Happy Tuesday! I have to say I was not feeling this week’s topic. I don’t often re-read a book, and I can’t say I ever considered that I wouldn’t like a book I loved if I read it again. Oh well, that’s what twisting a topic is for. 😉 I do have A LOT of books on my shelves that I have not read. Will I like them as much as I anticipated when I acquired them? You tell me!
Today’s list features 10 yet to be read books on my shelf in a variety of genres. If you have read them, please let me know why I should read them NOW! Note: while creating this post I discovered that 5 of the books are available with my subscription to Audible! Yippee! Of course I downloaded them. They are noted with an asterisk.
Happy Friday! I am pleased to feature The Rhythm of Fractured Grace by Amanda Wen today. I so much enjoyed the first two books in her Sedgwick County Chronicles series, that I jumped on the chance to read/review book 3. These dual timeline novels set in Kansas are so good! My review will be posted later this month.
But for now, here’s the first line . . .
This was not how Matt Buchanan’s life in Wichita was supposed to start.
Is Siobhan too far gone to respond to the song of a God who’s calling her back to him?
When a new customer brings a badly damaged violin into Siobhan Walsh’s shop, it is exactly the sort of challenge she craves. The man who brought it in is not. He’s too close to the painful past that left her heart and her faith in shambles.
Matt Buchanan has had a rough start as the new worship pastor. A car accident on his way into town left him with a nearly totaled truck, and an heirloom violin in pieces. When he takes it to a repair shop, he’s fascinated with the restoration process–and with the edgy, closed-off woman doing the work.
As their friendship deepens and turns into more, they both discover secrets that force them to face past wounds. And the history of the violin reveals more about their current problems than they could have ever expected.
On the nineteenth-century frontier, a gruesome tomahawk attack wiped out most of Deborah Caldwell’s family. Her greatest solace after the tragedy is the music from her father’s prized violin. Given her horrendous scars, she’d resigned herself to a spinster’s life. But Levi Martinson’s gentle love starts to chip away at her hardened heart, until devastating details about the attack are revealed, putting their love–and Deborah’s shaky faith–to the ultimate test.
Full of forgiveness and the message that no one is too damaged for God’s healing touch, the final book in the split-time Sedgwick County Chronicles will thrill fans of Rachel Hauck, Lisa Wingate, and Kristy Cambron.
Amanda Wen’s novels have released to both reader and critical acclaim, including a 2023 Selah Award for The Songs That Could Have Been and a Foreword Indies Gold Award and a Christy Award nomination for Roots of Wood and Stone. In addition to her writing, Amanda is an accomplished professional cellist and pianist who frequently performs with orchestras, chamber groups, and her church’s worship team, as well as serving as a choral accompanist. A lifelong denizen of the flatlands, Amanda currently lives in Kansas with her patient, loving, and hilarious husband, their three adorable Wenlets, and a snuggly Siamese cat.
In 2024 I will continue at least one reading goal I set in 2023 — being deliberate in my reading. Last year I chose quality over quantity and was choosy in the books I read. I surpassed my Goodreads Challenge of 75 books, and it felt good to have read the books I really wanted to read over reading ALL THE BOOKS! 😉 I used to be a big audiobook listener, but I have gotten out of the habit. I intend to up that game in 2024 too.
In my quest to be more deliberate, I plan to read more from my own library — my physical shelves, my NetGalley shelf, my Kindle library, and my Audible library. Hope I can stick with it!
The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon is Linda MacKillop‘s debut novel. You would never know that it was her first. A 2023 Christy Award winner for First Novel, it is a look into the regrets of the past and a hope for the future. Eva Gordon, a cantankerous character if ever there was one, is suffering from dementia. She knows it and her friends and family know it. She is haunted by mistakes and some very poor choices in her past, and seeks to find a way to find redemption. While she is the main character, the supporting characters — her granddaughter and her neighbor — play large roles in Eva’s life and in the direction of the book. When you just can’t take another minute of Eva’s selfishness, secondary characters enter in and your perspective changes. There’s a good bit of humor inserted into the novel — it is much needed as Eva’s dementia worsens. And the hope for a future, however short the days may be, points to healing and redemption.
I found The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon to be an outstanding book. Well-written, with interesting and relatable characters, and a tough topic handled gracefully and with humor, this novel is a must-read. It would be an excellent choice for your book club.
Recommended.
Great for Book Clubs.
Audience: Adults
(Thanks to the publisher for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
Eva wants to run away from her life–if only she could remember how.
Failing memory has forced Eva Gordon to move in with her granddaughter, Breezy. But Eva hates the bustle of Boston. All she wants to do is move back to her quiet, cozy Cape Cod home and be left alone.
Then Breezy announces she’s getting married, and they’ll be moving to her new husband’s rundown family farm, where he lives with an elderly uncle. They’ll be one big family–but only Breezy and Brent think it’ll be a happy one.
It’s all too much for Eva. Too much change, too much togetherness, too much of an over-crowded life she never wanted. But as her desire for privacy collides with her worsening memory, Eva may find herself in a pickle she can’t get out of. Can an unlikely cast of misfit characters step in to woo Eva from her self-imposed isolation?
