Starting this week, I can finally see what I was hoping my Summer would look like. My days are no longer jam-packed with meetings or places I need to be. I started the summer traveling to Canada with our high school band, then after we returned I had a lot to catch up on at home after being gone on the trip and subbing at school for the last few weeks of school. We are also in the middle of serious construction at our house, so I’ve been packing up rooms and making decisions on cabinets, flooring, counters, etc. Then I took a re-certification class all last week for my substitute teaching license. Oh, and I’ve taken on co-chairing Prom, so that has added a few things to my plate as well. But, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and aside from dealing with construction and making those related decisions, my schedule is pretty open. I’ve been reading, but finding time to write reviews for books that I read a month ago has been tough. I may have to write some mini-reviews just to get them out to you.
I’ve been turning down quite a few book requests this summer which has been sad. But, I have to realize how limited my time is and swallow my pride a bit. I’m so far behind on the books I’ve already received that I can’t, in good faith, accept much more until I catch up a bit. I am anxious to spend time on my porch or patio reading over these 50 days of summer that our left. I hope books have been in your hands this summer and you’ve been sharing the good ones with your friends. That is ultimately why I started reviewing books because I want to share my love of reading and all the great books that I hear about with you!
I’m only going to read books that I am interested in. If it isn’t working for me I’ll move on. I can’t get to every book that comes my way, but at least I can share them with you here. I hope to review them just as soon as I can.
The three women reunite, determined to succeed. There’s only one little problem: None of them knows the first thing about wine making. And it turns out, owning a vineyard isn’t all wine and roses. It’s dirt, sweat, and desperation. Every day brings financial pitfalls, unruly tourists, romantic dilemmas, and second thoughts. But even as they struggle, they cultivate hidden talents and new passions. While the grapes ripen under the summer sun, Cammie discovers that love, like wine, is layered, complex, delicious, and worth waiting for.
Kitty Hayward and her mother arrive by steamer from South Africa. When Kitty’s mother takes ill, the hotel doctor sends Kitty to Manhattan to fetch some special medicine. But when she returns, Kitty’s mother has vanished. The desk clerk tells Kitty she is at the wrong hotel. The doctor says he’s never seen her although, she notices, he is unable to look her in the eye.
Alone in a strange country, Kitty meets the denizens of Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet. A relic of a darker, dirtier era, Magruder’s is home to a forlorn flea circus, a handful of disgruntled Unusuals, and a mad Uzbek scientist. Magruder’s Unusuals take Kitty under their wing and resolve to find out what happened to her mother.
But as a plague spreads, Coney Island is placed under quarantine. The gang at Magruder’s finds that a missing mother is the least of their problems, as the once-glamorous resort town is abandoned to the freaks, anarchists, and madmen.
He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do. Though, you’d like to get to know Grace better.
But it’s difficult because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart.
Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.
Sometimes, the perfect marriage is the perfect lie.
Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time
By: Jamie C Martin
Published: June 7, 2016
Publisher: Zondervan
Format: Paperback
I heard about this book from Sheila at The Deliberate Reader and was instantly intrigued about the book. I so wish I would have had something like this when our kids were younger. But I can still recommend some of the books to our daughter and I’ve already been telling my teacher friends about it. In fact, there are some books I want to read from this comprehensive list!
Young children live with awe and wonder as their daily companions. But as they grow, worries often crowd out wonder. Knowing this, how can parents strengthen their kids’ love for the world so it sticks around for the long haul?
Thankfully, parents have at their fingertips a miracle vaccine—one that can boost their kids’ immunity to the world’s distractions. Well-chosen stories connect us with others, even those on the other side of the globe. Build your kids’ lives on a story-solid foundation and you’ll give them armor to shield themselves from the world’s cynicism. You’ll give them the confidence to persevere in the face of life’s conflicts. You’ll give them a reservoir of compassion that spills over into a lifetime of love in action.
GIVE YOUR CHILD THE WORLD features inspiring stories, practical suggestions, and carefully curated reading lists of the best children’s literature for each area of the globe. Reading lists are organized by region, country, and age range (ages 4-12). Each listing includes a brief description of the book, its themes, and any content of which parents should be aware. Parents can introduce their children to the world from the comfort of home by simply opening a book together.
So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes.
Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse and whether it’s possible to start over.
As always, if you end up reading one of these books, be sure to let me know what you think! Have a great rest of your summer!
A post from today, 7 years ago – Mondays Matter: Week 27
A post from today, 2 years ago – Vacation Snack Idea
A post from today, 1 year ago – Books that Came My Way in June 2015
Posted Under Book Review, fiction, mystery, New on the Stack
I hope you like What Alice Forgot! It made such a great book club book – so much to talk about with it.
I'm eager to hear what you think of Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet. It sounds intriguing, but is it worth adding to my TBR?