It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Dec 20

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 second to the last Monday in December and, therefore, in 2021. It has gone faster than I thought possible. Since all my shopping is done, I spent this past week wrapping gifts, decorating two of our three trees, trying to get my last two closings of the year settled so that I can enjoy the holidays (both have been frustrating because of all the delays), watching Season 1 of Little House on the Prairie, blogging (here and at my Laura Ingalls Wilder blog) and reading. 

Our collectibles tree.

The snowman tree

Travis enjoys hanging out under any tree I am working on.

I let the girls decorate our main tree, which they still haven't done. So... we will see if they manage it by Christmas Eve when we have company.

As far as books go, I am reading the following. My review of 52 Weeks of Writing is scheduled for December 31. 

Next up are these books.

I just took a photo and sent it over to Sheila at Book Journey for The 9th Annual First Book Event. What will I--hopefully--be reading? You'll have to wait and see, but let me know if you have any guesses. One clue: a book by one of my favorite authors. 

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.

This time of year, I don't usually buy or request many books because my family often gifts me one or two. This year, I decided to use some of my digital credits to buy books from my Amazon Wish List.

In my physical mailbox is this book from an author I follow. I will review it at my children's book blog soon. 

That is it for me. I wish you and yours a blessed Christmas. I also hope you'll join me in praying for all those affected by the horrible tornadoes across the country. If you purchase a copy of my book, A Christmas Kindness, from 4RV Publishing through December 31, 2021, my proceeds will be donated to the Midwest and Southern Tornado Outbreak Relief Fund. Please visit http://www.4rvpublishing.com/cheryl-c-malandrinos.html to purchase. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books on My Winter 2021 To-Read List

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.

We are at Tuesday again. My how the weeks fly by. I hope you have enjoyed your reading time since we last connected. 

This week's topic is about books on my Winter 2021 To-Read List. This is always challenging, simply because I usually add books along the way that take away from what I intended to read. The life of a book lover/book blogger, right? Here are my guesses at:

Top Ten Books on My Winter 2021 To-Read List 

A good mix of historical fiction, seasonal fiction, and Little House on the Prairie titles. The other one I would really love to read this year is this one that was a First Book of the Year selection for me in 2019. Especially after watching Anne with an E, I would love to tackle this book that I have heard rave reviews about for years. 

What are some of the books on your Winter 2021 To-Read List? 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Dec 13

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. I hope you all had a nice weekend. My sister and I took in a local theatre production of A Christmas Carol. I finished Christmas shopping and now need to get the house ready for family on Christmas Eve. I also have a ton of studying to maintain my North Carolina real estate license (90 hours). I started my first 30 hours this past week. 

At this time of year, I try to squeeze in some books amongst other fun things. Here is what I've been up reading. 

My review of this book appears at my children's book blog. 

My review of this book about acceptance and working together can be found at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection as well. 

My review of this book appeared on Saturday.

You'll find my book review of this zany story at my children's book blog today. 

I finished this one last week. You can find my review here.

Next up are these.

Still hoping to squeeze one Christmas book in before the end of the year. 

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. 

On Saturday, this book arrived authored by a fellow member of the Christian Children's Authors blog. 

I signed up for a virtual book tour, my last of the year, with a review of this book to appear on December 31. A digital copy arrived in my Inbox last week. 

That is it for me. I hope you'll join me in praying for all those affected by the horrible tornadoes across the country. If you purchase a copy of my book, A Christmas Kindness, from 4RV Publishing through December 31, 2021, my proceeds will be donated to the Midwest and Southern Tornado Outbreak Relief Fund. Please visit http://www.4rvpublishing.com/cheryl-c-malandrinos.html to purchase. 

Book Review: Remarkable Advent by Shauna Letellier

 

A moving look at the Christmas story through the eyes and minds of the ordinary people who lived through it can be found in Remarkable Advent by Shauna Letellier. 

Each year, I like to discover a new devotional to read during Advent. Back in October, I discovered this as a free offering. It is currently listed at a price of $2.99 for a Kindle version.

This devotional includes stories, rich in historical detail, of Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph and the miraculous events that we cherish, woven into their daily lives. It gets into the heads of these historical figures and makes them living, breathing people no different than you or I.

Each day opens with Scripture, then Letellier uses Scripture and other historical details to create that day’s devotional, and each day ends with a prayer. As you can imagine, the reader moves chronologically through the Christmas story, starting with the angel’s announcement of Elizabeth’s pregnancy to Zachariah.

In her introduction, Letellier encourages the reader to experience this book as if hearing the Christmas story for the first time. Imagine how amazing this somewhat overly familiar story is when you focus on just how remarkable what happened is. 

This is a beautifully written devotional. I highly recommend it. 

Publisher: ‎ Shauna Letellier (October 23, 2019)

Language: ‎ English

Paperback: 200 pages

ISBN-10: ‎ 1734137401

ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1734137408

This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Book Review: Well Murdered by Marty Damon

 

Cozy mystery lovers, welcome to a new series filled with humor, a never ending list of suspects, and a hint of romance in a small town.

After losing her job in Providence, Cate MacLeod returns to Calvin, Massachusetts to live next door to her perfectionist mother and work in the local gift shop. 

