Welcome to my altered journey through life. You never know if I will be into home improvements, knee deep in a good book, on an Alaskan cruise or just being silly. I hope this blog will give you tips, tricks, ideas and books to add to your TBR list. Thanks for stopping by.
I'm No Philosopher, But I Got Thoughts: Mini-Meditations for Saints, Sinners, and the Rest of Us by Kristin Chenoweth
Survive the Bomb: The Radioactive Citizen's Guide to Nuclear Survival by Eric G. SwedinNot a WWII book, I am trying so hard to get out of that genre...this one interested me the second I saw the cover. As a matter of a fact, I didn't even read the synopsis, I just started reading and I am glad that I did. Obviously, it features Memphis, TN in some way, but what you can't tell by the cover is this book covers a couple of generations of a family. I just adore these kinds of books that will take us through the lives of a family over the years. Even though there are many characters, I believe Joan is the main one. You see things happen to Joan when she is a child and then see her become an adult that uses art to hopefully change lives.
When I finished the book I read about it, I now see it is a debut novel (exceptionally well done, I must add) and the author said it was the type of fairy tale she wanted to read as a child. Actually, I am going to quote the synopsis from Goodreads because it is written much better than I could.
Inspired by the author's own family history, Memphis--the Black fairy tale she always wanted to read--explores the complexity of what we pass down, not only in our families, but in our country: police brutality and justice, powerlessness and freedom, fate and forgiveness, doubt and faith, sacrifice and love.
This book is perfect for now!!! So far, it is my favorite book of the year (book #12).
Satisfying Stitches: Learn Simple Embroidery Techniques and Embrace the Joys of Stitching by Hand by Hope Brasfield
I 100% admit that I am a stat lover when it comes to books. I keep them in many different forms, and an end-of-year checklist gets folded up inside my book journal every single year. For the last few years, I have been making a digital one that I have been sharing with others. My friend, Kristen was talking to me earlier in the year about using Canva for everything and I realized that she was correct, Canva would be a perfect way to showcase my book stuff...including my 2022 stats.
I have attached a copy here if you would like to print it off and use it with your end-of-year lists.
When I was a high schooler, I did enjoy the required reading of The Scarlett Letter. I have probably read it 10 or 15 times over the last 35 years. This book attracted me because of the cover, and then I found out it was about the inspiration behind the telling of The Scarlett Letter.
Isobel married for what she thought was love, to a man she thought she would love forever. He was going to provide everything she needed and he dabbled in medicine. Isobel was a brilliant seamstress, almost witch-like with the needle she was which was fitting as she was descended from witches.
I won't tell you how she and her husband arrived in Salem, but they did. They lived in a little cottage in a town that once murdered "witches". Here is where Isobel meets Nathaniel Hawthorne and the sparks fly, the townspeople mention witchcraft and a book is born.
That's it, I will tell you no more.....just read this, it is a scandalous tale in so many ways, and beautifully written. The cover is equally attractive....look at this gorgeous thing!!
It is no secret that I am a big fan of Gill Paul. I think I have loved every book she has written. My favorite is still the one about Wallis Simpson and Diana Spencer, The Other Woman's Husband, but I think this one might be my second favorite. I simply love to read about this time period, the Jazz Age. This book is about four women, three of which are writers, and one is an actress, that forges a deep friendship over a game of bridge.
They each have different experiences with romance and careers, but their lives still intertwine at every intersection and with every relationship. Three of the women have their lives more together than Dorothy Parker does, and they seem to always be there to help her in the latest crisis. Dorothy is pretty much all about sex, booze, and jazz, and every once in a while she puts together some brilliant writing.
I could not help thinking the whole time I was reading this, if Dorothy really lived this hard, I just can't imagine how she ever wrote a thing.
