This That and the Other Thing

Book Review: Girls Uncovered

2012-01-26T13:12:00.002-06:00

Girls Uncovered: New Research on What America's Sexual Culture Does to Young Women

About the Book:

Any parent can identify with the feeling that girls growing up in America face a treacherous future; Uncovered Girls unveils the facts. In a follow up to their eye-opening release, Hooked, obstetricians Joe McIlhaney and Freda Bush present stunning scientific research on the development of young girls in America's increasingly reckless sexual culture. They survey the reality of prevalent sexual behaviors and attitudes as well as their psychological, social, physical, and spiritual effects. Despite the harrowing facts revealed by their studies, McIlhaney and Bush give us hope through their expertise as physicians and parents of daughters. Girls Uncovered provides fundamental wisdom and practical advice to help parents, counselors, and church leaders guide young girls safely through the challenges they will face so they can achieve their potential and enjoy full health, hope and happiness.

My Comments:

I'm a middle-aged conservative mom. "Cool" isn't a word generally used to describe me. I don't dress or act like a teenager (but according to my teen daughter, that's a good thing). Part of being not cool is that I think that regardless of your moral or religious beliefs, non-marital sex is just plain dumb. The authors of Girls Uncovered: New Research on What America's Sexual Culture Does to Young Women agree. They make a convincing argument backed up by research (which is cited) that non-marital, particular early non-marital sexual activity, works against the goals girls set for themselves. While girls say they want an education, a career, a stable marriage and children, non-marital sex can lead to pregnancy which derails educational and career plans, and makes a good marriage partner harder to find. It can lead to disease which causes infertility. It can cause you to develop relationship patterns that make it more difficult to develop the intimacy skills necessary for a good marriage. Why then, with all these negatives, are our girls engaging in so much non-marital sex?

The authors go through the hormonal aspects of desire for sex as well as the physiological/psychological effects sex have on us. In short, our bodies are programmed to want sex, and then, once we have it, it is natural for girls to feel closer to the guy. Unfortunately the same is not necessarily true for men.

I liked the way this book took readers through the various lies that are told today, like "safe sex" and refuted them not with "The Bible (or Pope) says it's wrong" but rather "This study says that people who abstain from non-marital sex are more likely to achieve the goal you want". The authors come right out and say "Sex before marriage is sexist"--the bad consequences are far more likely to happen to women--pregnancy, infertility, her caring more about him than he does about her" They also point out that cohabitation is a bad idea. Cohabitation before marriage is associated with a higher rate of marital break-up and cohabiting women have a higher rate of unplanned pregnancy than married women do.

While the book as a whole is addressed to parents, there is one chapter addressed to teen girls and my daughter will find herself gifted with it.

My only complaint about the book is that at times it seemed repetitive. Still, it was an easy read full of good information. Grade: B+ . The authors are involved with this organization.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.

Monday Memes

2012-01-22T19:43:00.003-06:00

This month, Mailbox Monday is hosted by At Home With Books. Bloggers list books that arrived in either snail mail or email. Snail mail brought me

Beyond Molasses Creek

I downloaded a few NetGalleys:

If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home

It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted by Sheila over at Book Journey. She asks what we read last week, what we reviewed last week and what we plan to read this week. Since my last Monday post, I've read and reviewed:

My Review

My Comments

I also wrote about Kindle freebies. Let me know if you are a fan of them.

Heartache Falls: My Review

2012-01-22T19:17:00.000-06:00

Heartache Falls: An Eternity Springs Novel

About the Book:

Married for more than twenty years, and with her children out of the nest, Ali Timberlake has come to Eternity Springs alone. She’s looking for answers to heartbreaking questions and searching for something that’s missing deep within herself. Taking a lease on the Bristlecone Café in pursuit of a lifelong dream, Ali feels revitalized as she becomes part of this charming mountain town. But a big piece of her is still back in Denver with her husband, Mac, a successful judge—and a man who isn’t going to let the woman he loves leave without a fight.

When Mac shows up in Eternity Springs—sexy, seductive, and determined to win his wife back—he experiences the wonder of the place that has given Ali such feelings of happiness and belonging. He wants that for her, but even more, he wants that with her. Ali has found a special place for her heart. But is there still enough room left in that heart for him?

My Comments:
I think Amazon recommended either this book or another in the series, so I requested it from my library. It is a sweet re-romance--a story about a middle-aged married couple who find that life post-kids isn't what they had thought it would be. She got pregnant in college and has spent her life as a stay at home mom. He is an attorney who just became a federal judge. She is the first to admit she is unhappy and to try to do something about it. At first, he doesn't understand why she is unhappy. By the end of the book...

I liked the fact that she really didn't know what was wrong at first, it took a lot of time for her to figure out why she wasn't happy, and then he was able to accept that. It would have been so easy to make her husband a bad guy, but she didn't. I wonder how many mid-life divorces could be avoided if those involved took time to figure out how they could change to make life better, rather than expecting that leaving a spouse will do that.

This was a sweet read, but one that was obviously part of a series (and I haven't read the other books). There were a lot of useless characters and references to some back story. There was also a set-up for the next one.

There are a couple of intimate scenes but if you are looking for an instruction manual, you'll be disappointed. However, we are definitely there, not outside the door.

While no literary masterpiece this book was a pleasant afternoon diversion. Grade: B.

