May 2024 Reading Picks

In April I finished 3 books, 2 of which were audiobooks, quite reading one (DNF'd) at 75 pages and got a few chapters into another book.  Not too bad.  I'm looking forward to May's choices.  They are total mood reads from my pile of purchased books I'm working through this year and I'm hoping to be out soaking up some sunshine while enjoying these books (she writes as she sits in the middle of a storm and rainfall warning).  I also have one newer release library book that came in and I'm still taking my time working through my non-fiction devotional/study book.

PURCHASED FICTION

          ~ Something Worth Doing by Jane Kirkpatrick (finishing from April)

          ~ The Collector's Daughter by Gill Paul

          ~ Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan

          ~This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

          ~When We Were Young & Brave by  Hazel Gaynor

          ~ A Piece of the Moon by Chris Fabry

          ~ The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain

PURCHASED NON-FICTION

          ~ When You Love a Prodigal by Judy Douglass (continuiing from April)

          ~ A Woman Who Trusts God by Debbie Alsdorf

LIBRARY HOLD

          ~ Just for the Summer by Melody Carlson

AUDIOBOOKS

          ~ The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore

          ~ Radium Girls by Kate Moore

What are you reading this month?

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb ~ Book Review

Sophie Duval got her love of the perfume business from her father.  She learned everything she knows from him.  But now that her father has passed away, she is struggling to carry on the family business.  Her mother, who never understood the passion of the business, and Sophie's wealthy boyfriend want her to sell the business and move on but Sophie cannot bear the thought.  She believes in what her father created, not in phony chemically derived scents that are becoming more popular as they are cheaper to make and sell.  All she needs is a breakthrough fragrance.  When one of the world's biggest stars, Grace Kelly,  steps into her shop to avoid paparazzi during the Cannes film festival, little does Sophie realize the unexpected encounter and her willingness to hide Grace from James Henderson, the persistent photographer, will change her business and her life in more ways than one.

I really enjoyed this story.  The history of Grace Kelly's whirlwind romance and wedding to Prince Rainer is a great backdrop the main love story.  Though that was a huge part of the story, I thought the authors were able to make Sophie's own story stand out well and not get lost in the midst of Grace Kelly's history and the two were merged well.  Through Sophie's story you learn more of the perfume industry and through the story of James Henderson the reader gets a glimpse into the life of the early paparazzi.  James, on assignment from England,  was the one  who sent Grace fleeing into the perfume shop in the first place.  His side of the story brings an interesting perspective of the life of those trying to take pictures of the rich and famous.  The setting is lovely and story is sweet and this would make a great summer beach read.

I gave it a 9.5/10

Friday's Fave Five #784

Hi!  Happy May and welcome to Friday's Fave Five.  The end of week is where we intentionally pause in our everyday busyness to look back over the week and find our blessings.  Today's lifestyles are busy and without pushing that pause button it is so easy to not even realize the blessings that come up.  And as we become more aware of how we are blessed throughout an ordinary day, it really is amazing how much we truly have to be grateful for.  The very fact that we woke up today should start us off.  Please join in as we share five of our favorite blessings of the week.

~ encouragement in a treat ~ this has been a hard week at work.  A combination of cold, wet weather making us housebound, and kids with big emotions this week all create a vortex of the "woe is me" kind of attitude.  It's mentally and emotionally draining to always be in referee mode all day every day.  Hubby recognized this and brought me a treat of a slice of cheesecake to perk up my spirits.  One of my love languages is gifts so he did just that.  My other language is acts of service and his helping to clean up the kitchen each and every night is a huge blessing.  

~comfort food ~ with the dreary, cold and wet weather I was craving a good bowl of homemade soup.  So I hit my arsenal of favorite soup recipes and decided I was craving a good taco soup.  And I happened to have all the ingredients on hand.   I love soup.  It reminds of childhood and Mom.  She made the best soups.  Totally hit the spot.

~ movie with friends ~ on the spur of the moment we joined friends to go see "Unsung Hero" at the theatre.  It's a true story based on the growing up years of Rebecca St. James and the two brothers of For King and Country.  It really is a tribute to their Mom who really held the family together when they lost everything in Australia and moved to the States to start over.  A wonderful story of family, faith and friendship.

~ organizing motivation ~ I finally found a few minutes to get some organizing done around the house.  Not drastic but the results were enough to give a bit of motivation.  I was even able to declutter some clothes I was hesitating on.  Feels good to let those go.

