Let it Snow Review

Let it Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle is a collection of 3 connected young adult Christmas short stories. The first story is “The Jubilee Express” (M J), then “A Cheertastic Christmas” (J G) and the last one is “The Patron Saint of Pigs” (L M).

The first story was so funny and entertaining. I gave it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The characters were a variety of interesting and I very quickly felt invested in Jubilee and what she was going through. I really liked the style of writing, it was smooth and gripped me from the very beginning. This is a cute and sweet short Christmas romance that takes you through a vast array of emotions ending of course with a satisfied laugh.

The second story didn’t start off so good. I gave it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It took me three chapters to get the characters straight (who is who, who is a boy and who is a girl, etc.). But once I figured it all out, it was a kinda cute story, a bit cheesy but not too bad. However, I wasn’t all that impressed with the characters, or at least didn’t feel very invested in them. I think it just had a hard time living up to my enjoyment of the first one.

The last story was my least favorite. I gave it a 2.5 out of 5 stars. It was too much teen drama and angst.  The main character made some bad choices and then wanted a “Christmas miracle” to get her out of the consequences of them. And I must say the expected large shift in her by the end didn’t feel very realistic or substantial.

For the book as a whole, I really enjoyed how the stories were all interconnected. It was so fun to hear about previous characters, or to run into them, etc. I was sad to see how it started off so strong and just went down hill from there. As an overall book I give it 3.5 stars.

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish New Year Resolutions

I don’t really have much of an intro today, but these are my bookish goals for 2019.

1.       Read my Bible all the way through at least once.

2.       Read at least 2 books that I own before reading library books every month.

3.       Read 3 Dickens books through the year (breaks down to one every 4 months).

4.       Reread 1 book a month (the chance to go back to old favorites and ones I have been wanting to read again).

5.       Read 12 classics (not including the Dickens books) through the year.

6.       Read all the rest of Kasie West’s works.

7.       Have one month focusing on books by author’s I have already read before and one month focusing on new to me authors (with the exception of my one reread).

8.       Participate in at least two readathons (at different times of the year).

9.       Read The Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkien together with my husband.

10.   Make Top Ten Tuesday part of my weekly post Schedule.

The Cricket on the Hearth Review

The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens is one of his 5 shorter Christmas works. It follows Carrier John Peerybingle and his much younger wife Dot and the cricket that lives in their hearth.

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. The writing style was typical lyrical Dickens (which I quite enjoy). As is also typical for me when reading Dickens, it took a little while for me to get caught up in the story, but once I did it was really interesting. The story had that familiar quality of unexpected twists and turns that I love about Dickens writing.

The characters were fascinating and complex. I adored John in his simple and honest nature and Caleb the sweet but misguided father. The sort of “villain” of the story was reliably grim and dark. Even though it is a shorter story, there are all the qualities I would expect from one of his full works and I might have enjoyed this even more because of the limited number of characters and ramblings that a longer story would have contained.

The only thing that really took me by surprise (and disappointed me a little) with this book is that it is labeled a Christmas writing, but there was nothing in the story to make it especially pertinent to the winter season. I’m not even sure what season the story itself takes place in except that it is said to be fairly cold out, but it is never directly stated. I am really curious to know why this has been classified as one of his “Christmas” books.

Overall, it is a sweet and heartwarming love story with all the wonderful qualities of a Dickens work, just nothing to do with Christmastime.

Growing in Gratitude Review

Growing in Gratitude by Mary K Mohler is a Christian non-fiction book on the topic (of course) of gratitude.

This is the exact book that I have been praying to find. It is 5 out of 5 stars and of course I loved it. I really liked her breakdown of what gratitude is and what that means. It was very helpful for her to then address those things that may block our thankfulness and how we might go about changing that. She was concise, clear and helpful in her definitions, examples and practical recommendations. I found her book convicting in a gentle, encouraging, and helpful way. Perhaps it is better to say I found it inspiring.

One thing I was really happy with was her constant reference to Scripture as the foundation of the topic and support for her recommendations. And next to that she made reference to a number of other resources (people and what they have written) that spoke into what she was addressing. The clear evidence of the time, energy and effort she put into the research and writing of this book strengthens my view of what she is saying.

Overall, it was exactly what I have been looking for and a book I think everyone should read.

November Overview

This has been a busy month for me, getting back on track after so much sickness. And hurray, I think I have kept off the slump and am moving back into my regular reading habits. So here are the books I read in November.

