Book Review: A Child Called “It”

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I’ve always been fond of biographies, even as a child. I loved reading about other people’s stories and triumphs. As an adult, the more I read about other people’s lives, the more I realized that in this world, some are fortunate, while others are living the same horror every single day, over and over again. [...]

How to Grow a Smart Kid

First, let’s define what I mean by “smart”: Each of our children has been given by our Maker 5 senses and a brain that work together to help him learn about the world he was placed in. Each child has also been given a special aptitude for one aspect of the world or another (be [...]

A Novel Destination: Caribbean 1880-1930

Love in Time of Cholera

Since school started, my travels have been restricted. I finished “Love in the Time of Cholera,” by Gabriel García Márquez, after forcing myself to read such an un-appealing title. The setting is somewhere in the Caribbean, and the main characters are Fermina Daza and Florentino Ariza. The meet when they are very young and love [...]

Book Review: Love Finds You in Sundance, WY

Love Finds You in Sundance, WY by Miralee Ferrell

Christian author Miralee Ferrell takes readers back in time to unique places across the U.S. in her novels from the Love Finds You series (Summerside Press).  Each novel tells the story of a hero and heroine from the 1800s and how they find love together and grow in their faith in God.  Love Finds You [...]

Book Review: Love Finds You in Last Chance, CA

Love Finds You in Last Chance, CA and Love Finds You in Sundance, WY

Christian author Miralee Ferrell takes readers back in time to unique places across the U.S. in her novels from the Love Finds You series.  Each novel tells the story of a hero and heroine from the 1800s and how they find love together and grow in their faith in God.  Love Finds You in Last [...]

“Before Ever After” Book Review: Of Baked Eggs and Being Off the Beaten Track

Before Ever After. 294 pages. Random House.

Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto is not the ultra-romantic read you’d think it is based on its whimsical title. “A penchant for not dying and an obsession with chickens” is how I remember Sam candidly describing the book’s hero, Max, when I first got to talk to her one afternoon at a casual blogger’s meet [...]

Novel Destinations: Japan and Italy

Memoirs of a Geisha

Novel Destinations – Adult Reading Program Every time I type ‘Adult’ reading program, I hope I am not misunderstood!  These are not X-rated books – simply a book list for grown-ups to read to keep their brains fresh while mired down in Dr. Seuss and Dora the Explorer. My last stop was Japan – Memoirs [...]

“The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova: A Book Review

The Historian

The great thing about reading outside your comfort zone is finding yourself in places and times you never thought you would, and learning from them anyway. The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova, is certainly not a book I would have chosen on my own, nor expected to find interesting. And yet I enjoyed the trip! As [...]

Adult Summer Reading: I Learned Something New! Driver Ants and The Congo

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I recently recommended The Poisonwood Bible as an adult summer reading challenge.  I love it when I stumble onto books that I otherwise would not pay attention to, because I learn things I never would have considered interesting otherwise.  Driver ants – really?  What would ever possess me to read up on Driver Ants . [...]

Adult Summer Reading: The Poisonwood Bible – a Review

The Poisonwood Bible

“The Poisonwood Bible” was written by Barbara Kingsley. It is a fictional account of a family’s missionary experience in The Congo, Africa, beginning in 1960.  The family consists of a minister father, mother, and 4 daughters.  Father has ghosts from his past, which cause him to be too zealous in his expectations of the Congolese [...]