WHAT I'M READING -- THE GIRL IN THE STRIPED DRESS

 Actually I haven't been reading a lot lately.  I really want to get back into it.  But I haven't been able to get into a book the way I got into this one.  This is one of the best books I've ever read.  I literally could not put it down.  I walked around the house reading it...  kitchen, yard, bathroom, bedroom.  I finished it in three days.  Unheard of for me.

THE GIRL IN THE STRIPED DRESS:  A COMPLETELY HEARTBREAKING AND GRIPPING WORLD WAR 2 PAGE-TURNER BASED ON A TRUE STORY by Ellie Midwood

I had been watching some WW2 videos on YouTube (I watch a lot of history videos) and wanted a book about that time period to read.  This came up on my Kindle recommendations, so I decided to read it.  But once I started, I couldn't stop.  I would say "Just one more chapter" and it would be hours later when I looked up and I had read three or four chapters.  Let me tell you about it.  This is from the Amazon web site.

Auschwitz, 1942: This unforgettable novel, based on a true story, brings to life history’s most powerful tale of forbidden love. Set within the barbed wire of Auschwitz, a man and a woman fall in love against unimaginable odds. What happens next will restore your faith in humanity, and make you believe in hope even where hope should not exist.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered, pressing a note into her hand. Her entire body trembled when she read it: I am in love with you.

Helena steps off the cattle train onto the frozen grounds of Auschwitz. She has twenty-four hours to live. Scheduled to be killed tomorrow, she is not even tattooed with a prison number. As the snow falls around her, she shivers, knowing that she has been sentenced to death for a crime she didn’t commit.

When a gray-clad officer marches towards Helena and pulls her away, she fears the worst. Instead, he tells her that it’s one of the guard’s birthdays and orders her to serenade him.

Inside the SS barracks the air is warm, thick with cigarette smoke and boisterous conversation. After she sings to the guard, Franz, he presses a piece of cake into her hands––the first thing she has eaten in days. On the spot, he orders her life to be saved, forever changing the course of her fate.

What follows is a love story that was forbidden, that should have been impossible, and yet saved both of their lives––and hundreds of others––in more ways than one.

The most confusing part of the book is when it goes back and forth between a current trial and the memories of the past.  Both are interesting though and it doesn't take long to figure out which is which.  This is an amazing story and the fact that it is true makes it even better.  Of course some of it is fictionalized since no one was actually there for parts of it.

I read another person's review of this book and she said this is a classic case of Stockholm Syndrome.  I agree.  Can you really fall in love with your prisoner or with your captor?  Especially under these circumstances.  Or is it great gratitude for saving your life?  You be the judge of that.

It is a book that I highly recommend anyone who is interested in World War Two.

Now I am off to find another book to read.  I certainly have enough of them!  See you all later.

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING -- NANTUCKET WHITE CHRISTMAS (BOOK 3) BY PAMELA KELLEY (2021/7)

 

Hello, friends!  Welcome back to my blog.  I haven't had a chance to read for about a month and I am so glad to be back to it.  Today I want to tell you about the latest book I have read.  And I read it in three days.  It is the third book in the Nantucket Inn series by Pamela Kelley.

Nantucket White Christmas

Growing up as an orphan, Angela Stark has never been a fan of the holiday season, even though she was a Christmas baby. This year is no exception when everything that could possibly go wrong does, and she and her elderly cat, Sam, are about to be homeless. Her last resort is to move in temporarily with her best friend, Jane—who is allergic to cats. But then, a letter arrives that changes everything, and she and Sam find themselves heading to Nantucket. It seems like the perfect financial solution that will enable her to return home to San Francisco a few months later.

But then she meets the Hodges family and friends. In particular, a certain best-selling author who tries to convince her to stay on Nantucket longer. And as she gets to know Lisa Hodges and her children, Kate, Kristen, Abby and Chase, she experiences what it’s like to be welcomed as part of a family, for the first time.

This is such a good story.  I think I just happened to read it at the right time of year.  I loved going back to Nantucket and catching up with the Hodges family, but having a new character come into the story was good too.  And having two cats in the story didn't hurt.  😉

Every time I read one of these books I want to go to visit Nantucket.  Maybe someday I will.  I really suggest you read this series if you are looking for a quick, easy and fun read.

What are you reading these days?

Hope you have a great day and I will see you later.

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING -- DANCING FROM DARKNESS by Eleanor Isaacson (2021/6)

 Hello, friends!  How is your day going?  Hope you are doing wonderful.

