books and reading

Sunday Bookends: Christmas movies, Christmas books, Christmas, Christmas, and more … yes, Christmas

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 10 Comments

It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.



What’s Been Occurring

I wrote yesterday that I tested positive for Covid on Friday. I must have been at the tail end of it because yesterday morning I woke up with my nose clear and able to taste and smell again. I pretty much felt like I hadn’t had anything at all. I had written yesterday’s blog post on Friday evening when I was at my worst – congested and swollen in my nose, no smell or taste, and this horrible burning up my nose and through my sinuses that kept coming in waves and making my eyes water so bad I couldn’t see.

I literally cried when I could taste peanut butter and smell my essential oils in the morning. I know it seems dramatic and if you don’t know my back story with Covid-induced smell and taste loss then it does seem that way.

My previous smell and taste loss lasted a couple of weeks or more and when it returned my smell and taste were distorted for months afterward.

You can read more about that on the blog by searching Covid in the search bar to the right, though I’d just skip it because it’s depressing. Ha! It’s depressing but also gets hopeful later and taught me about trusting God.

Today when I made myself some deli ham on lettuce with Italian dressing (I’m trying to cut bread all the way out for health reasons) and I could taste the Italian dressing I felt weepy. I really did.

Every time I can smell something or taste something I feel immediate gratitude.

While I didn’t like the fear that came with getting Covid again since my last bout sent me to the hospital for five days (hooked up to a very low dose of oxygen for a day and a half of those days), I do like the reminder God gave me with this that he got me through that first bout and he is going to get me through whatever struggles I am facing now.

Much like a rainbow is a reminder of God’s promise to never flood the earth again, being able to smell and taste is like a reminder to me that God hasn’t failed me and doesn’t intend to let me fall now.

This illness was like a short head cold but I was very concerned part of the time it would be longer, like Covid was for me and my family before. I remained calm most of the time with a few breakdowns of crying, but trying to remember the verses about Jesus giving us peace that passes all understanding.

Most of the time I felt very peaceful. I did not feel dragged out like I did when I’ve been sick in the past.

Still, I prayed to God on Friday and asked him to please give me a sign that I was going to be okay. I prayed again very, very early Saturday morning when I couldn’t breathe through my nose. I asked God to forgive me for me being annoyed because I had just been thankful for being able to smell and taste a few days before and now it was being taken away again. I asked God to forgive me for not being thankful that I was breathing okay.

At 6:45 a.m. I still couldn’t smell anything.

At 9:30 a.m. I could both smell and taste.

Little Miss and my fever were gone (mine had been gone even when I tested positive for Covid the day before) and we both felt almost like we’d never been sick in the first place.

Talk about an answer to prayer.

We are in quarantine another day and then I can finally see my parents in person for the first time in two weeks.


What I/we’ve been Reading

Because my eyes were watering a lot this week, I didn’t read as much as I wanted to. I did continue some of my Christmas Regency romance book, which is a collection of novellas in one book. I am in the second novella now.

I also read a little of Southern Snow by B.R. Goodwin. I hope to have at least Southern Snow finished this week, but I also hope to finish Christmas in Absaroka by Craig Johnson.

Since it is the week before Christmas, I will probably continue to read A Vintage Christmas: A Collection of Classic Stories and Poems, which is a collection of Christmas stories by a variety of authors, including L.M. Montgomery, Louise May Alcott, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain as well.

Oh, and I will definitely be finishing up my audiobook of Shepherd’s Abiding by Jan Karon which I have been listening to each night before bed. I mentioned before on here that I didn’t know if I liked the narrator but I absolutely love him as I continue to listen so I wanted to correct that. From what I understand he also narrates the other audiobooks of the Mitford series so I hope to collect them over time.

Little Miss and I are listening to The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever again.

What We watched/are Watching

Since we couldn’t leave the house last week, I watched more than I do other weeks.

I watched We’re Not Angels as a buddy watch with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs, and blogged about it.

I also watched Going My Way, the prequel to The Bells of St. Mary’s. I’ll blog about it later this week but really enjoyed it. I might have liked The Bells of St. Mary’s better, though. I don’t know. They were both very good and watching them close together was a good idea.

I then watched the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol and while I am about done with watching any more movies based on this book, I loved this one. This is probably my favorite version so far.

My aunt used to look for this version every year and I didn’t know why until I watched it this week. I wish I had taken the time to watch it with her when she was still alive.

I will blog about it later this week but for now, I will say I loved the acting in the movie. I also loved how I really feel this movie gave us more time with each character and gave us a more well-rounded impression of them. That well-rounded impression connected me to the characters more than any other movie I’ve seen and maybe even more than the book itself, which made the emotional impact of what unfolded even more powerful for me.

I highly recommend this version if you’re going to watch a movie adaptation of this story.

Last night I watched a Christmas episode of All Creatures Great and Small (the latest version).

This week I plan to load myself up on Christmas movies including The Man Who Invented Christmas, The Man Who Came To Dinner, White Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and maybe Arthur Christmas.

I will also be watching Christmas-themed YouTube videos and a couple of Christmas specials from the creators of The Chosen.


What I’m Writing

This past week I shared a lot of Christmas-themed blog posts including:

What I’m Listening To

I am listening to audiobooks such as Shepherd’s Abiding and The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever and also Christmas music about the reason for the season (at least in my family) – Jesus’ birth.

Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.

Sunday Bookends: Christmas Regency books, watching Christmas movies, and small-town Christmas event

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 16 Comments


It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

It began to feel even more like Christmas this past week when we had our first, longer-lasting snowfall.

I thought we were only supposed to receive some sleet and freezing rain so I was surprised by the half inch on the ground the next morning.

My daughter was surprised as well and my son was thrilled because the two-hour delay meant he didn’t have to go to his trade school that day since he only goes for two and a half hours.

Little Miss was delighted to play in the snow with her best friend, Zooma the Wonder Dog, and I watched them some and then darted back inside to the warmth.

Inside the house, the Christmas tree is up, the fire is burning in the wood stove, and a cup of hot cocoa awaits.

I’ve never been a fan of extreme temperatures – either too cold or too hot.

The snow was gone by the next morning, which Little Miss was sad about. We thought we might have the chance for more snow Sunday into Monday but, alas, it is now going to be rain only and so much rain it might cause flooding.

We will have to see what happens.

