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Showing posts from February, 2015

Live A Little by Rhonda McKnight

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Raine and Gage share a beautiful relationship. This Christian romance is so uplifting. Both of the characters  are struggling with trials in their lives. Gage is fighting with war memories. Raine is struggling with overcoming loneliness after losing both of her adoptive parents. She has no other family. Plus, she has only one friend, her best friend who has moved to Arizona. Raine's loneliness is about to drive her over the edge. Gage arrives in her life just in time. Along with Gage will come a big family of brothers and sisters who want the best for him. The novella is inspirational. There are scriptures to hold any person rock steady in whatever struggle they are facing while reading the book. The relationship between these two people is sweet and romantic. There is also quite a bit to learn about Veterans who come back from Afghanistan and/or Iraq. Their lives are far from easy. Thank goodness for places like Hope House. Live a Little by Rhonda McKnight is filled with hope

Book Beginnings

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"Alice sat at her desk in their bedroom distracted by the sounds of John racing through each of the rooms on the first floor. She needed to finish her peer review of a paper submitted to the Journal of Cognitive Psychology before her flight, and she'd just read the same sentence three times without comprehending it." http://rosecityreader.blogspot.com

Friday 56

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"Okay, I'm going to tell you a name and address, and you're going to repeat it back to me. Then, we're going to do some other things, and I'm going to ask you to repeat the same name and address again later. Ready, here it is--John Black, 42 West Street, Brighton. Can you repeat that for me?" http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com

Live A Little by Rhonda McKnight

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"Next to the window was her writing table, an antique Queen Anne style desk that she and her mother won at an auction. This little nook was where Raine read, relaxed, dreamed, and where she penned those dreams in her journal."

Teaser Tuesday

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http://shouldbereading.blogspot.com "The Observer had carried a rather graphic description of the incident, and a number of folks wanted to know the exact spot where June's body had come to rest. I had, of course, removed the Louis XIV chair that June had inadvertently dismantled, but the rest of the display remained the same--that is until I discovered that the items in the immediate vicinity sold like hotcakes. Thanks to a ghoulish public and my own lack of good taste, I spent the bulk of the day hauling merchandise over to the window display area. The rest of my day was spent at the cash register."

First Chapter, First Paragraph

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http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com Brother Robber Helene Christaller The hut hung like a swallow's nest on the southern slope of the Apennines. Built of the same stone as the rock on which it stood, it appeared a part of nature, not a work of man. A small window opening was stopped with straw to keep out the cold wind that blew over the mountains." 

Oven Baked Secrets by Tyora Moody

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I am keeping up with this series. I love the main character, Eugeena Patterson. In this cozy, many themes are covered: Alzheimer's disease, elder abuse, interracial dating, racism and there are big, fat secrets. All of these issues revolve around the Hillcrest Manor Nursing Home. This is where Eugeena spends a great deal of time visiting her first white friend, Louise who through the years has become her best friend. Soon Louise's life will change quite a bit. Her son, William is murdered and she meets a daughter, Clarice, and a granddaughter, Roscelyn for the first time. As if one murder were not enough to deal with in her life, Louise also deals with the loss of her favorite nurse, Pat. Eugeena does a wonderful job at playing the Snooping sleuth. It is Eugeena who constantly supports Louise through the hard times in the hospital. While doing difficult detective work, Eugeena dates Amos, her next door neighbor. I can't wait to see how this relationship

A Stitch In Crime by Cathy Elliott

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I didn't realize that a corpse in a cozy was a criteria for me. I spent quite a bit of time waiting for Mary Alice, a dear and wealthy friend, of Thea's to die from her hit over the head. She didn't die. She remained in the hospital. Then, she recovered and was able to return home. I'm still puzzling over why the author didn't kill her off. It would have made a good mystery. Daughter and grandnephew or grandson are in the bedroom when she is whacked over the head. Sometimes Kenneth is the great nephew than he becomes the grandson. I decided to just call him Mary Alice's relative. The townspeople know all about Larkin's Treasure. It's a well told legend. It's a Crazy Quilt. Somewhere on this quilt are embellishments or maybe a map or letter stuffed inside its creases. These are the instructions to where to find the gold. It's hard to think of the treasure because Thea, owner of the Antique Emporium is having a very hard time planning the qu

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

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The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood opened my eyes to the wonders of Mythology. I now know Penelope's story and her Cousin Helen's story along with the tales about Odysseus and Telemachus, the son of Penelope and Odysseus. In everyday language, Margaret Atwood took me back to the romance and capture of Helen, to the long days and nights spent by Penelope as she waited for Odysseus return from afar after years and years had passed. It's like reading the Journal of Penelope. I could see and understand her feelings of envy over Helen's flirtatious, wild beauty. I hope to read Oryx and Crake. I've been in a Margaret Atwood mood for a few weeks now.

Yellow Moon by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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"Wind light stirred the blackbird mobile. Only in the Deep South did folks believe blackbirds were good luck, carrying souls of slaves who'd escaped slavery by growing wings. Some went back to Africa and became people again; others, preferred being birds, flying through clouds, across seas, and into forests."

Wondrous Words

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http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com Paris, 7 A.M. by Elizabeth Bishop   It is like introspection to stare inside, or retrospection a star inside a rectangle, a recollection:  Elizabeth Bishop The Complete Poems 1927 1979 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Retrospection retrospection   To look back on or think about (things past).