Review: Angelina's Bachelors

2012-01-21T22:29:00.001-06:00

Angelina's Bachelors: A Novel with Food

About the Book:

Far too young to be a widow, Angelina D’Angelo suddenly finds herself facing a life without her beloved husband, Frank. Late one night shortly after the funeral, she makes her way down to the kitchen and pours all of her grief and anger into the only outlet she has left—her passion for cooking. In a frenzy of concentration and swift precision, she builds layer upon layer of thick, rich lasagna, braids loaves of yeasty bread, roasts plump herb-rubbed chicken; she makes so much food that she winds up delivering the spoils to the neighbors in her tight-knit Italian community in South Philadelphia.

Retiree Basil Cupertino, who has just moved in with his kindly sister across the street, is positively smitten with Angelina’s food. In a stroke of good fortune, Basil offers Angelina (not only husbandless but unemployed) a job cooking for him—two meals a day, six days a week, in exchange for a handsome salary. Soon, word of her irresistible culinary prowess spreads and she finds herself cooking for seven bachelors—and in the process discovers the magical power of food to heal, to bring people together . . . and maybe even to provide a second chance at love.

Filled to the brim with homemade warmth, Angelina’s Bachelors is a sweet tale of overcoming grief, redefining family, and following your heart—through food.

My Comments:

This is one that caught my eye when reading book blogs. I found it at our library last week and must say that it has been a nice change from what has gotten to be a pretty steady diet of romance novels. Losing your husband must be traumatic for any happily married woman, but Angelina lost hers suddenly when he was relatively young. I enjoyed watching her use her talents not only to move beyond her grief but also to help others find their way in life.

The book is about 350 pages long, but it read more quickly than that for me because it featured many pages of complicated multi-ingredient recipes--the kind that take hours to cook and dirty every pot I own. If you are a foodie, then maybe you'd enjoy reading them in detail; I just skimmed.

Angelina is an Italian-American Catholic. The author is Brian O'Reilly. With a name like that, I suspect there is some Catholic in his background; however, there were a couple of points that stood out to me, that made me wonder whether he was taking literary license (and if so, why) or if he really isn't that familiar with Catholicism. Angelina is at a baptism. The Godfather answers for the baby, not the parent, and the words, other than the actual "I baptize you..." were unfamiliar to me. Salt was placed on the baby's tongue, as was done pre-Vatican II, and the "I baptize you" part was done in Latin, followed by an English exchange "The Lord be with you" "And also with you".

As someone married to an Italian-American, I enjoyed reading about the custom of eating seven fish dishes on Christmas Eve. My husband said he has heard of eating fish; but not seven dishes. A parallel was drawn between the seven fish dishes and the seven sacraments. I'll share them with you:

Clams and oysters because God is your armor from trouble
Salt fish because God's Word gives a flavor to the world
Calamari because God can reach out his arms and find you
Eels because God's Word goes so quickly
Smelts because even the smallest will be as the biggest when the Kingdom comes
Flounder because God's eyes are always open

Since it was an enjoyable story not claiming to be religious fiction, I'll give O'Brien a bit of a pass on the religious stuff and give the book a B.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

2012-01-21T17:25:00.000-06:00

I'd like to welcome everyone to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. To particpate, go to your blog and create an entry titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. In it, highlight one or more of your posts from the past week that you believe would be of interest to Catholic bloggers---whether they are posts reflecting on spiritual matters or posts about antics of Catholic kids, or anything in between. Come back here and enter the URL of that post below. Finally, go visit other participants, and leave comments! If you want a weekly reminder to post, join our yahoogroup.

I'm glad to have everyone here, and just want to remind you that posts linked below should contain a link back here.

No real "Catholic" posts this week. I wrote about free books for the Kindle, reviewed a WWII era thriller (and the author is giving away a "Spy Pack" that includes an I-Pod Touch. I wrote about a book titled The Kitchen Daughter and used it as a reflection on some things going on in my life.

Kindle Freebies

2012-01-20T13:03:00.000-06:00

Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi

(if you click that link to buy a Kindle, I get a couple of nickels)

Last Christmas, two very nice folks for whom I work bought me a Kindle. It has become my favorite toy. At this time I have over three hundred books on it, very few of which cost me any money. Because I am a book blogger, I have access to NetGalley, which offers bloggers and other "professional readers" free review copies of new books. However, another one of my freebie sources is available to anyone with a computer: The Kindle Store. So far this week, I have "purchased" thirty-six Kindle versions of books, none of which cost me a cent (or a dollar). This week, most of my "finds" are cookbooks, and honestly, I probably wouldn't ever buy most of them, but given that they were free, and only for a limited time, pushing the download button wasn't very hard. Others were self-published digital format only romance novels which are probably worth what I paid for them, but maybe one day I'll take a look at one of them, if I have time. At least one is a book for which I've seen reviews of the printed copy on book blogs.

Where do I find all these freebies? E-Reader Love has blog that publishes on or more lists daily of Kindle Freebies. So far today (I'm writing just before noon) they have published a list of forty mystery/suspense/thrillers. Yesterday, they listed sixty-five books, the day before, sixty. Even I can't read that many books a week. Even if you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the books to read on your computer.

What is in it for them? I guess the idea is that once I read something by an author, I will want to read something else. Also, most of these offers are temporary, and my guess is that they sell a few even after they start charging again because people like me see them listed on newsletters, click the button to purchase and then choose to do so, even if they are no longer free.

What is your procedure for "purchasing" Kindle (or Nook) freebies? Do you grab stuff when you become aware of it, keeping it until you decide to read it (or not) or do you only review free offerings if you want something new to read--and then read your new books shortly thereafter? Have you found any gems via freebies? Do you subscribe to any websites listing freebies, or do you have a favorite search you run in order to find them? Let's talk about Kindle Freebies.

