Category Archives: Books I’m Reading

Mist of Midnight by Sandra Byrd

Posted on by
Reply

Mistmidnight

Mist of Midnight is the first in the series, Daughters of Hampshire, by Sandra Byrd. An historical romance, this book takes place in England in 1858. Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries to India, has returned home after the tragic death of her parents in the Indian Mutiny. Unfortunately, she has no time to grieve for her parents and to adjust to life in England as upon her arrival, she learns that someone else has been in her home claiming to be Rebecca. Having to prove that she is, indeed, Rebecca Ravenshaw and the true heir to Headbourne House is her first order of business. Dealing with identity theft in any century is both frustrating and scary. Besides clearing her name, she must learn who the imposter was, how she knew about her family, and what happened to her. Did she really commit suicide or was the cause of her death more sinister?

I enjoyed the suspense in this novel and the historic detail. I especially found interesting learning a little bit about missionaries in this time period. Leaving your home is never easy, but especially in a time when travel and communication were much slower and less reliable than we are accustomed to in the 21st century.

Though the first in a series, the book is a stand-alone. The second book, Bride of a Distant Isle, released earlier this year also takes place in Victorian England, but is a different story with different characters. The third book, A Lady in Disguise, is scheduled for release in 2017.

This is not the first book I have read by Byrd. She is a writer of different types of romance, and I have read her first two books in the French Twist series, which are contemporary romance. These books are fun and lighthearted romances, following the character of Lexi, who is learning to be a pastry chef. In the first book she is in Seattle and in the second book, she is able to follow her dream to study and work in France. French-Twist,

Sandra Byrd writes as a Christian writer, and for romance readers that means, you can expect some good, ‘clean’ fun. Anyone else read any books by Byrd? If you read romance, do you enjoy reading historicals or do you prefer stories set in more contemporary settings?

 

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

Posted on by
2

Summer_10_14_redHat_BrokenLine.inddLately I have been reading several books of historical fiction from the era of WWI. I am currently listening to a Maisie Dobbs audio book, have started a Bess Crawford book on Overdrive, and last night I finished up The Summer Before the War.

The Summer Before the War was a book that I felt improved and was more entertaining and engrossing as it went along. (So much better than one that starts out promising and then the ending disappoints.) It takes place in East Sussex in 1914, in the small village of Rye. The first major event of their summer is the arrival of Beatrice Nash who has come to apply for the position of Latin teacher. Many in the village do not approve of a young woman for this position; especially one that upon arrival turns out to be more attractive than expected.

Beatrice is championed by a prominent woman of the village, Agatha Kent, whose husband works for the Foreign Office. Agatha has two nephews, Hugh, a medical student, and Daniel, a promising poet. Hugh and Daniel have differing personalities but are close and are both adored by Agatha.

When Germany invades Belgium, Rye is quick to welcome refugees and, in spite of those who still believe war won’t come to England, the village prepares to support their country even if it means sending their young men off to war. Soon everyone in the village–the young the old, and all those in between–become caught up in a patriotic fervor. Of course, their young men do go off to war, and what happens to them and the ones who are left to wait for them makes up the rest of the story.

Part of what interests me in reading historical fiction is found at the end in the author’s notes or acknowledgements. Simonson tells of the books she read to immerse herself in this period, as well as the websites and libraries. I love that she was able to read newspapers of the time (and took the trouble to do so).

birds-of-a-feather-150For those of you unfamiliar with Maisie Dobbs or Bess Crawford, they are both heroines of their own historical mystery series. The Maisie Dobbs books are written by Jacqueline Winspear and Birds of a Feather is the second in the series. I’m always looking for audio books with good narrators and a story that I can follow as I drive, walk, or cook. So far, this book has delivered with the excellent narration done by Kim Hicks.

The Bess Crawford books are written by the mother/son team, Charles Todd. I have just started reading the second in that series, An Impartial Witness. A group I belong to on goodreads–Historical Mystery Lovers–will be reading a selection of your choice from Charles Todd during July, so I have a bit of a head start. If you’re on goodreads, check out the group and come read with us.cover-impartial-witness

Reading any WWI fiction or nonfiction? Let me know what you’ve read and can recommend.

 

 

Book Riot Read Harder Challenge

Posted on by
Reply

kingdom of ice 2It’s a new year and goals and challenges are being discussed. Resolutions are still made, but usually with a sheepish grin. We want to change, but, being honest, we know how long, or how short, most of these will last. So, you can lose your weight, eat healthier, and exercise more, but being a reader, I am more interested in what other readers are doing and how I can challenge myself to read or to “read harder” as Book Riot has put it. I’m not really looking to read more, and will continue to read for pure pleasure and enjoyment, but adding a challenge to my reading will broaden my reading horizons. I have already decided I will read more non-fiction this year, and have started by beginning to read Hampton Sides In the Kingdom of Ice. 

