52 Weeks Book Challenge

For several months, I have been slowly savoring the pages of a book after my quiet time. That book is....

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

by Ann Voskamp

Between the pages of this book, Ann shares the struggles and hard places of her life that brought her to ask and answer these questions:

 Where is joy in the midst of cruelty and chaos, duties and despair?

How does one slow down enough for the soul and God to live in sync?

How in the world do we learn to find God and live fully?

Through piles of laundry, homeschooling kids, and everyday routine, Ann finds the one motivating key that will answer all of those questions. I really enjoyed this book. I am beginning to practice Ann's ideas in my own life, taking one small step at a time, trying to discover for myself, how to live fully right where the Lord has me.  

52 Weeks Book Challenge

Well, it has been a while since I have posted a book review for my 52 Weeks Book Challenge. You are probably wondering at this rate will she even make her goal to read more books this year than last? The jury is still out on that one. ( I am reading the second book in the Song of Ice and Fire series- they are over 900 pages each! Does that count as two books?) Anyway, I have also been reading some other books as well. I am the kind of reader that can have more than one book going at a time.

 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Unabridged.

 I have enjoyed the movie versions of this book for years so I thought that it would be a great thing to read it aloud to Abi. While some of the events of the book are found in various films, there is are many differences. The book follows the journey of Dorothy and her three companions, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion as they make their way to see the Wizard of Oz to see if he would grant them the things they wanted most. After following the yellow brick road to the Emerald city, each of the sojourners met with Oz, who appeared in a different form to each. Oz says he will grant their wishes if they will kill the wicked witch of the west who rules over the western Winkie Country. Once the Witch realizes what is going on, she tries many different ways of disposing with the travelers in hopes of obtaining the magical silver shoes that Dorothy was given by Glinda, the good witch of the North. When all efforts fail, the witch resorts to using a golden cup to summon the winged monkeys to capture the four friends. The witch forces Dorothy to do house work around her castle, all the while scheming for a way to get the slippers. When she tricks her into giving her one slipper, Dorothy grabs a bucket full of water and the witch melts. The winged monkeys fly the friends back to the emerald city but their journey does not end there. The three face many more obstacles before Dorothy ends up in the land of Glinda, who tells her she has had the power in the silver shoes to go home to Kansas all along. Abi and I both enjoyed reading the original and comparing it to not only several movies but also the stage version, which she had the opportunity to be a part of last spring, that our community theater group performed.  

52 Week Book Challenge

Well I haven't posted about a book I have finished in a while because the book I was reading was 807 pages long so it took me few weeks to get through it. For this years challenge, one thing I wanted to do was to broaden the genres that I typically read.  So I turned to two friends who enjoy fantasy and gave them some basic perimeters of what I thought I could handle and they suggested the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Book 1 is called A Game of Thrones. To make a long story short, King Robert Baratheon has come north to his best friend, Lord Ned Stark's keep, Winterfell, to ask him to become the "Hand of the Kings Guard" because the previously "hand" has died. Lady Stark receives a note from her sister, who was married to Jon Arryn,

the previous hand, that she believes her husband was murdered. Ned agrees to take the position and while there decides to find if there is truth to Lady Arryn's claim of murder. There are many more characters, plots and plot twists to even go into detail in one post, without giving too much of the story line away. Martin has a very enjoyable writing style and the themes remind me very much of the medieval times. I would caution the reader that there are several intimately mature themed parts that are not recommend for younger readers.There is also the element of false gods, dragons, etc.  Surprisingly, I enjoyed this book and have started reading book 2.

52 Weeks Book Challenge

This week, as I was putting Christmas things away, I spied a Debbie Macomber book in my stack of Christmas books called There's Something About Christmas. It looked like a quick read so I decided to try it. I was quickly caught up in the story of Emma Collins, a journalist, stuck writing obituaries for the Examiner, a Washington State small town newspaper. She is finally giving the opportunity to interview three women who have been chosen as finalists in a country-wide fruitcake contest. The only problem is that these women live in remote towns and the mode of transportation is by plane. Emma hates small planes with a capital "H". Enter local pilot Oliver Hamilton. Oliver, upon first meeting Emma, is sure she's going to fall for him, which irritates Emma to no end. Over the several weeks leading up to Christmas, a holiday Emma doesn't "do" any longer, she not only learns "Lessons From Fruitcakes" but she learns who she really is and what it is that she wants from life. This was a sweet story with a touching ending. Perfect for a Christmas break read.

52 Weeks Book Challenge

  This week I decided to read a book that was a free download on my tablet called Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry. The story opens with Andrea Hampton learning that her sister, Rachael, was being hospitalized due to a car accident. Reluctantly, she leaves her job to go and help her grandmother care for her sister. While she is visiting her childhood home, she learns that "Grams" and Rachael are planning to turn the home into a B & B. If that isn't enough, Grams has rented out the barn to a mysterious carpenter. When the family becomes the victim of several pranks and attacks, Andrea wonders if they are more than rebellious teens playing tricks. I did find this book enjoyable but then again, I love almost anything that takes place in Lancaster County.  This is the first book in a series by this author.