Archive | October, 2015

Book Review – October 2015

29 Oct

Book Review for October already!! Your month is now complete and happy. Ha. I’m over-inflating the importance and excitement of this post but i’m tired, my puppy is wandering away from me……..

Ok, she’s sleeping with Lady. We’re good. What was I saying? Oh, tired. Yes, Laura is TiReD right now. But, there’s a puppy to train, a Lady to spoil and walk, a hubby to support, a house to clean and NANOWRIMO starts in a few days. Whew. No rest for the weary!

On to the book Review!

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The Best Gift by Irene Hannon (Sisters and Brides) –  A.J. Williams has inherited her late aunt’s bookstore, along with the store manager, Blake Williams.Their life philosophies are polar opposites – hers, go with the flow ; his, plan and be prepared. But they must learn to work together to beat a threat against their store. Will their tenuous friendship grow to something deeper and stronger?

– This has been a favorite for years. Being a book lover, and having an old dream of owning a bookstore, I adore any books that center around them. Being a rather short story, I appreciate the background given of the main characters and their individual struggles dealt with. This is a sweet romance story, a quick read. I highly recommend it.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman – Wesley and Buttercup are in love, but when Wesley goes away to find his fortune, tragedy strikes. Inigo trained for years to exact revenge on the man who murdered his father, only now he can’t find him. Vizzini is a professional criminal, intent on starting a war. Fezzik just wants to make rhymes and to not be alone. Intrigue. Torture. Daring Escapes. Miracles. True Love.

–  I have wanted to read this book for YEARS and years. But, I didn’t want a copy that was printed after the movie, I wanted a pre-movie copy. When that proved too hard to find, I caved and got the only copy I could find. It was definitely different than I was expecting but I still really enjoyed it. The background on Fezzik, Inigo, Wesley…Well, all of them really, was fun. I can see some people not being able to enjoy it what with all of Goldman’s inserts and comments throughout. Shrug. I was though and it is one I will re-read over and over and over and over again.

Brothers of the Outlaw Trail (Heartsong Novella Collection) – Follow a band of outlaw brothers as they seek redemption and love – Reuben Wilson struggles with the guilt of turning his brothers into outlaws. Colt wants revenge on the outlaw who turned him in. Caleb tries to make a new start as a sheriff in a small town. And Benjamin tries to leave his life as a professional gambler behind.

–  These short stories were fun! I enjoy westerns, especially when they are set in the late 1880’s as these are. Each is written by a different author, so to me it helps give each brother a different voice and personality. (has anyone else felt like sometimes siblings are too similar in books?) As they are so short, I was sad to reach the end of each of them. I’d love it if somehow I could read an  ‘extended edition’ of them. Dreaming, I know.

Hidden Places by Lynn Austin – Eliza has wanted a home all her life. After 10 years of having one, she isn’t about to let it go now. Wyatt Orchards is hers and her kids’. But keeping it up is more than she can handle. Help comes in the unexpected form of a hobo, who shares similarities to her late husbands’ lost brother. The pain and heartbreak in the farmhouse is overflowing, will it take a hold of Eliza as well?

– I know I’ve read this book before but I’m in the happy position of not remembering it other than that I really enjoyed it. I am halfway through and already am completely sucked in. It is set in the 1930s  – and i’m falling in love with Aunt Batty. A must read for sure!

Do you have a book that you’ve been dying to read but still haven’t? Share! 

(pssst, just so you know, it’s that time of year again for me to read Wildwood Dancing. So. Be prepared for a review on it next month most likely. It has made its way out of the bookshelf and onto my desk here…just beckoning to me.)

~Laura

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Introducing…

24 Oct

I know it’s been a while – over a week! – since I posted but it’s been an interesting week. Sickness took the OH down quickly, and then I followed two days later. Oy.  What’s worse is that we had traveled to visit family early in the am that OH got sick… yeah. Bad timing eh? We decided to head home the next day (who wants to be sick in someone else’s house??) but I was able to get some time with most of the family. It was a good thing we came home when we did though, OH got significantly worse later that evening and I woke up the next morning with the sore throat, runny nose beautiful-ness. Enter long days of medication, tea, movies and saying hi to eachother on our separate couches. Thankfully we were able to take care of each other through each’s worst days.

But! do you know the exciting thing that has happened? We got just well enough to go pick up our new baby. While all my friends are going the difficult route of pregnancy and birth, I decided to skip all that and just go pick mine up. Of course, mine has four legs. And floppy ears and never will speak English. But I don’t mind really.

I mean, how can you with this face staring up at you??

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Introducing Abby Pond.