I went to see the doctor the other day.  My usual Nurse Practitioner was not in so I saw a new one.  She was very nice and very good.  She is almost positive I have a torn rotator cuff in my shoulder.  I have to get an x-ray and then see an orthopedist.  *sigh*  If it's not one thing, it's another.  She was also very concerned about the abscess on my tooth and my reaction to the anti-biotics.

And this tooth of mine!  It started hurting again.  I have been calling and calling my regular dentist and no one ever calls me back.  Last night I asked my neighborhood facebook page group to suggest someone.  I have two suggestions.  Both have major pros and cons.  I don't know what to do.  But Joe and I talked it over and thought we would try one over the other first.  So I will call to get an appointment with them.

But enough of that.  Here's what I have been reading.  Actually, I have finished another book after that and am almost finished a second.  But this is the one I will tell you about today.

This is the true story of Eleanor Isaacson who grew up in Nazi Germany.  She was born in New Jersey, but her parents were from Germany.  They were going through a hard time and so her mother took her and abandoned her with her aunt in Germany when she was two years old.  Her aunt raised her as her own.  The only thing she really missed was affection.  She was never hugged, kissed or told she did well in school or anything else for that matter.  All her life Eleanor was looking for the "someone" that she felt was taking care of her and protecting her.  She finally found that her "someone" was God.

This is an awesome book.  You just cannot imagine the things this young girl went through.  The bombings.  The starvation.  All the things in school and with her family.  It is an amazing story.  And all true.  She was even a smuggler!

When she was 15 years old she returned to the United States and lived with her mother (her parents were divorced and her father remarried by this time.)  Then there was all the things she endured from this woman.  Oh my!  So much to this story.

I don't want to ruin it for anyone who wants to read this book.  But I will say please read this book.  I cannot recommend it highly enough.  And it is a quick read.  I read it in less than a week.  And I don't have much time to read.  (For my friends who live near me, I will let you borrow my copy if you ask.)

In 2019 my friends Donna and Carol and I at the invitation of my friend Sharon got a chance to meet her.  She gave a talk at the church Sharon attends.  I still remember everything about it and about her.  She was 82 years old at the time but you would have thought she was in her 50s or 60s.  She has more energy than I will ever have.  Or probably ever did have.  A lovely lady and I was so privileged to be there.

And now it's off to get this day started.  I have so much to do today.  The last few days I have been feeling badly and got nothing done.  Nothing.  As in nada, nil, nope.  So much to do and so little time.  The one thing I plan to do today is get my hair trimmed.  It's time when my bangs are hanging into my eyes.

So see you all next time.

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING -- THE SAPPHIRE OF ZANGRABAR by Steve Higgs (2021/5)

 

Hello, friends!  Hope you are having a wonderful day.  Things here are so busy and I barely have time to breathe let alone write a post.  But I wanted to let you know I am still here and I am going to share the next book that I read with you.  It is "The Sapphire of Zangrabar -- a Patricia Fisher mystery" by Steve Higgs.  It is book one in a series.

This is another book that Goodreads recommended to me.  Actually, it is a series of books.  There are 10 books in the series I bought.  These are mysteries set in England.  I am assuming that Steve Higgs is a British writer but I am not sure.  I have to look that up.

The main character is Patricia Fisher.  And a character she is.  She is 52 years old, a housewife with a love of gin, and a husband that she has been married to forever.  She also has a best friend that she can tell anything to.  And share everything with.  Apparently her friend thinks that sharing Patricia's husband is OK too.  When Patricia walks in on them, that's the end of her life as she has known it.  She empties their bank accounts and books herself on the three month cruise of a lifetime.  In the royal suite.

At first she is overwhelmed by her private butler, gym instructor (who is the size of a twig) and the over the top accommodations.  But when a man she meets in the restaurant turns up dead and her purse and missing jewelry is found in his room, signs point to her being the murderer.

Not only is this a good mystery where you are constantly trying to figure out "who dun it", but it is funny as everything.  I was laughing out loud and Joe would stop his reading and look at me as if I were out of my mind.  Especially when he asked me what I was reading and I said a murder mystery.

Such a good book.  I read it in four days.  I just couldn't put it down.  Steve Higgs is a genius when it comes to writing books.  I can't wait to read the next one.

So dear friends, I am recommending this book to you.  You won't regret reading it.

And now back to work.  See you all soon.

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING -- NANTUCKET NEIGHBORS by Pamela M. Kelley (2021/4)

 

Hello, friends!  Hope you had a good day today.  I am back with another book review.  I read this awhile ago but forgot to do a post on it.

This is the second book in the Beach Plum Cove series.  I so enjoyed the first book that I bought the second one.  And I'm glad I did.  Pamela Kelley is such a good author.  It was another one that I just sat and read and couldn't put down.