Yesterday Little Miss had two friends over and I took them downtown to our small town’s Christmas event. There wasn’t a ton going on but there was a scavenger hunt that took them to several businesses in town to find photos of an elf and see what the elf was doing in each photo. They then had to write on the slip of paper what the elf was doing and return it to where they started for a prize. The prize was a York Peppermint Patty which I didn’t think was a very exciting prize for all that running around. The kids weren’t that impressed either but were okay with it. Little Miss doesn’t like peppermint but luckily I had some chocolate at home for her.

The town also had mini-fire pits set up throughout the town with s’mores kits for people to use, which I thought was a super cute idea.

Earlier in the day they had an ice carver, a cookie walk, and several vendors available in the one main building.

They also offered a semi-alive nativity display, which cracked me up when I read the title of it in the paper. Turns out that Mary and Joseph and Jesus and the wise men were cardboard cutouts but the animals were real. Little Miss was very disappointed she couldn’t pet the animals and grumbled about it the rest of the day.

We ended our jaunt downtown with some playtime at the tiny playground.

The library also had a used book sale during the event and unlike other times when I’ve come out of there with way too many books, I only came out with three and a DVD about World War II. One, they didn’t have a very exciting selection, and two I got way too many last time, and many of them I didn’t enjoy.

The books I picked up were another Nancy Drew:

This one by Brock Thoene (I’ve enjoyed books by him and his wife, Brodie, in the past):

And this middle-school-aged book that looked interesting to me and hopefully will be a good one for Little Miss later:

Our neighbors have added some extra lights to their Christmas display this year. For several years in a row they have won the town’s Christmas light contest, but last year they were unseated. My mom thinks they are trying to win it back this year since the husband has added another set of lights.

My dad gave us their old nativity set so all we have in our yard is a very subtle display and I’m okay with that. We can simply enjoy the neighbors and wait for the day the husband becomes Clark Griswold.

What I/we’ve been Reading

Last week I finished The Spectacular by Fiona Davis. I did not think it was spectacular, but it was okay.

I liked the story itself but I did not like the style of writing.

This week I am diving into Christmas books.

Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs told me about these Regency Romance books she would read every Christmas so I ordered one from Thriftbooks and it came this week so I started it yesterday.

It’s called Regency Christmas Wishes with novellas by five different authors.

Keeping with the Christmas theme, I’m also re-reading A Walt Longmire Christmas: Christmas in Absaroka by Craig Johnson.

Next I’ll be reading Southern Snow: A Sugartree Winter Romance by B.R. Goodwin.

I’m also still reading a chapter or two of Little Women but I left it at my parents so I won’t be able to read that until I get it back from them.

The Boy and I are putting The Tale of Two Cities aside for this month as we are both not focusing well on it. We will either restart it in January or put it off altogether until his senior year. I remember struggling through this book my sophomore year but really liking it once I got into it so I am sure once we can focus better (and buy cliff notes to figure out what he is talking about) we will be able to get through it.

This week we will be reading from books about World War II and I will be looking for books or material about World War I as I feel it is a war that isn’t as focused on as much.

Little Miss and are listening to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson at night. I am also reading Christmas stories by Louisa May Alcott and L.M. Montgomery to her.

The Husband is reading In the Blood by Jack Carr.

What We watched/are Watching

This past week I watched Holiday Affair (1949), a couple episodes of Still Standing (a Canadian show) with The Husband, Signed, Sealed, And Delivered Christmas, and a couple episodes of Evening Shade.



What I’m Writing

I’m still working on Cassie and wrote maybe 4,000 words this week.

This week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening to

On Tuesday when I went outside to photograph the freshly fallen snow and listened to Michael Buble’s Christmas album but otherwise I haven’t listened to much this past week.

Photos from Last Week

I shared a couple of photos above but here are a few more from last week.

Blog Posts I Enjoyed This Past Week

Here are a few posts I enjoyed this week:

Songs of the Season 2023 – Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee

I Played Secretary Today by Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian

I Played Secretary Today

The Last Year We Decorated Christmas Cookies With My Mom by Deb Nancy at Reader Buzz

A quick reminder that Erin and I still have a linky open for anyone who wants to join in our Comfy, Christmas Link Up. The link up will be open until January 2.

Now it’s your turn

Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.

Sunday Bookends: Thoughts on reading, didn’t see that deer coming, and Gladwynn’s second book coming out Tuesday

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 29 Comments

It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.


What I/we’ve been Reading

I don’t read as many books in a year as other people and this year I decided that was okay and I don’t care.

I sometimes do not finish books either and I decided this year I was also okay with that.

Every week or so my husband announces how many books he’s read so far in the year and I like hearing it. I like that he keeps track of it and that he reads over 80 books each year.

He was also a more avid reader than I was. I only started reading more books again in the last few years. I used to read all the time as a teenager, took a break in college and while working for newspapers and even while raising my son. Now I’m loving how reading has become an escape from the real world for me again.

For a while, I wanted to be like my husband and count all my books read and be able to announce the totals to him and the world.

There were several problems with this, though. One, I’m a slower reader. It isn’t that I read slow. It’s that I get interrupted a lot while reading a book so it takes me a while to finish one. People or pets aren’t always what interrupt me. Sometimes it is housework or homeschooling or my own writing or simply because I can’t seem to stay as focused as I used to.

I like that The Husband tells me his book count. It used to irritate me because I felt less than but now (okay in the last week) I let it go.

I don’t have to read a bunch of books in a year to be a reader. I don’t have to finish a book I started to be a reader because life it is too short to worry about competition in something like reading which is supposed to be relaxing and it is too short to keep reading a book you’re not enjoying.

There are also too many good books in the world to waste our time on a book that might be good but isn’t working for us personally.

I often think things like, “But this is a popular book. It’s on the NYT bestseller list. It must be good, right?”

Well, it may be that it is good for some and not for me and that’s okay.

I read a lot more than books during the year, as well – textbooks with the kids and blogs, articles, etc. So I do read a lot just not always full books. Again. That’s okay. If it is okay for me, it is okay for you.

If you’ve been holding on to all these imaginary ideas of what it means to be a reader and a book blogger or whatever – let them go.

We all have our own journey and path and just because we don’t inhale books like Galactus eats planets, we are still readers.

Anyhow…on to what I’ve been reading this week.

This week I have mainly been reading The Spectacular. Every other day I was reading a chapter from either Little Women or The Cat Who Talked Turkey (a cozy mystery). I dropped The Cat Who book last night because there was no mystery. It was driving me crazy. I was on chapter 4 and still nothing had happened other than Qwill looking for someone to narrate some presentation he was giving.

This book was one of the ones written later when people suspected Lilian Jackson Braun had gotten a bit too old to write and had a ghostwriter. It showed. I have a soft spot for the Cat Who books but I had to set aside for now because I have so many other books I want to tackle. Not every book in a series can be a winner.