Blog Tour: Chasing Mona Lisa

2012-01-18T03:30:00.000-06:00

Chasing Mona Lisa: A Novel

About the book:

It is August 1944 and Paris is on the cusp of liberation. As the soldiers of the Third Reich flee the Allied advance, they ravage the country, stealing countless pieces of art. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring will stop at nothing to claim the most valuable one of all, the Mona Lisa, as a post-war bargaining chip to get him to South America. Can Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler rescue DaVinci's masterpiece before it falls into German hands?

With nonstop action, Chasing Mona Lisa is sure to get readers' adrenaline pumping as they join the chase to save the most famous painting in the world. From war-ravaged Paris to a posh country chateau, the race is on--and the runners are playing for keeps.

Read an excerpt, watch a video and find out more here.

My Comments:

I enjoyed this World War II thriller about two Swiss agents and two French nationals who work together (sort of) to keep the Mona Lisa out of the hands of the retreating Nazis. Within this thriller the reader is given information about the painting itself (it is painted on wood, not canvas, for one), about French politics of the era and about the German occupation of Paris during the war. The four main characters make up two couples so there is a little romance involved, but it isn't a romance novel. It is a fast-paced book with a happy ending.

While published by Revell, a Christian imprint, the book isn't the slightest bit religious--well, it did mention church bells, that one man was a minister and that one of the characters said a prayer (but readers are not privy to the prayer) and that there was a thanksgiving service at Notre Dame where DeGaulle said the Magnifcat . I'd say it earns its "Christian" designation by being squeaky clean--despite the subject matter never is a swear word uttered, and the couples in question are clearly chaste.

The story grabbed me early into the book and kept me turning pages until it was over. If I had to criticize the plot, I'd say that things worked out too well, but then I'm not a real fan of death, mayhem and sadness so for me, that's not really a problem.

I'd like to thank the folks at Lifuse for providing a complimentary review copy. You can see what other folks touring this book think by clicking here.

Have you ever wanted to be a spy? In connection with this blog tour, a "Spy Pack" including an I-pod Touch is being given away. See my post.

About the authors:
Tricia Goyer is the coauthor of The Swiss Courier as well as the author of many other books, including Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights, both past winners of the ACFW's Book of the Year Award for Long Historical Romance. Goyer lives with her family in Arkansas. For more about Tricia and her other books visitwww.triciagoyer.com

Mike Yorkey is the author or coauthor of dozens of books, including The Swiss Courier and the bestselling Every Man's Battle series. Married to a Swiss native, Yorkey lived in Switzerland for 18 months. He and his family currently reside in California. For more about Mike and his other books visit www.mikeyorkey.com

My Thoughts: The Kitchen Daughter

2012-01-16T23:30:00.000-06:00

The Kitchen Daughter

My Comments:

This is really more of a post about my life than this book, but good books are supposed to make you examine your own life. Some of my readers know, my nineteen year old son is on the autism spectrum. I've always said it was on the mild end, and I guess that's true, but honestly, right now, I don't know. After graduating from high school last spring (a year late, but with a regular diploma) he said he was tired of school and wanted to get a job. We live near a major street with fast food places, grocery stores etc., so I sent him out to pound the pavement. He returned, saying that they told him to apply on-line. At the same time we were working with the State to get him into a job placement program for the handicapped. The idea is that they would help him find a job and then provide a job coach to teach him the job,and then phase out. The state contracts with private companies to provide this service. We chose the company my son wanted to use, not the one I would have selected, and nothing happened all summer. I was not concerned because I know the economy isn't the greatest and a lot of my daughter's friends who were looking for work were not finding it.

When school started in the fall, I told him that since he had not found a job, he had to go to school. I took him to the local community college and signed him up for the program he chose. If I had just dropped him off with a credit card, I doubt he would have figured out the system well enough to make it through registration. I read in the paper that about 70% of the students at the community college were required to take remedial classes. My son was not in that number. However, if he returned this semester, he'd be on academic probation and would need to retake at least two of his three classes. The really frustrating thing is though, that looking at his grades,he got A's and B's on the work he turned in; he got bad grades because it took me figuring out how the school's computer system worked, among other things, to get him to the point of being able to hand in his work--but even after that was taken care of, this kid who was at school from 8-5 two days a week, and only taking nine hours, chose not to complete all his assignments.

Shortly before Christmas we changed employment vendors since the previous ones did not appear to have done anything. The new ones evaluated him and told me that he was not ready to get a job--that he lacked the basic skills of listening to the boss and doing it the boss' way, and sticking with it until it was done. The recommended a program to teach those skills, but that program can only be bought with money from a different pot and we are only in the process of applying for it (applying for all these programs is practically a full-time job). That money won't come through for 3-4 months, assuming things go our way. Until then, I'm trying to keep him busy with housework and whatever else I can cook up.

What does all that have to do with this book? The book is about an autistic young woman. What video games are to my son,cooking is to her. It is what she does, what she loves, what she thinks about, what she talks about. The book takes place in the weeks following her parents' accidental death. It is told in the first person and she tells us about her sister trying to get her to sell the house and move in with her--which she does not want to do. She also talks about her sister's young daughter, who may be autistic too--and another autistic family member.

Ginny, the autistic woman, has been sheltered all her life (and yes, in some ways, we shelter my son--like navigating college registration for him) and is trying to figure out how to deal with life on her own. That's the hardest part of parenting a kid like mine--how much do you push, how much do you allow, how much do you shelter. We have chosen to allow him to drive--and shortly after he got his license he was in an accident. Did we make the right choice? I don't know-I heard lots of stories about lots of kids who got in wrecks shortly after they started driving. We've limited his driving, but he still drives;another accident and we'll have to reconsider. I told him to take the bus to go pay his ticket. He called me, upset that the bus stop was not where he thought it should be. He got my voicemail, and by the time I called him back,he had figured it out. He doesn't want to work--he is perfectly happy living as a twelve year old on summer vacation. While it is nice having a live-in housekeeper, my goal is for him to be gainfully employed. My goal is also to make it possible for him to survive without us, and without being a burned on his sisters. I don't know if we'll be able to achieve the second goal.