For those of you interested : She is actually Lady’s great -great -niece! And Abigail is Lady’s middle name, it being a family name, we decided to carry it on with this one. And Pond? Well, if you’re a Dr. Who fan, and Amy Pond is one of your favorite companion’s too, you can appreciate it =) If not, well, it flows really well with Abby. I haven’t finished her name since I have barely glanced at her pedigree papers – yes, her name is going to be much longer. That’s part of the fun of having a purebred, you get to give them ridiculously long names.

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This morning was the first time Lady played with her, other than that, this is the only thing Abby does that Lady doesn’t look at us with a “WHY?” expression.

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She is 8 weeks old, mostly house trained already and a feisty little thing! If you want to see more cute photos, I’ll make a slideshow. For those who don’t, know that I am working on a collaboration for our next installment of the Striving for a Virtuous Life post next month! Don’t forget to come back next week for this month’s book review!

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Series Review – Annie’s People by Beverly Lewis

14 Oct

I have just finished a series by Beverly Lewis. A trilogy, if you want to be persnickety about it. It is Annie’s People, a three book series that delves into an Amish community in Paradise, Pennsylvania. Despite the town name being about the best you could hope for, there are plenty of problems brewing in this community.

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A Preacher’s Daughter, book 1 – Annie Zook harbors a serious secret, one that has already cost her her beloved. Painting is like breathing for Annie, unfortunately, it is forbidden. She will have to choose between the pull of her People and the pull of her passion – but her heart longs for both.

Louisa Stratford is Annie’s long-time pen pal in the fancy world. Feeling betrayed by her parents and fiance, she decides to get away from the chaos of her world and visit Annie. But in trying out the simple life, will she nudge Annie back toward the Plain life, or furthur away from it?

The Englisher, book 2 – Trying to respect the promise she made to her father, Annie  struggles to stay away from her art and follow the rules of the People.  But in the midst of this struggle, another one appears. Ben Martin is an Englisher who is falling fast for Annie, for her though, he is just as off limits as her art.

Louisa can’t seem to bring herself to leave the Plain community, but will a visit from a friend pull her home?

The Brethren, book 3 –   Living with her shunned friend, Annie Zook is caught between two worlds. Which will she choose – the People or the Outside? And will she be able to be with Ben Martin?

Her choice made, Louisa struggles with her decision. Her head and heart are one place, while her body is another. Will she adjust?

My Review:

I didn’t share as much as even the backs of the books have on them to not give anything away. I read these one right after the other, completely sucked into their world! These books touched on different aspects of the Amish world (and just regular old life problems) that I have never seen before. I appreciated it, it brought a bit of the nitty gritty into the story. Obviously one of the main themes is Annie seeking if she belongs with the People or not. Some of the others discussed are : marital longings/needs, abortion, materialistic vs. faith/family focused (outside vs. People) , following the Ordnung vs. faith in Christ, miscarriage, etc.  I greatly appreciated how she handled the faith portion. Also, the marital needs was handled very well, nothing skanky in how it was presented but it was consistent throughout the books.

Because of that, I would not recommend them for younger teen girls – I won’t put an age on that because, not having kids of my own, I couldn’t properly judge that. BUT, I will suggest someone reading them first before giving them to a younger teen.

I greatly enjoyed these books – as I said, I read one right after the other! The ending was a bit of a twist than what I had decided it would be earlier on in the series. Because we all do that right? Decide how the book will end three chapters in?

Right?

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Aside

A little Reminder today

6 Oct

“A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love” – Max Muller

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Exciting plans for today friends! Read: DMV and a bit of grocery shopping…….and possibly a bath for my smelly dog. Even though life has thrown me some curve balls these past few days I am going to keep my chin up and a smile on my face as much as I can today.

Be someone’s Sunshine today!

~Laura

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Book Review – Sept 2015

2 Oct

Happy October, Readers! The month for pumpkins, pipes and puppies. (read: pumpkin patch, firepit evenings and a new puppy in two weeks!) I started this book review the beginning of this week but kept realizing I had forgotten another book I had read. Whew! I will, in order to relieve your mind, tell you that some of these I started the end of August. I did not read a dozen odd books in four weeks. Because that is kind of insane. More like six weeks. Somehow that’s better…??

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The Time Machine by H.G. Wells – An Inventor travels first thousands of years, and the millions, into the future and comes back with a fantastic story of his travels.

– short synopsis for you but this is a very enjoyable read. The tale he tells is engrossing. All a little fantastic, but it’s time travel, it’s supposed to be.

Quilter’s Daughter by Wanda E. Brunstetter Daughters of Lancaster County book 2 – When Abby Miller comes to Lancaster County to help her pregnant mother, she leaves behind a full life – a quilt shop and loving fiance. But when tragedy strikes, her faith is shaken and she seeks answers to her questions. But where will she find them – in her love of quilting? her past? the heart of an overlooked Amish man?