This book picks up where book one left off.  Sometimes when you go to a second novel a year or more has passed.  This one it seems like just a few weeks have gone by.  In the first book, The Nantucket Inn, the main character, Lisa, discovered that her late husband had been addicted to gambling and had left her penniless when she thought there was enough money in their retirement savings to take care of her for the rest of her life.  Lisa has not worked in years, being a stay-at-home mom and so has no employable skills.  She decides to rent out her spare rooms and open a bed and breakfast.

This has been a good plan so far.  Lisa's first guest, Rhett Byrne, opens a local restaurant and becomes a permanent guest.  And then a little more than that.  Clearly they have feelings for each other.

The first book tells the story of her three daughters and this one concentrates on Chase, the only boy in the family.  He has never been serious about anyone before, but he's suddenly secretive about who he's seeing.  This makes everyone curious about what is going on with him.  Chase has been hurt before and no one wants to see that happen to him again.

Lisa's best friend, Paige, has a surprise neighbor that has quite a mystery attached to her.

But the real mystery is when one Friday night a guest that prepaid for the weekend never shows up and a lot of people, including the police, show up asking questions.

I won't tell you what happens.  You have to read that for yourself.  But it is a good story and a fast read.  I can't wait to read the next book in the series.  It's just the right read for a lazy summer day.

I have already finished another book which I will share with you soon.  What are you reading?

Until later,

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING: THE NANTUCKET INN by Pamela Kelley (2021/2)

 Hello, friends!  How is your day?  I had a rough night.  I was sound asleep when suddenly I woke up with a claw in my foot.  Jack was there in bed with me and I must have moved.  He thought I was playing and pounced.  Ouch!  Daddy Joe woke up and evicted him from the room.

I had to get up early today anyway and be on time at the doctor's office to get my first Covid shot.  They had that place down to a science.  There were three people assigned to every 15 minutes.  I was in the 9:00 group.  We went in and two people were sent to an office and I was told to stay in the waiting room.  Diane, the Medical Assistant, gave me my shot.  Barbara, the CNP, and Dr. Kimmel each gave a shot to another patient.  Then we sat there for 15 minutes.  As we were leaving another group of three were coming in.  We came in the front and left by the back door to keep things moving.  Now I go back on the 30th for my second shot.  So far I have had no side effects so that is good.

On Sunday Joe had to run to 7-11 before church.  When he came out, he had a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me.  He said it was a "just because" gift.  He's always so sweet to me.

Today I want to tell you about a book that I have just finished reading:  The Nantucket Inn by Pamela Kelley.

Amazon describes it this way:

Lisa Hodges needs to make a decision fast. Thanks to her dead husband's gambling addiction, their savings is almost gone. In her early fifties with a large, waterfront home on Nantucket to support, Lisa hasn't worked in over thirty years, has no in-demand skills and is virtually unemployable.

Her only options are to sell the house and move off-island, or, she could use her cooking and entertaining skills and turn her home into a bed and breakfast. She desperately needs it to succeed because she has four grown children with problems of their own and wants to stay close to them. 

Her oldest daughter, Kate, has a fabulous career in Boston--working as a writer for a popular fashion magazine and engaged to a dangerously handsome, photographer, who none of them have met.

Kate's twin, local artist, Kristen, has been reasonably content with her on-again off-again relationship with an older, separated businessman. 

Her son, Chase, runs his own construction business and is carefree, happily dating here and there but nothing serious. 

Youngest daughter, Abby, is happily married to her high school sweetheart, and they've been trying to have a baby. But it hasn't happened yet, and Abby wonders if it's a sign that maybe their marriage isn't as perfect as everyone thinks.

The only reason I bought this book was because it came up on my Kindle as a book I might like and it was only $3.99.  I thought I'd give it a try.  Well, I couldn't put the book down.  It was a quick read and I was reading it all the time.  It's what I call a bit of fluff.  Not a lot of your attention needs to go into this book.  But that was just what I needed.  And the characters are developed enough to keep your interest.  It has been a long time since I read a book so quickly.  I've already bought book 2 in this 6 book series.

I realize this book is not for everyone.  But if you want a quick and easy read with a good story, give it a try.

And now I am going to go get something to eat.  I don't know why I am so hungry today but I am.  Hmm...  maybe I'll do a "What's for Dinner?" post next.  I haven't done one of those in awhile either.

Have a good day everyone.  I'll have to go blog reading after I eat.

Until later...