I liked reading what being autistic is like, from Ginny's point of view, though, as she notes, it is a spectrum and different people react differently. I liked it when Ginny realized that her mother was a major reason she was able to do what she could--the reason she hadn't been held back in school or shunted into special ed classes devoid of academic work. I've put a lot of work into my son's education and yes, I wonder if I shouldn't have pushed harder, or run more interference at the community college,but at some point he has to stand on his own.

Yea, its been a disappointing couple of months and while The Kitchen Daughter doesn't say that it will all be perfect in the end, it does remind me that my son is a great guy with his own talents and that once we find them and give him the support he needs to transition to adulthood, he has a grand adventure awaiting him, even if he'd rather stay home.

Monday Memes

2012-01-15T20:19:00.001-06:00

This month, Mailbox Monday is hosted by At Home With Books. Bloggers list books that arrived in either snail mail or email. I downloaded a few for my Kindle:

I used a gift certificate to go to the bookstore and buy:

My Review

I also read:

Will be reviewed this week. Click here for giveaway.

Win an i-Pod Touch Spy Pack

2012-01-15T19:27:00.000-06:00

Win an iTouch SPY Pack in the Chasing Mona Lisa Giveaway from @triciagoyer @mikeyorkey! Chasing Mona Lisa is the continuing tale of Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler (first introduced in The Swiss Courier). This time the due are on a relentless quest to save the most famous painting in the world - the Mona Lisa. You can help Gabi and Eric with your very own spy pack when you enter The Chasing Mona Lisa Giveaway!

One passionate protector will receive:

iTouch (The must-have device for any spy. Camera, Maps & Music.)
Starbucks Gift Card (For all those late nights.)
Moleskin Notebook (For those important notes.)
Invisible Ink Pen (Don’t want anyone reading those important notes.)
Chasing Mona Lisa by Tricia Goyer & Mike Yorkey (Great handbook and intriguing tale for any spy-in-training!)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on January 31st. The winner will be announced at the Chasing Mona Lisa Facebook Party on 1/31. Tricia and Mike will be hosting an author chat (on Facebook and Live from Tricia's website) and giving away their books and a Book Club prize pack! (Ten copies of the book for your small group or book club AND a LIVE Author Chat for your group with Tricia and Mike.)

So grab your copy of Chasing Mona Lisa and join Tricia and Mike on the evening of the 31st for an author chat, spy training (do you know how to pick a lock?) and lots of giveaways.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 31st!

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

2012-01-14T17:38:00.000-06:00

Top 10 Tuesday: Ten Photos of Catholic Churches in New York City

2012-01-09T21:28:00.000-06:00

I love old churches with their ornate altars, statutes, long aisles, side chapels and stained glass windows. They may not be what most people think of when they are playing tourist in New York City like I did this summer, and while even I probably wouldn't go far to look at a church, when they are handy, why not enjoy? Some of my favorite pictures of Catholic churches I took this summer in New York

1 and 2 are, as the sign says, from the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. She founded Daughters of Charity here in the US (they are originally a French order) and the DC's staffed our parish school when I was a kid.

n3. I love the way this church is sandwiched in between later buildings.

4. St. Patrick's Cathedral.

5. One of the doors to St. Patrick's.

6. You can even find a garden in the middle of the city.

7. Breathtaking!

8. They don't make statues like they used to.

9. This one never gets old.

10. I did tell you I like old churches, right?

You can read other folks Top Ten lists at OhAmanda.com

Atheist to Catholic

2012-01-09T18:04:00.000-06:00

Atheist to Catholic

About the Book:

Most of the former atheists in this book had investigated religion's claims to truth, rejected them and were shocked to then find themselves turning to faith. Some of these stories come from: a university professor unexpectedly attracted to the faith when a student described her retreat at a monastery; a young woman impressed by a colleague's Mass attendance: I wanted to find her ridiculous, but quite unexpectedly, I felt like the ridiculous one; a Polish immigrant who once shared communism's disdain for religion; these seekers ended up someplace they never intended to go, the Catholic Church, and yet went there and found that they were home.

My Comments:

As a cradle Catholic I have sometimes envied those who can claim a conversion moment, a time when they went from not believing to believing, a time when they really felt Jesus in a way that compelled them to take action. Over the years I have spent a lot of time reading about my faith and the faith of others. I have haunted AOL message boards, read apologetics websites and read plenty of books. One thing I've found interesting is how often converts to Evangelical Protestantism describe emotional experiences and how often converts to Catholicism describe intellectual ones. While a rousing sermon may get you to answer an altar call, what prompts you to not only accept Jesus but to accept a belief system that limits personal freedom and goes against many of what people consider to be defining characteristics of our era like sexual freedom, gender equality and tolerance of varied sexual identities?

Atheist to Catholic is a compilation of the stories of eleven former atheists who are now Catholic. Most found their way to Catholicism if not Christianity, through reading and study. While some had mystical or emotional experiences, those experiences either confirmed ongoing study or set study in motion. What they describe is an intellectual search for the truth, not an emotional search for love. Some of the stories are about bloggers known to many who read Catholic blogs--Jennifer of The Conversion Diary, The Raving Theist and Karen Edmisten are three. As someone whose approach to life, and faith, is more intellectual than emotional, I appreciated the reasoned approach of these people.

