55 The One Day You Were my Husband by Rosie Walsh 8/1 (print/library)
52 Bookclub 4. Has A Dust Jacket
From the MMD SRG. I enjoyed it, parts did drag a little. At one point I was prepared to chuck it across the room and DNF.
Carrie and Johan are married on a beach in Thailand, before their wedding celebration is over, Johan is arrested. Fast forward 12 years, Carrie is back in England, happy married to someone else when she discovers Johan is alive and seeming well, released from prison back in his native Sweden.
Our one day of marriage was recorded only by the cameras of strangers whose names I don’t remember, whose contact details I never took. To this day I still don’t know what we looked like together in our wedding outfits, Johan and Carrie, bound up in all that joy.
52 Bookclub 33. A Standalone Fantasy Novel
I was intrigued by the premise of this book and enjoyed most of the story. There was definitely an underlying liberal political agenda which left a bit of a sour taste. It was a far departure from any other Kate Quinn book I have ever read, I felt slightly disappointed, but I think enjoyed the bookish content and adventure enough to pull it through.
A story about a magical library where the downtrodden can find refuge and live in the pages a book. The descriptions of the library itself I greatly enjoyed, the slipping into books. I also loved the crusty old librarian. The main character could be a bit abrasive and annoying. They need to try and save the library from *something* that is attacking it.
“...…what are those? It was the fourth time I passed a book floating open in midair all by itself next to the shelves, a page periodically turning...Those are the ghosts,...People who die with too many books on their To Be Read stack sometimes end up here. The ones who don’t feel they can pass until they catch up on their reading....”
Libraries are full of ideas—perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.
A library is a sanctuary. It's one of the only places left where you can walk through the doors and draw breath and stay, without needing to buy something, without having to justify your presence.
52 Bookclub 38. Domestic Fiction
This one has been sitting on my shelf since it was published two years ago. I brought it to the table for cousin bookclub last month and it ended up as our pick. I'm so glad it did. I really enjoyed the story- not an easy ones by any means. It takes place in Iran from the 1960s to present day. A coming of age story of two little girls who become best friends at 7 and how their paths both intertwine and diverge.
When I am surrounded by books, I feel most at peace.
When Homa had found out I was First-in-Class, she had beamed with excitement, squeezed me hard, and even lifted me off the ground by a few centimeters. And I, burdened with my own stupid personality traits, was jealous of her ability not to be jealous!
Lionesses. Us. Can't you just see it Ellie? Someday, you and me — we'll do great things. We'll live life for ourselves. And we will help others. We are cubs now, maybe. But we will grow to be lionesses. Strong women who will make things happen.
And then. We lost touch.
Our bond should have been impossible to fray and then disintegrate. But as time took us each in a different direction, it was astonishingly simple for our connection to dissolve.
58 Trace of Doubt by DiAnn Mills 8/13 (print/library)
Our Alive Book Club selection, I don't even remember how I came across it other than I was looking for a mystery/thriller. I kinda dragged my heels in starting it. Not sure why, I've been suffering from some bookish overwhelm I guess. But holy moly. I devoured it once I opened the cover, reading at every spare moment to find out how it was going to all turn out.
Shelby is released from prison after serving 15 years for murdering her brother-in-law. A murder she confessed to. She moves to a small Texas town, hoping for a fresh start.
My life had been frozen in time and now that I had permission to thaw, the world had changed.
The cabin seemed to whisper that I could make it, the same things I'd told myself since giving my life to Jesus. My fingers gripped my Bible on the nightstand--the only way to start the day. The reading came from Psalm 139: "O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me!" Trusting in Him superseded everything else. I finished the passage with more optimism that the depression attacking me the previous night.
I was determined to find beauty in small things.
Good things had happened this week-- new friendships, an enjoyable job, an unexpected furry companion, an opportunity to sell my jewelry glistened like precious gems and stones.
A patch of wild daisies leaning against a rickety, wooden fence caught my attention. They nodded in the gentle spring breeze as though encouraging me to stay strong and avoid taking matters personally. Nature...I loved it so.
His face clouded. "Shelby, now can you believe in a God who allows us to suffer?"
"It's about faith in a God I can feel. He's given me peace about the things I can't change. I trust His ways are best even when I don't understand." I peered into his battered face. "And hope for eternity."
59 More than Friends by Denise Hunter 8/18 (print/library)
I picked this one up because it was the Christian Fiction Reading Challenge for July (yes, I am behind, because of course I am! Too many books!) I loved the cover and wished I could step right into it. The story itself took me a little bit to get into but I soon because invested in the characters and the setting!
Chincoteague Island! (We are determined to take a Cousin Book Club trip here in the future!) Friends to More romance. Hunky firefighter, wild ponies. I mean come on.
