Posts

Showing posts from June, 2015

First Chapter First Paragraph

Image
September 15, 1865 "When she saw the two men riding down the lane toward her house, Carlyn Kearney lifted the shotgun down off the long nails that held it over her front door. One of the men was a stranger, but the other one was not. She needed to keep a gun between her and that man. Not that she intended  to shoot between her and that man. Not that she intended to shoot anybody, but she wasn't about to let Curt Whitlow know that." http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com

What Am I Reading For This Week?

Image

Restoring All Things by Warren Cole Smith John Stonestreet

Image
It is good to learn that the Kingdom of God is an experience we can have "here and now." According to these two authors, Smith and Stonestreet, we don't have to wait until the future to experience that joyful type of living. I have always believed that the abundance of  prosperity and peace will not be experienced until we die and hopefully join Jesus in Heaven. I'm use to thinking about the Great by and by. However, the beginning is now. I also found it interesting to learn  that Christian college students may change their way of thinking after taking a course of study at a university. Christian ideas it seem are gently pushed aside or forcibly removed by professors who are not Christians or hold very liberal ideas. Therefore, political ideologies held before college might change after a student enters the college doors. The subtitle of Restoring All Things really sticks in my mind. " God's audacious plan to change the world through everyday people.

Wondrous Words

Image
"Mr. Cynster has offered me the position of amanuensis , assisting him with his collection, his library, and his interests in those spheres." amanuensis " one employed to write from dictation or to copy manuscript." merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amanuensis "The moment--filled with a nascent emotion she couldn't name--hovered between them." nascent  budding.  merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nascent

In The Shadow Of The Cypress by Thomas Steinbeck

Image
  Enjoyed the historical side of the novel. Learned so much about China and California while in California. Will not forget reading about the 1906 Earthquake in California. Felt very sad about the discrimination against the Chinese people. Then, felt very moved by the way the Chinese treat their History. Historical artifacts are very dear to them much like the sacred graves of Native Americans. These particular artifacts, two in number, were hidden inside the root ball of a Cypress tree. There is a seal and another artifact made like a kneeling camel, but it is a giraffe in pink marble. Two or three men Robert Wu,a scholar and a History Professor, and an old friend of the Chinese named Billy O'Flynn become deeply involved in keeping the artifacts hidden. Learning more about the origin and translating the three different languages on one artifact is exciting. Really, great fun reading about Fifteenth ce

It Had to Be You by Jill Churchill (2015 Alphabet Soup)

Image
Robert and Lily live at Grace and Favors in New York. They inherited the mansion. This time they are helpers at a nursing home owned by Ms. Twibell. While there at the nursing home, an elderly man is smothered in his bed. Strange because his death from the illness would have happened in a matter of hours. This is one of my favorite cozy series. I really like Robert and Lily. I like this one because the wife and grandsons could be the very ones telling untruths. There is also a very strange woman who is a little bit off her rocker who tells wild stories about the death of a man while putting on his skates by the lake. When I wasn't thinking about the whodunnit, I was thinking about the new dumbwaiter. Interesting little social history because I don't think rich homes have dumbwaiters today, or do they? Sean Connor, the old man, is very grumpy. The only surprise about the murder, really, is the timing as mentioned above. cozy-mystery.com/Jill-Churchill.html

Teaser Tuesday

Image
They emerged from the lyceum and came upon the palaestra, a large courtyard covered in sand, surrounded by porticoes, with an entrance to another building at the far side. The palaestra, was buzzing with activity. In the nearer part, a group of about thirty young men were moving through a series of well-choreographed exercises. A young man played a rhythmic tune on a reed instrument, setting the pace for the exercise, as the trainer walked between the others, pausing to correct this one's posture or another one's movements. Farther away, some students as well as adult males were engaged in wrestling matches, boxing, and the long jump. http://adailyrhythm.com/

First Chapter, First Paragraph

Image
Add caption http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com The first glow of dawn appeared over the horizon. In an hour it would be  beautiful, an ocean of fire setting the thin veils of clouds ablaze.But for now, it was still that pale green that appeared almost sickly, especially to the man who had already been staring at the sky for most of an hour. Jason slouched in a large alabaster chair upon the terrace outside his bedchamber. A cushion below him took off the chill of the stone seat. A wool blanket made of the finest weave shielded him from the bite of the morning air. He had seen far too many sunrises of late. How long had it been since the sun last woke him up rather than the reverse?