The book itself is easy to read and while it talks about reading philosophy, St. Thomas, St. Augustine, Chesterton or Tolkien, it doesn't quote them extensively nor is it an apologetics book dressed up as life stories. We get a brief background on the faith life (or more precisely the lack of faith life) of each convert along with the story of their conversion. I recommend this book to those who wonder how any intelligent person could believe all that stuff anyway. Grade: B+

I wrote this review of Atheist to Catholic: Stories of Conversion for the free Catholic book review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, your source for Baptism Gifts and Oplatki Christmas Wafers.

Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.

I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.

Monday Memes

2012-01-08T13:21:00.000-06:00

This month, Mailbox Monday is hosted by At Home With Books. Bloggers list books that arrived in either snail mail or email. Since my last Monday posting I have downloaded a lot from Amazon and a few from NetGalley (covers are clickable Amazon links).

NetGalley:

Amazon: Far more than I care to list here. I regularly read Ereader News Today which lists Kindle books which are free for a limited time. As such, I "buy" first, review later. This has been a cookbook week. However, here are some I've actually read:
A self-published romance. Good basic concept, likable characters, needs work in the realism department.
Another self-published romance. See my review.
Self-published romance; better written than many. On the explicit side.
This was on sale for $.99 and since I'd read others in the series I grabbed it. It is on the long side and seems (I'm about halfway through) to have some supernatural/divine elements.
Another $.99 book. I haven't read it yet,but looking at the authors, I'd guess a sweet Christmas romance.
My final $.99 purchase. You can guess the plot by looking at the cover.

My Review

My Review. My Giveaway

My Review

Check out my Amish Fiction Giveaway!

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

2012-01-07T15:57:00.000-06:00

I'd like to welcome everyone to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. To particpate, go to your blog and create an entry titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. In it, highlight one or more of your posts from the past week that you believe would be of interest to Catholic bloggers---whether they are posts reflecting on spiritual matters or posts about antics of Catholic kids, or anything in between. Come back here and enter the URL of that post below. Finally, go visit other participants, and leave comments! If you want a weekly reminder to post, join our yahoogroup.

Happy Kings Day (a day late). Hope everyone enjoyed their first King Cake of the season. Ours was black and gold for obvious reasons (picked out by my seven year old). I took our Christmas stuff down this morning and then went out this afternoon and bought my new sofa. It is an olive green reclining sofa. I'm just not a beige/brown person and it looks great with the Turkish rug we have in the den.

I'm glad to have everyone here, and just want to remind you that posts linked below should contain a link back here.

This week I reviewed a book by a woman who left the Missionaries of Charity, Blessed Mother Teresa's order. I was disappointed. I also read an Amish romance, which didn't quite click with me. Nevertheless, I'm giving away a copy of it, and several other Amish books.

Amish Fiction Giveaway

2012-01-04T23:33:00.000-06:00

Keeper, The: A Novel (Stoney Ridge Seasons)

About the Author:

Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. She has many, many Plain relatives living in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and travels back to Pennsylvania, as well as to Ohio, a couple of times each year for research.

Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to the world. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don't have to "go Amish" to incorporate many of their principles--simplicity, living with less, appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily-- into your life.

When Suzanne isn't writing or bragging to her friends about her first new grandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To Suzanne's way of thinking, you just can't take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone's underwear in its mouth.

Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.

Giveaway

The publisher has generously provided a copy of this book for a giveaway. To enter, leave a comment with your name. For a second entry, blog, tweet, facebook etc. about this giveaway. For a third entry, pin this book on your Pintrest board, and leave a link.

Extra!

I have a stack of gently used Amish books I'll throw in the package with this one, so if you've ever wanted to try Amish fiction, this is the giveaway for you!

WINNER WILL BE DRAWN 1/15/12. US ONLY!

Blog Tour and Review: The Keeper

2012-01-04T23:22:00.000-06:00

Keeper, The: A Novel (Stoney Ridge Seasons)

About the Book:
Julia Lapp has planned on marrying Paul Fisher since she was a girl. Now twenty-one, she looks forward to their wedding with giddy anticipation. When Paul tells her he wants to postpone the wedding--again--she knows who is to blame. Perpetual bachelor and spreader of cold feet, Roman Troyer, the Bee Man.

Roamin' Roman travels through the Amish communities of Ohio and Pennsylvania with his hives full of bees, renting them out to farmers in need of pollinators. He relishes his nomadic life, which keeps him from thinking about all he has lost. He especially enjoys bringing his bees to Stoney Ridge each year. But with Julia on a mission to punish him for inspiring Paul's cold feet, the Lapp farm is looking decidedly less pleasant.

Can Julia secure the future she's always dreamed of? Or does God have something else in mind?

Full of the plot twists and surprises her fans love, The Keeper is the first in a new series by bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher. Through touching family relationships and trials of the heart, Fisher's vivid characters grapple with yielding to God's will when it doesn't match their own.

My Comments:

Ever read one of those books that just didn't speak to you? A book that you knew as well written with interesting characters, a book that you by no means hated or could say bad things about, but a book that you just didn't really like? That was this one for me. Usually I like Suzanne Woods Fischer's books, and I didn't hate this one, but it was not a favorite by any means. I'm sure you'll see a lot of positive reviews if you check out the other folks touring this book. Here are links to the blogs that have already posted reviews or who should have them today:

1/3

Charlene at Quintessentially Quilly

Mocha with Linda

Holly at 2 Kids and Tired Books

Wendy at wall-to-wall books

Mary's Cup of Tea

Patricia at It's Time to Read Meemaw

1/4

Crystal Created for Home

Jennifer at Where the green grass grows

Debra at Footprints in the Butter

Holly at Everything and Anything

Abi at 4 the LOVE of BOOKS

Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

Beckie at By The Book

1/5

Valentina at Carabosse's Library

Renee at Black'n Gold Girl's Book Spot

Anne at Mommy Has to Work

April's at Lifestyle Show

Lena at A Christian Writer's World

Lori at Morning Glories and Moonflowers

Giveaway!

