love to paint

Earlier this summer we had one Saturday that was a bit of a summer "snow day" for my family.   The weather outside was unbearably hot so we all stayed inside.   I picked up Blue Skies Tomorrow and settled down into one of our lazyboys for a long read. After reading The Sweetest Thing by Ann Moser recently and greatly enjoying it, I thought I would give another historical Christian fiction book a whirl.   The Sweetest Thing had elements of romance in the story, but it is not what I would call a "Christian Romance".   Blue Skies Tomorrow by Sarah Sundin is a Christian romance.   It is the third book in her Wings of Glory series , but it can easily be read as a stand alone novel. Storyline:   Helen's husband, Jim, died two years earlier in WWII.   She lives in a home owned by her father in law and receives a monthly stipend from him that comes from her husband's life insurance (that he named his parents custodians of).   Early on in the story, ...

It always says a lot to me that I can whip through a fiction book in a day or two and a nonfiction book in weeks.   When I start reading a good story, I get drawn in and just want to know how it ends.   Last night, I finished reading a new book and when I was done, I just smiled.   The book I read is Angel Sister by Ann H. Gabhart.   I have never read a book by this author before, but I enjoyed her story and her writing.   Storyline:   Kate's family is a mess.   Her father, Victor, is turning to the bottle and her mother, Nadine, and he are both belittled by their controlling fathers.   She finds an abandoned little girl on the church steps when she goes to the church to take her grandfather some preserves.   This little girl causes a stir in their extended family and the town.   You hope that this will be the story of healing in Kate's family and without giving too much away--it is just that. Writing:   The writing is good and ...

For the most part, I choose to read Christian fiction because I feel safer.  I'm less likely to have my mind led to places it isn't wise for it to go.   A month ago, I read a book that was very disturbing to me.  It was published by a Christian publisher that is thought by many to be one of the most dependable, but there was a lot of crass imagery in the book and lustful thinking by the characters.  I literally thought the characters had made love in the book.  I set the book down and didn't realize they hadn't until I read in another person's review that they hadn't.  But, the language had been that strong.  I did contact the publisher and ask about the decision to publish the book, but I haven't received any response.   I was relating this story to a friend of mine who is single and she commented that she thought that was only a struggle for single women--why did married women need to be concerned with such things?  My response was th...

I received notice of a book today available for review.  Although I don't think I'm going to review it, it was very interesting to me what the author had to say about why he writes about crime and evil in the world... http://stvjames.blogspot.com/2009/11/why-i-write-about-evil.html

Just now I began to think about the title of this book. If I had picked up this book up at a bookstore, I would have assumed that the dreams spoken of in the title were good dreams that someone was chasing after to achieve. Actually, this book is very different. It's a good one, but different than what the title sounds like. A few weeks ago, I reviewed a book that really made me consider what makes a book a "good" book--one that I would recommend. I ran into a lot of issues with that book. Since it was the second book in a series and I hadn't read the first, I had to consider the question whether it could stand on its own. In the case of that book, it couldn't very well. It was difficult to follow the story and understand a lot of cultural assumptions that were made about what the reader would understand. The book I'm reviewing today is actually the third in a series. I didn't realize that at the time I agreed to review it. Dreams That Won...

Rather, I should say "questions", not thoughts. I am reading a Christian fiction book by an African American woman. I felt like I should read it, so I requested it. I'll be honest, I'm caucasian. This book has caused me to ponder a lot of questions about books and writing and I'd love your input. Please forgive me if I use the wrong or not politically correct terms--I get so confused nowadays about what words I'm supposed to use. So, if I use the wrong words--I don't mean to. 1. Do white authors expect black people to read their books? Do they hope they will? 2. Do black authors expect white people to read their books? Do they hope they will? 3. What does race equality mean when it comes to books and movies? So, here's what's going on. I am reading this book. The first third of it I was totally confused! There was no cast of characters in the front and words like "bishop" and "reverend" were used interchangeably. I...

My last post was a quote that I read in this book and one that I thought was really good. I've finished it now and I did enjoy the rest of the book... I enjoyed this book because it caused me to reflect on my own childhood and my responsibility for my decisions and who I am. But, let me back up a moment. This story is about Jade Fitzgerald who owns a vintage shop in a small town and is about to get married. She has significant baggage but is about getting married. She and her fiancee had decided that they would let the past be the past and not dig into each other's baggage or dredge up the past. But, Jade isn't able to avoid this because of several circumstances in the weeks leading up to her wedding. The story flows smoothly and easily. It is interesting and I enjoyed the characters. There was only one major flaw for me but it has to do with how little attention her fiancee received and his baggage. It seemed very disproportionate. I have noticed that in our soci...