I only got the number of unread books on my shelves down to 491. Well, that's still better, anyway.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q4UTGCSzzXWrRMdxEnzwykTlxnrEWQMoMTFAn7lbNo-eazAzIgK5VYOZ3_jIpNTCuJ5fRmOFl6B7IVujtzCom0tJOqDCxy_YP4tGjaKsk_Em8nOL-GEnglGj8HGwZRIEuJrIs4s_2cjGGyUVJAw_xbm0yk8ZqCvIpof8OOvAUjMe7WCKWlcUJc5gFxg/s4227/IMG_7441.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3074" data-original-width="4227" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q4UTGCSzzXWrRMdxEnzwykTlxnrEWQMoMTFAn7lbNo-eazAzIgK5VYOZ3_jIpNTCuJ5fRmOFl6B7IVujtzCom0tJOqDCxy_YP4tGjaKsk_Em8nOL-GEnglGj8HGwZRIEuJrIs4s_2cjGGyUVJAw_xbm0yk8ZqCvIpof8OOvAUjMe7WCKWlcUJc5gFxg/w400-h291/IMG_7441.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">My Years with the Sacketts</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I set myself the goal of reading all nineteen Sackett books by Louis L'Amour over the course of 2023 and 2024. I have read the first nine, so I am confident I can finish them all by the end of 2024.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtWMgv3W4QTdJ0pMDlUGcMl9WxlD2J6E_QM8gDGDzwR49o75O058BOneA6GNxF3avBV_F0bXfNEGGk20an2gVpbjBPiQNro1PIP78F9uZNAQ1kzj14sTM6sq2NTaUP7eQuC4am5ioBuBO_n8U3TTrLn-mUryABOE9E2H_i6TUYNLkMRrvOaEiPDbYUIs/s3982/IMG_7438.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3026" data-original-width="3982" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtWMgv3W4QTdJ0pMDlUGcMl9WxlD2J6E_QM8gDGDzwR49o75O058BOneA6GNxF3avBV_F0bXfNEGGk20an2gVpbjBPiQNro1PIP78F9uZNAQ1kzj14sTM6sq2NTaUP7eQuC4am5ioBuBO_n8U3TTrLn-mUryABOE9E2H_i6TUYNLkMRrvOaEiPDbYUIs/w400-h304/IMG_7438.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Now for my 2024 reading goals!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Overall Goal</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I like the number 55. I'm keeping that for my goal.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Classics Club</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Twelve seems like a good number here. But I'll give myself some wiggle room in my bullet journal, just in case.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyUSCgbPZ7MEVp73_bVOAQtCVEj4YDzGQe3KSvPWCp3TEtZKlhaJkzvop5574l9pwcUEKuxEoOaY6qynUaIHMEZqE1xmD6z4AzUxovYzENlUHURNEbQJ7-1z2OkHdkgR1BiR0kVcvDmI6rwe-MH8KTxtBZkuqabvZMX9UGcli1T-Vcc8EC8vzoMrqkyc/s3978/IMG_7440.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3028" data-original-width="3978" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyUSCgbPZ7MEVp73_bVOAQtCVEj4YDzGQe3KSvPWCp3TEtZKlhaJkzvop5574l9pwcUEKuxEoOaY6qynUaIHMEZqE1xmD6z4AzUxovYzENlUHURNEbQJ7-1z2OkHdkgR1BiR0kVcvDmI6rwe-MH8KTxtBZkuqabvZMX9UGcli1T-Vcc8EC8vzoMrqkyc/w400-h305/IMG_7440.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Diverse Reading</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I also like aiming for twelve for this goal. But, as you can see, I'm also giving myself room for more than that in my bullet journal. Just in case!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyQEmKvkUFpbS8y8CTeCXTSeyVpYnFbJKVt35Uo3ufZRt5QUVBUqyuM6R3arS17EGaU-nsjKFMIa_P2UT32GrN7ly_7Zt382kUxfZPFkKrM68FcMgtaDstUQs0sOeW300m-TH_kJOq_aMtUlMlWeXZcgjrpTj1A-YeQo1MkCSpWc1Wp-Xa-O9lFM7u8k/s700/Mount%20TBR.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="596" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyQEmKvkUFpbS8y8CTeCXTSeyVpYnFbJKVt35Uo3ufZRt5QUVBUqyuM6R3arS17EGaU-nsjKFMIa_P2UT32GrN7ly_7Zt382kUxfZPFkKrM68FcMgtaDstUQs0sOeW300m-TH_kJOq_aMtUlMlWeXZcgjrpTj1A-YeQo1MkCSpWc1Wp-Xa-O9lFM7u8k/w170-h200/Mount%20TBR.png" width="170" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Mount TBR</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Because the Unread Shelf Challenge has come to an end, I am once again joining the Mount TBR Challenge from <a href="https://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2023/10/2024-mount-tbr-reading-challenge-sign-up.html" target="_blank">My Reader's Block</a>. I am aiming for the Mount Ararat level, which means reading 48 books from my TBR shelves -- but only books I already own by January 1, 2024, will count. This makes it much more challenging, so we'll see how that goes! I'm going to continue keeping track of how many books I buy and how many I take off my shelves, too, even though those aren't part of the Mount TBR challenge.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7K3fGr-IZxKzPbR0wDdf8fc-QWCQj371PTtTPJjWq6ISIQcC4ea-BSQuzIuckPsPv8VpQ33nQUtBxT7Dygse0-OZnPzUjwpiCC9aCYsGZV23tD1kEfkWy9o735SC2xC12bF_2UsE9EeWiM8vKli_4l8YXTfTtmAUehNBfE8mx6IiInvJho6097zFPAY/s3959/IMG_7439.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3008" data-original-width="3959" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7K3fGr-IZxKzPbR0wDdf8fc-QWCQj371PTtTPJjWq6ISIQcC4ea-BSQuzIuckPsPv8VpQ33nQUtBxT7Dygse0-OZnPzUjwpiCC9aCYsGZV23tD1kEfkWy9o735SC2xC12bF_2UsE9EeWiM8vKli_4l8YXTfTtmAUehNBfE8mx6IiInvJho6097zFPAY/w400-h304/IMG_7439.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Disney Origins Bookclub</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This fun reading challenge has returned to Bookstagram! I want to read the four fairy tales that are scheduled, plus at least three of the books. To learn more, and/or join, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Czv4e1RrC2O/" target="_blank">click here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Jane Austen Deep Dive 2024</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This is another Bookstagram reading group challenge -- we're going to read all six of Jane Austen's major works together, but very slowly. I aim to read all of them, specifically the annotated editions. To learn more about that, and/or join, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C1Gf4Z_rOJE/?img_index=1" target="_blank">click here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">My Years with the Sacketts</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I have ten Sackett books by Louis L'Amour left to read for this personal challenge! My teen son has been reading them as I finish them, which has been such a great experience for us both, giving us lots of wonderful heroes and heroines to talk about.