Reading, Writing & Pondering

I am always so glad to be back in Hope Harbor when a new installment in the series comes out from Irene Hannon. Sandcastle Inn is the 10th Hope Harbor book. However, if you have not read any of the previous books, they each can stand alone with no problems. Sandcastle Inn focuses on relationships. First, we have Matt who is in Hope Harbor on hiatus from his veterinarian job to help his sister out who got in over her head when she purchased a bed and breakfast. Matt's sister, Kay, is leaving Matt with the Bed and Breakfast while she is off to help their adopted grandmother go through a heart operation back in Idaho. Then there is Vienna who lost her corporate job due to corporate consolidation and is home to visit her mother, Bev, who runs the town's bookstore and makes unique jewelry. Paige and Andrew are new in town as they try to figure out how to go forward in their life as a young married couple after Andrew's business partner stole money from the business. Their luck c

  Do you like dogs? I LOVE dogs! I also love that dogs can do jobs that help people, like police dogs do. K9 Mattis On the Job by Mark Tappan tells "A Day in the life of a police dog." The illustrations by Donald Wu in this book are so life-like too! K9 Mattis on the Job is a large, dust-jacketed picture book that measures a little over 10 inches square and is 32 pages long.  This book tells the story of an average day in the life of police dog Mattis and his human partner, Sergeant Mark.  I love how this book shares little aspects of their lives. I also like how there are small boxes of fun facts in the pages that share some of the basic information about K9 Mattis life that go along with the story. I do think it would be helpful if somewhere they put some information on how people should approach police dogs--or not approach them, so children know better how to behave around them. Other than that, I think it is a great book with beautiful, colorful illustrations that gives

  These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas is a historical fiction novel set around the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. These Tangled Threads features three main characters: Lorna, Arthur and Gentry. These Tangled Threads is a good title for this book as the story weaves back and forth and through different times with the different characters. There is also an element of deception that needs to be righted and that thought is woven in the story.Then the book actually talks about the weaving that historically took place at that time. So the title is quite fitting for the story. For me, this story was a little confusing and a little slower. However, it was rich in history and description, which was well done. There is also a spiritual theme that is well done through the story. These Tangled Threads would be most enjoyed by readers who like history and rich descriptions. The characters and the setting are big in this story. The plot is slower paced. I received a copy of this

  Losing a loved one is never easy for anyone. In the past month, five people I know have passed away. The last one was the unexpected loss of a classmate. I have to say, I am sad in my heart and soul right now with all of these losses. J. S. Park has a new book out that talks about grieving from a chaplain who has counseled people in all walks of life about all types of deaths. He writes a book with solid practical advice and encouragement as you walk the grieving road ahead of you. In  As Long As You Need by J.S. Park, he offers an honest and unrushed engagement with grief, decoding four types of grieving–spiritual, mental, physical, and relational–and offering compassionate self-care and soul-care along the way. In his nearly decade of service as a chaplain at a major hospital with a designated level one trauma center J.S. understands firsthand how rushing or suppressing grief only adds a suffocating layer of pain on top of the original wound. (From the Back of the book) From

    I have really enjoyed The Cape Cod Creamery series and could not wait for this third book in the series to release. It did not disappoint. I enjoyed Love On a Whim by Suzanne Woods Fisher so much that I read it in one day! Brynn Haywood is normally predictable and quite stable. Then one day she made an impulsive decision to marry a man she hardly knows. The next day she is mortified and flees to Cape Cod to see her best friend, Dawn. Once there, Brynn puts her decision on the back burner and fits right in with the rest of the town and Dawn's family as they work together to help Lincoln's daughter to get married. Dawn's Mom, Marnie, and Lincoln are good friends--and maybe a little more. Lincoln has also helped out many people in town so they want to help him out. Readers also get an update of Dawn and Kevin from the first book and Callie and Bruno from the second book. However, the author writes this book so that it could also stand alone--Still, I would encourage you t

Are you a fan of Charlie Peacock? Honestly, I know he is a Christian music artist and imagine he has many fans but that is not why I picked up this book. I liked Why Everything That Doesn't Matter, Matters so Much: The Way of Love in a World of Hurt by Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth because it offers a lot of food for thought.  Don't let the long title of this book intimidate you, Why Everything that Doesn't matter Matters so Much is full of down-to-earth stories and encouragement for living in our world today. I enjoy cooking but I didn't do a lot of cooking growing up so right off the bat, I could relate to the first letter, Why Bother Learning to Cook? I also appreciate this couple, who has been married many years, sharing their stories and their heart on paper. They don't call them essays, the authors call them letters to their readers, but I do think they are like thought-provoking essays. This is a good book to read a chapter, spend some time thinking abo