The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

I do not read murder mysteries regularly, or as my husband says, ever. (I told him I read one in high school- so one a score?) I found this one at the local library as I went in without any specific book in mind and perused the adult fiction until I found a book that wasn’t riddled with adult content.

Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke

Inkheart is another book my husband read as a teen and recommended for me to enjoy.

Read With Me 2021

I’ll be honest, the second half of the year I didn’t keep good record of which books I read and when I finished them so I think I missed a book or two, or a play, short story… Not sure, but this is what I was able to recap for the year of reading 2021. Links to books I posted a review about this year

The Powerful Purpose of Introverts by Holley Gerth…..171 pages….. nonfiction, Christian living, inspirational, book recommended by an author…..finished 7 January……highly recommend

Sorry Not Sorry by Naya Rivera…..audiobook……nonfiction, autobiography, celebrity story, book I only listened to……8 January…

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black…….567 pages…..fiction, fantasy series, Children’s series, books from my husband’s collection, book by 2 authors……9 January……recommend 1-The Field Guide-107 2-The Seeing Stone-108 3-Lucinda’s Secret-108 4-The Ironwood Tree-108 5-The Wrath of Mulgrath-136

Know Yourself Know Your Money by Rachel Cruze…. 246…..nonfiction, finance, Dave Ramsey network, lifestyle……….21 Jan…….recommend

Streisand: Her Life by James Spada… 515…. non fiction, biography, book on my shelf I haven’t read yet… 15 February….

The Beautiful Community by Irwyn L. Ince Jr… 151… nonfiction, Christian living, newly published book….. 4 March… recommend

The Guernesy Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schafer and Anne Barrows….. 272… fiction, historical, recommended by a friend, movie made about it…… 13 March….. highly recommend

Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund… 213…. non fiction, Christian, book recommended by a friend…… 8 April….. recommend

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe… 477….. historical fiction, drama, classic never read in school…….. 16 May…… highly recommend- every adult needs to read this!!

Reading People by Anne Bogel… 203… non-fiction, educational, interactive, book by a blogger…….. 25 May…..

Into Addie’s Arms by Barbara Hood Hopkins… 496…. fiction, met the author and have a signed copy, previous DNF, southern setting……. 24 June….

Myth-nomers and Im-pervections by Robert Asprin…. 200…. fiction, fantasy, random book I own but haven’t read, book by an author I don’t know of…… 4 July…. recommend

A Moveable Feast by Earnest Hemingway… 225…. nonfiction, book you read in school and don’t remember, classic, ….. 20 August

Damsel Under Stress by Shanna Swedson… 306…. fiction, random book spotted at the library, 11 September

Really Rosie by Maurice Sendak…. 25…. fiction, Children’s play, piece in a collection….. 7 October…..

The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald…. 152… fiction, classic, book I read in school and forgot, book another book convinced me to read…. 21 October…

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke… 534… fiction, fantasy series, book recommended by J…. 11 December… highly recommend….

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke… 635… fiction, fantasy series, book continuation….. 29 December….highly recommend

Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson…. 206…. Christian, nonfiction, spiritual warfare….. 31 December…. recommend

23 books, 5594 pages, one audiobook, one children’s play, 2 biographys, 6 nonfiction, 14 fiction, and I cannot shake the feeling that I missed a book…

Anyways, send me your recommendations for what to read in 2022!

Damsel Under Stress by Shanna Swendson

This is a fun fantasy novel about a woman who is immune to magic and works at a magic company in NYC alongside wizards, elves, gargoyles, fairies, and more magical creatures. We catch up with her right as she begins a relationship with a cute, powerful wizard she works with and her Fairy Godmother introduces herself to finally start helping in the love department. Now this is the same Fairy Godmother who connected Cinderella and Prince Charming so she has a track record, but not necessarily of any modern couples so she meddles throughout the book in ways she thinks will be helpful, but often create more trouble than our couple was ready for. Her meddling is also dangerous considering that some evil magical folks are causing trouble for our couple and no one is quite sure what to expect from the villains at any given moment.