First Chapter, First Paragraph

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  "Married and widowed at thirteen, a mother and childless at fifteen. Ain't nobody should have to learn life like I did. No soul should have to claw their way back from the bowels of hell, scared and scraped up like I was. I hate these memories." http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com  

Teaser Tuesday

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"Thea wondered if she had already been given a sedative. Was her head injury worse than they first thought? How could something like this happen to the gentlest woman in town? Of course, no one knew what had happened to Mary-Alice. Perhaps she became light-headed and fell. Or tripped over a rug. Thea knew a bit about such a scenario and flexed her toe, regretting it immediately." http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com

Oven Baked Secrets by Tyora Moody

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"I was really curious what restaurant Amos chose. I could see we were heading towards Charleston's waterfront....Five minutes later we pulled up in front of Fleet Landing. It was hard to believe the chic restaurant used to be a place for sailors back in World War II. fleetlanding.net/dinner-menu

Easter is Coming~

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When I awoke this morning, I had a thought. It was about Easter. I suppose the thought came to me because of all the Easter decorations already up in a craft store. My thought was about the stone rolled away from Jesus'  grave. For a few moments, I meditated on the wonder of Jesus' resurrection. I thought of the Angels removing the stone. I thought of Christ rising from his temporary resting place. I imagined Him folding the napkin and lying it neatly down. Then, walking from the tomb. Each footstep He took must have been a Praise step. Thanks to His Father that He was the Firstborn of many Born Again Christians who would experience  the forgiveness of sin and a resurrection too. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

The Babylon Contingency by Clifford Longley

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"When I'm alone in the house I play contnuous Liszt on the stereo. My passion. My mother was a bit of a pianist. For her fifty-fifth birthday my  half-sister and I took her to a Liszt concert at the Wigmore Hall. I loved every note. I got a book out of the library on him, and was hooked, even joined the Liszt Society . The man was a genius, and a bit of a fruitcake."bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Liszt-Franz,

Teaser Tuesday

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'"Most of the trouble in the world is caused by all this irrational superstition,"' I said heatedly. '"It just really annoys me. I haven't been inside a church half a dozen times in my life. The idea of the Nativity doesn't seem much different from Snow White and the Seven dwarfs to me. I am as interested in religion as I was in Scandinvavian ice hockey."' http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com

Wondrous Words

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http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com Phaetos Disks The disc of Phaistos is the most important example of hieroglyphic inscription from Crete and was discovered in 1903 in a small room near the depositories of the "archive chamber", in the north - east apartments of the palace, together with a Linear A tablet and pottery dated to the beginning of the Neo-palatial period (1700- 1600 B.C.).

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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http://bookjourney.wordpress.com  I finished one book last week. The title is The First Principle by Marissa Shrock (Kregel). I spent the weekend reading Oven Baked Secrets by Tyora Moody. I'm also reading 30 Events That Shaped The Church by Alton Gansky (Baker). This book is very interesting. It's just not one I can read very quickly. The last one is an adventure like The First Principle by Marissa Shrock. Its title is The Babylon Contingency by Clifford Longley(Lion Fiction).

By Book or by Crook by Eva Gates

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"You'd think he and I would get on well. I also loved libraries, and had loved this one in particular since I'd first seen it when vacationing on the Outer Banks." https://images.search.yahoo.com  

The First Principle by Marissa Shrock (Kregel)

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Vivica Wilkins is a sixteen year old girl living in a futuristic world. Shaped by her mother's ideals for a world where population is controlled, Vivica begins to questions those ideas. She sees another way of life through the eyes of her boyfriend, Ben and his family. He and his family are thought of as the rebels of the government. Their belief is a baby's life is precious and should be preserved at all costs. As the novel moves forward, Vivica becomes pregnant with Ben's baby. It is an unplanned pregnancy. One her mother will quickly have terminated. In The First Principle by Marissa Shrock, there is a chance to see a hot topic unfold which is one people ponder about in our society. Is it ever good, right to end a pregnancy? If so, when is the right time to terminate an embryo?  For this reason, I am sure this Christian Fiction novel about a future time would draw the interest of the young and the old. Once Vivica decides whether to have her baby or not, her life

The First Principle by Marissa Shrock (Kregel)

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"I launched the cloning program on my courier before I slid it in my pocket and removed the Moses box from the shelf. While I sifted through the contents with my right hand.....Anyway, on the seventh floor is the United States History archive. The floor is divided into sections based on centuries. In the nineteenth-century section find the Underground Railroad. Locate the Harriet Tubman section and look for a box labeled Moses." (Image from Yahoo)

First Chapter, First Paragraph

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"The biggest rebellions begin with the smallest steps, and I took my first small step one December morning during study hall. The quiet drumming of fingers on desktops filled the room as my classmates used keyboards projected from their government-issued multiphone devices to work. I tried to concentrate on writing an essay for my literature class, but the blinding glare reflecting from the sun on the snow outside made it difficult for me to see my screen. I didn't mind. The glare gave me the perfect excuse to let my thoughts wander to Ben Lagarde. Three weeks ago he'd broken up with me, and while I'm not the type to fall in love, I really cared for Ben until he ended our relationship." http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com

Teaser Tuesday

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"Returning to the image of the three fetuses in the womb, I studied the screen, trying to make sense of what was before me. When I checked the date against my birth date, I realized my mother had been pregnant with triplets. Was I a, b, or c? What had happened to the other two? And why had I never been told?" http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com