Fans of A Man Called Ove will appreciate Eva’s predicament, and enjoy the poignant, hilarious, and intergenerational rescue effort to save her from herself.
Linda MacKillop writes fiction for both adults and young people, and creative nonfiction. Her articles and essays have appeared in books, magazines, and literary journals such as Under the Sun and Relief Journal. The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon is her first novel. She earned her M.F.A. in Creative Writing at the Rainier Writing Workshop in Tacoma, Washington. As the mother of four adult sons, she and her husband live in an emptynest outside of Chicago. Visit her website at lindamackillop.com.
Happy Tuesday! I hope Santa brought you a whole sleigh full of books and bookish goodies! I am writing this several days ahead, but I can almost guarantee that I did not get any books. And not because I was naughty! 😉 My family just thinks I have enough books, already. LOL! They could be right.
Today I am sharing the most recent additions to my NetGalley shelf. I am hoping to get some of them knocked out over the holiday.
It’s been a long time since I visited the circle-the square town of Partonville. A Christmas audiobook seemed like the perfect way to get reacquainted with old friends/characters. Dearest Dorothy, Merry Everything! by Charlene Ann Baumbich is a book in a similar vein as Jan Karon’s Mitford series. Small town setting, endearing and oftentimes quirky characters, humor, poignancy, and a heartwarming story all point to an enjoyable reading experience. There’s not a lot of drama, and certainly no car chases/shootouts in this Christmas-y book. Just a look at real hometown life and real hometown struggles, doubts, and hopes. Change is hard for anyone, and especially for the populace of Partonville. They are experiencing some growing pains, but I like the direction the author is taking the characters and the story arc. Main character Dorothy is not as big a catalyst in this story, but she is the element that glues the town and the books together. Listening to the audiobook brought a sense of returning home to me.
Dearest Dorothy, Merry Everything! is a sweet, small-town contemporary read that is filled with feel-good! I do recommend you begin with book 1, though. You won’t feel as invested in the doings of Partonville without beginning at the beginning.
Recommended.
Audience: Adults.
(This audiobook was included in my Audible subscription. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
Just in time for the holidays — a Partonville Christmas story that all Dearest Dorothy fans will have on their wish list
Through four Dearest Dorothy novels, Charlene Ann Baumbich has beguiled a growing legion of readers with the humorous and endearing denizens of Partonville, Illinois. Her latest heartwarming addition opens with everyone pitching in to help a local family rocked by tragedy. Meanwhile, Katie Durbin worries that her ambitious plan to revitalize Partonville’s shopping district will crumble under the bullheaded doubts of a few townies-unless a Christmas miracle (and a few of Dearest Dorothy’s prayers) can help her to win those stubborn folks over.
Charlene Ann Baumbich is an award-winning journalist, author of the Dearest Dorothy series of novels, author of the nonfiction titles The Book of DUH! and How To Eat Humble Pie and Not Get Indigestion, and a motivational speaker who makes frequent media appearances across the country.
With a clever title and intriguing plot, The Preacher Wore Black Leather by Loree Lough was a book I wanted to read. This quickly read novel takes the reader to Reliable, Texas, a small town where everyone knows your name and business! The story revolves around ex-pastor Matt Maxwell. His escape from problems and heartache ends when his motorcycle breaks down outside of town. The townspeople soon take Max into their hearts and homes and his healing begins. I really liked the characters Lough created — colorful, caring, and engaging. Suspense and mystery is included to move the plot along, and there is a fairly big loose thread at the end, promising a second book in the series. There are some cons to the book, though. The writing style is a bit jerky and there is trouble with continuity. I think a little more editing would have improved the novel. But I liked it enough, despite the problems, to want to revisit Reliable when book two in the Sundown Diner series is published.
Recommended.
Audience: adults.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.)
Matt Maxwell wondered a lot about changing his first name to Former: Former Marine. Former minister. Former husband. One by one, he’d lost them all. After losing his wife to his church deacon, he’d packed his battered military duffel, gassed up his ancient motorcycle, and put Baltimore in the Harley’s rearview mirrors. On an unusually cold and snowy Texas night, the Sportster breaks down along the Interstate. Out of luck and nearly broke, Matt’s lured by a bright red sign that reads SUNDOWN DINER. Inside, he meets the owners, the town’s three-man sheriff’s department, and a mechanic who thinks he can fix the old bike. Icy weather and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday make that impossible, and Matt finds himself stranded in Reliable, where everyone seems determined to keep him from the road to anywhere that isn’t Baltimore. Once the Harley is roadworthy, will he put Reliable behind him? Or does God have other plans for the down-on-his-luck pastor?
At last count, USA Today best-selling author Loree Lough had 134 award-winning books (nearly 17 million copies in circulation), hundreds of industry awards, 7 book-to-movie options), 71 published short stories, and nearly 3,000 nonfiction articles in print.