I love reading Little Women a chapter at a time. I don’t mind dragging out the enjoyment of reading it because it gives me something to look forward to every night.

The Spectacular is fairly slow moving so far and I’m on Chapter 12. My husband insists that something is going to happen soon and I hope so because I’m a bit bored. I read a lot of boring books this year so in 2024 I am going back to Longmire and Anthony Horowitz to give myself some excitement. Those and some more Christian fiction because I know there are some good ones out there I haven’t read yet by authors like Nicole Deese.

I still haven’t finalized what I will read this winter but The Boy and I are reading The Tale of Two Cities for his English so I do know I’ll be reading that.

I also just ordered a Christmas regency-era book recommended to me by Erin at Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.

Little Miss and I just finished The Black Stallion. Talk about boring and wordy.

She just wanted to watch the movie but I insisted we finish the book. Then I ended up skimming two chapters and getting us to the end because good grief there was way too much explanation and rambling in that book. I mean how many times could the dude describe what it was like for Alec to ride the horse? And for three to four pages every time. Plus the dialogue which was repetitive.

We are listening to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson at night now. I read this book to her last year and I wouldn’t mind reading it again but one night I was too tired to read so we put the audiobook on and now she enjoys the narrator more than me (I think. She didn’t actually say it), so we are listening instead of me reading it.

The Husband is reading In The Blood by Jack Carr.

What’s Been Occurring

Last night The Husband, Little Miss, and I went to a Christmas parade about half an hour from us. We saw some of our friends and visited for a bit, The Husband took some photos for the newspaper and we headed home. On the way to the event and back we saw a ton of deer and had to put our brakes on more than once. About ten minutes after an eight-point buck that was blending in with the center line, turned and crossed in front of us, another deer came out of nowhere from the right and there was no missing it when it turned to go back in front of us. We slammed into it but I have no idea what happened to it, though I vaguely remember it darting off to the left.

It did some extensive damage to the front of our car, smashing in our left headlight and the body of the car in that same area, but allowing us to get home without any damage to us.

We were really very lucky considering I’ve heard stories of deer being hit that way and rolling up onto the hood and through the windshield.

We aren’t sure if our insurance will cover the accident since we adjusted our deductible to make our premiums less. We will find out more later this week but for now the car is parked in the garage. The deer left part of its fur under the edge of the hood.

All three of us were fairly shaken up and a bit in shock from it all so at first we didn’t think about how much the damage would cost us. I think we were all simply happy it wasn’t worse. There have been a lot of accidents in our area caused by deer lately and I’ve never seen as many as I have this year.

It is hunting season in our area right now so I don’t know if the deer are running wild because of that or not but driving is certainly nerve-wracking for now whatever the reason.

The Boy was at a friend’s house spending the night so I called to let him know about the incident. I also sent him some photos to which he replied, “She’ll be fine with some Flex Tape.”

Having the car out of commission is a bit sad for me as I finally had a car to drive that had heated seats and a stereo system I could patch my music into.

My husband gave me the car after he bought his truck, which we call Bambi Killer. Sadly, it has horrible gas mileage so we took the car to save on gas. Had we had the truck, there would have been very little damage to the vehicle but a lot to the deer.

What We watched/are Watching

This past week I watched Beyond Tomorrow, a fairly obscure Christmas movie from 1940. I wrote about it on the blog Thursday.

I also watched – or well, watched most of The Bells of St. Mary’s, which I hope to finish later today.

Little Miss and I watched A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, which has become an annual tradition for us now.

We also watched Elfat Little Miss’s request.

I’m sure there will be other Christmas movies and specials on our list this upcoming week.

I also plan to continue watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman this week. I am rewatching it after last seeing it some 20 years ago when I was in high school.

I started Men In Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham this past week as well. I enjoyed the first episode.



What I’m Writing

Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage comes out Tuesday in ebook on Amazon. Amazon messed something out with the paperback so it is out now.

I am working on Cassie and made a bit of progress on it this week.

On the blog this week I shared:

Erin and I are also hosting a Comfy, Cozy Christmas feature where other bloggers can link up their Christmas/holiday-themed blog posts. You can find the link up here:

https://lisahoweler.com/comfy-cozy-christmas/

What I’m Listening to

I listened to a lot of Needtobreathe’s The Cave this week.

Photos from Last Week

I didn’t take a ton of photos last week. I hope to remedy that this week and get my camera out more.

Here are a couple from the parade we went to a display in the town.

Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit review and did we really mean never again?

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 7 Comments

Title: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

Author: Judith Kerr

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction

Rating: 5 out of 5

I was roaming the bookshelves in the children’s section of our local library a few months ago when a book title caught my attention: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.

I felt like this was an odd book for the children’s section, even if it was middle grade, at least based on the title. I took it home and started to read it and was pulled in quickly. The only issue was that the book was old and the mildew smell triggered my allergies and gave me a weird headache. I really wanted to finish the book, though, so I found a cheap copy on Thriftbooks and prayed it wouldn’t have that “way too old” book smell.

It did have a bit of an old book smell but it wasn’t enough to keep me from reading and finishing it last week. While the topic of this book is heavy, there are some humorous and sweet moments that balance out the dark subject matter.

The book is written by children’s book author Judith Kerr and is semi-autobiographical. It is the first book in a four-book series called Out of The Hitler Time. Kerr wrote 48 children’s books besides this series. A German movie based on When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and directed by Oscar-nominated director Caroline Link was released in 2019, the same year Kerr died at the age of 95.

I plan to watch it and write about it in a future blog post.

 Kerr changed the name of the characters and fictionalized parts of the story of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, but the story is very close to the real-life story of her and her family and their escape from Germany in 1933.

In the book, Anna is the main character’s name. She has a brother Max and her parents who are just called Mama and Papa. Anna’s family is Jewish and her papa is a newspaper columnist who has been very critical of the Nazi party.

In the beginning of the book, as it begins to appear it will become a reality that the Nazi party will be elected, Anna and her friends begin to discuss Adolf Hitler and what his election might mean for the country. They aren’t sure what to make of him or the Nazi party but Anna’s non-Jewish friend, Elsbeth, announces to Anna that after Hitler gets elected he’s going to “take care of the Jews.”

“It’s another picture of that man,’ said Elsbeth. ‘My little sister saw one yesterday and thought it was Charlie Chaplin.’

Anna looked at the staring eyes, the grim expression. She said, ‘It’s not a bit like Charlie Chaplin except for the moustache.’