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING -- MADDY'S TAIL BY BRENDA NEWME (2021/1)

 Hello friends!  Happy Friday.  I hope you are all having a wonderful day.  I am writing this post on Thursday to have it post today for you.  As you read this I am probably in the hospital having my two tests done.  I need to be there around 10:45 for my first test at 11:15.  I was told the tests would be about 2 1/2 hours.  So I figure I will be home around 2:30.  Joe has promised to make me scambled eggs for lunch when I get home.  He makes the BEST scrambled eggs I have ever eaten.  I might even get him to make me some bacon too.  Ha, ha!  Then since I doubt I will be up for cooking, he has said he will call out for dinner.

For today I wanted to share the first book I have read this year.  One of my vlog friends, Brenda, wrote this book.  For privacy, she never gives her last name.  Her vlog is "My New Me" and so she wrote under the name Brenda New Me.

It is a Kindle book and for Christmas she offered it for free to any of her readers.  Of course I took her up on this generous offer.  The book is entitled, "Maddy's Tail."

It is the true story of her cat, Maddy, told from Maddy's point of view.  Maddy had lived with a person she calls the Sweet one.  This sweet little old lady had gotten sick and died and the woman's family threw Maddy out of the house.  Maddy lived on the streets for a couple of years, barely surviving because she was a house cat.  (Why do people do these things?  I know it really happens.  Take your cat to a shelter for goodness sake.)

Maddy happens upon a family that she is attracted to.  They seem nice and friendly and leave food and water out for her.  She takes her time and weaves herself into their lives.  Ultimately she is taken in and becomes a much loved part of their family.

Such a sweet book.  It wasn't very long and was an easy read.  I loved that it was told from Maddy's viewpoint.  This is a thumbs up from me.  👍

Here are a couple of pictures of the real life Maddy and the dedication page.

If you get a chance to read this, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Back to real life tomorrow (Saturday).  I will see you then.

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING -- HELLO SUMMER by Mary Kay Andrews (2020/4)

Hello, friends!  Hope you are having a great day.  Yesterday I went to the new surgeon.  I liked her a lot!  I will be telling you all about it tomorrow, but let me say the news is good.

Instead today I want to tell you about the latest book I read.  It is "Hello Summer" by one of my favorite authors, Mary Kay Andrews.   I have read so many of her books and have loved every one of them.  This is her newest one.  I read it on the Kindle and basically that is why it took me so long to complete it.  If my tablet or phone was out of power, I couldn't read it.  In spite of this, I still love my Kindle,

Mary Kay Andrews can't write a bad book.  It is so good I didn't want to put it down.  She writes with Southern sass and she always has a murder in her stories.  You have to do some detective work.

This story is about a family that owns a newspaper in a small town on the panhandle of Florida.  Conley, the main character, had wanted something more.  So she moved to Atlanta and was working for a major newspaper there.  The book begins with her goodbye party in Atlanta because she had gotten a great job in Washington, DC.  In the middle of her party, she finds the newspaper she was going to work for has gone bankrupt and she no longer has a job  So since she has given up her job and apartment, she heads to the only place she can think of to go -- home to Florida.

Conley's sister, Grayson, is running the family newspaper. so their grandmother (the family matriarch and owner) forces Conley to become a reporter for the struggling paper.

Right after she gets to town, Conley witnesses a car accident that kills a senator from Florida.  So the book revolves around her investigative reporting skills.  She tries to figure out if it was really an accident or if someone tried to kill the Senator who had a lot of family secrets.  Because of all this work she is doing, she brings the family newspaper back to life and at the same time falls back in love with her high school sweetheart.  But this is more than just a romance.  Or a mystery.  Oh my, the ending!

It is such a good book.  I didn't figure out who did it either.  I like books like that where I think through the entire thing trying to put it together.

If you can read only one book in the next few months, then this is the one to read.  There's so much more to the story than I could tell you in this blog.  And I don't want to ruin it for you either.  I can't imagine you would not enjoy this book.

Now that I have you all intrigued, I am going to run off and try to get some things done today.  No doctor appointments, but some errands to run later.  And lots of cleaning.  Always lots of cleaning.

See you back here soon.

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING -- MARY'S BUGGY RIDE (2020/3)

Hello, friends.  Welcome to Wednesday.  Another week is halfway over and the time continues to fly by.  Are you all as hot as I am?  It has been sizzling here.  And that's the word our weather people are using.  It will be warm for a few more days.  But this afternoon we are predicted to have heavy showers so I am sure that will cool it off a bit.

