Reading, Writing & Pondering

    What happens when you are an editor but you've lost your ability to comprehend what you read? Ingrid Erikson is a senior acquisitions editor for a publishing company who has been limping along in her job, struggling to read, after her best friend passes away.  The Words We Lost by Nicole Deese is the story of a grief that is all encompassing until Ingrid returns to the source and is forced to reflect and grow. The Words We Lost kept me turning pages quickly. I have loved everything I have ever read by Nicole Deese. At the same time, this was not a light read. I'll be honest, initially the heavier story was a bit of a challenge for me--and yet the story kept calling to me. The light kept pouring in though the longer I turned the pages. I liked the characters and found myself pulling for both Ingrid and Joel. The back and forth in time to Cece's writing was easy for me to follow. I am so glad that I read this book. My heart was touched by The Words We Lost ...

  A Love Letter from God by P. K. Hallinan is a rhythmically perfect letter from God to a child with Him sharing how much He loves them. This 7-inch square board book is 24 pages long and aimed at children ages two to seven.  A Love Letter from God would make a great gift for any young child. It is a fun book to read aloud and would be fun for children to look at and learn to read on their own. The illustrations are colorful and eye-catching. I also like that there are children of all colors in the book remind us all that God doesn't care what color our skin is. He loves us all in a Love Letter from God . I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

  I grew up listening to country music that my parents played both at home and in the car, so I was well familiar with who Loretta Lynn is before seeing this book. A Song and a Prayer: 30 Devotions Inspired by My Favorite Songs is an uplifting devotional inspired by a variety of song and hymns. A Song and a Prayer is a 31 day devotional written to remind everyone who reads it that God loves them. "You don't have to be something special in God's eyes, because you already are something special," according to Lynn. Each of these devotionals is based on a song such as Coal Miner's Daughter, one of Lynn's biggest hits, It is Well with my Soul, I'd Rather Have Jesus and a whole lot of other songs and hymns. Each reading starts with a Bible verse, includes a devotional reading, and ends with a song and a prayer. I didn't know all of the songs in the book, although certainly I could find them online and listen, but the words and the stories were all encourag...

  How much is enough? I love seeing this question answered by this gorgeous childen's book. I enjoyed Domino's Tree House by Dawn Patituci--a fun story about contentment. As Domino's Tree House begins, Domino lays in the backyard and decides to build a tree house because laying in the grass on a nice day wasn't enough. Then the tree house didn't feel like enough so he turned it into a tree cottage, then a tree mansion, and so on. When will the "tree house" finally be enough? You'll have to get the book and find out. Domino's Tree Hous e is a fun book to read aloud and is a fun book for kids to read alone too. It is aimed at children ages four to seven, is 32 pages long and measures about 9 1/2 by 11 1/2 inches in size. It is a beautifully illustrated and written story book that gives the children, and adults, something to think about. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

  Are you looking for a new lighter read? Lone Star Sweetheart by Shannon Sue Dunlop is one you should consider. This is my first read by this author and I am looking forward to more books since it is the first one in a the new Sweetheart series. Katherine Bruno is a small town gal in Sweetheart, Texas. As a Christian, she often tries to bite her tongue, but many times she ends up telling things like she sees them. While known to be blunt, she loves her small town and the townspeople. When Ryan Park comes to Sweetheart to help the mayor seek re-election as his political consultant/campaign manager in the race against the mayor's wife, Katherine is intrigued by the handsome new man in town. The mayor's wife then hires Katherine as her campaign manager. Does that then make Ryan and Katherine enemies? Lone Star Sweetheart is full of wonderful small-town characters. The setting is quaint. I enjoyed the banter between Katherine and Ryan. I also enjoyed the antics played with some ...

  If you are looking at this book, then you may be already familiar with Dude Perfect. If not, Dude Perfect is a group of five friends who initially made basketball trick shots for fun. Cory Cotton, Coby Cotton, Cody Jones Garrett Hilbert, and Tyler Toney are the five friends who are all from Texas. Kristin Hilbert is Garrett's wife.  Good Night, Dude Perfect is a fun Bedtime book aimed at ages four to eight. This book is one that has a lot going on in the page illustrations from Alan Brown. Those illustrations are bright and colorful fun illustrations for young sports fans. This book is 32 pages long and a little over 10 by 8 inches in size. It could be fun to read to a child or group of children as well as a fun book for kids to look at on their own. I would say this is sort of a special interest book for kids who especially like sport and those who are familiar with Dude Perfect. The text is fairly wordy--much wordier than Good Night Moon, which this book mimics. I think t...

    Tara-Leigh Cobble has been leading tours to Israel since 2014. In this gorgeous coffee-table devotional book, Israel , Cobble pairs short readings with rich, beautiful modern-day pictures of this Biblically historical country taken by Richard Van De Water. Israel is not your typical devotional book. First of all, it is a large coffee-table sized book measuring at about 12 by 9.25 inches and weighs over eight pounds. The readings are from the Bible and are about various areas of Israel. They are all paired with rich, glorious pictures. This is a great book for just relaxing and meditating on the beauty of the country along with the readings. Israel is a wonderful book for visual learners. This book would make a beautiful gift for those who enjoy Biblical history and travel as well as those who like beautiful pictures.  I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.