Monday, November 30, 2015

Keeping Christmas by Dan Walsh


"Keeping Christmas" by Dan Walsh is about a woman named Judith who is having to come to the realization that her family will not be able to be together for the holidays and feels like her life does not matter anymore.  Now I will admit this little Christmas books was good but I just could not understand the depth of depression Judith had over her family not coming home for the holidays.  But I could understand the love her husband shows her no matter what.  I also like that the book really brings up the point of others needing to be our focus and not always about us or our feelings or wants.  I did enjoy this book but not as much as I thought I would.  However I still would recommend it as it was good story even though it was not one of my favorites.

I was given this book from Revell Publishing and was not required to give a positive review.

The Christmas Joy Ride by Melody Carlson


"The Christmas Joy Ride" by Melody Carlson is a quick little book about a woman joining her elderly neighbor spread Christmas joy with others that won a contest.  Joy loves Christmas even though she is in her eighties runs a contest on her website and is planning on driving her Christmas decked RV to spread Christmas to others.  Her neighbor Miranda who is going through a very rough patch in her life thinks her neighbor is little crazy doing this at her age but decides to join her.  Normally I am not one for sweet stories but this one I really enjoyed.  I just loved how the author just didn't quickly go over each winner's story and why Joy picked them which could have done since this book is not that long.  The details in this quick book are what makes it a powerful and beautifully written book.  It was such an uplifting book and I really needed that when I was reading it.  A great reminder that Christmas is not about stuff but people.  I highly recommend this fun Christmas themed book.

I was given this book from Revell publishing and was not required to give a positive review.

The War Came Home With Him by Catherine Madison

"The War Came Home With Him" by Catherine Madison is not only the author's memoir but also her father's memoir of the Korean War.  This book is set up where you read a chapter about her life then a chapter about her dad.  Her dad was a prisoner of war during the Korean war.  It is a hard book to read because the author does not hide or try to soften what her happened to her dad or even his attitude toward his family when he returned.  Some of the horrific things that her dad wrote about experiencing would make some wonder if they are true but it is what has happened in war and war is not pretty.  Its also not pretty how sometimes families can be treated after their loved one comes back because of what they have experienced.  It is not an easy book but well worth the read.  I highly recommend it.

I was given this book from Net Galley and not required to give a positive review.

Forgiven by Terri Roberts


"Forgiven: The Amish School Shooting, a Mother’s Love, and a Story of Remarkable Grace" by Terri Roberts is about forgiveness from the mother not of a victim but of the shooter.  This book is very powerful about forgiveness.  The author is the mother of shooter from the 2006 Amish school shooting.  In the first part she talks about meeting her husband and then her children.  Then in second portion she talks about her and the families heartbreak that her son Charles went on a rampage.   While most of the world would ostracize his family she finds that the Amish community comes to them with unconditional forgiveness.  She admits at first it was hard to understand but now she shares the forgiveness she has learned from them with others.  She shares of pain and questions from what her son did.   It is a very powerful book and it is great book to read on forgiveness.  I highly recommend it.

I was given this book from Bethany House Publishers and was not required to give a positive review.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

You tube recommendation.

 I am going to start a new type of post on my site which is you tube recommendations on which sites I like and why. My first one is one I was shocked to find out that does not have many viewers as the lady is wonderful.  She only has a little under 6,000 subscribers (I know that is a lot but not really in you tube land), She is so wonderful.  Her you tube name is The Glamorous Housewife.   She does things vintage with a modern twist.  I just love her site.  She is very relateable and professional with her videos.  I have gotten ideas from her and her site has been even an encouragement for me.  I love vintage things specially home decor and depending on my mood even some clothing but I like to add modern things to it.  Even my husband who does not like to cook (not all her videos are on cooking) likes to listen her videos with me. She does not even know I exist but I want to encourage her and for more people to see her wonderful videos.  So please go check out the The Glamorous Housewife on you tube and at http://theglamoroushousewife.com/.


Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Rising Darkness by Nancy Mehl


"Rising Darkness" by Nancy Mehl is the third book in the Finding Sanctuary series.  This is a book series where you can read the books in no particular order as they are standalone books.  This is the 2nd book of the series   I will admit there were a couple characters that I recognized from the second book in the series but you did not need to know their history for this book.  I have read and this book confirmed to me that I have finally found a good Christian mystery writer.  Nancy Mehl is a very talented author that only uses romance as small part of the story which is very nice as I like to read mysteries for the mystery not the romance story.  This one is about a former Mennonite named Sophie Wittenbauer trying to make her name for herself as a newspaper writer while trying solve an unsolved crime while at the same time trying to keep her past hidden.  She is trying to find if one of the people who did the crime is hiding in the sleepy (well no so sleepy) town of Sanctuary, Missouri.  It is a fast paced novel where the main characters have a well developed story line.   This was an excellent book and highly recommend it.

I was given this book from Bethany House Publishers and was not required to make a positive review.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Doodletopia Cartoons by Christopher Hart


"Doodletopia Cartoons" by Christopher Hart is book about teaching you to draw, design and color your own cartoon characters.    I have always liked to doodle and mainly in the style of cartoons but I am not very good at.  However I will still do it and this book is a great way for me to learn and stretch my drawing abilities. This book is not just your standard here is how to draw this and here is a blank page to try on.  It gives instructions and then portions of the drawings for you to practice your work on. I am thoroughly happy with this book and is it a wonderful way for me to get back into drawing.  I highly recommend this book.

I was given this book from Blogging for Books for my honest review and not required to give a positive review.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Taming The To-Do List by Glynnis Whitwer


"Taming The To-Do List" by Glynnis Whitwer is not your typical how to get things done book.  It is from a Christian stand point and geared towards procrastinators.  I will admit I am a big procrastinator and I took my sweet time with this book.  It did not just do a surface look at getting things done, it really worked on the heart of why a person may procrastinate.  I will admit I even procrastinated on finishing reading this book but I am glad I did as it helped me soak in what the author was saying.  At times this book did bore me which is one of the reasons it took me awhile to read it.  Then other times it convicted me so I got off my butt and got busy with things I have been needing to do.  The book is kinda of divided into two sections first is on why we procrastinate and the second part is on practical tips. This not just a self help book without scriptures it is a book on relying on God strength and not our own.  This book was big help for me to understand and get practical helps on being a procrastinator.  I really enjoyed this book as it did not expect you to be an already non procrastinator type of person. I also enjoy   I highly recommend this book.

I was given this book from Revell a division of Baker Publishing for my honest review and not required to give a positive review.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Hipster Animals by Dyna Moe


"Hipster Animals, A Field Guide" by Dyna Moe is a comical little book about making fun of the different types of hipsters out there.  I will warn you this book does have a bit of crudeness to it.  Why did I pick it to review because I love to visit and people watch in one of the cities people consider the land of the Hipsters which is Portland Oregon.  It does have some fun points to it I especially liked the little section on food trucks (another thing Portland is known for and they have some great food trucks).  Some of the animal characters are funny but then some have just too much crudeness to make them funny for me.  It was sad this book had so much potential for me but it fell flat.  I love weird humor but not when it has crudeness to it and this book had to much for my tastes.  So I will say this book had potential if crudeness does not bother you then have fun reading it. However if crudeness bothers you then stay clear of it.

I was given this book from Blogging for Books for my honest review.

Andy & Don by Daniel de Vise

"Andy & Don" by Daniel de Vise is not your usual biography, this one is about Andy Griffith and Don Knotts not so much about them individually but their friendship and the show that made them famous.  My family loves the Andy Griffith show and are big fans of Don Knotts so I was very interested in reading this book. It went into detail about Andy & Don's lives before The Andy Griffith Show.  The bulk of the book is about their time during the time of The Andy Griffith Show and that is where I was blown away by some things.  I don't want to give away the information in the book but wow some of the things I learned, I will never watch some episodes the same again.  Their closeness as friends throughout the years even when their lives did not always cross was a wonderful testament to close friends.  It was a powerful and interesting book on two famous people's lives and friendship.  I highly recommend it as it was excellent book that I just could not put down.

I was given this book to review from Net Galley and was not required to give a positive review.

Thoughts on my hubby

27 years ago was the summer before my senior year in high school and I went for a walk that would change my life forever.  I just wanted to ...