They spelled out the name under the photograph. Adolf Hitler.”

Anna wakes up one morning after this discussion and finds out Papa has disappeared. Mama tells her that her father has gone to Switzerland and they are all going to meet him to live there, though she isn’t sure for how long.

Since the family can only take enough to fit inside a few suitcases, Anna has to decide which toys to take with her.

“Deciding which toys to take was the hardest part. They naturally wanted to take the games compendium but it was too big. In the end there was only room for some books and one of Anna’s stuffed toys. Should she choose Pink Rabbit or a newly acquired wooly dog? It seemed a pity to leave the dog when she had hardly had time to play with it, and Heimpi packed it for her. Max took his football. They could always have more things sent on to them in Switzerland, said Mama.”

Heimpi is the family’s nanny. She’s supposed to move with them, but in the end, she can’t get across the border and finds a new family to work for.

The family leaves on a train and while traveling Anna begins to feel sick. Her Papa left with a cold and it’s clear she now has it. By the time they arrive in Lake Zurich, Switzerland, Anna is extremely sick and falls in and out of sleep for days as she tries to recover. At one point the doctor that comes to check on her says he’s concerned she might not make it.

When she wakes up recovered, she learns the details about her father’s escape and her surroundings. Her brother, Max, explains to her what has happened in Germany. Hitler has been elected and their house was raided by the Nazis.

Trying to make light of the situation, Anna and Max joke about the toys that Hitler is probably playing with at their house, including Pink Rabbit. The joking is their way of dealing with the sadness and fear, of course.

“When she was safely back in bed, she said, ‘Max, this . . .  confiscation of property, whatever it’s called – did the Nazis take everything – even our things?”

Max nodded.

Anna tried to imagine it. The piano was gone . .  the dining room curtains with the flowers. . . her bed . . .all her toys, which included her stuffed Pink Rabbit. For a moment she felt terribly sad about Pink Rabbit. It had had embroidered black eyes – the original glass ones had fallen out years before – and an endearing habit of collapsing on its paws. Its fur, though no longer very pink had been soft and familiar. How could she have ever chosen to pack that characterless wooly dog in its stead? It had been a terrible mistake, and now she would never be able to put it right.

‘I always knew we should have brought the games compendium,” said Max. “Hitler’s probably playing Snakes and Ladders with it this very minute.”

‘And snuggling my Pink Rabbit!’ said Anna and laughed.

But some tears had come into her eyes and were running down her cheeks all at the same time.”

The family stays in a small tavern (or a Gasthof) in Lake Zurich for the next six months. Papa looks for work but it’s hard to find a paying job in newspapers in that area.

The family is mainly welcomed into the community. Adjusting to their new life is a challenge but eventually, they make friends. During one playdate with their new friends, a new set of children come to play. Their family is visiting the lake but they don’t want to play with Anna and Max because they are Jewish.

At one point their uncle Julius, who isn’t actually their uncle but a family friend who they call uncle, visits and tells their parents about how bad things are getting in Germany. He decides not to leave and laments about missing going to the zoo with the children. The letters he sends to the family in the future are coded and get sadder and sadder each time.

Anna had once imagined what it would be like to have a tough life after reading a story about someone who had a rough life but became famous. She thinks about this on her tenth birthday, which she celebrates in Switzerland instead of Germany where she wanted to be instead.

“Am I ten yet?” asked Anna. Papa looked at his watch.

“Ten years old exactly.” He hugged her. “Happy, happy birthday, and very many happy returns.”

And just as he said it the boat’s lights came on. There was only a sprinkling of white bulbs around the rails which left the dock almost as dark as before, but the cabin suddenly glowed yellow and at the back of the boat the ship’s lantern shone a brilliant purply-blue.

“Isn’t it lovely!” cried Anna and somehow, suddenly, she no longer minded about her birthday and her presents. It seemed rather fine and adventurous to be a refugee, to have no home and to not know where one was going to live. Perhaps a a pinch it might even count as a difficult childhood like the one in Gunther’s book and she would end up being famous.

As the boat steamed back to Zurich she snuggled up to Papa and they watched the blue light from the ship’s lantern trailing through the dark water behind them.

“I think I might quite like being a refugee,” said Anna.

Eventually, Papa needs to find work and travels to Paris to look for a newspaper job. He returns and takes Mama with him so they can look for a place to live. They leave the children but they are checked on by the tavern owner.

The family moves to Paris and they all have to learn French, which is a struggle for Anna until one day it clicks for her and she begins to speak it fluently.

By then, though, Papa has decided they will move to England in hopes he can find even more work as a columnist and writer. A movie company has even offered to make a movie from a screenplay he’s written. From what I understand the second book in this series continues the family’s story while in England.

There are so many moving and heartbreaking quotes in this book.

When Anna tells her father she doesn’t want to leave Paris, he assures her they will return again one day.

″‘We’ll come back,’ said Papa.
‘I know,’ said Anna.
She remembered how she had felt when they had gone back to the Gasthof Zwirn for the holidays and added, ‘But it won’t be the same- we won’t belong. Do you think we’ll ever really belong anywhere?’
‘I suppose not,’ said Papa.”  ‘Not the way people belong who have lived in one place all their lives. But we’ll belong a little in lots of places, and I think that may be just as good.‘”

Link, the director of the film based on the book, said about the story that “it is not shocking but still deep.”

That is exactly the takeaway I had after reading it. I hope to read the rest of the books of the series soon and when Little Miss is a little older I will either read the books to her or have her read them herself.

I started this book in July or August and finished it about two weeks after the massacre occurred in Israel on Oct. 7.

I’ve read many stories about the horrible treatment of the Jews during and prior to World War II either fictional based on real events or non-fictional.

I won’t get too much into the specifics of the conflict currently going on right now, but I will say that I’ll never get used to the complete idiocy of hating a group of people simply because they are of a different faith or ethnicity than you. I’ll also never get used to the barbarism and sick actions against the Jewish people since pretty much the beginning of time. On October 7 we saw it happening again.

I found myself crying as I read the book because, after the Holocaust, the world said, “Never again,” but here we are again, letting it happen and, once again, turning a blind eye to the fact that antisemitism is very real and still very much alive.

Bookish Thinking: Classics I hope to read this year

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 15 Comments

I have been remiss over the years in reading books that are considered classics so this year I hope to read a few at least.

Now, I will admit that I said the same thing last year. Or was it the year before? I can’t remember now but I do know I said I would read more classics and didn’t, except for what I read with The Boy for school.

We read Silas Marner, Lord of the Flies, To Kill A Mockingbird, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

We are now reading The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien.