On Monday Joe had to go to Lowes and while we were there I bought two tomato plants and three marigolds.  There were no carts so that is all I could carry.  And with my arms full, I couldn't use my cane.  So I was hurting a lot by the time I got to the check out.  I went to the car and waited there for Joe.  When we got home, Joe saw one of our neighbor's car lights were on.  So he went to the house to tell him.  I got things out to take them into the house and ended up dropping the plants and breaking one of the tomatoes and one of the marigolds.  I babied them by taping them together with washi tape, but I don't know if they will make it.  I'm going to try, though.  I have to get out and plant them today before the rain.  So that's what's going on with me.  Now let me tell you about the latest book.

MARY'S BUGGY (A FAIRFIELD AMISH ROMANCE #4) by Elanor Miller (2015)

Here is Amazon's summary of the book:
Mary has struggled with failed relationships and worries that she will never find the one God has planned for her.  When she finds herself in unexpected trouble, she has no one to turn to until God sends an unlikely hero.

Teddy finds himself alone with an uncertain future.  With nowhere else to turn, he becomes a caretaker for an Amish widower.

With the help of new-found friends, anything is possible, even love.  And it all starts with a buggy ride.

This book is a sweet, clean, Amish romance novella.  It is a complete story, but it is also part of the Fairfield Amish Romance series.  Be sure to read them all, in any order!

This was a free book that Amazon offers for the Kindle every now and then to get you to order others.  Free is always attractive to me.  And so are the Amish books.  So I ordered it even though I had never heard of the author.  I have had it for quite awhile, but just now got around to reading it.  I was disappointed in it.  So predictable.  Not much of a plot.  Yes, it was a sweet, clean, Amish romance but I knew from the middle of the first chapter what was going to happen.  And it did.  Also, I thought the way the two of them got together would never happen in real life.  It just wasn't plausible.  So even though it was a decent story, I'm glad I didn't spend any money on it.

You will be surprised with the next book I read because it was by the same author.  I'll tell you about that next week.

Hope you all have a great day.  My plans are to work some in the yard and clean the house.  The two never ending jobs I have.  See you all soon.

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING -- WHEN CALLS THE HEART (2020/2)

Good morning, friends.  Happy Memorial Day!  I hope you are all able to remember this special day in some way.  I am not sure exactly what is happening today but I will let you know.  I know there is no parade for the first time in 74 years.  It will seem so strange.  But I also heard there will be wreath laying ceremonies one of which is supposed to happen across the street at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Society.  If so, I will try to get pictures of that.  Joe is part of the VVMS.

I was all set to post this yesterday, but I fell asleep.  So better late than never.

The second book I finished was "When Calls the Heart" by Jeanette Oke.

You can see I read it on my Kindle.  I love the TV show by this name and so wanted to read the book.  I was surprised because it was completely different.  The only thing the same was the name of the main character and the fact that she was a school teacher in the Canadian west.  Oh, and that she met and married a Mountie.  Even his name was not the same.

Once I got over my surprise, though, I found I could not put the book down.  I read it in three days.  It was so good!

The blurb on the back reads:  Nothing in her cultured Eastern upbringing prepared Elizabeth for a teaching position in the Canadian West.  Despite the many hardships, she cares deeply for the schoolchildren, but she is determined not to open her heart to any of the local frontiersmen.  Then she meets a certain member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...

I am not one to sit and read a romance book.  But this was different.  It was interesting to read about Elizabeth adjusting to the frontier after living a life of luxury in her parents' home.  The relationship between her and her brother's family was so sweet.  The idea of her getting to ride in an auto when most people were still using horse and wagon, and the long train rides she took to get from one place to another just brought you right into the time she was living.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I had forgotten how much I like Janette Oke's writings.  I think I will have to pull some of her books off of my shelves and read them again.

I will be back with a Memorial Day report.  Maybe even later today!  Have a wonderful time today no matter what you do.


Kathy

WHAT I'M READING - CHRISTMAS IN SCANDINAVIA (2020/1)

Hello, friends!  I hope you are all doing well.  I have been fighting a migraine for the past few days.  One of the worst I have had for several years.  I called my sister the pharmacy tech and asked her what to do.  She suggested items I did not have in the house.  But... my next-door neighbor said she had some Excedrin Migraine medicine and put some in a sandwich bag between my doors for me.  One of them knocked it out of me in about 90 minutes.  What a relief.  I still have a headache each day but not that bad of one.  I don't know if it is from allergies, high blood pressure or the new medication I am taking.  It might even be from my eyes since I am having difficulty with my glasses.  I accidentally bent the frames.  Or my hair falling in my face all the time.  I was going to get my hair cut right before Easter.  Well, you see where that went.  I am thinking about taking a pair of scissors and cutting it myself.  I've done it in the past.

Having a headache, and before that being on medication that made me sleep all the time, I haven't been reading all that much.  And I really haven't had the time to read either.  But I finally finished one book.