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDummn3rns93pg1IaiMIyfoGXKov0bO5FVhg471KlFEZkiLsn0QxM1kwS-I94H7JZsz5Wil1SAhxKGh_iOM94sbhZJ3OtajQF5LkLFOaWRcUv50iYLLAGzERBTir5poTU_jKXcxaAPgm4Cq6RiUnr5DYFCOtSqozyWqNQY0lGAQEPNTQhwYdlVt1EmrPA/s4463/IMG_7436.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4463" data-original-width="3084" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDummn3rns93pg1IaiMIyfoGXKov0bO5FVhg471KlFEZkiLsn0QxM1kwS-I94H7JZsz5Wil1SAhxKGh_iOM94sbhZJ3OtajQF5LkLFOaWRcUv50iYLLAGzERBTir5poTU_jKXcxaAPgm4Cq6RiUnr5DYFCOtSqozyWqNQY0lGAQEPNTQhwYdlVt1EmrPA/s320/IMG_7436.JPG" width="221" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">That's all for this year! How about you? Do you set reading goals? Participate in challenges, or make your own? Do tell!</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-48696550173776684362024-01-02T09:26:00.001-05:002024-01-02T10:17:01.000-05:00Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Reads of 2023<span style="font-size: large;">Our first Top Ten Tuesday prompt from <a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/2024/01/top-ten-favorite-books-i-read-in-2023/" target="_blank">That Artsy Reader Girl</a> for 2024 is all about looking back over our reading from the past year and picking our top reads. As usual, I am doing two lists, one of my top ten favorite new reads, and one of my top ten favorite re-reads. I've linked each title to my review here on my blog, and provided a little info about each book as well, including its publication year.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvj11fJ1nnYhIvqMaQK2M8jhkri_ZOqllyk4UmrGqilclwjhjV_k4bmuGYeetB-kDxqGQXBkPlmVJS3-X5H6bMXTDxb8iHrz3IdQ7FVx8U08nPD7hjAOmzkVF2xrgAVT7RI-791DvODDKjBExYq8o8_b4USHuuzPmirjZEWrHX-G3thbGf0imn-HR_cwY/s1014/Top%2010%20books%202023%20new.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1014" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvj11fJ1nnYhIvqMaQK2M8jhkri_ZOqllyk4UmrGqilclwjhjV_k4bmuGYeetB-kDxqGQXBkPlmVJS3-X5H6bMXTDxb8iHrz3IdQ7FVx8U08nPD7hjAOmzkVF2xrgAVT7RI-791DvODDKjBExYq8o8_b4USHuuzPmirjZEWrHX-G3thbGf0imn-HR_cwY/w400-h253/Top%2010%20books%202023%20new.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">My Ten Favorite New Reads:</span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">1. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/07/code-name-edelweiss-by-stephanie-landsem.html" target="_blank">Code Name Edelweiss</a></i> (PG-16) by Stephanie Landsem, 2023 -- Christian historical fiction spy story set in Hollywood during the build-up to WWII</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">2. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/05/a-deed-of-dreadful-note-by-patricia.html" target="_blank">A Deed of Dreadful Note</a></i> (PG) by Patricia Meredith, 2023 -- Christian historical fiction murder mystery based on the life of mystery novelist Anna Katherine Green</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">3. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/06/high-lonesome-by-louis-lamour.html" target="_blank">High Lonesome</a></i> (PG-16) by Louis L'Amour, 1962 -- western adventure about strangers banding together against terrible foes</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">4. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/05/murder-on-black-swan-lane-by-andrea.html" target="_blank">Murder on Black Swan Lane</a></i> (PG-13) by Andrea Penrose, 2017 -- historical fiction murder mystery set in Regency England</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">5. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-right-to-die-by-rex-stout.html" target="_blank">A Right to Die</a></i> (PG-13) by Rex Stout, 1964 -- a Nero Wolfe murder mystery involving the Civil Rights Movement</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">6. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/03/beauty-by-robin-mckinley.html" target="_blank">Beauty</a> </i>(G) by Robin McKinley, 1978 -- gentle and wholesome fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">7. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-lilies-of-field-by-william-e-barrett.html" target="_blank">The Lilies of the Field</a></i> (G) by William E. Barrett, 1962 -- sweet story of finding common ground despite outward differences</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">8. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/10/and-then-there-were-none-by-agatha.html" target="_blank">And Then There Were None</a></i> (PG-16) by Agatha Christie, 1939 -- classic murder mystery about people trapped on an island</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">9. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/07/in-year-of-boar-and-jackie-robinson-by.html" target="_blank">In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson</a></i> (PG) by Bette Bao Lord, 1984 -- middle grade book about a Chinese immigrant family in the 1950s</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">10. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-vanderbeekers.html" target="_blank">The Vanderbeekers on the Road</a></i> (G) by Karina Yan Glaser, 2022 -- middle grade book about a family road trip</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEGIWONQrKOhshAEt1DEyAPcTIcYvzCxCDvAAt09QgF1onQuNJHJY9OKLk8RmlI3ig5zN7D5y_kGaNk6qhhZWf6VloiOWd43NerUebG8WBfau0GMaMuSvvYfXXuiWBjNK1ECn9zfvb5ihcJUde7a1e5lldFQ5vDnHXBq0nXTr95x4OI3v65OkL5uDLp2M/s1047/Top%2010%20books%202023%20rereads.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1047" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEGIWONQrKOhshAEt1DEyAPcTIcYvzCxCDvAAt09QgF1onQuNJHJY9OKLk8RmlI3ig5zN7D5y_kGaNk6qhhZWf6VloiOWd43NerUebG8WBfau0GMaMuSvvYfXXuiWBjNK1ECn9zfvb5ihcJUde7a1e5lldFQ5vDnHXBq0nXTr95x4OI3v65OkL5uDLp2M/w400-h244/Top%2010%20books%202023%20rereads.