On my own, though, I hope to read at least five other classics this year:

Little Women

Lilies of the Field

Shane

The Secret Garden

and something by one of the Bronte sisters. Who can give me a suggestion of which one to read?

Also, are there any other classics you would suggest for me to read this year? I’ll see if I can squeeze them in.

Have you read any of the classics I mentioned? What did you think of them?

Anne Shirley quotes and loving it when my daughter “gets” a character I “get”

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 3 Comments

I love it when someone besides me understands a literary character who I love and it’s even better when that someone is my seven-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

I’ve mentioned before on my blog that Little Miss has been making me read the Little House on the Prairie books again and I’m not really enjoying reading them again because, well, they are a bit tedious at times and Ma drives me bonkers (she’s so rude and well, racist, at times. I still don’t think the whole series is racist, however, and I definitely think children should read them or have them read to them to learn more about life in the 1800s). I’ll write about Ma and her idiosyncrasies in a future post.

Recently I had convinced Little Miss to let me read Anne of Green Gables before bed instead, but sadly she seemed unable to fall asleep while I was reading that book, mainly because, as she said, “It wakes my brain up too much.”

I read the dialogue in the voices of the characters when I read to her, and I’ve watched the Anne of Green Gables movie (Canadian version only) so many times that I was really getting into it. I made Anne a little bit too hyper, but that’s how she is. Little Miss told me that she was too into the story to fall asleep and asked me to go back to Little House because it was “boring enough for me to fall asleep to.”

Earlier this week I had simply had had enough of Ma and told Little Miss I could read Anne but dull it down a little.

“I can make it boring,” I told her. “Make Anne sound boring. Less bouncy.”

She gasped. “No! You can’t do that!  You have to read it with Anne’s bouncy voice because Anne’s bouncy voice is what makes Anne, Anne!”

Oh gosh! She gets it! Anne’s personality is what makes Anne Anne and that’s really the point of the books, but especially the first one. The theme is that Anne is dramatic and silly and swoony and, well, wonderful, and Little Miss gets it!

I’ve really enjoyed reading the Anne series these last couple of months. It’s been comfort reading for me. While reading, I have written down or snapped photos on my phone of several quotes I have enjoyed the most. I thought I’d share some of my favorites here for you today.

“Marilla felt more embarrassed than ever. She had intended to teach Anne the childish classic, “Now I lay me down to sleep.” But she had, as I have told you, the glimmerings of a sense of humor–which is simply another name for a sense of the fitness of things; and it suddenly occurred to her that simple little prayer, sacred to the white-robed childhood lisping at motherly knees, was entirely unsuited to this freckled witch of a girl who knew and cared nothing about God’s love, since she had never had it translated to her through the medium of human love.”―  Anne of Green Gables

“Having adventures comes natural to some people”, said Anne serenely. “You just have a gift for them or you haven’t.” Anne of Avonlea

“Oh, here we are at the bridge. I’m going to shut my eyes tight. I’m always afraid going over bridges. I can’t help imagining that perhaps, just as we get to the middle, they’ll crumple up like a jackknife and nip us. So I shut my eyes. But I always have to open them for all when I think we’re getting near the middle. Because, you see, if the bridge did crumple up I’d want to see it crumple. What a jolly rumble it makes! I always like the rumble part of it. Isn’t it splendid there are so many things to like in this world? There, we’re over. Now I’ll look back. Good night, dear Lake of Shining Waters. I always say good night to the things I love, just as I would to people. I think they like it. That water looks as if it was smiling at me.”
―  Anne of Green Gables

“Well, I don’t want to be anyone but myself, even if I go uncomforted by diamonds all my life,” declared Anne. “I’m quite content to be Anne of Green Gables, with my string of pearl beads.” — Anne of Green Gables

“Oh, Marilla, looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them,” exclaimed Anne. “You mayn’t get the things themselves; but nothing can prevent you from having the fun of looking forward to them. Mrs. Lynde says, ‘Blessed are they who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed.’ But I think it would be worse to expect nothing than to be disappointed.” – Anne of Green Gables

“Well, we all make mistakes, dear, so just put it behind you. We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.” – Anne of Avonlea

“After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” – Anne of Avonlea

“Yes, it’s beautiful,’ said Gilbert, looking steadily down into Anne’s uplifted face, ‘but wouldn’t it have been more beautiful still, Anne, if there had been no separation or misunderstanding . . . if they had come hand in hand all the way through life, with no memories behind them but those which belonged to each other?” – Anne of Avonlea

“When I think something nice is going to happen I seem to fly right up on the wings of anticipation; and then the first thing I realize I drop down to earth with a thud. But really, Marilla, the flying part is glorious as long as it lasts…it’s like soaring through a sunset. I think it almost pays for the thud.” – Anne of Avonlea

“Whenever you looked forward to anything pleasant you were sure to be more or less disappointed…that nothing ever came up to your expectations. Well, perhaps that is true. But there is a good side to it too. The bad things don’t always come up to your expectations either…they nearly always turn out ever so much better than you think.” -Anne of Avonlea

“It takes all sorts of people to make a world, as I’ve often heard, but I think there are some who could be spared,” — Anne of Avonlea

“There is so much in the world for us all if we only have the eyes to see it, and the heart to love it, and the hand to gather it to ourselves–so much in men and women, so much in art and literature, so much everywhere in which to delight, and for which to be thankful.” — Anne of the Island

“I am afraid to speak or move for the fear all this wonderful beauty will vanish just like a broken silence.” — Anne of the Island

“That’s one of the things we learn as we grow older — how to forgive. It comes easier at forty than it did at twenty.” — Anne of the Island

“People told her she hadn’t changed much, in a tone which hinted they were surprised and a little disappointed she hadn’t.” — Anne of the Island

“There is a book of Revelation in everyone’s life, as there is in the Bible.” — Anne of the Island

“Never write a line you’d be ashamed to read at your own funeral.” — Anne of the Island

“I’m going home to an old country farmhouse, once green, rather faded now, set among leafless apple orchards. There is a brook below and a December fir wood beyond, where I’ve heard harps swept by the fingers of rain and wind. There is a pond nearby that will be gray and brooding now. There will be two oldish ladies in the house, one tall and thin, one short and fat; and there will be two twins, one a perfect model, the other what Mrs. Lynde calls a ‘holy terror.’ There will be a little room upstairs over the porch, where old dreams hang thick, and a big, fat, glorious feather bed which will almost seem the height of luxury after a boardinghouse mattress. How do you like my picture, Phil?”

“It seems a very dull one,” said Phil, with a grimace.