This is a fun read for a fan of magic in the current world. I enjoyed all the aspects of interweaving the magical and nonmagical worlds with the introduction of mortals who are immune to magic and how they are utilized. There were unfortunately several moments of building tension and setting up an idea that never came to fruition. The disappointment came fully in the conclusion as there was no closure of beating the bad guys or learning their plan or seeing a couple live happily ever after. Instead there was a continual build up and hints of what the bad guys may or may not be up to and a climactic showdown that seemed to be the start of the end, only to be left with more questions than answers. The romantic situation is more definite, but also begs for a follow up book to answer plenty of questions for the future of their relationship. The ending almost seemed like the author didn’t know where she was taking the story or how to wrap things up so she just copped-out and made it a heroic gesture that the reader is not supposed to think twice about or all the questions keep coming cancelling out any positive feelings about the ending. Due to this lack of closure, clarity, and cohesiveness I would not recommend this book to others and would suggest other stories of magic instead.

Myth-Nomers and Im-Pervections by Robert Asprin

I’ve never heard of this book or this author and could not tell you how I ended up with this book or how long I’ve had it without reading it, but I am thankful I read it now! The cover says this is part of a fantasy series and I would love to read more if possible. I would certainly recommend it for any fantasy fan looking for an easy, adventurous story to fill an hour or two.

This fantasy novel was a quick, fun read of 200 pages through the dimension of Perv. We enter Perv along with our protagonist Skeeve who is a Klahd on a mission to find his friend and business partner Aahz who has left suddenly. As we accompany Skeeve through Perv we learn more and more about Skeeve and Aahz. After a bar brawl and some additional time with the police the story takes a heartfelt turn as Skeeve becomes introspective processing the way he lives and interacts with others like Aahz and the characters we met on Perv. Just when we think the book is ending with Skeeve heading home without a lead on Aahz the pair reunite in a touching scene that concludes the story leading into the next book of adventures for the pair.

Into Addie’s Arms by Barbara Hood Hopkins

I bought this book at a church a decade ago. At the end of service they brought a lady up front who had written a book and would be selling and signing copies in the lobby for anyone who would like to support her. I don’t remember the details of introducing her and her story of how she wrote this book, but it was a circumstance where I thought this would not be a good book, but I want to give it a chance. As a reader I felt I needed to get my copy.

Spoiler alert- the reason I have taken so long to read this book cover to cover is because it is not written by a signed, skilled author. Also it is self published without professional editing and proofreading. I struggled through the story of the Smith family who moves from NYC to a small town in South Carolina and the daughter experiences lots of trauma in the six weeks since moving to SC. We meet the family the first day of 2001 when they tell their only daughter that they are moving across the country Easter weekend. It takes hundreds of pages before the family finally moves and the majority of those pages were filled with unnecessary details that do not pertain to character development, scene setting, or plot. I am a detail oriented person, but BHH takes details to the unnecessary extreme with descriptions of how to make each meal, how to garden, how to ride a horse, how to fish, how to set the table formally, and how to make a quilt just to mention a few. I read this book with a pencil as my bookmark so I could cross out all this extra nonsense I read over and over again. The reader would experience part of the story with the daughter and then the following chapter would be the detailed recap to the parents even though I just read the original situation. Not to mention that this novel is the perfect example for teaching the ‘show don’t tell’ issue for writers. As you can see in my notes throughout the book I would frequently write, “show me” or “make this a scene” or “dialogue” as notes in the margins. This book has 496 pages and should be around 200 instead.

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And for every English teacher helping students write well-PASSIVE VOICE-passive voice takes the reader instantly out of the story and makes the author unreliable. I tried to stay involved in the story as I edited along the way, but that passive voice destroys the scene. Part of what made this so frustrating to read is that I don’t think BHH had such a bad idea for a story in the first place. I encourage everyone who wants to but has not written and published a book to get connected to a writing community and have a professional editor involved even if you self-publish. There are 3 books that come to mind when I think of civilians writing books. Michael Spurlock wanted to write a book telling his experience at All Saints church so he sought the assistance of a professional author and the pair wrote the book All Saints which was not only a successful novel, but also was adapted as a film. I can easily recommend that book. The second book is Leading Lady which is a biography written by a magazine writer Stephen Galloway. Here we run into the issue that the author is not used to writing hundreds of pages and bringing everything together as a cohesive novel. The author doesn’t need any help writing well, but does need help in this new form. Lastly, Into Addie’s Arms falls short in every area and I cannot recommend the book because of the constant glaring issues that I could only read through by editing every step of the way.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

This classic novel is absolutely worth the read and I would require it be read by every adult if I had that power. I finished reading it a while ago and have delayed posting a review, but it is a book I cannot let pass through unmentioned in my reading list.