Cat Thursday

Image
My cat Boots, a Tuxedo, can read books too. :) http;//truebookaddict.com

This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak

Image
For Phoenix, it's all about Jacob, her son, whom she hasn't seen in seventeen years. Phoenix has been away in prison for the murder of a friend, Lori. Supposedly, Phoenix murdered her boyfriend's girlfriend by running her over with the car. However, there is another girl on the passenger side riding with her. Whether Phoenix murdered a girl passing by or something freaky happened is part of the novel. No matter Phoenix loses part of her life living away from her mother, her son and her friends in Whiskey Creek. Brenda Novak begins This Heart of Mine with the return of Phoenix to Whiskey Creek. Friends are now her enemies, she has a son to win over and Riley, an old lover and the father of Jacob to try and understand. There is also her mother, a hoarder, a very dysfunctional woman whom Phoenix tries to love over and over again. The novel is multifaceted. It left me wanting to return to Whiskey Creek again in another book. At first, I felt apprehensive reading about a

Day Of Atonement by David A. deSilva Kregel Pubs.

Image
Whether or not Xenophanes was the first monotheist among Greek philosophers or remained a polytheist is still highly controversial. What is sure is that he rejected the traditional deities. He conceived of God as one, unchanging and motionless. Omnipresent, “He is all sight, all mind, all ear.” For Xenophanes, God creates everything but is himself not created, for He is eternal. He eludes our limited human understanding as he is beyond description. Therefore, God cannot be modelled after humans: "There is one God, greatest among gods and men, neither in shape nor in thought like unto mortals …” http://www.egs.edu/library/xenophanes/biography/

Day Of Atonement by Savid A. deSilva A Novel of the Maccabean Revolt

Image
It is a time when the Israelites are very concerned with the role of the Grecian empire. The Israelites and the Grecian empire disagree about worshipping a God or Gods. They disagree about a day of worship. These differences cause a civil war atmosphere in the homes of the Israelites, brother against brother, etc. It is definitely a time of chaos and upheaval.

Her Garden by Donald Hall

Image
http://www.bermudaonion.wordpress.com She'd laid in patterns. Moss            let it go, let it go Turns the bricks green, softening them          By the gray rocks          Where hollyhocks That lofted while she lived, stem by tall stem,           Dwindle in loss. edenbrothers.com/store/queeny-mix-hollyhock-seeds lofted ] To raise aloft; to send into the air;

Hands

My memory died on the day I saw you die. Your hands wrinkled, cold. hn
In a slave's cabin, I was born on newspaper. I lived there always.

Book Beginnings / Friday 56

Image
But as anxious as she was, she'd promised herself she wouldn't cry, or try to hug him, or do anything else that might make a teenage boy feel uncomfortable. She was a stranger to him. Although she hoped to change that now that she was back in town, she couldn't come on too strong or he'd likely shut her out--even if his father didn't make sure he kept her at arm's length. http://www.rosecityreader.blogspot.com The memory of Phoenix sitting at Just Like Mom's in probably the only nice outfit she owned, counting out the money to cover his breakfast, made him squirm. http://www.fredasvoice.com
Image
Up the mountain path I saw a hummingbird bush. Below a bee buzzed.

First Chapter First Paragraph

Image
"It was the first time she'd seen her son since the day she gave birth to him. Phoenix Fuller had spent an eternity waiting for this moment. She'd counted every single breath, it seemed, for sixteen years, waiting to lay eyes on Jacob again." http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com

Sunrays and Lily Smiles by Leana Wendy Howarth

Image
The poetry in this book is as pretty as the cover of the book. Each poem is meaningful. Some of the poems are about family, growing up, birth and other themes. "My Dad, / he needed to go back...Go back / To his childhood memories - England..." by Liana Wendy Howarth. http://www.faithwriters.com

Delilah's Daughters by Angela Benson

Image
A Gospel singing group can run into moments of sadness and happiness.  After entering a singing Gospelfest, Veronica, Roxanne and Alisha, all sisters, lose the contest. Delilah their mother is the support and manager of the group. So she is hurt by the loss also. Some people in the audience voiced their love of the group and wanted Delilah's Daughters to win. It isn't long before Veronica is asked to join a big musical corporation named Legends. However, this means leaving her mother and sisters behind while she hopefully soars to the top of the charts as a dancer/singer. Delilah's Daughters by Angela Benson shows what happens when one or two members of a family decide to shoot for success without the rest of the family. Suddenly, the family is torn apart. Old secrets fall out of the closet. For different reasons each person in the family is fighting a battle. Most of all I enjoyed Delilah. She's a very wise woman, but she has her weaknesses too. The novel is Chris