I’m reading It’s All in the Story: California (an anthology of California short stories) during 2020 – aiming for at least 4 stories per month. There are 24 short stories and so far I’ve liked all that I read. I created this page to make notes on the stories so I can remember them.
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Books of many genres that are worth reading.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – Book Lady’s Review
I’ve read a lot of novels and memoirs set during World War II. The Book Thief was added to the world’s arsenal of WWII novels in 2005 and quickly became a best-seller. Author Markus Zusak is a young writer whose parents lived in Europe during the war. Their stories inspired this book. [Read more…]
Forgive and Love Again: Healing Wounded Relationships – Book Lady’s Review
Forgive and Love Again: Healing Wounded Relationships is a comprehensive Christian overview of forgiveness, which is essential to Christian life. When asked how many times we should forgive, Jesus Christ advised, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” In other words, forgiveness should not end – it should continue so long as it is needed. Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation – that’s a different matter and does not have to follow forgiveness, except in Christian marriage relationships.
This Boy’s Life, a Memoir by Tobias Wolff – Book Lady’s Review
A childhood is a unique thing. We all have one, and I like to think of them as our life challenge. We almost invariably experience traumatic events, then have the challenge of dealing with the fallout the rest of our lives, or until we gracefully recover. The childhood of Tobias Wolff was no different, yet it was unique in its own way. His memoir is best known for honesty to the extreme.
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Abusive Men: Why Does He Do That? – Book Lady’s Review
My review of Why Does He Do That? – by Lundy Bancroft. This is a book about his work with and observations of angry, controlling, and abusive men. He explains why they seek to subjugate women.
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Hillbilly Elegy – Book Lady’s Review
I seem to have the same background as author J.D. Vance, but I’m a few generations removed. I’ve done research on Ancestry.com and discovered some great-great grandparents who came from places like Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia, on our Scots-Irish family’s journey to the west coast. I was born in California. My mother and her parents were born in Oklahoma.
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Shadow Over Avalon: A Sci-Fi Book Review
What are Nestines? What’s under Sanctuary? Who are Arthur’s parents? If you want to know, you’ll have to read Shadow Over Avalon, a futuristic Earth-based sci-fi fantasy novel by C.N. Lesley.
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Gelli Printing – A Book Review and the Art Experience
I learned about Gelli printing while watching videos on YouTube, and had to try it. I bought an 8×10 Gelli Arts monoprinting plate, and a beginner’s book to tell me more about how to use it.
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Pulling Down Strongholds by Derek Prince – A Book Review
I love Christian books with humor, and Derek Prince doesn’t disappoint. This non-fiction book is about spiritual warfare – not only recognizing and defending oneself against demons, but also, recognizing the “strong man” controlling us and our countries, and the “high places” causing problems in our lives.
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The Newbery Project
I’m a participant in The Newbery Project, a group collaboration blog with reviews by people who have agreed to read and review Newbery Medal winning books. The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association (ALA) for the most distinguished contribution to children’s literature in the USA, the prior year.
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Art & Fear – Review of the Book by David Bayles & Ted Orland
Welcome to my Art & Fear review. Art & Fear is a classic philosophical non-fiction art book by David Bayles and Ted Orland. It is deep enough to become ponderous at times, but readable enough to keep my attention from start to finish.
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Green Leaf in Drought Time: Isobel Kuhn Backstory and Book Review
Authoress Isobel Kuhn was a dedicated missionary to the Lisu people of China in 1950 when she was warned to evacuate the country due to a new political situation. The Chinese Civil War ended the year before, in 1949, and the People’s Republic of China took over, sending down a “Bamboo Curtain” of hostility toward foreigners, including well-meaning missionaries.
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Writing Practice Exercises with “Take Ten For Writers”
Our writing club members got tired of writing about our small town. For the last year or so we wrote articles on every Happy Camp topic we could think of. After a while it got repetitive because our experiences and opinions stayed the same. So I got the bright idea to buy a writing practice book for the club, for Christmas. As it turns out, everyone enjoys doing the exercises in the book and we’re going to stick with that for a while. The book is Take Ten for Writers: 1000 writing exercises to build momentum in just 10 minutes a day
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Book Review: The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Have you read The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner? If you’re still at the beginning and thinking of quitting, my recommendation is to bear with it! I know you’re probably wondering what in the world is going on! All will be clear, in a murky, foggy sort of way, before the novel ends. The true value of the book is in exploring the characters and the situation they’ve been born into. Forget about linear thinking – you won’t find a lot of that within this book. [Read more…]
