Well, I don’t have a major anniversary ❤️❤️❤️ to share with you like Becky and Deb. Nor do I have an exciting story to relate like Tammy with her TWO totaled vehicles 🚙🚗 that were parked in front of her home.
My week has been spent primarily on the phone 📱 with support people at QuickBooks after making the decision to move my corporate accounting to a different version. Nothing ever goes exactly as it should. Right? And support call notes don’t make for scintillating blog posts.
Mostly I’ve got my nose to the grindstone, trying to finish another book. However, that’s not very exciting to read about either. “Sat in chair and wrote 💻 for hours and hours. P.S. Ate too much chocolate 🍫.”
So, let’s talk books. That’s something we all love.
Below is the list of books I’ve finished reading since the first of June. But first, here is my personal rating system to give my brief reviews context.
5🌟 = Out of this world. Amazing. Unforgettable. A personal favorite.
4🌟 = Loved/enjoyed it. Will recommend to others. May read again.
3🌟 = Liked it. Glad I read it. Engaging/entertaining/interesting.
2🌟 = The book was okay, but I’ve enjoyed other books so much more.
1🌟 = For whatever reason, I didn’t like it and can’t recommend it.
- The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks. (Read for book club.)
3🌟 – I wanted to love this novel more than I did. For an insider’s look at the making of a movie, this was fun. But it wasn’t the amazing novel I was hoping for. - How to Hear God: A Simple Guide for Normal People by Pete Grieg.
5🌟 — I am so thankful that my church introduced me to Pete Greig and specifically to this book. God spoke to me through it time and time again. It is simple, yet profound. I will never read about the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and see them the same way again. - Calling on the Matchmaker by Jody Hedlund. (Advance Reader Copy.)
4🌟 — From the opening rescue scene covered in mud, through the slow-burn love story and the trials and disappointments of life in the mid-1800s, to that wonderful promise of HEA, Calling on the Matchmaker is an historical romance reader’s delight. - Finding Messiah by Jennifer M. Rosner.
4.5🌟 — One of the best things that happened in my walk with Jesus over the past 47+ years began over a decade ago when I started learning to read the Bible with a 1st century, Middle Eastern lens. Since then, so many authors have brought new insight as I seek to understand what Jesus—an observant Jew who loved God and loved the Torah (and who was, after all, the Messiah)—meant when He spoke to His followers. Jennifer M. Rosner has added another layer to my education, and I’m grateful. - The Women in the Castle by Jennifer Shattuck. (Read for book club.)
3.75🌟 — I loved this book, despite a few flaws, including the ending which gave us a POV character the reader hadn’t heard from before. That just felt odd to me. The story is heartbreaking in many ways. How could it be otherwise given the subject matter? - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
5🌟 — There are only a few novels that I have read more than once. There is always something new to choose from. But Pride and Prejudice is among the few that I can reach for again and again. It’s a story filled with unforgettable characters. It is certainly a story that stands the test of time. - When You Pray: a study of Six Prayers in the Bible by Kelly Minter, Jackie Hill Perry, Jen Wilkin, Jennifer Rothschild, Jada Edwards, and Kristi McLelland.
4🌟 — This is a deep, rich Bible study. The six writers have different teaching styles, some that I liked better than others. But all of them had something important to share. The study covers The Lord’s Prayer; prayers of Petition and Thanksgiving; prayers of Adoration; prayers of Lament; prayers of Intercession; and prayers for Unity. - Rain by Dana McNeely.
3.75🌟 — This is a wonderful biblical story. It didn’t always go where I expected it to go, which is a good thing. I loved the moments of surprise, like when I understood which character was actually an unnamed but real person in the Bible. I’m looking forward to Whirlwind to learn more of what happens to some of the characters I met in this novel. - Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon.
3.25🌟 — I read this book partly for research for my British-American series that takes place in 1895, the year Almina married the earl, and partly because I adore Downton Abbey (the TV series and the two movies). I enjoyed it for the most part. Nothing to rave about but good enough that I plan to listen to the sequel about Almina’s son and his wife, even though that takes place long after the setting for the series I am writing. - Yellowstone Summers by Jane Galloway Demaray.
3🌟 — Read for research. Great information for the series of novels I’m writing. - Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer.
4🌟 — What an enchanting retelling of Snow White. Penny is believably sweet, vulnerable, innocent, yet resilient. Texas Ranger Titus was just the right kind of Prince Charming. And the “wicked queen” was deliciously wicked, right to the bitter (for her) end. I’m looking forward to the next book in the Texas Ever After series.
As I write this post, I am almost finished with The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh, and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is in the wings to read next (a book club selection). In addition to those two, I will probably read one or two more books before August is over.
What books have you read this summer (June, July, & August-to-date)? And/or what are you reading now?
~robin
P.S.
Speaking of books, I’ve got a great deal running until the 20th. Three contemporary Christian romances for 99¢ (the collection is normally $8.99).
Robin Lee Hatcher
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The best part of this blog and the reason I responded — you said you sat and wrote for hours and ate junk food (chocolate). Thank you Thank you. I didn’t write my blog for ages because I had nothing to say, “health hanging by a thread, still taking care of granddaughter every weekend, just writing…” doesn’t sound like fun BUT it’s life. I need to start blogging again… you gave me the understanding that everyday life inspires others struggling through the same. God bless.
Ah, Susan. I loved that my ordinary life comment inspired you. Write that blog, girlfriend. Write it and write some more.
Ha! I’m in the middle of “Fairest of Heart” and it’s been fun to match the fairy tale characters with the characters in the story. Other summer reads have been Sarah Sundin’s The Sound of Light, which accompanied me to Copenhagen; Renee Ryan’s Widows of Champagne, Karen Barnett’s When Stone Wings Fly, and Gabrielle Meyer’s In This Moment. How’s that? I also work in some non-fiction, which is why I don’t end up reading dozens of fiction books every month. I’ve got my own stuff to research! Thank you for sharing your rating system. Like you, a book really has to be fabulous to earn a 5 from me.
I’ve read a couple of the novels you’ve read this summer, in addition to Fairest of Heart. Good books!
Hi Robin, thank you for you book recommendations. I love Pete Greigs books too. It is a simple guide for normal people (just a the subtitle reads) but so spiritual deep. Have you read “How to pray” also? I listened to/followed his pilgrimage St. Aidans Way this summer … just wow. It is planned to come out as book with illustrations next year.
You mentioned reading the Bible with Middle Eastern lens. I’m relatively new to this. Up to now I’m only familiar with Rabbi Jason Sobel and Kristi McLelland. Any recommendations for some not so study/textbook like?