Years ago I belonged to a Christmas Around the World book club from World Book Encyclopedia.  For about 25 years I received a book each fall telling about Christmas in a different country.  I still have all of them and when I want a "feel good" book I will pull one of them off of the shelf and read it.  Is there a better time to want to read a feel good book?  So the one I chose to read was "Christmas in Scandinavia" from 1976.

You can see the beautiful woodcut designs on the front cover.  They are scattered throughout the book also.

The book begins by saying "Winter in Scandinavia is a gloomy time of darkness and piercing cold.  Lakes and streams freeze solid, snow lies heavy on blue-black firs and silver birches, and drifts high against houses.  Icicles hang in thick fringes from the eaves, and a warm, brightly lit home offers a welcome haven."  Doesn't that just paint a beautiful picture in your mind?

At the end of this first chapter it says, "The coming of the Christmas season today with its lights, decorations, and traditional foods brings a much needed respite from the rigors of winter and the fervent longing for spring.  A feeling of gaiety, it is a time of well-deserved leisure and fun, of feasting, parties, music and dancing, of visiting friends and relatives -- illuminated by glowing candles, firelight reflecting on polished copper and pewter, and fresh flowers -- contrasting sharply with the menacing darkness outside."

And it goes on just as beautifully throughout the book.  The chapters are:
Lighting up the dark
Lucia's day
The pre-Christmas whirl -- Shops, markets, and fairs; The Danish Christmas plates; The Christmas Seal tradition
The Christmas tree
The goblins of Christmas -- Christmas is for the birds!
From candles to bonfires
For a joyous Scandinavian Christmas...

And what beautiful photos it has.

The Christmas goat is a popular symbol of the season.  Here is a picture of one from a Christmas craft fair.

St. Lucia's Day opens the Christmas season.  Here's a cute little Lucia girl bringing breakfast of tea and Lucia buns to her parents.

At the end of the book is a section with things to make, things to eat, and Carols to sing.  Again beautiful woodcuts at the top of these pages.

Each book also comes with an Advent Calendar and six recipe cards.

I have three other books I am in the middle of.  If only I had time to read.  I am headed to the cardiologist today for my regular checkup.  I have to wear a mask, but otherwise everything is the same.  I know I will have to wait, so this might be the perfect time to pull out one of those books and get some reading in.  If my headache isn't too bad, that is.

And with that I have to leave and get myself ready to go.  I hope you all have a great day.

Until later...

Kathy

WHAT I'M READING 2019/04 - THE HAWAIIAN QUILT by Wanda and Jean Brunstetter

Hello, friends!  Looking back on my blog I discovered that I hadn't done a What I'm Reading post since February!  That doesn't mean I haven't been reading.  My reading is sort of haphazard these days.  I read when I can and that's usually while I'm waiting in the car for Joe (and sometimes Joe and Rick) or waiting in a doctor's office.  I have so many books on Kindle and I have the Kindle app on my phone so that makes it easy to always have something to read at my fingertips.  

This, however, was a real paper book.  I follow Wanda Brunstetter on facebook and when she announced her new book you know I had to get it.  Wanda Brunstetter is not my all time favorite Amish author, but I do enjoy her books from time to time.  And this was not your typical Amish fiction book.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Mandy Frey has always longed to see Hawaii, so before joining the Amish church and considering marriage with her boyfriend Gideon, she convinces three friends to join her on a cruise of the Hawaiian Islands.

But when Mandy and one of her friends miss the cruise ship after a port of call on Kauai, how will they adjust and get back home?  Captured by the enchanting scenery and culture in Hawaii, their vacation turns into an extended stay.  Special friendships are soon made, but home, family, and Gideon await Mandy back in Indiana.

Will time away from the Amish community change Mandy's view of the world, her faith, and true love?  Does a Hawaiian quilt have the power to bring two hearts together?

MY VIEW:
This was not your typical Amish romance book.  Far from it.  It was more of a Hawaiian adventure.  It starts off like any of her other books and quickly turns into something else.  A lot of my time reading it was spent with me saying, "Oh, come on.  Why don't you do this?  Can't you see that?"

Now don't get me wrong, it was a good book or I wouldn't have finished it.  I have too many books to read to waste my time on a book without a good story.  But a lot of it was predictable.  I was surprised at the ending, though, so I guess that was good.

I'm becoming a little disillusioned by Wanda Brunstetter since she began writing with her daughter-in-law.  I think I will take a break from her for awhile.  Unless I can find some of her older books, that is.

WHAT I'M READING 2019/03 - CALL THE MIDWIFE BY JENNIFER WORTH (2002)

CALL THE MIDWIFE: A MEMOIR OF BIRTH, JOY, AND HARD TIMES by Jennifer Worth

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the PBS television show "Call the Midwife."  But before it was a show, it was a book.  A very good book.

