It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - May 16

 Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday. 

 

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. 

Welcome back to Monday. My plans of reading and posting my review of The Greatest Salesman in the World: Part 2, did not come to fruition, but for good reason. I finished editing one manuscript for a client and have 50 pages left to go on the next one. In addition, I came back from National Harbor, MD to a new listing and am meeting with another potential new client this week. The most exciting news of the week, however, was senior prom. I spent most of Friday with the Lil' Princess, driving her to her hair and make up appointment and visiting with the other parents at the school barbeque where we took photos before the kids went off to the prom site. 

So from a reading perspective, other than my daily devotional, it looks the same as last week. 

My review on this one is coming. 

I am reading these books now.

I also sneak this one in when I can.

These are next:

Review coming June 7 at TC&TBC

Review coming June 22 at TC&TBC

Maybe by the time vacation rolls around I will get to these:

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Nothing new this week, but that's good considering how little reading I am doing right now.

How was your reading week? Did you come across any great reads?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - May 9

 Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday. 

 

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. 

Happy Monday! I hope all you moms were treated to a nice day on Sunday. We had a wonderful weekend. After flying home from Maryland late Friday, I took a day off on Saturday. Then yesterday, we visited my mother-in-law. 

Here are a few photos from my trip. I have to admit, I had a great view in National Harbor.

Thanks to boring plane rides, I polished off this one. Look for my review this week. Loved it just as much as the first book. 

I am reading this book now.

I also sneak this one in when I can.

These are next:

Review coming May 27 at TC&TBC

Review coming June 7 at TC&TBC

Review coming June 22 at TC&TBC

Maybe by the time vacation rolls around I will get to these:

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

While roaming around, I stumbled upon Mahogany Books. What a neat place to visit. I picked up this book while there.

I also grabbed the NetGalley format of Charlotte Hubbard's upcoming release.

How was your reading week? Did you pick up any new books? Did you grab one that has been sitting in your TBR pile for too long? 

Book Spotlight: A Stream to Follow by Jess Wright

 

When Bruce Duncan, a battlefront surgeon, returns after WWII to a small town in Pennsylvania to open a general practice, the ravages of his war aren’t over. Haunted by images of soldiers he tried to save, his own near-death experiences, and a lost love, Bruce has little respite before new battles grip him. Bruce’s brother, a decorated fighter pilot, is facing his own trauma, and refuses to accept help. A former friend wages a vicious campaign to stop Bruce from uncovering the dangers that could shutter a local industry where silicosis is killing the workers. And Bruce must decide between the slim prospect of reuniting with the Englishwoman who chose her family over him and a growing attraction to a trail-blazing woman doctor.

With a story that moves from post-war America back to the killing fields of Alsace and to England under the siege of German rockets, “A Stream to Follow” gives fresh vision for paths to healing. Plunging deep into the crucible of trauma, it’s an uplifting tale of valor, resilience, and the search for enduring love.

Read an Excerpt!

Pennsylvania

October 1945

 

From high on the main track of the Pennsylvania Railroad, his eyes locked on the mountain stream where it tumbled into the Juniata River. The train from New York had barreled through the gorge before it slowed at the curved stretch where the river went deep, snaking along the cliff and picking up the limestone spring–fed water from Spruce Creek. He had stood on the spot where the streams merged, casting to the fish that were strong enough to feed in the fast current and swirling pools.

When he was in France and Germany, Bruce had pictured this place to push his fear away. It was just a diversion—a way to lift himself away from the slaughter at the front line. But it nurtured a belief that he’d return here someday.

Bruce had been able to imagine with photographic accuracy since he was a boy. In medical school, he could scan pages in textbooks and seal them in his brain. In the war, he blocked out noise from exploding shells while he visualized each step of the surgery that was about to start. Until the battles in January had unnerved him, he could control the flow of his thoughts, take them where he wanted. Since then, imprints of the carnage tore at him.

Even now, when sight of the two streams signaled he was close to home, Bruce’s thoughts ricocheted backward. It was the Zorn this time—the frozen river outside Rohrwiller.

He could feel the ice crack as he reached out to his corpsman who had been hit in the face with the sniper’s bullet. They fell under the surface before he grabbed a tangle of tree roots and pushed Carl through the ice onto the bank. His fingers were numb—they were losing their grip. But he heaved himself up beside Carl. Then the other corpsman ran forward, screamed, and dropped on top of them. The gun had fired again. The red crosses on their uniforms meant nothing to the Germans.

