Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books I Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t Get To
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Monday, January 18, 2021
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Jan 18
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.
Washington: America awakens to the shattering news that Vice President Stephanie Davenport has died of an apparent heart attack.
That same morning, a chance encounter on the Washington Metro results in international private investigator Robert Brixton thwarting an attempted terrorist bombing. Brixton has no reason to suspect that the three incidents have anything in common, until he's contacted by Kendra Rendine, the Secret Service agent who headed up the vice president's security detail. Rendine is convinced the vice president was murdered and needs Brixton's investigative expertise to find out why.
In Israel, meanwhile, legendary anti-terrorist fighter Lia Ganz launches her own crusade against the perpetrators of that attack which nearly claimed the lives of her and granddaughter. Ganz's trail will ultimately take her to Washington where she joins forces with Brixton to uncover an impossible link between the deadly attack on Caesarea and the attempted Metro bombing, as well as the death of the vice president.
The connection lies in the highest corridors of power in Washington where a deadly plot with unimaginable consequences has been hatched. With the clock ticking toward doomsday, Brixton and Ganz race against time to save millions of American lives who will otherwise become collateral damage to a conspiracy destined to change the United States forever.
Based on actual oral histories of survivors, the novel follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen, two sisters, both schoolteachers--one who becomes a hero of the storm, and one who finds herself ostracized in the aftermath. It's also the story of Anette Pedersen, a servant girl whose miraculous survival serves as a turning point in her life and touches the heart of Gavin Woodson, a newspaperman seeking redemption. It is Woodson and others like him who wrote the embellished news stories that lured immigrants across the sea to settle a pitiless land. Boosters needed immigrants to settle territories into states, and they didn't care what lies they told them to get them there--or whose land it originally was.
At its heart, this is a story of courage, of children forced to grow up too soon, tied to the land because of their parents' choices. It is a story of love taking root in the hard prairie ground, and of families being torn asunder by a ferocious storm that is little remembered today--because so many of its victims were immigrants to this country.
Friday, January 15, 2021
The Friday 56 - Jan 15
Maybe this meme is a once a month experience for me. :) The last time I participated was December 18.
Rules:
- Grab a book, any book.
- Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
- (If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
- Find a snippet, short and sweet.
- Post it and add the url to your post in the Linky on Freda's post. If you don't link up, we may not know to visit.
- Also join in the fun on Instagram using the hashtags #Instagram56 #Friday56
When we walked into the Front Porch Cafe, aglow with late-afternoon sun and fragrant with fresh-baked cookies, I knew we'd arrived in paradise.
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Top 5 Tuesday - Top 5 Anticipated Books of 2021in Genres I Don't Usually Read
Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme that explores different topics. Originally created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, it is now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. For a list of January topics you can click here. To participate, link your post back to the weekly post.
I put together a version of this for Top Ten Tuesday last week, so I am going to choose five book releases in 2021 in genres I don't usually read.
Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Resolutions/Hopes for 2021 (Bookish or Not!)
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
- Complete this year's Goodreads Reading Challenge (40 books)
- Reduce the number of virtual book tours I participate in (fingers crossed)
- Write two First Chapter Reviews a month (love these)
- Purge my TBR pile (it's time)
- Read more nonfiction this year (writing craft and business books here I come)
Sunday, January 10, 2021
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Jan 11
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Book Review: First Light in Morning Star by Charlotte Hubbard
First Light in Morning Star by Charlotte Hubbard is a touching story of love and forgiveness.
The school board members are surprised when maidel Lydianne Christner applies for the teaching job at the new Morning Star school, but she seems sincere and no one else has even applied. Thrilled at the chance to teach, Lydianne knows the new life she has created can all come crashing down if anyone discovers her secret.
Bishop Jeremiah, a widower, admires how Lydianne manages her classroom and students. He is also curious about her past and the burdens she seems to carry with her. When his attempt to court her is rebuffed, he feels lonelier than ever.
An unexpected crisis finds Lydianne confessing to him, leaving Jeremiah with a choice that will require all his faith and understanding.
You know how much I love Hubbard's books, but this one has to be one of her finest. I love everything about it from beginning to end. I enjoyed this story so much that I stayed up late into the night reading regardless of the fact that I had an early morning meeting. I felt tired all day, but it was well worth the exhaustion.
The secret that brought Lydianne to Morning Star now presents some of the biggest challenges she has faced. By applying for the job as the new teacher, everyone at the school board is suddenly interested in her past and why she has applied despite having no previous teaching experience.
Then there is Bishop Jeremiah Shetler, who has been content living with his mother since the passing of his first wife. Though she has nudged him to find love again, he didn't feel much reason to and busied himself with looking after the spiritual needs of the residents of Morning Star. His sudden romantic feelings toward Lydianne perplex him, but when she rebuffs him he is determined to figure out what burdens her.
This second book in Hubbard's The Maidels of Morning Star series is even better than the first. Filling each page is the author's trademark compassion and grace as she weaves stories about residents of her imaginary communities and how they find love. It is a rare gift to be able to touch the heart the way Hubbard does with her novels. I can't tell you how much I admire and respect her talent. I highly anticipate the third book in this series, Christmas Comes to Morning Star, due out in August.
I don't hold on to many books these days after reading them, but I have kept every one of Hubbard's books. They are special treasures I cherish and hope to read again.
If you enjoy Amish fiction, First Light in Morning Star is a must read.
Publisher : Zebra (December 29, 2020)