It’s a “Honey of a Giveaway” from Suzanne Woods Fisher! Suzanne is hosting a "honey of a giveaway"during the blog tour for The Keeper! During 1/3-1/17 you can enter to win an iPad2 from Suzanne and connect with her on January 17th at The Keeper Facebook Party!

During the giveaway one Grand Prize winner will receive a Prize Pack valued at $600:

A brand new 16 KB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi
A $25 gift certificate to iTunes
A copy of The Keeper

But wait there's more! Just click one of the icons below to enter, then on 1/17 join Suzanne for The Keeper Facebook Party! During the party Suzanne will announce the winner of the "Honey" of an iPad Giveaway and host a fun book chat and give away some fun "honey" inspired prizes - It'll be 'sweet"!

RSVP early and tell your friends!

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 17th!

Amazon Freebie: A Vision of Sugarplums

2012-01-03T22:55:00.002-06:00

About the Book:

Meghan Castle is a real Scrooge about the holidays ... until she finds an abandoned baby in her store on Christmas Eve. Change is certainly in the air – especially when late shopper Rick Wallman walks in with yet another delightful holiday surprise.

Meghan has to take the baby home — that or call Social Services on Christmas Eve. Rick goes with her to help shop for baby supplies and winds up spending the night.

Meghan and Rick, though, each have secrets — one of which could destroy the fragile future they begin to build together.

A VISION OF SUGARPLUMS was the Midwest Fiction Writers’ choice for Best Contemporary Novella of 1996.

My Comments:

This was a cute story even if totally unrealistic and a little heavy on the adjectives/flowery language. I figured out the "secret" before it was revealed, but you don't read romance novellas for their unexpected plot twists. As of this moment, it's a free read so if you have a Kindle or are willing to read on your computer, it's a risk free read. Grade: B-

Review: An Unquenchable Thirst

2012-01-02T20:04:00.000-06:00

An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love, Service, and an Authentic Life

About the Book:

An unforgettable spiritual autobiography about a search for meaning that begins alongside one of the great religious icons of our time and ends with a return to the secular world.

At seventeen, Mary Johnson saw Mother Teresa’s face on the cover of Time and experienced her calling. Eighteen months later, she entered a convent in the South Bronx to begin her religious training. Not without difficulty, this bright, independent-minded Texas teenager eventually adapted to the sisters’ austere life of poverty and devotion, and in time became close to Mother Teresa herself.

Still, beneath the white and blue sari beat the heart of an ordinary young woman facing the struggles we all share—the desire for love and connection, meaning and identity. During her twenty years with the Missionaries of Charity, Sister Donata, as she was known, grappled with her faith, her sexuality, the politics of the order, and her complicated relationship with Mother Teresa. Eventually, she left the church to find her own path—one that led to love and herself.

My Comments:

Net Galley has a lot of books, over 1700 at this moment, and I tend to take period sweeps through it, requesting anything that looks interesting, based on the title, author or cover. I do not always click through to read the entire description of the book as NetGalley is a free service for bloggers, and selecting a book from them does not obligate me to read or review it. Had I clicked through and read the description, it is likely I would not have chosen this book. As you can see above, the author ends up leaving not only the Missionaries of Charity but also the Catholic Church. Realizing that as I began to read probably colored my opinion of the book.

Once upon a time, many years ago, I wanted to be a nun. I knew they had to pray a whole lot, but they also didn't have to get married, and at the wise old age of six or seven, I knew I didn't want anything to do with boys, and the nuns I knew were very nice. I hung onto that dream for many years. In high school I read Kathryn Hulme's The Nun's Story (which was made into a movie starring Audrey Hepburn), the story of a young woman who joined a Belgian convent in the 1920's and left during WWII. We followed her from her first days as a postulant to the day she left the convent. We learned about convent traditions, rules, politics and watched the main character get too close to a man with whom she worked. That book (and boys, who I later realized weren't so bad after all) convinced me that I didn't want to be a nun. Still, I had a hard time reconciling what I read in that book to the lives I saw the Daughters of Charity, who staffed our parish school, live. Later I read several "I left the convent behind" stories and figured that there had to be some truth to that story, at least at some time in history.

Mary Johnston's story in An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love, Service, and an Authentic Life is pretty much a clone of those books. She entered the Missionaries of Charity in the mid-1970's after falling in love with Mother Teresa via magazine articles. She began as a aspirant Bronx New York and then spent her novitiate in Italy before being sent back to the US briefly. She spent the rest of her 20 years with the Missionaries of Charity primarily in Italy. We follow her as she spends hours in prayer, works with the poor and adapts to bathing in cold water in a bucket. We learn that she attended Mass daily and confession weekly. She had to accept criticism from her superiors without question. Sisters were not to touch each other unnecessarily nor become special friends with any one sister. They had to ask permission for just about everything and had very little personal freedom. The Superior's word was law and more than a few of the Superiors weren't all that nice and seemed to her to be more interested in promoting a personal agenda than the agenda of the order; and instead of promoting the Christian virtues of faith, hope and love in the sisters under them, they promoted the primary convent virtue of obedience. After years in the convent, Johnston violates the vow of chastity, first with two Sisters (not at the same time) and then with a priest. She then decides God is calling her to leave the MCs.