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">My Ten Favorite Re-reads:</span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">1. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-hound-of-baskervilles-by-conan-doyle.html" target="_blank">The Hound of the Baskervilles</a></i> (PG) by A. Conan Doyle, 1902 -- classic Sherlock Holmes mystery</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">2. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-blue-castle-by-l-m-montgomery-yet.html" target="_blank">The Blue Castle</a></i> (PG) by L. M. Montgomery, 1926 -- classic about a woman stepping out into life from the shadows</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">3. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/02/shane-by-jack-schaefer-yet-again.html" target="_blank">Shane</a></i> (PG) by Jack Schaefer, 1949 -- western about a loner who adopts a family</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">4. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-black-stallion-by-walter-farley.html" target="_blank">The Black Stallion</a> </i>(PG) by Walter Farley, 1941 -- middle grade classic about a boy and wild horse who rescue each other</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">5. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/07/playback-by-raymond-chandler.html" target="_blank">Playback</a></i> (R) by Raymond Chandler, 1958 -- hardboiled detective mystery starring Philip Marlowe</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">6. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-enchanted-april-by-elizabeth-von.html" target="_blank">The Enchanted April</a></i> (G) by Elizabeth von Arnim, 1922 -- classic about four women who discover their true selves in Italy</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">7. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2022/02/borden-chantry-by-louis-lamour.html" target="_blank">Borden Chantry</a></i> (PG) by Louis L'Amour, 1977 -- western murder mystery</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">8. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/03/jane-of-austin-by-hillary-manton-lodge.html" target="_blank">Jane of Austin</a></i> (PG-13) by Hillary Manton Lodge, 2017 -- Christian fiction retelling of <i>Sense and Sensibility</i> set in modern-day Texas</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">9. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/11/by-great-horn-spoon-by-sid-fleischman.html" target="_blank">By the Great Horn Spoon!</a></i> (PG) by Sid Fleischman, 1963 -- middle grade classic tall tale about the Gold Rush</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">10. <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2023/12/big-red-by-jim-kjelgaard.html" target="_blank">Big Red</a></i> (PG-10) by Jim Kjelgaard, 1945 -- middle grade classic about a boy and the dog he loves</span></div></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1qvRxxTs_EEaJ5U7iTcGUSYPFJc2CMI1jtLhry7T6XqRLKSllHj0uLHgkZM_bfwrbI4zS25hh8Dh0sJ9oc-y2SnKAuTQWh_DBr8DTSCNJ9JXIc6utYy9kk6lMiX7nDgwH_2JN5OMAm02Dvlg3rQ2-6zELS4WhQwb7VTrEg-q8hBHmWZNhoa1BEHZG2wY/s3718/IMG_7433.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGOcgZUBaNnwFUqjCm9kLuyAZ3Zdi65AZkqV3sR3JDyqZx0anJX1Lv5nc617fykWY3xgfNdp0Bb2-swsGZK2FVcWQfWBwoJtIl8XaB8Kl5vAIJJuIrDsgx5A8TV9pX-yrDYnNmXt2ZIADfcqjXsbOtC7OQZVrEjd5fgw7vDklnfrJTOW7N3Do7lgSORo/s768/top%20ten%20tuesday%20newest.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="768" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGOcgZUBaNnwFUqjCm9kLuyAZ3Zdi65AZkqV3sR3JDyqZx0anJX1Lv5nc617fykWY3xgfNdp0Bb2-swsGZK2FVcWQfWBwoJtIl8XaB8Kl5vAIJJuIrDsgx5A8TV9pX-yrDYnNmXt2ZIADfcqjXsbOtC7OQZVrEjd5fgw7vDklnfrJTOW7N3Do7lgSORo/w320-h128/top%20ten%20tuesday%20newest.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">You can see all my lists of favorite reads since 2014 <a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/p/top-ten-lists.html" target="_blank">on this page</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Check back later this week for a more fulsome look at my 2023 reading, including how I did with various challenges and so on!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2758" data-original-width="3718" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1qvRxxTs_EEaJ5U7iTcGUSYPFJc2CMI1jtLhry7T6XqRLKSllHj0uLHgkZM_bfwrbI4zS25hh8Dh0sJ9oc-y2SnKAuTQWh_DBr8DTSCNJ9JXIc6utYy9kk6lMiX7nDgwH_2JN5OMAm02Dvlg3rQ2-6zELS4WhQwb7VTrEg-q8hBHmWZNhoa1BEHZG2wY/w400-h296/IMG_7433.JPG" width="400" /></span></div></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-62389107649307102642023-12-31T17:37:00.004-05:002023-12-31T17:39:46.636-05:00"The Hart of Christmas" by Latisha Sexton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOEgWRxgr9y3XoYBuQNEDAAZGBKbkHmg1hWjyBUmrYZg_lbBY0HrjjKIY7E_fKlSb5OiEMOjd4vaxqwggQHDBj3Pd25zPcSI6MDJ8DtCYcCVTzkqTRSKf0MxrHu0jNp7pAhVaZ4eErCg1b2759YgrC7vZIL6NoJKNF7hrRls8Do8GReQWCCU5LVH4-uuE/s500/the%20hart%20of%20christmas.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOEgWRxgr9y3XoYBuQNEDAAZGBKbkHmg1hWjyBUmrYZg_lbBY0HrjjKIY7E_fKlSb5OiEMOjd4vaxqwggQHDBj3Pd25zPcSI6MDJ8DtCYcCVTzkqTRSKf0MxrHu0jNp7pAhVaZ4eErCg1b2759YgrC7vZIL6NoJKNF7hrRls8Do8GReQWCCU5LVH4-uuE/s320/the%20hart%20of%20christmas.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">I started reading <i>The Hart of Christmas</i> before Christmas and set it aside because I just wasn't in the mood for a romantic comedy. Picked it up again (well, pulled it up again, as I was reading the ebook version on my phone) a couple of days after Christmas and finished it off in two days. Mood reading do be that way sometimes, heh.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This is a cute Christmas romance set in the mountains of Tennessee (so just a hop, skip, and jump away from where I grew up in the foothills of North Carolina). Millie Jane's music career hasn't taken off, and her best friend back home has offered her house to Millie for Christmas because said best friend and her husband will be out of town. But when Millie Jane gets there, she discovers that her best friend's stepbrother is also staying at that house, laid up with a broken leg.