2018 Reading Challenges - Epic Fail

Graphic from ebaum's world

Sometimes you meet your goals. This year, I:

• Participated in and won STORYSTORM
• Increased my sales volume in real estate and listed more homes than previous years
• Cleaned out my house
• Sent out Christmas cards for the first time in four years

Sometimes you only make progress on your goals. This year, I:

• Didn't send Clever Tom (my next picture book) out to agents, but I performed agent research and participated in #PBPITCH on Twitter a few times. 
• Didn't finish Amelia's Mission (my middle grade historical), but I wrote several chapters and attended almost all our writer's group meetings to get feedback.
• Didn't blog as much as intended, but have managed to keep five blogs going, resurrected another blog, and now contribute to two more blogs instead of only Christian Children's Authors. 

Then there are goals you simply don't even come close to. My 2018 reading challenges fit in that epic fail category. Since I knew time would be limited, and my responsibilities for my in-laws have increased, I promised myself to aim low. Well, the three challenges I signed up for never saw the light of day. 

I didn't even crack open one of the 12 books on my 2018 TBR Pile Challenge list. New books will always catch my eye, and virtual book tours are still of interest, so I have to realize that my TBR Pile will remain a mountain until I become independently wealthy and can stop working, or until I find the willpower to stop signing up for new virtual book tours. Neither seems likely.

On a good note, I read 43 books this year, which is 12 more than last year. I am going to set myself a reading goal of 50 books again this year and see how it goes. I'm also planning to join the 2019 Reading Challenge at Linz The Bookworm. It seems more manageable than what I have tried in the past. 

How did your reading challenges go? Have you decided what challenges you'll participate in for 2019? What will your first book be for 2019? 

Book Review: The Lifegiving Home by Sally and Sarah Clarkson

If you are looking for a heartfelt and meaningful story of how to create a home that is both inviting and warm to family and others, The Lifegiving Home by Sally and Sarah Clarkson is a great choice.

In this joint mother/daughter effort, they share their perspectives on creating a lifegiving legacy in your home through rhythms, routines, and rituals, growing relationships, celebrating life, being in service to each other, and shaping a certain family culture based on love, and combining personalities, history, events, and traditions. This book addresses how we have lost our center in the hectic, busyness of day-to-day life that our current modern, consumerist culture encourages.

The last point mentioned is why I requested to review this book. At the end, however, I can't say I'm any closer to finding a way toward creating the kind of home I've always envisioned we would have. The Clarksons sound like lovely, god-fearing people, whose goal is to inspire others. Sally and her husband founded Whole Heart Ministries in 1998 and Sarah is an award-winning author who also leads workshops on reading as a means to transform a child's mental and spiritual development. They have a clear calling from the Lord to serve others. While one can't argue that more time in prayer and with Scripture is key to making any change, getting from where you are in your crazy life now to the type of home culture you desire is a step-by-step process. While The Lifegiving Home is a vital part of that process, it may not be the starting point for some of us. I have to admit to enjoying Sally's chapters more because they are more conversational, whereas Sarah's style is more academic. Coupled with The Lifegiving Home Experience, a twelve-month guided planner, the reader may have more success creating the home culture she seeks.


Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Tyndale Momentum (February 2, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1496403371
ISBN-13: 978-1496403377

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

This book is credited toward the following challenges:

Book Review: The Rancher's Mistletoe Bride by Jill Kemerer

Love, faith and letting go of the past combine to create a magical seasonal romance in The Rancher's Mistletoe Bride by Jill Kemerer.

Alexandra Harrington returned to the ranch where she grew up after the sudden death of her father. With both parents gone, it is up to her to carry on his legacy. So, she takes a leave from her wedding planner business in Colorado, planning to hire a ranch manager and then go back to her career. Then walks in Clint Romine...

Clint needs this job, but he's certain if Lexi finds out about his past she won't consider him at all. A former foster kid, he has built up walls that he refuses to let anyone break down. When she takes him on, he plans to keep their arrangement strictly professional, even when it's obvious Lexi is struggling for answers and direction because of her father's death.

This is such a sweet romance. Two characters engulfed in their own pain and doubts find themselves attracted to each other despite their declaration to be no more than boss and employee. As they tiptoe around each other, the reader witnesses their romance unfold to its satisfying and heartwarming conclusion.

While this might be the first book of Kemerer's I've read, it certainly won't be my last. Her ability to create a moving scene and tap into her characters' emotions pulls you in right away. These characters are so real, and how they end up filling each other's needs and finding their way to each other despite the reasons they've decide they should remain apart, is truly touching. If you're a pushover for seasonal romances like I am, you need to read The Rancher's Mistletoe Bride.

Series: Wyoming Cowboys (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired; Original edition (September 19, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373623038
ISBN-13: 978-0373623037

I received a copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

This book is credited toward the following challenges:

2018 Reading Challenges - Focusing on My TBR Pile

Happy new year! This is the year the TBR Pile gets whittled down. I simply can't stand the abundance of unread books filling my office. Even if it's just a dozen books, that will be twelve books off my list. Here are the reading challenges I am participating in to help me accomplish that goal:

Sponsored by My Reader's Block

Sponsored by The Misadventures of Super Librarian

Sponsored by Roof Beam Reader

Here is my book list:

1. For Keeps by Aaron Paul Lazar
2. Mayan Intrigue by Linda Weaver Clarke
3. Montezuma Intrigue by Linda Weaver Clarke
4. The Bitch in the House by Cathi Hanauer
5. Double Forte by Aaron Paul Lazar
6. An Amish Christmas Quilt by Charlotte Hubbard et al.
7. Strong Darkness by Jon Land
8. Strong Light of Day by Jon Land
9. Strong Cold Dead by Jon Land
10. Sarah’s Orphans by Vannetta Chapman
11. Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliette Grey
12. Played by the Book by Lucy Arlington

Click on the links below the photos to find sign up pages and details. Good luck to all those bloggers and non-bloggers tackling reading challenges in 2018.