“Oh, but I’ve left out the transforming thing,” said Anne softly. “There’ll be love there, Phil—faithful, tender love, such as I’ll never find anywhere else in the world—love that’s waiting for me. That makes my picture a masterpiece, doesn’t it, even if the colors are not very brilliant?”

Phil silently got up, tossed her box of chocolates away, went up to Anne, and put her arms about her. “Anne, I wish I was like you,” she said soberly.” — Anne of the Island

Which genre are your favorite books in?

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 10 Comments

Have you ever had someone ask you what kind of genres of books you like and draw a blank? Well, I have many times so recently I did some research on the different genres to see what genres the books I read are in. I mean I know some of the genres I like but sometimes I don’t know what genre a book falls under.

I don’t really pay attention to a genre when I pick up a book and read what it is about. If I like the sound of the book, I read it. I do know that I read a lot of inspirational fiction and mystery but I couldn’t figure out what genre some of the other books are in.

I now know that I like cozy mysteries, Christian fiction, some women’s fiction, mystery/detective, thriller and suspense (although not all), contemporary fiction, romantic comedy, and some classics. I also like some historical fiction but not all.

The genres I don’t like as much as science fiction (so sorry dear husband), fantasy (so sorry dear husband, son and friends), non-fiction (with the exception of a few), memoir, and action and adventure (with a few exceptions).

A couple genres which I don’t hate but don’t exactly love, include historical romance and mainstream romance. This is because so many of these books are the same book written over and over.

Historical romance drives me nuts at times because it often oversimplifies and over glorifies times in history that were not simple or worthy of being glorified. It also drives me crazy when someone writes historical fiction in the style of the time period, as if they were in that time period, especially if it is a third person book. If the book was written in 2022 but the author is writing sentences like, “And she did walk upon the frosty morning grass with the air of a newly crowned queen….” I tune out pretty fast.

Genres I don’t like at all: horror, erotica, political, satire, political-satire (if you can’t tell, I’m not a fan of political writing in general), dystopian, paranormal, vampire, young adult, and magical realism.

Thanks to a few different sites, I can help you identity the book genres you like, including some examples of books listed in that genre.

I’m going to list only 10 of the popular genres, their description as I see it, and some of the books in them for the sake of time and space. Some articles online detail more than 30 different genres and then genres under the umbrellas of those genres. I know. Who knew books could be so complicated? I will list those blog posts and articles at the bottom of this blog post.

  1. Literary Fiction

These books are usually written with deeper prose, more description, and deep plot points. They usually focus on a personal or social issue to be addressed. In my opinion they are a bit over dramatic, but I still enjoy them. As is the case with many genres there are books in this genre which can fit into other genre categories or into a sub-category of this genre. There are also those in the fiction world who break this further into genres like classic literary fiction and contemporary literary fiction.

Some examples of general literary fiction that I know of include Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, anything by Charles Martin (who is also listed in Christian/Religious fiction), Harper Lee, J.D. Salinger, and anything by Margaret Atwood.

I consider classic literary fiction a different category altogether.

Other literary fiction authors and books:

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/literary-fiction

2. Romance (including romantic comedy)

I don’t think I really have to explain the romance genre. Most romance goes like this: boy and girl meet, boy and girl hate each other then later they love each other, then they have a misunderstanding and fall away from each other and then something happens to bring them back together and they have a happily ever after ending.

Many romances end with a wedding. There are, of course, romances which are clean and romances which are not-so-clean. There are also sub-genres of romance, such as sweet or wholesome or erotica. There is also inspirational romance or Christian romance.

Example of romance books include anything by Becky Wade, Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts, Robyn Carr, Debbie Macomber, Carolyn Brown, Sarah MacLean, Bethany Turner (clean romantic comedies), and Nicholas Sparks. This definitely is not an exhaustive list so….

For more romance authors:

https://www.tckpublishing.com/best-romance-authors/

For Christian/inspirational romance authors:

https://jocolibrary.bibliocommons.com/list/share/74067937/1826651979

3. Women’s Fiction

Women’s fiction is not romance. This is fiction about women but it doesn’t usually involve a romance or if it does, the romance is secondary. To me, women’s fiction is often focused on deeper thoughts and situations that face the female protagonist, and during the book she works through those various issues.

Examples of women’s fiction authors that I found online include Kristin Hannah, Colleen Hoover, Mary Kay Andrews, Lisa Wingate, Karen White, Jodi Picoult, and Karen Kingsbury.

For more women’s fiction authors:

https://www.goodreads.com/genres/womens-fiction

4. Mystery/Detective/Crime/Thriller

Mystery is what it sounds like. They are books that include a mystery of some kind whether they are being investigated by a professional or not. The protagonist is the one investigating the mystery.

There are a couple other genres that I think are offshoots to this one – suspense and thrillers which usually have a mystery in them as well. And of course cozy mysteries, which I personally read a lot of.

Detective obviously means the protagonist is a detective of some kind, either a private one or with law enforcement.

There is old detective/crime/ mystery like Raymond Chadler, Earl Stanley Gardner, Donald Westlake, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the queen Agatha Christie. Then there is the new stuff like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books, The Walt Longmire Mysteries, John Grisham, Michael Connelly’s Bosch series, C.J. Box, and Robert Gailbrith just to name a few.

Some sites list Stephen King in mystery and some put him in thriller. I consider him horror-thriller so I’ll list him below under horror too.

For cozy mysteries I have enjoyed Lillian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who series, the Miss Julia series by Ann B. Ross (these are super cozy with not even murder in them most of the tienand the Lady Hardcastle series. Cozy mysteries are often written as series. There is also the Agatha Raisin series by M.C. Beaton, which the show was based on. I am sure the beginning of the series is okay but the later books are absolutely awful. Maybe because they were trying to capitalize off the success of the show and pushed the elderly writer to try to write more. I don’t know but I’m glad I picked it up on clearance.

Here is a little more info on mystery authors:

https://becomeawritertoday.com/top-mystery-writers/

https://becomeawritertoday.com/crime-thriller-authors/

Here is a whole site about Cozy Mystery books and writers:

https://cozy-mystery.com/

5. Fantasy

Fantasy is another one of those broad genres that can include other genres (like dystopian fantasy or magical fantasy) but mainly it focuses on books about fantastical worlds with dragons and warlocks and wizards, etc. There are also often fantastical monarchies and other crazy creatures, as well as humans.

