Very Valentine
Doesn’t the title, Very Valentine, conjure great visual images? In this case, the pages that follow don’t disappoint. With the unusual new world of custom bridal shoes, Adriana Trigiani has crafted another story of complex family dynamics, personal growth, and romance. Mrs. Trigiani is a master with dialogue. She’s lean on settings, narratative and backstory, usually bringing […]
The Help, revisited.
I did it! I finished The Help. It’s not like its a marathon book, quite the contrary once you get into it, it’s just we had parties to go to and a bit of yard work, plus church and that Sunday afternoon nap all through last week, and well, I was able to turn the […]
God’s Yes
Psalm 128 (The Message) Psalm 128 A Pilgrim Song 1-2 All you who fear God, how blessed you are! how happily you walk on his smooth straight road! You worked hard and deserve all you’ve got coming. Enjoy the blessing! Revel in the goodness! 3-4 Your wife will bear children as a vine bears grapes, […]
The Help
I called my friend Vickie at Barron’s with a list of books. I try to buy from my favorite local bookseller, you can imagine the hit most local booksellers have taken as a result of Amazon and others. By asking friends what they’re reading, checking other writer’s blogs and reading the Dallas Morning News book […]
The Family Fortune
I know I’m not alone, quite the contrary actually, in my fascination with Jane Austen. These past few years have spawned an amazing number of books related to or otherwise taking liberties with the beloved Miss Austen. A fan of re-told stories (if only because I’m a bit slow with the plodding narratives of classic novels) […]
Eat, Drink and be from Mississippi
So, I’ve had this book sitting on my ‘to be read’ pile for months. You know what I’m talking about. That table where you store books you bought impulsively. What? You don’t buy books impulsively? Okay, well, we’ll talk about developing a book buying fetish in another blog. Todayit is all about Eat, Drink and […]
A Rather Curious Discovery
My children are out of town this week on a mission trip with their youth group, so I have loads of time to wander around with books in my hands, sink into the cushy sofa to read, and no one is going to demand I drive them to some after-school event or even, and this […]
The Silents
Continuing this blog about books I’ve read recently (I consider the last year still sort of recent) I wanted to brag about a series I stumbled upon last year. Anytime a debut author is able to publish in hard back tells me the publisher anticipates great things to come. So when I saw Deanna Raybourn’s […]
The Shack
Okay, call me a party pooper, but I just didn’t love The Shack. I actually went in to the story knowing the controversary and wanted to be one the edgier commentators who could agree and say ‘yes, this is cool stuff.’ But, honestly, I missed something in the reading. Granted, I give William Young kudos […]
The Invitation
Several years ago I read a book by Nancy Moser, The Invitation, (read how she describes the mission behind this story at www.nancymoser.com) and it was one of the most gripping, page-turners I’d come across in a while. I remember I was reading this with friends, we were supposed to take a chapter at a time […]