~ cute shoes ~ One of the things I set my mind to declutter was some of the shoes in my closet that had higher heels.  While I still love them, I just cannot do those heights anymore.  I've been on the lookout for some lowered heeled but still cute sandals and I found a pair that I really like.  Score.

What are you thankful for this week?

Friday's Fave Five #783

Welcome to Friday's Fave Five.   Please join us as we take a moment and pause our busyness to reflect on the blessings in our lives over the past week.  Our goal is to intentionally take note of all the good things God blesses us with in our ordinary days so that it becomes more of our nature to see the blessings than to dwell on the not so good.  Developing a heart of gratitude takes noticing things to be grateful for and that takes intention.  Please join us as we meet each Friday to share 5 of our favorite blessings from the week.  

~ beautiful calm, warm days ~  This week has seen some absolutely lovely warm and calm days, especially noticed after a brutally windy Sunday.   It was the kind of wind where we literally had to make sure things were weighed down outside and parking under trees was taking a risk.  I opened the bathroom window for a couple of minutes to let the steam from a shower dissipate and it sounded like there was a helicopter landing in the bathroom.  So it was a great blessing to have days of absolute calm and warmth.  

~ April Pink Moon ~ Wednesday night was an "April full pink moon".  About 10 o'clock I let the dog out and saw it's brightness shining through the neighbor's pines.  Now if you look it up it is supposedly named a pink moon because it's named after spring wildflowers.  But as this moon was rising it was literally pink this year.  It was amazing against the dark blue night sky.  It was really a stunner.  Had I have know it was going to be this great this year, I would have been tempted to drive out of town away from the city lights and obstructions to get a picture.  As it was an hour later it was covered by a thin layer of clouds and no longer looked pink so I'm glad I got this shot anyway.  

~ painless days ~ my left knee has been giving me grief for almost a month.  It's made work hard, walking the dog impossible and sleeping not so great.  But this Tuesday I woke up and it literally felt great.  No real pain, just a bit achy when it's tired. I've been able to walk the dog a few times this week.  Praise God.  I should probably still get it checked as it's not totally back to normal yet but I'm so thankful that the major pain and limited mobility was absent these last 4 days.  

~ great memories ~ all this month FB has been shooting memories from my Operation Christmas Child missions trip to Costa Rica into my feed.  I've been looking forward to each day to see which memory it brings up.  It was a high light in my life and I vividly remember it.  It would be fun to see how all the kids have grown from when we were there.  Has it really been 5 years?!!

~ a good hearty laugh ~ I really do love a good laugh and love when I come across something so relatable it makes me laugh out loud.  I came across this somewhere and thought it was too funny not to share.

What have been your favorite blessings this past week?

Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan ~ Book Review

 Nineteen year old Brenda Dubie works in her parents organ store and her dream is to attend a music school.  Her young life is pretty easy, working at the store, practicing her organ and flirting with the young soldiers who are in town.  Then in 1943,  she meets Charlie Fish.  At first he doesn't leave much of an impression.  A Harvard educated mathematician, he is reserved and quiet, nothing like the fun loving soldiers she hangs out with.  But Charlie keeps coming around the store to see her.  In a short time they become a couple but his mild nature holds Brenda back from fully committing to him.  Then Charlie is drafted into a special top secret military project where he gets very little time off.

Working for the Manhattan Project, Charlie finds his life fully consumed.  Soon he is assigned the task of designing a detonator without knowing what it is for.  But as he continues to work on the project and the reality of what it is he is having a hand in building starts to become very real, Charlie starts to have reservations.  His highly ethical nature is rising up, yet he is not allowed to talk to anyone, including Brenda, about it.  As he struggles with his conscience, Brenda unaware of what the project is, urges him to be a man and step up to the task.  If it helps the war effort, then what could be the problem?  When the war is over Charlie ends up receiving a scholarship to get his PhD in physics, a dream as there is no way he could afford it.  But it comes at a cost.  As the guilt continues to lay ahold of both Charlie and Brenda of what they had a part of, Charlie quits school and the two build a life trying to make amends.