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">That stepbrother is a hotshot hockey player named Dex... who happens to have been Millie Jane's dream guy in high school until he broke her heart. Dex asked to stay there right after Millie's best friend offered the place to her, and they figured Millie would go stay with her grandma instead, except a blizzard hits before she can leave, which means Forced Proximity Romance, here we come.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I actually don't like forced proximity romance much, which is part of why I set this book aside for a while. If done juuuuuuuuuust specifically right, I will be okay with it, but if the "forced" part feels like the characters could really get out of it if they wanted to, I will back off. The blizzard makes it work, because I have driven the Blue Ridge Mountains in the winter and you do NOT mess around on winter mountain roads. Unplowed roads can equal death. Frozen roads can equal death. So, I accepted that this really was an inescapable situation, but kind of grudgingly.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Once I decided to accept that, I liked the book a lot. Millie Jane was really sweet, and she did a LOT of great character growth over the course of the book. This was aided by flashback chapters showing how she and Dex met and almost kinda sorta had a high school romance, and what went wrong between them years ago. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">But I never did like Dex. Cocky and arrogant guys with a high opinion of their own worth tend to grate on me, and Dex very much was all of that and then some. Dude could not stop smirking. Worse yet, he teased Millie All The Time. I don't like people who tease constantly. Even worse, he called her by a nickname she hated, and he knew she hated it, and so I was annoyed with him every time he used it. (Just by the way, I hate the nickname 'Rach' when used by anyone except my Grandma Haack [who is dead], one friend from high school, and my German professor from college. If you are not one of those three select people, do not call me Rach. Call me Rachel or Hamlette or Ray, okay?) </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">It is okay to have a book romance where I don't actually love both halves of the couple, as long as they genuinely work together in and of themselves. Which Millie and Dex do. So I can be cool with their romance, but if I knew them in real life, they would be one of those couples where I just hang out with the wife and we don't invite them to our house as a couple because I'm going to be on edge all the time. (Actually, I don't know any couples like that right now, but I did in college.) So... was this a fun Christmasy romance? Yup. Is it one I will reread routinely? Probably not. However, if you are a fan of clean, Christian contemporary romance books, you will probably dig this a lot! But it's a genre I only dip into a few times a year.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Particularly Good Bits:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">But the sad, lifeless trees bear a startling resemblance to my own empty heart.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I've never understood the whole follow your heart thing. My heart doesn't know what it wants half the time. How am I supposed to follow it? Not to mention that the Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Millie, we live in a fallen world. No one is perfect. We will hurt one another. The important thing is that we come clean when we do and that we learn to forgive one another."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> PG-13 for discussions of a man admiring a woman and trying not to imagine her in her bathing suit, mild and flirtatious innuendo in dialog, and quite a bit of kissing. Nothing I felt uncomfortable reading myself, but not something I would let my tween daughter read, either. No cussing or violence, and no smut or spice -- not even a "closed door" or "fade to black" love scene.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This has been my 59th book read off my TBR list for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-82852692320210120882023-12-27T19:46:00.006-05:002023-12-27T19:48:50.777-05:00"Classic Christmas Crime Stories" ed. by David Stuart Davies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcoJseobo4XB2wplh2_94eToEyZ08YovdRIDTp-5y9w75nLwRno7h6FPXZ6yim5SfLX1zGAdy50hvPa4Tpt-aSFj3o5c7H5f9sqQPTUUba69pjaHM_L_8sqX_-BIpnoSw-9aAo0y1mzBkH4u4ykXAFCMmBoOkE6LcK_UpY360XwdEsC-FGa-Qh-BH_Rjc/s2269/Classic%20Christmas%20Crime%20Stories.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2269" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcoJseobo4XB2wplh2_94eToEyZ08YovdRIDTp-5y9w75nLwRno7h6FPXZ6yim5SfLX1zGAdy50hvPa4Tpt-aSFj3o5c7H5f9sqQPTUUba69pjaHM_L_8sqX_-BIpnoSw-9aAo0y1mzBkH4u4ykXAFCMmBoOkE6LcK_UpY360XwdEsC-FGa-Qh-BH_Rjc/s320/Classic%20Christmas%20Crime%20Stories.jpg" width="197" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">There's something about the bustle and chaos of the lead-up to Christmas that makes me crave the restoration of order that a good mystery provides. This collection of festive mysteries and other crime stories was just what I wanted to read in the middle of December!</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">There are eleven short stories here, ranging from very familiar Christmas mysteries like "The Blue Carbuncle" by A. Conan Doyle to story featuring the characters from the BBC show <i>Rosemary and Thyme</i>. I enjoyed nearly all of the stories ("The Case of the Seven Santas" by H. R. F. Keating got really tedious after a while, for me). My favorites, in the order in which they appear, were:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;">"The Blue Carbuncle" by A. Conan Doyle (already one of my absolute favorite Sherlock Holmes short stories)<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">"The Case of the Dead Wait" by Peter Lovesey<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">"Markheim" by Robert Louis Stevenson<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">"Death on the Air" by Ngaio Marsh<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;">"Stuffing" by Edgar Wallace</span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> PG-13 for murder, bloodshed, poisonings, a smattering of bad language here and there, and occasional hints at lascivious behavior.