Christian Non-Fiction :

Cheers to the Diaper Years by Erin Brown Hollis*

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp*

The World’s Last Night by C S Lewis>

Grateful by Diana Butler Bass*

Growing in Gratitude by Mary Mohler>

Christian Fiction :

The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson (middle grade fantasy)*

Fantasy :

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (young adult)>

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart (children)>

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (children)>

Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins (middle grade)>

Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins (middle grade)>

Historical :

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (young adult)>

Contemporary :

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West (young adult)>

Picture Books:

ABC Bible Verses for Little Ones by Rebecca Lutzer

Mijn Kleine Eekhoorn by Britta Teckentrup (Dutch)

De Sneeuwbal by Giuliano Ferri (Dutch)

De Mooiste Vis Van de Zee by Marcus Pfister & translated by Nannie Kuiper (Dutch)

Put me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

November by Cynthia Rylant and Jill Kastner

Andre Het Astronautje by Andre Kuipers (Dutch)

Ik Wil De Zon by Isabel Arques & Angela Pelaez-Vargas (Dutch)

In Mijn Kleine Hart by Jo Witek & Christine Roussey (Dutch)

Luuk en Lotje: Het is Carnaval by Ruth Wielockx (Dutch)

Top Ten Tuesday: Cozy Winter Reads

This one was really hard for me. I’m not sure I really think of books as generally cozy reads or in a seasonal classification (unless you are going really specific like Christmastime or summertime). I only ended up with 9 recommendations instead of 10, but I did really enjoy the challenge. All books with a review up on my blog will have a *.

1.       A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – How could I talk about favorite winter reads without including this one. It is a classic and for very good reason. This is one I think everybody should read at least once in their lifetime. 

2.       By Your Side by Kasie West – This young adult contemporary was a cozy read for me, sweet and emotional and a book I just wanted to curl up on the couch with and read all the way through. The plot also has the main character accidentally locked in the library over the weekend during a snow storm, and what says winter better than that. *

3.       Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marilier – This is one of my go to cozy day books. When it is bad weather out and you just want to cuddle up with some hot tea or hot chocolate and read a book that fits the general mood of the day, this is it. It is a fantastic retelling of the Dancing Princesses fairytale. 

4.       Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George – This is also a go to cozy read for darker days, and funny enough also a retelling of the Dancing Princesses fairytale. 

5.       Entwined by Heather Dixon Woodwall – This is another fantastic cozy winter day read that is also, have you guessed, a retelling of the Dancing Princesses fairytale.

6.       Beauty by Robin McKinley – For some reason when I think of Beauty and the Beast retellings (are you sensing a theme here?), I almost always think wintertime. I’m not really sure why that is, but this is one of my favorites. You could also check out McKinley’s other Beauty and the Beast retelling: Rose Daughter.

7.       Race Against Time by Gilbert Morris – This is a children time travel story. What makes this such a wintery read is that the main kids in the story travel back to the American Revolutionary War (specifically the winter season of the war). This is actually one of my favorite rereads, even as an adult. 

8.       The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis – The land cursed to always be in winter and the children who stubble into it. A classis Christian children story that I think everyone should read. 

9.       The Hawk and the Jewel by Lori Wick – This isn’t a specifically “winter” read, but it is one of those books that I think of during the winter season. It is one of my favorite Christian historical romances to curl up with and reread. It is a sweet and heartwarming story that gets me every time.

December TBR

This is the perfect month to go by theme, that being of course “Christmas” or “winter”. How could I focus on anything else for December. So I will still be branching many genres, just pulling from books set during the season or about the season. Since I have only ever read (I think) 2 books with this theme before, I am super excited. I am also doing the “tis the seasonathon” from Dec. 3 – Dec. 9 held by booktuber “Bookables” and will include my TBR for that.

Tis the Seasonathon TBR :

Good Tidings of Great Joy by Charles Spurgeon (Christian Non-fiction) – book with red or green on the cover

When Christmas Comes by Debbie Macomber (Christian Fiction) – a warm & fuzzy read

Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens (Classic) – a short book

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, & Lauren Myracle (Young Adult Contemporary) – holiday themed book

Rest of the month :

Christian Non-fiction :

Devotions for Christmas by Zondervan

Christian Fiction :

The Max Lucado Christmas Collection

Non-fiction :

Stories Behind the Best Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins

Classic :

The Chimes by Charles Dickens

Contemporary :

What Light by Jay Asher (Young Adult)

Retelling :

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand (A Christmas Carol)

Poetry :

Amazing Peace by Maya Angelou