60 Dolly all the Time by Annabel Monaghan 8/20 (print/library)
From MMD SRG. It was a delight through and through. Loved the characters, loved the setting, loved the romance. If you're looking for a light feel good read to end summer. This is it. I also watched the author talk on MMD book club and found her a delight as well.
We imagined a princess in a bedazzled tiara and a gentle man (we took this literally and pronounced each word- the man would be gentle, like our dad) helping her navigate her giant dress onto the back of a white horse.
Christopher is the first to wake up. He stops on the stairs when he smells the banana bread, and I watch the smiles spread across his face. There is no quicker way to wrap someone in love than by creaming sugar and butter and flour.
“Are you saying he’s too good for you?” Gus asks. “Because I don’t think you’d say anyone was too good for me.”
61 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Robin Buss (Translator) 8/24 (print/own)
52 Bookclub12. A Genre-Defining Read
I did it! I finished this humongous tome. I feel so accomplished. This maybe the longest book I have ever read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some of the middle part dragged a bit, and like I said somewhere previously- some of the side quests were a little hard to follow. There's a plethora of side characters introduced but it did all come together. I feel happy and proud to have read this and a little sad it is over.
It was around six in the evening, and light the colour of opal, pierced by the golden rays of the autumn sun, spread over a bluish sea. The heat of the day had gradually expired and one was starting to feel that light breeze which seems like the breath of nature awaking after the burning midday siesta: that delicious breath that cools the Mediterranean coast and carries the scent of trees from shore to shore, mingled with the acrid scent of the sea.
until the day when God deigns to unveil the future to mankind, all human wisdom is contained in these two words: ‘wait’ and ‘hope’!
62 Good News About Self-Care: How Nurturing Your Soul, Your Self, and Your Sanity Honors God by Benjamin D. Espinoza 8/26 (eBook/hoopla)
I read this because someone at my church was interested in teaching it as a Sunday school class for the fall quarter. So I had to give it a once over to approve it. At first I found myself bristling and feeling skeptical at the term "self-care". It's so "trendy" right now and can be completely self serving. Yet doesn't God call us to take care of our well being, physically, emotionally, spiritually, so that we can in turn serve others without becoming completely burnt out. I found this book to be just the refreshing little reminder I needed.
Yet when we look at the life of Jesus, we see that he took time to rest, pray, eat, and enjoy time with others. Even in the midst of a storm, when his disciples were panicking and trying to take action for preserve their lives, he slept (Matthew 8:23-25). He woke up early to spend time with his Father (Mark 1:35). He regularly ate and drank with all different types of people, so much so that folks accused him of being a glutton and a drunkard (Matthew 11:19)! You don't get that reputation if you aren't regularly enjoying a merry time with others. Jesus also knew his limits--when to act and when to take a break, when to speak and when to listen, when to push and when to draw in.
Staying in communion with our Father in heaven allows us to find our ultimate hope, joy, and satisfaction in the one in whose image we've been fashioned.
Pray without ceasing... and without polish.
63 Some Like it Scott by Pepper Basham 8/28 (print/library)
The Faith & Fables BC pick for August. It was a delight. I fun little rom-com set on a small island of Scotland. I don't think I have ever been disappointed by a Pepper Basham book. I am looking forward to the author chat on Tuesday.
For a book lover, bookshops held a similar ambience no matter where you were in the world. The shelves of spines, the scents of paper and baked goods--
“Home, Katie. We’re all trying to find it.” His familiar voice relaxed my shoulders, and I breathed in the clean, salty air. “Sometimes it’s a place. Sometimes it’s a person. Sometimes it’s both.”
“Love doesnae stop when bodies do.” Her voice smoothed over the words. “It’s one of the comforts in losing a loved one, ye ken? The love lingers long.”
As a few puffins flew in to join the rest and proceeded to stumble into their landing, I felt an immediate kinship to these creatures. Another took off nearby with an equally bumbling liftoff. Yep. I’d found my spirit animal.
Total: 9 2026: 63
Kindle/Ebook: 1 Print: 7 Audio: 1
Library: 7 Owned: 2 Kindle Unlimited: 0
Unread shelf: 1 Reread: 0
Favorite: Dolly all the Time
Challenges:
1000 Books: The Count of Monte Cristo
52 Bookclub: 42 of 52 (81%) 10 more to go!
Prompts left to complete: Any suggestions??
20. Day of the week in the title
22. Spotted in a TV series or movie (Pride and Prejudice - You've Got Mail)
27. Two or more authors, one pseudonym
29. Set in the Arctic or Antarctic
30. Author related to another author
31. Author related to author in prompt 30
34. Inspired by the top-grossing movie the year you were born
(I'm really struggling with this one- 1980 Return of the Jedi)
41. A guide to...
43. A Goodreads recommendation for you
45. Biographical fiction (The First Ladies)