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This is my 58th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-41233033847726917742023-12-26T09:32:00.002-05:002023-12-26T09:33:10.673-05:00Top Ten Tuesday: Additionally<span style="font-size: large;">This week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt from <a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/2023/12/the-ten-most-recent-additions-to-my-bookshelf-2023-holiday-book-haul/" target="_blank">That Artsy Reader Girl</a> is <b>"The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf."</b> I received five books for Christmas, won one in a giveaway, and bought the others myself over the past couple of months. Behold!</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeEALa8DcBVgYjdONfQlntOZXTKs3S2pULnzX-NWu2uZq6F5rblQ4pkf1If5LTwVnMleNhhUfSb2HwHzEMYRb-ZCj8HFToKXZA560Q1UCFcytqceQ9FGNGBxdVhevf3WThdnlg17yzlqs8j3DxPEofDFzNAQnsTGyFUGskT7gLir6nxW50NgHrNN9yC4/s1640/New%20books!.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="1640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeEALa8DcBVgYjdONfQlntOZXTKs3S2pULnzX-NWu2uZq6F5rblQ4pkf1If5LTwVnMleNhhUfSb2HwHzEMYRb-ZCj8HFToKXZA560Q1UCFcytqceQ9FGNGBxdVhevf3WThdnlg17yzlqs8j3DxPEofDFzNAQnsTGyFUGskT7gLir6nxW50NgHrNN9yC4/w400-h225/New%20books!.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Bookish Bandit</i> by Erica Dansereau and Britt Howard (Christian contemporary romance involving book publishing)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A Cranberry Christmas</i> by Wende and Harry Devlin (festive picture book I loved as a kid)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A Cranberry Thanksgiving</i> by Wende and Harry Devlin (festive picture book I also loved as a kid)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Hart of Christmas</i> by Latisha Sexton (Christian contemporary Christmas romance)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Hobbit</i> by J. R. R. Tolkien, specifically the 50th Anniversary edition from Unwin Paperbacks (classic fantasy adventure)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Kling Klang Gloria</i> by Jenni Sauer (sci-fi fairy tale retelling)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Mistletoe Countess</i> by Pepper Basham (historical fiction mystery romance)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Persuasion </i>by Jane Austen, specifically the Winchester Austen edition from Worth Press Ltd. (classic novel of second chances and self-discovery)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Through Thorny Ways</i> by Jennifer Q. Hunt (Christian historical fiction set just after WWI)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Weight of Air</i> by Kimberly Duffy (Christian historical fiction involving a circus)</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA38fp1HYZlv8bFJKWA8vV6-WveA8Bdqy5p6BBUm0-zNDCVokyycEEwpT4E2zpWFbkeThFYyWu8FaadE20l6of6pkZn2rOdkmbO_Rnywrjgo674b0GzfLtRGpAEZIc4693EenieI3YA9B96kNgNH0kAWz7lL27w3ZG7b6z6mPYCuOyfF5pGIdRpuI0L04/s768/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20winter%20new.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="768" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA38fp1HYZlv8bFJKWA8vV6-WveA8Bdqy5p6BBUm0-zNDCVokyycEEwpT4E2zpWFbkeThFYyWu8FaadE20l6of6pkZn2rOdkmbO_Rnywrjgo674b0GzfLtRGpAEZIc4693EenieI3YA9B96kNgNH0kAWz7lL27w3ZG7b6z6mPYCuOyfF5pGIdRpuI0L04/s320/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20winter%20new.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">That's my list for this week. Did you get books for Christmas? Or give some? I did give a handful as gifts, as well as receiving some.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-62735461544521240872023-12-20T21:04:00.001-05:002023-12-21T10:19:05.633-05:00"Big Red" by Jim Kjelgaard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnNQmYKr66tr4aG_m5cIwmNRUhy1_PA0NcH5k125Lid3KQQSuGtgTxDtbmBplgkqBIxKsMLehNuKMHD977GYTCRM4M9WlytlsoAN0FwTZGjyBTKY5sxN6x6NX-d7FVIUh1E6GGANeAka1hH0QvJDJlw7EvzlREsqWS7mhXaTZ8oUyy_zRPQRQSkeqH38/s459/big%20red%20jim%20kjelgaard.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnNQmYKr66tr4aG_m5cIwmNRUhy1_PA0NcH5k125Lid3KQQSuGtgTxDtbmBplgkqBIxKsMLehNuKMHD977GYTCRM4M9WlytlsoAN0FwTZGjyBTKY5sxN6x6NX-d7FVIUh1E6GGANeAka1hH0QvJDJlw7EvzlREsqWS7mhXaTZ8oUyy_zRPQRQSkeqH38/s320/big%20red%20jim%20kjelgaard.jpg" width="221" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">You know what I love about Jim Kjelgaard's books? <i>The dogs in them don't die at the end</i>. That shouldn't be a revolutionary concept, and yet, it sure seems to be. So many dog books broke my heart when I was a kid, and then I discovered Kjelgaard, and he became my hero. I read every book of his that my library had on their shelves. I asked for them for Christmas. I bought them at yard sales. I still buy them at used book stores. I actually haven't looked up how many books he wrote, I just keep finding another every few years.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Big Red</i> is his most famous book, and it's quite the delight. A poor Canadian mountain boy (EDIT: or possibly, Pennsylvanian???) who loves dogs gets to take care of his rich neighbor's prize Irish Setter, and he grows up a lot in the process. There's lots of stuff about how to train a dog, how to survive in the woods, and how to win a dog show, which is all very wonderful. But the part I remember best from when I was a kid, and the part I couldn't wait to get to when I was reading this aloud to my own kids this fall, was the part where <i>a wolverine comes down the chimney</i>. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I am not making this up. A wolverine comes down the chimney and tries to kill the boy and the dog. It's so terrifying and horrible and thrilling. And, of course, the boy is basically unarmed and has to survive with his wits and almost no weapons of any sort. Because that is the kind of book I loved when I was a teenage girl!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: </b>PG-10 because man, that wolverine is scary! Also, there's a smattering of mild cuss words. Also, there's a big, mean bear. </span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-47699778534560866172023-12-16T16:41:00.004-05:002023-12-16T16:41:57.438-05:00"The L. M. Montgomery Christmas Collection"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZDA5GnP-zBv-i45gOVJzB_spcj4WpmmibunJgpcj7CmHaEFte5-As12jSkVzKj3mi4MNAGLVifkjelofoUMVT7DdQOGtTdZfAy_ZvIh4jC1AKHdEfCLWcbKLN5eUGeTBckyeOvGqEocs2XzCka89vRlW-t-KW1KlGHfFTOFnZ6fBYNfHeRL6Ev3efu4/s457/L%20M%20Montgomery%20Christmas%20Collection.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="359" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZDA5GnP-zBv-i45gOVJzB_spcj4WpmmibunJgpcj7CmHaEFte5-As12jSkVzKj3mi4MNAGLVifkjelofoUMVT7DdQOGtTdZfAy_ZvIh4jC1AKHdEfCLWcbKLN5eUGeTBckyeOvGqEocs2XzCka89vRlW-t-KW1KlGHfFTOFnZ6fBYNfHeRL6Ev3efu4/s320/L%20M%20Montgomery%20Christmas%20Collection.png" width="251" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">I love L. M. Montgomery's writing, and I love Christmas, so I am naturally drawn to her festive stories and poetry. The <i><a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/2020/12/christmas-with-anne-and-other-holiday.html" target="_blank">Christmas with Anne</a></i> collection is one of my favorite Christmastime reads, so I am excited to add this new collection to my shelf. It does have some overlap with that other volume -- both contain the "Matthew Insists on Puffed Sleeves" from <i>Anne of Green Gables</i>, as well as several of the same short stories. This collection has a couple of different Anne chapters too, and six Christmas/winter poems that are paired with appropriate classic paintings. There are paintings to go with the short stories and Anne chapters as well, and I love all the thought that obviously went into the pairings.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I bought the paperback edition of this book, but I wish I had gotten the hardcover instead. I see there is now a pocket-sized hardcover edition available, as well as the full-sized one, and I might get that for myself and put this paperback copy into my kids' box of Christmas books that we haul out every year.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> G. It's everything sweet, wholesome, and lovely.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This is my 57th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-39199379659876412252023-12-12T11:51:00.004-05:002023-12-12T11:51:58.419-05:00Top Ten Tuesday: Reading in a Winter Wonderland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtO9PBnpNDIBOQ_YkuUQ0pQz4P8D2t5SN9W05Qs4uhjDKEtStf7jDNmZrubvH7fXy-Lt_TBZtaRgtMMlCXlKHFd9F6pTY8njReRNUSxEEl_2_29NTvElvq5gUleZIHGdhJsJBpubpesyvv1m9Pn_c9VBSmI-ngDLBoMPs5QMMV4Lb4aGNY_pWmqez8gD4/s768/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20winter%20new.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="768" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtO9PBnpNDIBOQ_YkuUQ0pQz4P8D2t5SN9W05Qs4uhjDKEtStf7jDNmZrubvH7fXy-Lt_TBZtaRgtMMlCXlKHFd9F6pTY8njReRNUSxEEl_2_29NTvElvq5gUleZIHGdhJsJBpubpesyvv1m9Pn_c9VBSmI-ngDLBoMPs5QMMV4Lb4aGNY_pWmqez8gD4/s320/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20winter%20new.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt from <a href="https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/2023/12/top-ten-books-on-my-winter-2022-2023-to-read-list-2/" target="_blank">That Artsy Reader Girl</a> is "Books On My Winter 2023-24 TBR List." So, here are ten books from my to-read shelves that I would like to read by the end of February, 2024:</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love</i> by Patricial C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack Jr. (graphic novel biography)<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Bluebird on the Prairie</i> by Tasha Hackett (Christian historical fiction)<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Bookish Bandit</i> by Erica Dansereau and Britt Howard (Christian contemporary romance)<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Kling Klang Gloria</i> by Jenni Sauer (cozy sci-fi)<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Legend of Bass Reeves</i> by Gary Paulsen (middle grade biography)</span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcaDulfXxZSH9ylCMkwjEVLgblJnbYOtPtWjfnPVzL8t_LvLJHUN6NqpZe_F_JRgszRjj5QFEF_qThCm3Cz5HqYcHT26FeqLp-Hf4SS_GNJXWpkMiWx6x9WhFFlBfTmgg37y0wAUvwdNqdDSN0chD5sQOtjvu8EohfhobGHCg4QglmL8LP1FM9-mRjpNY/s1591/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20Dec.%2012%201.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1591" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcaDulfXxZSH9ylCMkwjEVLgblJnbYOtPtWjfnPVzL8t_LvLJHUN6NqpZe_F_JRgszRjj5QFEF_qThCm3Cz5HqYcHT26FeqLp-Hf4SS_GNJXWpkMiWx6x9WhFFlBfTmgg37y0wAUvwdNqdDSN0chD5sQOtjvu8EohfhobGHCg4QglmL8LP1FM9-mRjpNY/w400-h208/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20Dec.%2012%201.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Mistletoe Countess</i> by Pepper Basham (Christian historical Christmas fiction)<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Sackett Brand</i> by Louis L'Amour (western)<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Sky-Liners</i> by Louis L'Amour (western)<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Vanderbeekers Ever After</i> by Karina Yan Glaser (middle grade contemporary)<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Weight of Air</i> by Kimberly Duffy (Christian historical fiction)</span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZUVcCw_LaCwSAoXbSUF70QMeCoV-GFJyo8Jo7CWzLPJBTTvLl2LMgTcn7-3kFfKX_s_LKrueYXS_-A1F5JZK8QW6dXU3WRF2uh5aUxs80n4uFR9ywVDztpB85nvhQVuxKGl3NB4kTBRdcXSrIJMfS9uJXYkdfKb5MMCvMIL3MuMPvLNr7WuFTXTE2PY/s1619/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20Dec.