I don’t know how to review this novel because it is such a wonderful work dealing with such a heavy, important topic. I want to explain how well written this book is which makes me revel in the writing and connection the reader experiences in these 478 pages of historic fiction. I also want to recognize the intensity and severity of the subject matter and how appropriately it is handled. I don’t enjoy the reality of each and every story recounted by Stowe, but I am honored to be reading her work. The content of the novel is serious and I hesitate to say how great of a book it is because of the atrocities of slavery depicted within, but that is also what makes me value this book and recommend it so highly.

Reading People by Anne Bogel

Reading People is a novel condensing multiple methods of personality typing to help the reader understand herself with greater clarity through each personality profile. As the reader learns about herself she will also gain insight into the complexities of the people she interacts with daily. Bogel dives into the Meyers-Briggs letters, the enneagram, the humors, strength finder, love languages, and the divide between introvert and extravert to cover the basics for each reader to start somewhere and move from one source to another as inclined.

Bogel’s novel is a great start for anyone looking to learn more about her personality as well as how to improve interactions with people opposite of you. Through lots of relatable personal stories we find insights in action as each chapter unpacks a different assessment Bogel has investigated. This is a good resource for anyone interested in personality tests and learning about the variety of people God created and how we all display His glory in different ways.

Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

This is a good book accurately depicting the character of God differentiating between human, sinful perception of God and the reality of who He is as depicted in Scripture. Mankind has the common perception of wrath and justice emanating from Jehovah God as the most natural characteristics from Him. Have you guys been reading Isaiah lately? Ortlund distinguishes in this book how the true nature of God is mercy and compassion while He has to be provoked to anger. Chapter through chapter he exposits Scripture and human notions about the world and our experiences with God and humanity clarifying who God is as revealed in the Bible and how that is often different than man’s understanding. I would definitely recommend reading this 213 paged book to dig deeper into who God is and take the time chapter by chapter to pray and process through each chapter before moving to the next.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This book was such a joy to read! It follows author Juliet as she learns of the titled Literary Society on one of the Channel Islands during the German occupation of WWII. These 272 pages are uniquely told only through letters Juliet writes her best friend Sophie, her editor Sidney, a suitor who arises, and the friends she discovers in Guernsey. Juliet receives a random letter from a man in Guernsey who has a book she once owned and he writes her a letter to find out if she knows more about the author and has other works of his to recommend. This introduces her to the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society with whom she begins to correspond allowing the reader to grow enamored with each new character introduced and Juliet more and more with each letter read. What an inventive idea to write the person who previously owned the book you like so much! It reminds me of and makes me long for simpler times. I had the thought that I should write my address in a book I sell online in hopes that I will develop a new pen pal, but not in this day and age!

The creativity Shaffer and Barrows employ in creating such a wonderful book entirely composed of fictional letters is remarkable. The novel is so well crafted and depicts a very real and respectable recounting of possible details of the German occupation on the Channel Islands off the coast of France. The first half of the book digs into literature reminding the reader of different authors and their unique stories along with each reader’s perspective. As we get into the second half the letters transition to a more serious nature depicting the cruelties of World War 2 and it makes me cry just thinking of it and how well the authors handled the topic in a real, relatable way resonating with the reader. I don’t want to get into any spoilers so I will conclude that I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

PS. I know the movie is on Netflix right now, but I am worried about watching it because the movie never measures up the novel and I still feel so attached to the characters and the story that I don’t want to have it spoiled so suddenly.

I will probably watch it over the weekend as it is close enough to when I finished the book that I can adequately review it in comparison to the novel but not too close to getting devastated by the handling of Juliet and friends.

Now that I wrote that I am starting to think again that I don’t think I should ever watch the movie because it exists so perfectly in my mind and I don’t want to disturb that place.

I guess you will find out if a move review shows up soon or not.