Book Riot has issued their “Read Harder” Challenge which you can read here: http://ow.ly/FZLwd To read harder, you must choose a book that will fit within the 24 different categories they have presented. These categories include reading a book written by an author under the age of 25, reading a science fiction book, a romance book, a book written by an author from Africa, and a microhistory.

Am I going to try and do all 24? No. For a couple of reasons. One, I have books I want to read just because I want to read them, and others I will be reading for various book groups, and I’m not going to put them aside just to participate in this. Two, I want a challenge, but not something that will take the fun and enjoyment out of reading.

But, I am going to pick a few selections and make an effort to read those and join in with the group on goodreads. The first challenge is to read a book written by an author under the age of 25. I have a copy of Carson McCullers’ The Heart is a Lonely Hunter which has been languishing on my bookshelves for years. In fact, I had to do a bit of digging to find it. McCullers was 23 when she wrote this book, so I am choosing it to take on the first task.

Another task (number 3) is to read a selection of short stories. Another book I’ve had for awhile is The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike. Though I’ve read a story from it here and there over the years, I’ve never read it all the way through. Though I may take most of the year to get through it, I will begin to read it, keeping track of the stories as I read them (since I probably won’t read them in order).

SS & Carson McCullers

Some of the tasks I will be able to check off fairly easily as I go about my regular reading. This may seem like cheating, but, hey, it counts! For example, I have a hold on Overdrive for Nicholas Sparks’ The Longest Ride on audio. Once I get that and listen to it, I will have completed task 16 (audiobook), task 6 (written by a gender different than myself; i.e. a man), and task 13 (romance).

What about you? Have you given yourself any reading challenges? Taking on any of the tasks from Book Riot? Or do you have a recommendation for a book from Indie Press? (That would help me with both tasks 4 & 18).

 

Surprised by Oxford–A review

Posted on by
Reply

surprised by oxfordI enjoy reading of the spiritual journeys of others for several reasons. Being raised in church with the Bible always accessible to me and my questions, I find it particularly intriguing to read of those who have come to God in less “conventional” ways. How God seeks and saves those are who lost is a source of encouragment and inspiration to me in my own daily walk.

Surprised by Oxford is the story of one young woman’s spiritual journey her first year at Oxford. For those familiar with C.S. Lewis, yes, the title is intentional. Just as Lewis was an agnostic, not looking for God, and not interested in learning of a “personal” God, so Weber went to Oxford to study literature; not to find God. But, God surprised her there at Oxford by putting in her path Christians who lived what they believed and were to able challenge her own beliefs with love and intelligence.

Oxford image

Some of my favorite quotes:

“that no matter how misleading the title of the theory of relativity, absolute rules the physical as well as the metaphysical. For me God’s love is so great that it can attract even the farthest, most lost, most seemingly random call to Him” (p. 127).

“It was occurring to me that believing in the Bible was an all-or-nothing affair. Either you believe it is the revealed Word of God, or you don’t. It is like being a little bit pregnant. Impossible. Either you are in or you are out” (p. 138).

“That is the bizarre thing about the good news: who knows how you will really hear it one day, but once you have heard it, I mean really heard it, you can never unhear it. Once you have read it, or spoken it, or thought it, even if it irritates you, even if you hate hearing it or cannot find it feasible, or try to dismiss it, you cannot unread it, or unspeak it, or unthink it” (p. 81).

To learn more about Weber, how she has spent the past 15 years and about her new book, check out her blog on: www.pressingsave.com

Oxford 018

Surprised by Oxford

Posted on by
Reply

2013-10-02 16.21.26“So faced with a thousand-year old institution, I learned to pick my battles. Rather than resist, for instance, the archaic book-ordering system in the Bodleian Library with technological mortification, I discovered the treasure in embracing its seeming quirkiness. Often, when the wrong book came up from the annals after my order, I found it to be right in some way after Oxford often works such.

After one particulary serendipitous day of research, I asked Robert, the usual morning porter on duty at the Bodleian Library, about the lack of any kind of sophisticated security system, especially in one of the world’s most famous libraries. The Bodleian was not a loaning library, though you were allowed to work freely amid priceless artifacts. Individual college libraries entrusted you to simply sign a book out and then return it when you were done.

‘It’s funny; Americans ask me about that all the time,’ Roberty said as he stirred his tea. ‘But then again, they’re not used to having u in honour,’ he said with a shrug.”

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

Oxford 016