%2012%202.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1619" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZUVcCw_LaCwSAoXbSUF70QMeCoV-GFJyo8Jo7CWzLPJBTTvLl2LMgTcn7-3kFfKX_s_LKrueYXS_-A1F5JZK8QW6dXU3WRF2uh5aUxs80n4uFR9ywVDztpB85nvhQVuxKGl3NB4kTBRdcXSrIJMfS9uJXYkdfKb5MMCvMIL3MuMPvLNr7WuFTXTE2PY/w400-h208/Top%20Ten%20Tuesday%20Dec.%2012%202.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Have you read any of these? Any of them pique your interest? What books are you looking forward to reading this winter?</span></div><div><br /></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-55027704203218554482023-12-10T21:13:00.004-05:002023-12-10T21:13:44.629-05:00"A Little Persuaded" by Kendra E. Ardnek<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAk3jjkARVnxNFZGTthfbOAFVG-NbXqWiuup-6_a8ZnkpdF6iZ8YHnnZojzTNSWcTifsv-vwXFIPpp6Yj0V6L32ySbvBM9Qls6rR0Y8o1Ma4TTicBAQeHIPGwLsREXdHN6g79Smgi0BV3h0-Tow_z76KRcgXJrsaJVWWOoEb9MPeryx1idwohFvoNcdo/s2553/A%20little%20persuaded%20kendra%20e%20ardnek.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2553" data-original-width="1653" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAk3jjkARVnxNFZGTthfbOAFVG-NbXqWiuup-6_a8ZnkpdF6iZ8YHnnZojzTNSWcTifsv-vwXFIPpp6Yj0V6L32ySbvBM9Qls6rR0Y8o1Ma4TTicBAQeHIPGwLsREXdHN6g79Smgi0BV3h0-Tow_z76KRcgXJrsaJVWWOoEb9MPeryx1idwohFvoNcdo/s320/A%20little%20persuaded%20kendra%20e%20ardnek.jpg" width="207" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">I was hesitant about this final volume of the Austen Fairy Tales by Kendra E. Ardnek. <i>Persuasion</i> is my favorite Jane Austen novel, but this book is blending it with "The Little Mermaid," and that is not a fairy tale I tend to love, at least not most retellings of it. In fact, I actively dislike the Disney version.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Happily, Ardnek made the two stories and sets of characters work together really nicely. Enna, her Anne Elliot/Little Mermaid character, was as retiring, thoughtful, and wise as Anne Elliot, but with some of the longings and disappointed hopes of Hans Christian Andersen's original Little Mermaid.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">It was great getting to see lots of characters from earlier books in this series, especially since this is their last adventure. I would have liked a little more resolution at the end, which is mostly a personal issue -- I love resolution, and books/stories with more open endings tend not to be my favorites. Still, I feel like all the characters I have come to care about have a good chance at a happy and safe future, so I am pleased.<br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">Particularly Good Bits:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Enna was used to people talking about her as though she wasn't there. She <i>wasn't</i> used to being defended (p. 34).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Austere alone knows the future, but we can prepare for it as best we can " (p. 104).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Focus, Enna," she whispered to herself. "Thinking about how much there is to think about isn't going to help at all" (p. 189).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> G. No real violence to speak of, no cussing, no smut.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This has been my 56th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-62226045776311183442023-12-08T18:38:00.003-05:002023-12-08T18:38:20.305-05:00"Noel Streatfeild's Christmas Stories" by Noel Streatfeild<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWQ8rK-z1tG_iRwOA0UWs7pUGWmzdqoCDVedB23mmMmvAYmN4Ke2AO8XPKX2ERYMUeuOFfQMsMPWIP76IsYMwgB8B1M1ZigB7K_XJ3qSbkzIqixN0W1LruFJBQdzqs_TA7cwvpjauSAjmIguc1OS0hbwxUtS9Tto-grSU0-JXNXv6Iic-P-mM2tBi5zM/s500/noel%20streatfeilds%20christmas%20stories.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWQ8rK-z1tG_iRwOA0UWs7pUGWmzdqoCDVedB23mmMmvAYmN4Ke2AO8XPKX2ERYMUeuOFfQMsMPWIP76IsYMwgB8B1M1ZigB7K_XJ3qSbkzIqixN0W1LruFJBQdzqs_TA7cwvpjauSAjmIguc1OS0hbwxUtS9Tto-grSU0-JXNXv6Iic-P-mM2tBi5zM/s320/noel%20streatfeilds%20christmas%20stories.jpg" width="204" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">This is EXACTLY the sort of book I want to read at Christmastime! Heartwarming, sweet, uplifting short stories featuring realistic people in realistic situations that are treated with humor and kindness. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">My favorite stories were:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>+ </b>"The Moss Rose," about a young skater who loses her costume and skates on the subway, but it all turns out okay.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>+ </b>"The Princess," about a princess who goes shoe-shopping and gets shanghaied into performing in a ballet incognito.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>+ </b>"The Chain," about a boy who imagines that all of his favorite fictional characters form a chain of joy that helps his sister get well enough to come home from the hospital for Christmas.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>+ </b>"Christmas at Collers," about some city kids who are forced to spend Christmas in the country with their ailing grandmother and discover that hustle and bustle are not essential elements for a merry Christmas.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I absolutely loved this collection!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> G. As wholesome and uplifting as they come.