This is the first of a trilogy of books by Jennifer Worth describing her work as a district nurse and midwife in the East End of London during the 1950s.  She wrote this book after retiring from a career as a musician which she began after she left nursing.  It was originally published in July 2002.  It was reissued in 2007 along with the other two volumes of this series and became a best seller.  By the time of Jennifer Worth's death in June 2011 it had sold over a million copies.  In 2012 the BBC made an adaptation of the books and this boosted their sales even further.

The book is set in Poplar, a neighborhood in the East End of London, where Jenny Lee (Worth's maiden name) works as a nurse and midwife attached to an Anglican convent.  The story is split between chapters describing birthing mothers and their sometimes traumatic experiences and more light-hearted incidents back at the convent.  The names of the convent and of the characters are all pseudonyms except for Cynthia who remained her close friend for the rest of their lives.

(Credit to Wikipedia for all this great information.)

I bought this book for my Kindle at least 2 years ago.  Maybe more.  I loved the show and was always going to read it someday.  Well, I read it.  I read it in four days.  I couldn't stop reading it.  The stories are so close to the show.  I am currently watching season one of the show on Netflix and at one point I was almost able to read along because the dialog was word for word what was said in the book.  This was one of the best books I have ever had the delight to read.  Why did it take me so long to read it?  I am waiting until I get paid so I can purchase volumes 2 and 3.  I highly recommend this book.  But be aware that there are definitely parts that if you have a weak stomach for blood and medical procedures this is not the book for you.

WHAT I'M READING 2019/02 -- THE BELOVED CHRISTMAS QUILT BY WANDA E., JEAN, AND RICHELLE BRUNSTETTER

Hello friends!  I am writing several posts on Saturday afternoon while I'm feeling a little better.  Hopefully by the end of next week I will be back to myself.  But now I will tell you about the last book I finished reading.

THE BELOVED CHRISTMAS QUILT by
Wanda E. Brunstetter, Jean Brunstetter and Richelle Brunstetter



The scripture embroidered on the back of a beloved quilt brings hope to three generations of Amish women at Christmastime.

LUELLA'S PROMISE by Wanda E. Brunstetter
Luella Ebersol has been caregiver for a dying woman and her young son.  When Dena Zook gives Luella her favorite quilt, she makes Luella promise to pass it down to her future daughter.  But Luella isn't sure she will ever marry if she can't find someone with maturity and faith like Dena's husband, Atlee Zook.

KAREN'S GIFT by Jean Brunstetter
Karen Allgyer and her husband moved to a slow-paced village to raise their children, but Karen longs for the closeness of family to help her through the challenges of managing three girls with one on the way.  When life's pressures rise, will Karen cave to her fears?

ROSEANNA'S GROOM by Richelle Brunstetter
When the unexpected happens on the day of her wedding, Roseanna Allgyer can't help but blame herself, despite not understanding why.  Then an old boyfriend returns to town, and she battles feelings for him -- while afraid of being hurt again.

I really like Wanda Brunstetter's books.  So I bought this not knowing that it was in three parts with her daughter-in-law writing the second part and her granddaughter the third.  Just as there are three generations of women in the stories, there are three generations of authors.  That was so unique.  I liked all of the stories even though I found the last one especially predictable.  But seeing as this was Richelle's very first book, it was good.  I did find that I liked Wanda's story the best.  I thought she developed her characters more than the other two.  The second story by Jean was very good too and kept my attention.  The third story I was able to move through very quickly.

All in all I am glad I read it but I probably would not buy a three-in-one book again.

WHAT I'M READING 2019/01 - THE FORGOTTEN DOOR BY ALEXANDER KEY

Welcome to the first book of 2019.  This book is one my sister and I both read as a child.  We were talking about books a few months back and this one came up.  I looked it up on Amazon and bought it for my Kindle.  I don't remember how much I paid for it, but it was ridiculously low.



Alexander Key also wrote "Escape to Witch Mountain" which I'm sure some of you have read or at least heard of.

"The Forgotten Door" was published in 1965 and was a very popular book.  At least among our friends.  Everyone was reading it.  The story is about Little Jon, a boy who is watching shooting stars with his family on top of a hill.  He steps back and falls through a "door" to another planet (earth).  He hits his head and when he wakes up he doesn't remember what happened.  All he can remember is his name and that he fell through a door.  He is in a forest and doesn't see any doors around there.  He finds he is able to communicate telepathically with a doe and fawn and follows them to a farm where the farmer shoots at the doe and tries to capture the "wild boy" Jon.  He escapes and makes his way to a road where he is picked up by a wonderful family.  Thomas Bean is the father.  His wife is Mary and they have two children:  Brooks and Sally.