This is my second book by this author and I have loved both.  I didn't really know what it was about when I bought it a couple of years ago, but funny that I happen to pick it up right when the movie "Oppenheimer" is all the buzz.  The story is loosely based on the life Charles B. Fisk, who was a mathematician and world renowned organ maker.  It explores the guilt and remorse that followed him throughout his life for his part in the development of the atomic bomb.  It's a love story set in a time when payback and stopping the enemy was forefront in the minds of most Americans and most were willing to do what it took without really understanding or looking into the consequences of what producing such a weapon would have for the future.  I learned a lot about a part of the WWII effort that I've never really understood before and, if truth be told, never really thought of at all.  And that is the guilt that some of these ordinary people had to live with for their whole lives.  They were not soldiers or military but ordinary people who had been drafted into the making of a horrendous, top secret weapon just because of the skills they possessed.  In all honesty, I find it hard to believe why this book is not being talked about, or reviewed more.  I did read another story that dealt with the making of the atomic bomb last year, reviewed here, that explored the question of how the scientists working on the bomb could justify the end result.  This one took the angle of the guilt that plagued some of them as the revelation of what they were using their talents for comes to light and their struggle to make sense of it.  Very good read that held my attention with it's compelling and flawed characters and it's twists and turns based in history.  

I rated it a 9.5/10

Friday's Fave Five #782

Hello Friday and hello friends.  Welcome once again to Friday's Fave Fives.  It's our intentional place to practice taking note of the blessings God sends into our ordinary days and being grateful for each of them.  It's a funny thing about learning to be aware of the blessings in our lives.  The more we practice being grateful for them the more we notice the many blessings we do have.  And the more we notice our blessings the more fulfilled we feel.  Discontent is a peace robber and it is so evident in our society today.  Learning to notice all that we have, from the big blessings to the littlest of things helps us to be in a more fulfilled place.  And being grateful to God who gives them brings us a peace even when we are going through difficult times.  Please join in as we share 5 of our favorites from the past week.

~ celebrating life ~ one of the dayhome families welcomed a new babe this week.  It's always so fun to experience the older sibling wait with anticipation of becoming the big brother or sister and then to celebrate with them when they announce their sibling has arrived.  New babes are a miracle and worth celebrating!

~ found a favorite treat ~ haven't seen them in a while but I found the chocolate covered jubejubes that I love at the drugstore.  Of course I had to get a bag and have been enjoying the odd nibble here and there.  

~ sunshine warmth ~ Saturday and Sunday were absolutely beautiful with sunshine and warmth.  We fired up the bbq and grilled burgers.  I took my Mom outside for the first time in forever and it was a joy to watch her enjoy and soak in the lovely day.  I'm so thankful for that weekend of sunshine as Tuesday we were plunged back down to freezing temps for the rest of the week.  This weekend starts another upward trend of warm temps that are hopefully here to stay now. 

~ great reads ~ after setting aside a book that was just not capturing my attention (DNF'd at pg 75) I'm happy to say my next choice has drawn me right in.  I have got over feeling that I have to plug through a book I am not enjoying just to see if it gets better.  I mean by pg 75 it should have peaked my interest.  I don't think twice anymore about reaching for the next one.  Too many books, not enough time to just endure a book.  I want to be sucked into the story.   Reading and good books are a huge blessing in my life.  

~ these beauties ~  Well they certainly knew what they were doing setting out shelves of these flowers in various colors right as I walked into the grocery store.  I couldn't resist.  I've always loved ranunculus and this was the only one of this color.  Needless to say it was not left behind.  As soon as it warms up enough these spring beauties are going into the front flower bed.

What were your favorite blessings from the past week?

 

• “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” – Thornton Wilder

April 2024 Reading Picks

Oh my goodness.  How can it already be the middle of the month and I haven't even done my post for my reading possibilities for April.  Oh well.  Better late than never and I'll still have a record of it for my own amusement no matter the date.  

I'm quite enjoying this year of making my books that I have actually paid for a priority.  Working through the stack and mood reading them has been fun.  I haven't read quite as fast as hoped but that is okay.  The goal is enjoyment.  So my picks this month reflect that again.  Totally by mood.  I also threw in a book from my stacks of Little Free Library stacks as it was calling my name.  

PURCHASED BOOKS

          ~ The Little Old Lady Behaving Badly by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg  (DNF'd)

          ~ A Piece of the Moon by Chris Fabry

          ~ The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield  (finished)

          ~ Something Worth Doing by Jane Kirkpatrick

          ~ The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain

NON-FICTION  (PURCHASED)

          ~ When You Love a Prodigal by Judy Douglas (continuing from last month)

          ~ They Turned the World Upside Down by Charles Martin

TBR PILE

          ~ The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

AUDIOBOOKS

          ~ The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom  (finished)

          ~ In His Image by Jen Wilken  (finished)

          ~ The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore

What interesting books are capturing your eye this month?