An oft-invited guest of writers’ organizations, colleges and universities, corporate and government agencies in the U.S. and abroad, Loree loves sharing learned-the-hard-way lessons about the craft and the industry.
Once upon a time, Loree (literally) sang for her supper, performing alone and “opening” for the likes of Tom Jones, Dottie West, The Gatlin Brothers, and more. Though she refuses to share the actual year when she traded her Yamaha 6-string for a wedding ring, she IS willing to admit that, every now and then, she blows the dust off her six-string to croon a tune or two. But mostly, she just writes (and writes).
Loree and her husband split their time between a home in the Baltimore suburbs and a cabin in the Allegheny Mountains, where she continues to hone her “identify the critter tracks” skills. Her favorite pastime? Spending long, leisurely hours with her grandchildren…all seven of them!
Loree and co-host Andrea Boeshaar interview writers (fiction and non), artists, editors, agents, and performers on the popular weekly podcast, Discover the Story, broadcast via iHeart Radio, iTunes, YouTube, Spreaker, and more.
Loree loves hearing from her readers, and answers every letter, personally. You can connect with her at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and http://www.loreelough.com.
Happy Tuesday! Today’s TTT topic is titles that would make good newspaper headlines. I chose to turn the books featured today into titles of magazine articles also. Profuse apologies to the authors for this — you’ll see. 😉
Happy Tuesday! I used to be hard core about reading goals. I had an overall target to reach every year, as well as several (many) reading challenges I joined. But I am a bit compulsive and the goals/challenges became more important than actual reading. That’s when I adjusted downward the number of books I planned to read per year and began to limit the reviews/launches I agreed to participate in. I want to read what I want to read! That being said I still overestimate the time I have available for reading.
I used this week’s topic to look back at the past year’s TBR plans. I am currently on track to meet my Goodreads goal of 75 books. In fact I have read 69 books so far this year; they just aren’t all recorded on Goodreads yet.
My TBR goals are all over the place though:
90% read for Winter 22/23,
100% for Spring 23,
0% for Summer 23 (although in my defense, that list was more for highlighting the books that were being released during the summer, rather than a personal reading goal)
20% for Fall 23 (which is pretty good, since I published that list just 2 weeks ago)
My NetGalley shelf is out of control with unread books. I am not going to embarrass myself by publishing that big fail. I will say that I read 8 books over the summer that had been on the shelf far too long.
So basically, I am doing what I proposed to do — reading what I want to read when I want to read it! 😉 And I am unapologetic, because at my age I certainly don’t need to squander any reading time.
Because I hate not mentioning specific books, here are more I have added to my Fall 23 list. Read 2, added 4 — sounds about right. I might post an update on my progress.
Happy Friday! A group of friends and I have embarked on an exciting and admittedly scary journey to bring a book festival focusing on Christian fiction/nonfiction and “clean reads” to the middle Georgia area in Janruay 2024. We have over 30 authors committed to be part of all the fun. Many of the writers I have featured on the blog will be attendance. If you live anywhere near (or far) from us you need to attend. We can be found in a number of places, but all the latest news is found on our FB page — Perry Page Turners.
We are so pleased that Rhonda McKnight, author of The Thing About Home, will be joining us for a panel discussion. Find out all about Rhonda and her book below.
Now for the first line:
I stepped into my limousine and pressed the bottom of my wedding dress flat.
Home is not a place—it’s a feeling.
Casey Black needs an escape. When her picture-perfect vow renewal ceremony ends in her being left at the altar, the former model turned social media influencer has new fame—the kind she never wanted. An embarrassing viral video has cost her millions of followers, and her seven-year marriage is over. With her personal and business lives in shambles, Casey runs from New York City to South Carolina’s Lowcountry hoping to find long-lost family. Family who can give her more answers about her past than her controlling mom-slash-manager has ever been willing to share.
What Casey doesn’t expect is a postcard-worthy property on a three-hundred-acre farm, history, culture, and a love of sweet tea. She spends her days caring for the land and her nights cooking much needed Southern comfort foods. She also meets Nigel, the handsome farm manager whose friendship has become everything she’s never had. And then there are the secrets her mother can no longer hide.
Through the pages of her great-grandmother’s journals, Casey discovers her roots run deeper than the Lowcountry soil. She learns that she has people. A home. A legacy to uphold. And a great new love story—if only she is brave enough to leave her old life behind.
“. . . a beautifully written story about family, self-discovery, secrets, and forgiveness.” —Kimberla Lawson Roby, New York Times bestselling author
Rhonda McKnight is the author of twenty-five traditional and indie-published award-winning bestsellers, including An Inconvenient Friend, What Kind of Fool, and Unbreak My Heart. She is a two-time winner of the Emma award in the categories of Inspirational Romance of the Year (2015) and Debut Author (2010). She has been nominated thrice for the African American Literary Award. She writes inspirational book club fiction and Christian romance about complex characters in crisis. Her goal is to touch the heart of women through her stories using the themes of faith, forgiveness, and hope. Originally from a small coastal town in New Jersey, she writes from the comfort of her South Carolina home.
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