I found the summary above a little misleading. I never got the impression, reading the book, that Sr. Donata was close to Mother Teresa. I definitely thought she wanted to be; as a matter of fact, when she mentions Mother Teresa visiting, her main complaint was that she didn't get enough one-on-one with her, and on an occasion when she traveled with Mother Teresa, she later realized she never really got to talk to her on the trip.

I have no doubt that it takes a very special person to live the life of a Missionary of Charity. The chosen poverty, with the resultant bad food, cold bucket baths and cots in a communal non-air conditioned dormitory is enough to scare me away, even without chastity and obedience. That being said, the book is obviously written by someone who left--someone who didn't fit in and wasn't happy. I wonder how much of it would be like reading a description of marriage by a divorced woman? For example, what's the difference in the following: Woman 1: I called and told my husband that I found the perfect sofa for the living room. He told me I couldn't have it. Woman 2: I called and told me husband that I found the perfect sofa for the living room. He said "That's wonderful. If we save $50 dollars a month in the furniture fund, we'll be able to get it before the end of the year". For all we know both husbands could have said the same thing--neither woman has a new sofa in her living room right now. A woman who is in love with her husband "gets" to be physically intimate; one who barely tolerates him "has to be".

Mary Johnston mentions at the end of the book that not only did she leave the Missionaries of Charity, she also left the Church, but she doesn't really go into what prompted that except to say that one day she asked God to show Himself to her and she heard a small voice said "Look inside yourself. God is like the best parts of you", and that from there it was a small step to "God is the best parts of you" and that stories about God no longer ring true and "physics and literature and music feel so much more honest than theology". I know Johnston isn't looking for my sympathy, but she has it, and not for what she endured during her time with the MC's.

I debated on how to rate the book. It was an interesting, well-written book. It was also a not-so-thinly veiled attack on the Catholic church in general and the Missionaries of Charity in particular. I guess I'll give it a C+.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

2011-12-31T16:17:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a blessed and merry Christmas. We went to my Dad's where all of my siblings were, except for my brother who lives behind my Dad--he was home sick with the stomach crud. Luckily it didn't last long. My kids all got too much stuff and I cooked far too many sweets, but we are all happy.

As we go into this New Year I pray that God blesses each and every one of you.

Since we were last together my blogging has been on the light side. This week I participated in Seven Quick Takes. I reviewed Strawberry Girl, a book I loved as a child, which is now out as an e-book. Hidden Summit is on of Robin Carr's Virgin River books and Summer at Willow Lake is another romance. I have a backlog of Catholic book to read/review but when I pick up my Kindle, mindless romance is that I pick. I need to upgrade my reading material for the New Year.

Seven Quick Takes

2011-12-30T01:00:00.000-06:00

It is weeks like this, weeks when the kids are out of school that really convince my how much I despise homework. My seven year old is bright, probably not gifted, but well above average. She gets most of her written homework done in after school care but even so, but the time we study spelling, read for the reading log and practice her math facts, plus work on any projects that are due, it is bath and bedtime. My sixteen year old is in a magnet school for bright kids and spends three to four hours a night on homework. While I can't honestly say how much of that time is solid working and how much is checking facebook on her ipod, it just seems excessive to me--and she is by no means a straight A student.

I was serving refreshments to the Lifeteen group at church, a group in which my daughter participates. As part of their Christmas social they were invited to share about family Christmas traditions. She didn't share anything. On the way home, she said she didn't think they were looking for her favorite tradition in our family--the yearly nerf gun fight among the (supposedly) adults. This year I bought everyone rubber band powered airplanes. Now the ones that aren't broken are in Grandpa's toy box.

One nice thing about living in New Orleans is that the Holiday season is not almost over--it is just going low key for a while, until parades start. Kings day marks the start of Carnival, a time of King Cakes, balls and parades, climaxing on Mardi Gras.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is baking. I make many of the same things my mother used to make and my little one loves to help.

I need some New Year's resolutions. The usual "lose weight" is there--I did well with that for about six months last year, and I still have 20-30 lbs to go. I guess I'll drag myself out of bed Saturday morning and head to WW. They don't know anything the rest of the world doesn't, but the discipline of stepping on that scale every week is really helpful in making me do what I know I need to do--kind of like going to confession regularly tends to discourage repeated stupid sins (I guess there is worthy resolution).

I'm reading a really interesting book written for parents of daughters about the dangers of non-marital sex. Why is that so easy for me to see as a married adult and so hard for unmarried teens to realize?

My big Christmas present this year is a new sofa for my den. What do you think of these?

Review: Strawberry Girl

2011-12-29T10:04:00.000-06:00

Strawberry Girl

About the Book:

How can Birdie’s family grow strawberries when the neighbors let their cows into the berry fields?

Birdie and her family are trying to build a farm in Florida. But it’s not easy with the heat, droughts, and cold snaps—and neighbors that don’t believe in fences. But Birdie won’t give up on her dream of strawberries, and her family won’t let those Slaters drive them from their home!

This Newberry Medal–winning novel presents a realistic picture of life on the Florida frontier.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lois Lenski including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.

My Comments:

I like to think I've been reasonably successful in making readers out of my kids, though none of them loves it as much as I do. However, I haven't been terribly successful in passing on love of particular books. Strawberry Girl, along with Lois Lenski's other books about girls from various parts of the US, is one of those I loved but could never convince my older daughter to read. When NetGalley offered this one, I jumped at the chance to re-live part of my childhood (though I must admit that my library has a large, though old set of Lenski's books).