While walking a neighbor's dog, Cate stumbles upon the body of local real estate agent Arlene Gerrigan, who she learns through the course of the investigation, had made many enemies. Cate quickly finds herself in the middle of small town drama and catching the attention of a murderer.

If there were ever a classic small town cozy mystery, Well Murdered by Marty Damon is it. Damon has created a story with memorable characters residing in a small New England town where a murder unfolds and Cate finds herself--and her mother--right in the middle of it.

In addition to Cate, numerous secondary characters that live in Calvin will make an impression that will leave you eager to dive into the next book in this series, Gravely Murdered, so you can get reacquainted.

As a lover of cozy mysteries since childhood, I can say this ranks right up there with other novels from famous authors in this genre. It has all the crucial elements--mystery, twists and turns, too many motives to count, and a smart main character who "assists" with the investigation whether the police welcome her help or not. I wish I had read it sooner. 

Highly recommended!

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06Y5M6CVD
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 9, 2017
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2913 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 259 pages
• Purchase here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y5M6CVD

I purchased a digital copy of this book in 2020. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Bookish Promises I Am Making for 2022

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.

This week is a freebie, so bloggers can take Top Ten Tuesday in any direction they want. Every couple of years, we look at bookish goals/resolutions (last post was 2020), but this year I am making bookish promises to myself. Promises feel so much harder to break than goals/resolutions.

Top Ten Bookish Promises I Am Making for 2022

To read more from my TBR Pile than I did in 2021: Fourteen of the 51 books I've read so far this year have been from my TBR Pile, but I want 2022 to be 50/50. Participating in blog tours is so much fun, but reviewing because you have to makes reading almost like work. Believe me, in 2022 I will be doing plenty of that. 

To catch up on one favorite series: When I get busy, my favorite series books that are hiding in my TBR Pile get forgotten. I am thinking I will go with the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series by my friend Marilyn Meredith. I caught up on her Rocky Bluff PD series this year.

To read one of the oldest books from my TBR Pile: My TBR Pile travels back to probably 2010 with some books. Who knows if I even want to read them anymore? The only way I will find out is if I dig them out of the closet and open them up.

To be okay with not finishing books I don't enjoy: This is so tough for me, because as an author I know how much writers put into their stories, and then there is the cost of packaging and shipping. I feel totally guilty when I don't review a book. I chose well in 2021, because I don't recall struggling with any books. 

To write one First Chapter Review a quarter: I wanted to write one every week in 2020, but didn't do it. I know with a packed schedule next year, even once a month is unlikely. Once a quarter is manageable. 

To not sign up for a single reading challenge except the Goodreads Challenge: I love challenges, but they don't love me. The Goodreads challenge is the one challenge I have any success with. I think that is because it is easy to track because I post my reviews there anyway. If I have to remember to go to another person's blog and post what I've completed, it's not happening. 

To read one leadership book this year: I have a few here, but they aren't always my thing. I started Atomic Habits, so I might finish that one.

To get off some VBT mailing lists: I signed up for several when I actively participated in them regularly. Now, I just want to focus on my TBR Pile and maybe one or two VBT companies to support. I love free books, but I'm committed to not taking on more than I can handle in 2022. 

To re-organize my works in progress: I have several picture books in various stages--partially completed, completed waiting for editing, edited that need to be submitted, etc. I'm not happy with my current filing system, which is a bunch of files in Word. I've already cleaned up my old files for other aspects of life. Next year, I want to organize my writing files so they will be easier to manage.

To re-think my publishing goals: I have to admit, 2020 was a kick in the teeth. Three of my four books went out of print when the publisher closed (thanks, COVID). To republish them requires almost more effort than it is worth considering two of the illustrators aren't easily available and it will require an additional monetary investment I'm not sure I want to make right now. Is that awful of me? I almost feel like I should let them go and start over. 

My middle grade novel is 3/4 finished, but I am totally rewriting the women's novel I am co-authoring with my sister. Only so much time in the day, so which way do I go? I'm willing to self-publish the middle grade novel, but there is a bit of a learning curve with that. I so admire authors who really know what they want to do and get it done.

That's it for my list. I look forward to visiting other bloggers today to see what direction they took this week's freebie. 

Book Review: Your Words Your World by Louise Belanger

 

Your Words Your World is a faith-based poetry collection from Louise Belanger. Throughout this moving collection, Belanger brings together the beauty of nature, a variety of life subjects, and the importance of having a relationship with our heavenly Father. Nature photographs fill these pages, complementing the poetry and inspiring a love of the world around us.

I've always enjoyed faith-based poetry. Some of our Church family have recited poems before Sunday services. So, when I heard Your Words Your World was available for review, I knew I had to request it. This collection was the perfect selection for my flight to San Diego. 

I chuckled at "The contest," where flowers try to decide who is the best, all to discover that when they work together they all win. "Dust" reminds us that we come from dust and depend on God for everything. "Sometimes..." is a grade school lesson the author learned about trusting yourself. 

Your Words Your World is a truly inspiring collection of poetry that one should keep close by in those days when you want to appreciate life and our world or to share in the awe of God's creation. This would make a wonderful gift.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B098GN72P3
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (July 2, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 99 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8526756099

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