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3OW4yW7Wlxf0xL0PdchlKcev2t4WNa_tlj-Qh62ICLZFirMR2dsInZsAX9_EuXBpayk3_jR99APOauS_HU2xtudCluFKAp2mw5jx6HDyJ1kIdSBEBHMxOP_zeZBXMG_wj5kARp_gnv6_Jc1V-5EY971bG2ocnsWYkpTMnIrMh3dI7wo9x9kfSHV81hY/s176/classicsclub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="166" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3OW4yW7Wlxf0xL0PdchlKcev2t4WNa_tlj-Qh62ICLZFirMR2dsInZsAX9_EuXBpayk3_jR99APOauS_HU2xtudCluFKAp2mw5jx6HDyJ1kIdSBEBHMxOP_zeZBXMG_wj5kARp_gnv6_Jc1V-5EY971bG2ocnsWYkpTMnIrMh3dI7wo9x9kfSHV81hY/s1600/classicsclub.jpg" width="166" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This is my 22nd book read and reviewed for <a href="https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/p/classics-club-list-4.html" target="_blank">my 4th Classics Club list</a>, and my 55th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-56751296119415014242023-12-05T09:48:00.002-05:002023-12-05T09:48:22.913-05:00"Meant to Bee" by Storm Shultz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoySuJusU4LsNSUS57sfHqkGayRjE57h38r_jimmDEAIMHI7oELBNljiVsYegcMIrZ-G-yJiPDdB1Jhhcsxqrw0uDeHxN_LqO6Q6ebULzLCnRd1n1t2-ubYLk2XtcZ8wuRrHAJBmvvs4wswrJ5B2VvuIeYF0Kqh_4-WHbGQS0ZuxTj0WtBgt9lTaopQIE/s940/meant%20to%20bee%20storm%20shultz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="603" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoySuJusU4LsNSUS57sfHqkGayRjE57h38r_jimmDEAIMHI7oELBNljiVsYegcMIrZ-G-yJiPDdB1Jhhcsxqrw0uDeHxN_LqO6Q6ebULzLCnRd1n1t2-ubYLk2XtcZ8wuRrHAJBmvvs4wswrJ5B2VvuIeYF0Kqh_4-WHbGQS0ZuxTj0WtBgt9lTaopQIE/s320/meant%20to%20bee%20storm%20shultz.jpg" width="205" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">This is the sweetest rom-com kind of book I have read in a long time. Yet it also has a lot of serious and meaningful things going on! I think that's what makes it so delightful.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Single mom Cordy spends everything she has on a cute little cottage in a small English village, sight unseen. When she and her toddler arrive there, that cottage turns out to be full of leaks, creaks, and grime. But Cordy has nowhere else to go, so she rolls up her sleeves, blows her nose and dries her eyes, and gets to work figuring out how to make a life there for herself and her daughter.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Enter a surprise delivery of beehives. And Ronan, a young man who's only in town for a few days to convince his younger brother to go back to veterinary school. And an older gentleman with lots of advice on how to care for bees. Next thing you know, Cordy and Ronan have the house fixed up, and Cordy has opened a small shop in her front room. She sells honey and baked goods and cute gifts, and she manages to make enough to keep herself and her daughter fed and clothed and housed.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">And then, her ex shows up. The father of her child who had no interest in their baby's existence until now. Oh, and he has the power to shut down Cordy's shop.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">But it all turns out okay!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I really love books about setting up a store and managing a store, as well as books about fixing up a house and decorating it and getting settled. So that whole aspect of the book really drew me in. But what I loved best about this book was how Cordy's friends encouraged her to look outside herself for help. There's a wonderful discussion of why Cordy doesn't attend worship services that doesn't dismiss her struggles or her reasons why she hasn't attended services in a long time, but also doesn't brush off attending worship services as unnecessary if someone doesn't "feel like it." That is a really important conversation within the book, but also one that resonated with me. This line hit me especially strongly:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-size: large;">"People shouldn't keep you away from God. People may be rude from time to time, and there are some in the church who can be unkind, but those people do not represent Christ."</span></blockquote></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I lost a friend in recent years who felt insulted by something someone in our congregation said to her, and she decided that meant she wasn't welcome in our church anymore. I'm not even sure who said it, or if they meant it as an insult, but that's how she took it, and I wish so hard I could have read this book a couple of years ago (except it hadn't been written yet when all that went down) because maybe I could have quoted that line up there to her, and maybe it would have helped.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, this is a really enjoyable book, and quite funny!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">(More) Particularly Good Bits:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Forgiving him doesn't mean you drop all your boundaries. Just because you forgive someone, doesn't mean you let them back to do the same thing they did before."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"I knew that his not liking French fries was a sign."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"Falling in love is easy, but sometimes you have to choose to love someone. Not all the time, because if you have to choose all the time that's forcing it, but in the hard moments. In the 'we have no money' moments or the 'someone is trying to pull us apart' moments, that's when you choose to love, and Malcolm didn't."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I generally prefer life without spectators.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">"You make everything feel like home."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:</b> PG-13 for discussions of unwed motherhood and some kissing. No smut, no cussing, not much violence (someone does get punched in the face...).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This is my 54th book read for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.</span></div>Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2