Strawberry Girl is set in the early 1900's in Florida when it was still a rural swamp. The main conflict is between a new family in town, a family that puts up fences and gardens and engages in agriculture as business, and a family that has been in town for a long time, or more precisely, the alcoholic father of that family, who is used to allowing his cattle and pigs to graze free and resents the fences the new people erect. This book, along with the others in the series, spotlights the differences in people's lives in various parts of the country prior to the homogenization wrought by television and big box retailers. Birdie and her family are "Crackers" and we learn the origin of the term. She attends a one-room school and goes barefoot most of the time. The dialogue in the book shows her dialect. They farm strawberries and oranges and drink milk from their own cow. Girls wear dresses made from flour sacks and get hats at the milliner.

Any book that can still be found in libraries this many years after it was published has to appeal to someone besides just me, and it certainly appeals to me. It is a children's book--a quick Google search shows grade levels between 3 and 6. I give it an A.

Review: Hidden Summit

2011-12-27T08:06:00.035-06:00

Hidden Summit (Virgin River)

About the Book:

Sick of running into her cheery ex-husband and his new wife, Leslie Petruso accepts a job at the Virgin River branch of Haggerty Construction and takes the high road right out of town. Now she’s got Paul Haggerty’s business running like a well-oiled machine. In fact, things are so busy Paul jumps at the chance to hire an extra set of hands.

Just like Leslie, Conner Danson has been burned by love. But if Leslie was disappointed by her relationship going bad, Conner was decimated. He’s got no time for women…although he spends an awful lot of time pretending not to notice Leslie. And she’s pretty busy “ignoring” the chemistry between them.According to Conner and Leslie, they have only one thing in common—they’re done with love. But everyone in Virgin River can see that things are heating up at Haggerty Construction. And as far as Paul Haggerty can tell, the best thing he can do is hang on to his hard hat and watch the sparks fly!

My Comments:

Leslie's ex divorced her but won't let her alone so she moves to Virgin River to work for her boss' son. Conner witnessed a murder and then has his business burned. The DA happens to have an ex-assistant who lives in Virgin River so he gets hidden there for a few months, where he goes to work for her boss. There is practically instant attraction, though neither of them say they are looking. As is usual in these books, there are a couple of steamy scenes. I enjoyed watching these two let go of the past and embrace a future together.

Old Virgin River friends make cameo appearances but there are no major sub-plots in this book. Conner has a sister who was also relocated by the DA, but she was sent across the country where she begins a relationship with a dentist who is wonderful, but who lacks that "spark" (he hasn't even kissed her) so I wouldn't be surprised to see the sister visit Virgin River (where all the men have "spark") in a future book.

In short, this is a pretty typical Virgin River book. If you like most of them, you'll like this; if you've hated others, this one isn't all that different. Grade: B.

Summer at Willow Lake

2011-12-26T20:44:00.000-06:00

Summer at Willow Lake (The Lakeshore Chronicles)

About the Book:

Olivia Bellamy has traded her trendy Manhattan life for a summer renovating her family's crumbling holiday resort. Tempted by the hazy, nostalgic memories of summers past - childhood innocence and the romance and rivalries of her teens - it's the perfect place to flee after her broken engagement. But what began as an escape may just be a new beginning...As Olivia uncovers secrets buried thick with dust, one by one her family return, their lives as frayed at the edges as the resort. Her father and the mystery woman in the tattered black and white photograph. Uncle John, who's trying to be a father again to his teenage kids. Connor Davis, the first love she never forgot. Laughter is ringing around Willow Lake once more. This could be Olivia's summer of a lifetime!

My Comments:

I'm old. I have to admit it, I'm old; I'm the age of the parents of romance novel heroines, not the age of the heroines. This isn't a completely new revelation, but when reading a book with dated flashbacks, when those flashbacks take you to the ancient days of the 1970's and involve people's parents, well, it sort of reminds me that even though I have a seven year old, I'm not as young as I used to be.

Summer at Willow Lake features Olivia and Connor, a couple in their late twenties in 2006. They met at her grandparent's summer camp where they were both campers, and later, counselors. She was from a family with money, and was the granddaughter of the owners. He was there on scholarship, the son of the alcoholic caretaker. He was the handsome heart throb of every female his age; she was overweight and insecure and never really fit in. Somehow they became friends and stayed that way, until that final summer.

Ten years later, the camp has been closed for some time and she has just ended her third engagement. Her career is "fluffing houses", staging them for sale. Her grandmother asks her to refurbish the camp, which has been mothballed for almost ten years, in time for her fiftieth wedding anniversary. It just so happens that the only contractor in town is Connor.

Besides Olivia and Connor's romance, we learn of Olivia's father's first romance and see the beginnings of the romance of Daisy (see my review of Marrying Daisy Bellamy) and of Olivia's cousin Dare.

I found the story to be enjoyable but the setting implausible. The summer camp has been out of business for ten years, but all the equipment is in good shape, all it needs is cleaning. While Grandma had other plans for the property, Daisy believed her when she said she wanted it refurbished for a party--and this was a big operation, we aren't talking about a small amount of money.

The book contains several intimate scenes that happen outside of marriage. We watch them undress,but after that we have to use our imaginations about what happened.

The book is the first in a series and as such we are treated to teasers about a lot of people, though Olivia and Connor get their happily ever after in this book.

Because of the implausibility of some of the setting, I'l give the book a B.

My copy was a freebie from Amazon but it's not free now.

Monday Memes

2011-12-19T07:05:00.000-06:00

This month, Mailbox Monday is hosted at Let Them Read Books. Bloggers list books that arrived in either snail mail or email. I got one:

Keeper, The: A Novel (Stoney Ridge Seasons)

It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted by Sheila over at Book Journey. She asks what we read last week, what we reviewed last week and what we plan to read this week.

My Review

What's up next? Who knows?