After a few days Jon is able to teach himself English by reading the minds of the family and begins talking to them.  What he tells them only makes the mystery deepen.  The first farmer who tried to capture Jon wants to take him away to be studied.  The town becomes fearful of the "wild boy" and tries to put him in captivity.  Even the military gets involved.  Only the Bean family and a few of their friends see him as a child that needs help.  But helping him puts the Beans and their friends in danger.  Jon is definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time and it frightens the community.  It has a very exciting ending.

The book is fairly short and a quick read.  Once you start reading it, you get caught up in Little Jon's adventures and want to see what happens next.  The book is a product of its time with references to the Cold War and attacks from Communist countries, but it is easy to overlook this because the story reads so well.  If you get a chance to read this,  it is definitely worth it even though it is a children's book.  You won't be sorry.

BLOGMAS DAY 13 -- WHAT I'M READING: THE YEAR OF JANIE'S DIARY (2018/9)

Hello, friends!  Welcome to my blog.  Can you believe it is just 10 days until Christmas?

Yesterday Joe and I went to Shoprite and I spent way more than I expected to.  But I got for the rest of the month. The only thing I will have to pick up is bread, lunchmeat, eggs, etc.  It is good to know I won't have to go back for the rest of the month.

It was a long time in the store and an even longer time to put things away.  My feet and legs were so swollen by the time I got everything finished.  So again, nothing got done.  I am feeling pretty good today so hopefully I will finish up all that I am going to do.

Today I want to tell you about the latest book I read.  I can't believe that the last book I finished was in August.  I guess I've just been reading a lot of magazines instead.  But my sister loaned me "The Year of Janie's Diary."  When I was in high school I must have read this book 6 times.  It was in the school library and I took it out over and over because I loved it so much.  Can you believe that when I read it now I had forgotten most of the story?  Well, I guess after 47 years it's OK that my memory of it isn't that great.  Have any of you read it?

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Meet Janie Rawlings!  Janie is a livewire up-to-the-minute fourteen year old with zing!  Here is the story of an all-important crucial year in Janie's life.

When Janie begins the diary she's overweight and feels unattractive. She is often at odds with herself or the people around her.  It is evident to everyone except Janie that she is trying to find herself.  She is in a crucial period of her life, that subtle turning point when she passes into the first stages of young womanhood.

By sheer will power and perseverance Janie, little by little, conquers her weight problems.  She does her hair differently, dresses with more style and dash.  All these efforts of Janie's are directed toward one goal -- Greg Wells, the new blond boy down the street.

There are crises for Janie -- near drowning when surfing, a bad automobile accident when a wild group persuade her to go dancing to the music of the Cool Cats, a popular combo, and her hilarious attempt to make a sophisticated entrance at a dinner party her parents give.

Janie is able to grow in wisdom as the year progresses.  She and her father, always fast friends, have a unique understanding.  Her mother tells her of the physical changes that she is undergoing and says that someday she, too, will have a daughter not unlike herself and will be playing the role her mother is now.  Sue, her sister, always in complete command of any situation turns to Janie for strength during an affair of the heart, and even Tommy, her younger brother, realizes what a special person Janie Rawlings really is.

Janie is full of sparkle, energy and ideas.  She is never dull, is always on the move, learning something new daily.  Her teachers never tell her,  but they feel Janie is a terrific girl.  Her parents go through one excitement after another with her -- they never know what is coming next -- but they feel the same way.  Greg Wells, the all important boy in her life, eventually finds the key to unlock Janie's heart.

No one who meets her will ever forget Janie Rawlings.  Janie, in spite of all her doubts about herself, has everything.  She wouldn't think of herself as the all American girl, but she is.  You'll love her!

**********

After reading this again, I love it as much as I did the first time I picked it up.  It took me back to 1967 when it first came out.  Life was so much simpler then although it didn't seem that way to me.  The world was a lot simpler too.

This is such a rare book that I have seen it go for as much as $1,200.  No, my sister did not spend that much.  She got a really good deal on it.  But you know I am taking very good care of it until I give it back to her on Christmas.  It is wrapped up in a plastic bag and put in a safe place.  I could never afford to replace it if anything happened to it.

So now I am going to get myself together to begin the day.  I have no where to go today so hopefully I can make a huge dent in the cleaning and decorating.  And bake a lot for the Christmas Café tomorrow night.  It will be so much fun and you know I will take you along for it.

Have a wonderful day, everyone, and I will see you tomorrow.

Kathy