– Ahh, I enjoyed this book. I like reading these types of novels when life is hectic, for the pace of the Amish is slower than ours, and for those moments I’m in their world, riding in a buggy to town, baking bread or knitting by the fire. They are busy but not at the mad-dash-pace of our world. I always feel slightly lazy though…

The Bishop’s Daughter by Wanda E. Brunstetter Daughters of Lancaster County book 3 – After her father, Bishop Weaver, has an accident, Leona finds her faith shaken. While teaching at the one-room schoolhouse, an Englisher in search of his family, Jimmy Scott, is hired to paint it. They are drawn to each other, even knowing the obstacles in the way. Will Leona find the answers she needs, will Jimmy find his real family? Will their love survive?

– This book was a great end to the trilogy. Seeing the characters develop and grow from the first and second books was enjoyable. I also like how Brunstetter brings faith into her novels – it’s not in-your-face but still a central theme. I feel like her books would be a great option for girls just starting to read more ‘adult’ books, a good transition point.

Francesca’s Kitchen by Peter Pezzelli – Francesca Campanile loves to cook for her family. But with her children grown, she feels useless. When she finds an ad for a part-time nanny, she is sure she’s found the answer to her problems. Loretta Simmons is a single mother of two, struggling to make ends meet. She’s not sure what to make of her new nanny, but both women are surprised to learn how much they needed the other.

– I fall in love with Francesca every time I read this book. I also wish she was my grandma. A perfectly normal reaction, trust me. Her memories of raising her kids are spattered throughout as she tries to connect with the new generation focused on video games and junk food. My mouth waters as time and again, she cooks these wonderful dishes – full of cheese (i’m dairy free so bear with me with that remark…) that just makes me want to hop in the kitchen as well. The only negatives I can really say about this book is one insinuation that I really just want to block out  because it adds absolutely nothing to the story line. And Loretta does go on a date with a slime ball who tries something but it’s very minor and not graphic. Francesca is Catholic so that is brought into the book but it’s not a major theme or preachy. Mostly she mentions a few saints, goes to confession a few times and tries to do what she feels God is calling her to do. Overall, I am glad I ran across this book years ago! A good read.

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells – A young scientist becomes obsessed with finding a way to make things invisible. When he does create the serum, he tries it out on himself. Beforehand, he could only see the benefits of such an existance – freedom! – but reality sets in and with it, a descent into madness.

– I finished this just the other night and AH!! I enjoyed this immensely, even more than the Time Machine. I scored this book at Barnes and Noble on the sale on a sale on a sale rack – being a 2 books in 1 situation, I couldn’t pass it up. I’d never read Wells before but at least these two will be ones I come back to. I didn’t anticipate the ending at all.  And that makes me happy. I enjoyed the different ways the characters were brought into the story, and the adventures of the invisible man. I found on youtube that they made a movie in 1933 that I have simply got to own now.

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis  -Man has been plagued by one question for years – ‘if God is good, why does he allow pain?” Lewis, who is known as the ‘greatest Christian thinker of our time’, answers this complicated question and seeks to heal a hurting world

-Lewis writes very differently than I am used to, so I am frequently re-reading sections in order to better grasp his point.  I am in the last few chapters now, it has moved from my bedside to the table so I read it while eating breakfast most mornings. I intend on putting it on the ‘read yearly’ list. There are many ‘ah-ha’ moments in it. Well worth the read.

HTML and CSS : Design and Build Websites – My OH got this for me and I intend on devoting a whole post to it once I’m through it. For now, let’s say that they have done a fantastic job on making it a book that while it teaches you how, it doesn’t intimidate the socks off of you at first glance. A huge bonus for me. I intend to work through it as it teaches, being more of a hands-on learner. Don’t hold your breath for the full review though – I have no idea when it’ll be.

The Count of Monte Cristo  by Alexandre Dumas – On the brink of the happiest day of his life, Edward Dantes is thrown in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Years later, he learns of a treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo. He then focuses on escaping the grim fortress and, after finding the treasure- exacting revenge on the three men who ruined him.

– Since I was reading this on my phone last month, I have somehow stopped reading it. Guess I called it when I said I need to get an actual copy in order to finish it.  But don’t take my not finishing it as a sign that it isn’t a good read for it is! The development of the characters and the descriptions of what is going on are great.

And there you have it for September’s book review! Are any of these your favorites?

~Laura

*I’d like to note that any books I read are free of foul language or any immoral …stuff. If there is a hint of it, I will tell you but that is the most that I will read, and by default, will share with you. Not everything I read is faith-based though, so keep that in mind if that is your priority. *

*If you click any link here and buy from amazon, I will get a percentage from the sale. Just a way I’m trying to make a little money from this hobby of mine*

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