Fantasy authors include Neil Gaiman, J.K. Rowling (who also falls into child or young adult books), Terry Pratchett, George R.R. Martin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Brandon Sanderson, C.S. Lewis (who is also a theological and children’s book author), and Katherine Arden. Again — a very short list in a hugely popular genre.

https://www.audible.com/blog/article-best-fantasy-authors-ever

6. Science Fiction

Most people think of Science Fiction as books or movies that are usually about other planets or stories which take place in space. The genre is much broader than that, however. According to the site, Famous Authors, “The world of sci-fi is a unique experience as, unlike other genres, it allows for an author to take their imagination to new limits and thus provide a surreal experience for their readers.”

Time travel books fall under this genre, in addition to books that take place in space. Some famous authors in this genre are H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Mary Shelly, Isaac Asimov. Modern writers of this genre include Ann Leckie, Martha Wells, Tamysn Muir, and Charles Stross. Personally, I’ve never heard of any of them.

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/best-sci-fi-books

7. Classic

Classic literature is usually considered (or at least by me) books written more than 40 years ago. Articles online state that classic literature must be anything that has universal appeal, has “high artistic quality”, and stands the test of time. Which authors should be included in this category seems to create debates and controversy online.

When I think of classics I think first about the Victorian age authors like Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, George Elliott, Edgar Allen Poe, L.M. Montgomery, and Leo Tolstoy, for example. Then I go on to Mark Twain, William Faulkner (good grief! His run-ons!), Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Harper Lee (even though she only wrote one book), William Golding, and George Orwell.

Find a ton more classics here:

https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2018/100-must-read-classic-books.html

8. Horror

Horror to me are stories of the macabre, the grotesque, plenty of violence and gore, but in the early days they were simply novels or stories which instilled fear in the reader.

Some classic horror writers include Bram Stoker, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe (who can also go to the classic genre, as I mentioned), Mary Shelly, and Franz Kafka.

More modern horror writers include Stephen King (considered the king of the genre), Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, Joe Hill (son of Stephen King), Jonathan Maberry, Mylo Carbia, and Clive Barker. Neil Gaiman is put into this category by some, but I always thought he was more fantasy. I guess I’ll have to ask The Husband his opinion this one since he is a huge Gaiman fan. (Update, he says he doesn’t consider his work horror. He considers it fantasy/science fiction. See?! Genres are so complicated! Another combined set of genres. Sigh)

For more horror authors click here:

https://booklaunch.io/bestsellers/best-horror-authors

Or

https://bookriot.com/best-horror-authors/

9. Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction is what it sounds like. It’s fiction either based on a historical event,  person or time period.

Some Historical Fiction authors include Hilary Mantel, Graham Greene, Ken Follet, Philippa Gregory, Sarah Waters, Sarah Sundin, Lynn Austin, Bodie and Brock Thoene, Kate Alcott, and Bernard Cornwall.

Here are a couple of sites with some author Historical Fiction authors:

https://becomeawritertoday.com/best-historical-fiction-authors/

https://bookriot.com/best-historical-fiction-authors/

10. Christian Fiction

Christian Fiction is a genre in itself but under this genre are many of the other genres, even horror (I know..what?!).

Popular Christian Fiction authors include Karen Kingsbury (general and women’s fiction), Tessa Afshar (Biblical fiction), Becky Wade (romance), James L. Rubart (science fiction/supernatural), Frank Peretti (supernatural/horror), Ted Dekker (fantasy, suspense, thriller, youth, mind benders), Francine Rivers (romance, Biblical and women’s fiction), Terri Blackstock (suspense, mystery), Bethany Turner (romantic comedies), Robin W. Pearson (southern fiction), Jerry B. Jenkins (suspense, mystery and a variety of other genres), Lynn Austin (historical fiction), Sarah Sundin (historical fiction), Susan May Warren (suspense, romance), and Jan Karon (general/Southern fiction). There are soo many Christian Fiction authors.

Click here for a more thorough list (though, of course, not comprehensive):

https://bloggersforthekingdom.com/top-christian-fiction-writers-that-know-how-to-hook-you/

https://kristiwoods.net/10-not-to-miss-female-christian-fiction-authors/

And for a couple of posts about the many variety of genres and what books are in them:

https://booksummaryclub.com/genres-of-books/

https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/a29576863/types-of-book-genres/

So what genres of books are your favorites? Let me know in the comments!

Tell Me More About . . . Elizabeth Maddrey, Inspy Romance Author

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 1 Comment

Welcome back to an old feature of mine, Tell Me More About . . . I’m so excited to resurrect it this week with super-succesful, Inspy Romance author-extraordinaire Elizabeth Maddrey.

Tell Me More About . . . is a feature which focuses on every day people from a variety of walks of life who impact the world around them in big or small ways.

So, let’s get to it! Welcome, Elizabeth to the blog!


Tell us a little bit about yourself such as background, where you’re from originally and now (general region is totally fine), your family, hobbies, etc.

I grew up in northern New Mexico. We moved to the DC area when I was eleven—just before sixth grade. After college and grad school and a few years with hubby in the Army, we landed back in the DC area, so at this point I feel like I have to call it home. I have a PhD in computer science and my professional life, before I became a mom, was all centered on software engineering in one form or another. That’s probably why my book heroes trend geeky – they’re my peeps and I love them. Hubby and I have been married coming up on 26 years, we have two boys (13 and 9). Hobbies include reading, crochet, and continued attempts to learn to love knitting despite the fact that it stresses me out.

When did the writing bug first bite you?

This is hard to answer! I don’t remember not writing. I’ve always loved to read and it always seemed a natural extension to write. I started getting serious about seeking publication probably eighteen years ago, but it took me another nine(?) before I had something finished that I thought was actually good enough.

What made you pursue becoming an independent author?

Honestly? I spent two years querying agents in search of that dream contract. I got fed up with the “no” that kept coming—or, more often than not, the silence (and I still get frustrated that it’s considered acceptable for agents and publishers to not even bother with a form letter to say no thank you. There are very few other places where that’s considered de rigueur. Although I say that and a lot of the big software companies are that way with resume submission. So you’d think I’d be used to it. Anyway, I did get a contract with a small press and started that way, but the owner encouraged me to go Indie because she knew I had the technical chops to handle it (and you don’t need a ton, but this was back before there were quite so many amazing tools for indies) and that it would be more beneficial for me. So I did.

What advice do you have inspiring authors, indie or otherwise?

Believe in your stories and don’t read your reviews.

What has influenced you in your writing style in your past or present?

I read. A lot. More than 200 books a year across a broad variety of genres. I know there are successful authors out there who say they aren’t readers, but I firmly believe those are the minority. Most authors are also readers.