While he hugged the ground, Bruce rolled the dead soldier off them and found a hemostat in his frost-crusted pack. After he clamped the spurting vessel in the hole where Carl’s jaw had been, he lay on his back, shuddering with cold, wondering if the sniper would find him. They hadn’t needed to come out here to find the wounded men. It was a stupid mistake.

Bruce shook his head. Enough, he said to himself. Shut it off.

Sometimes he wished he had taken the amytal injection the psychiatrist had wanted to try on him. But the narcosynthesis theory—get semiconscious on a drug and spill it all out—was too Freudian for his taste. No, there weren’t any good treatments. The memories gripped too hard for simple solutions.

Trying to wrestle his mind back to the present, Bruce focused on the river below him. It was early autumn, and the water level was low. He imagined wading into a shallow section by the bridge they were crossing. His fly rod began to move back and forth, spreading long loops that unfurled toward a riffle that could hold trout. The caddis fly bounced on the water, crossing from patches of sun to shade, riding along with the current in a natural drift. He lifted the rod and cast again. No strikes, but the rhythm of the casts settled him.

JESS WRIGHT: Jess Wright is an internationally recognized psychiatrist who is the Kolb Endowed Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Louisville. “Breaking Free from Depression,” one of his self-help books, has been called a “must-have for finding a way through the pain of depression.” “Good Days Ahead,” his scientifically tested online program for depression and anxiety, has helped many thousands on their path to recovery.

A leading expert in cognitive-behavior therapy, Jess Wright is the first author of a trilogy of award-winning and best-selling nonfiction books that integrate text and video to help readers learn the key methods of this effective treatment. He has lectured widely in Europe, Asia, South America, and the United States.

“A Stream to Follow” is Jess Wright’s first novel. For more information, please visit: https://jesswrightmd.com/ 

Follow Jess Wright on social media:

Facebook: @jesswrightauthor | Twitter: @jesswrightmd | Instagram: @jesswrightmd

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2022 Reflections

 

 Well, we did it!! We made it to the end of the 2022 Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! I hope you enjoyed visiting The Book Connection. I know I enjoyed visiting new blogs throughout the month.

As I reflect upon last month's posts, I am glad I chose a theme. This allowed me to focus what I was talking about each day. I am glad I scheduled most posts ahead of time and scheduled seven days at a time. That allowed me to visit more blogs and leave comments each week. 

I learned about poetry, boxing, conspiracy theories, books and authors new to me, and read some wonderful short stories along the way. 

I'm looking forward to next year's challenge and hope my schedule allows me to participate. 

How about you? Did you participate? What did you learn along the way? Do you think you will participate next year?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - May 2

 Welcome to It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday. 

 

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. 

Welcome to the first Monday of May. Hope those of us heading toward summer are enjoying some warmer temperatures. It's been in the high 60s at home. Right now, I am in National Harbor, MD for annual legislative meetings for the National Association of REALTORS®. We are expected to hit 79 degrees today. 

I'm staying at the Residence Inn and I love it! This room will spoil me for every day hotel travel. 

I can see the water from my hotel. 

This weekend, the Lil' Princess and her dance team held their last spring dance show together. Four of the girls are headed off to college--including our Lil' Princess. She committed to University of North Carolina - Wilmington a couple weeks ago. I shed more than one tear today, especially during her solo, their senior piece where all four girls danced together and revealed where they are headed in the fall, and then the ballet piece where the Lil' Princess had a couple of solo moments because she is the dance captain. 

After the show, we hosted a pasta party at our house for the dance team. What a fun time!

My reading world has finally started to pick up. Not sure how I am fitting in any reading, but here is where things stand.

My review of this one appeared on April 29. You can find it here.

On April 25, my First Chapter Review of this book appeared here.

On April 21, my First Chapter Review of this book appeared here.

I am reading these two. 

I also sneak this one in when I can.

These are next:

Review coming May 27 at TC&TBC

Review coming June 7 at TC&TBC

Review coming June 22 at TC&TBC

Maybe by the time vacation rolls around I will get to these:

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Nothing in my mailbox this week, but I have plenty to read. 

This is my first week participating in these memes in almost a month because of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. Did you participate in the challenge? 

Hope you'll share what you are reading in the comments. Have a nice week!