What author comes to mind when you think of authors who have influenced you over the years?

So many. Anne McCaffrey, who was the mother of so many of my best friends in middle and high school. Elizabeth Moon for the same reasons. L.M. Montgomery. Jane Austen. Madeline L’Engle. Susanna Kearsley. Nora Roberts.

What future projects do you have planned that you would like my readers to know about?

This summer, I have a six-book sorta-billionaire romance series that’s coming out, one book each month through October. And I feel the eye rolls, I do, but I love these stories. I’m so, SO pleased with how they turned out and I hope that readers give them a try and love them as much as I do. The series is called So You Want to be a Billionaire.

How many books have you penned since starting your career?

I have 36 out right now, but if you count all the Billionaires which are written but not released yet, it’s an even 40.

How would you define your writing style? Pantser? Plotter? Share with my readers a little about your writing process, if you don’t mind.

I’m definitely a pantser. Part of what took me so long to finish a book I thought was worthy of trying to have published was that I spent a ton of time doing it the way you’re “supposed to.” I read so many craft books. I made outlines, timelines, character interviews. I cut out magazine photos of people who could be the characters (the Internet was still a baby and I didn’t always want to use the dial up). I found outfits in clothing catalogs. And I hated all of it. I had all this information for the story and by the time I was done doing “what you had to do,” I was over the story. I didn’t want to write any of it. It wasn’t until I gave myself permission to just sit down and let the story come as it did that I was able to write and finish and love the process. So now that’s what I do. I generally have a vague idea of what the story is, but other than that, it’s a blank page and a timer and writing sprints.

Where can readers connect with you online and otherwise?

For non-interactive information, my website: http://www.ElizabethMaddrey.com

For more interaction (which I love!) there’s Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/ElizabethMaddrey

And Instagram http://www.Instagram.com/ElizabethMaddrey

And if you sign up for my monthly-ish newsletter on my website, there are two free books as thank yous, so I know I always like that as a reader.


Sunday Bookends: Unconvential shows and movies, dairy parades, and new book covers

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 10 Comments

 Welcome to my weekly post where I recap my week by writing about what I’ve been reading, watching, writing, doing, and sometimes what I’ve been listening to.

What I’m Reading

This week I finished More Than Honor by Carol Ashby. It was a Biblical fiction/Roman historical fiction book and very intriguing. It was well written but the time frame was a bit unrealistic for me, if I read it right, and the story wrapped up much too soon for me. It appeared that the book was supposed to only have happened in a week, but some of the headers suggested it had actually been more than a week. I really don’t believe some of what happened would have actually happened in a week. The characters were so rich, though, I was able to overlook the difficulty with the timeline.

Carol writes a series of books and continues the stories in other books. I’m sure I’ll be picking up another one of her books.

I am continuing Sarah’s Choice by Pegg Thomas, which I am reading before it is released in August to provide a review for the author. It is very good and I’m sure it will be a popular book when it is released.

I’m also reading The Heart Knows the Way Home by Christy Distler and Promises Kept, an Advanced Reader Copy by Jodi Allen Brice. I hope to finish at least two of these books this week so I can start Plot Twist by Bethany Turner and The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox.


What’s Been Occurring

Saturday was our county’s dairy parade. Yes, we live in an area that still holds dairy parades and celebrations. The celebration was very small, with only a few booths up downtown. The library hosted a magician for their summer reading program and he did a great job. He was in a very small room which made his slight-of-hand magic even more impressive to me. Many of the adults were as impressed as the children.

Afterward, Little Miss wanted to meet him and tell him about her stuffed kitten, Mittens, so we went up to him. He was sweet and attentive and seemed a little taken aback when she announced that our kitten, Scout, is a polydactyl cat, adding that means she has extra toes. I don’t think he expected such a large word to come out of such a tiny little girl.

The parade was in the evening and the sky darkened up and rain let loose as the parade started, but everyone stood in the rain and watched the business and organization floats and fire apparatus drive by anyway, getting soaked in the process. Children ran for the candy that was thrown out and I came home with my purse packed with what the children had collected.

We joked as the dark clouds came in over the town right before the parade started, that people would later say, “And that’s when the tornado touched down and all the pick up trucks and cows were sucked up inside.” Thankfully, that never happened and the parade went on as planned.

During the week I became obsessed with designing a book cover for my next book. I’ve worked with Photoshop before and really felt I could pull it off if I simply kept pounding away at it.

In the end I decided on this one:




But I also designed this one:

What I’m Watching

Yesterday I watched this video after reading a blog post written by the singer. I really encourage you to read the blog post and then watch the video and be ready to be kicked in the cut and wrenched in your heart while also inspired.


My husband and I have been watching Yellowstone. It’s a hard show to watch. It’s not something I would usually watch but I am a big Kevin Costner fan. It’s violent and depressing but somehow its easy to get caught up in the lives of the characters.

I also watched a movie called Ondine with Collin Farrell. It was interesting and different. It was about an Irish fisherman who pulls a woman out of the ocean. The fisherman’s daughter needs a kidney transplant and decides the woman who was pulled out of the ocean is a selkie, a mythical creature who is magical for those she meets. The woman is anything but mythical, as they will soon learn, but she does help a family come together in an unconventional way. The characters are pretty dark and the low of the low, but somehow I found myself rooting for them anyhow. It sounds like I was in a dark mood this week, but I promise I wasn’t.

I also watched the 10th Generation Dairyman, which I mentioned in my Randomly Thinking post. I am a bit addicted to this YouTube Channel about a dairy farm in Lancaster, Pa. (by the way, to pronounce Lancaster properly, say it fast and leave the “a’s” out. You’re welcome.

This week I plan to watch Episode 6 of The Chosen which will premiere on YouTube and Facebook at 9 p.m. Wednesday night for 24 hours and then be on their app.

What I’m Writing

Last week I wrote a blog post every day. This week I most likely will not. I have edits to do on Harvesting Hope and two advanced readers copies to read.

Blog posts I wrote included:

Was Pa Ingalls trying to always find something better, or was he trying to provide for his family?

A new season of flowers

Randomly Thinking: I am socially awkward. Surprised? Yeah, me either.

Fiction Friday: Harvesting Hope (formerly The Farmers’ Sons) Chapter 16

Special Saturday Fiction: Harvesting Hope Chapter 17

Flash Fiction: Strike it Rich

What I’ve Been Listening To

I’ve been enjoying the Unashamed podcast with three of the men from Duck Dynasty (including matriarch Phil Robertson).

That’s my week in review. What have you been reading, watching, listening to, writing, or doing? Let me know in the comments.