Teaser Tuesdays - September 23, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

"Maybe. I'll pray about it."
"A you-telling-God-how-to-run-things prayer or a real Thy-will-be-done prayer?"

~Making Waves by Lorna Seilstad, page 116

When the others saw what had happened to their leader, those who were able to dropped their weapons and fled, leaving their fallen comrades behind. John Little stood up slowly from his defensive crouch, his gaze taking in the murdered man and Robin's shocked expression.
~Robin: Lady of Legend by R.M. ArceJaeger

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - The Eight

The Eight by Katherine Neville - This exciting adventure story has been one of my favorites for many years, and it's one I re-read fairly regularly. It's sort of a combination of thriller, mystery, and historical novel, with some sci-fi and fantasy elements thrown in for good measure. There are parallel stories taking place in two different time periods. In one, a French nun named Mireille has fled an Abbey during the French Revolution, and she carries with her pieces of an ancient chess set said to have mystical power. Some of the other nuns have carried away pieces of the chess set as well, and the mission the Abbess has charged them with is to protect those pieces and scatter them so that the mysterious formula hidden in the chess set cannot fall into the wrong hands. Mireille eventually winds up with many of chess pieces, and on her own personal quest to recover as many of them as possible and figure out the secret hidden in the set. She travels all over Europe and to Algeria in her search, and faces intrigue, conspiracies, and deadly situations. In the second story, Catherine is a computer specialist in the 1970s who has been assigned to develop programs and models in Algeria for the fledgling organization OPEC. Before leaving the USA, she is recruited to hunt for an antique chess piece while in Algeria. She becomes a player in the same dangerous Game as Mireille, and embroiled in her own race to find the chess pieces and decipher the formula before the "bad guys" do. But who is on the Black Team and who is on the White Team? Who can either of these women trust as allies?

As many times as I've read this book, I thoroughly enjoy it every time, and I especially love the character Catherine's dry humor.

My previous posts about The Eight can be seen HERE and HERE.

By the same author: The Fire

(Book #39 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

Scripture and a Snapshot: September 20, 2014

As he (Darius) came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?"

Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him: and also before you, O king, I have done no harm."

Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

"...people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

for he is the living God, enduring forever;

his kingdom shall never be destroyed,

and his dominion shall be to the end.

He delivers and rescues;

he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth,

he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."

~Daniel 6:20-23, 26-27~

Scripture and a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.

The Weekend Brew is hosted by My Freshly Brewed Life.

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

WWW Wednesdays - September 17, 2014

Should Be Reading hosts this weekly update on what we're reading, what we recently finished reading, and what's next. 

• What are you currently reading?  I'm nearing the end of The Eight by Katherine Neville. I have several books going on my Kindle right now - Robin: Lady of Legend by R.M. ArceJaeger, which I started last week; She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell; Making Waves by Lorna Seilstad; and Waiting for Summer's Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer.

   

   

• What did you recently finish reading? I finished Tried and True by Mary Connealy. (Read my thoughts about this book HERE.)

• What do you think you'll read next? I've got a big stack to choose from, and so many going right now that I'll have to answer this by saying, "I have no idea!"

What are you reading? Anyone can join in this link-up by answering these three questions. Visit Should Be Reading for this week's link-up.

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesdays - September 16, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

She could see the words now:

Here lies Marguerite Westing.

Only nineteen, but now she's resting.

Strolling through the park with Roger Gordon,

Once full of life, she died of boredom.

Marguerite giggled.

~Making Waves by Lorna Seilstad, page 9

"What's the model to do?" I clutched the signed contract to my chest, wishing I could see Petard's face when he opened it in Paris -- the contract the entire partnership couldn't get signed.

"We would like to predict," Kamel said, "what the world will do, economically, when we cut off their supply of petroleum."

The Eight by Katherine Neville, page 304

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Scripture and a Snapshot: September 13, 2014

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening - it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
~Hebrews 12:11-13~

Scripture and a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.

The Weekend Brew is hosted by My Freshly Brewed Life.

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

The "Summer's Flying By" Reading Challenge, Mini-Challenge #7 and Update

Time for another update on The "Summer's Flying By" Reading Challenge! We took on Mini-Challenge #1:

S-U-M-M-E-R

S - (A) Stand At Sinai by Hope Auer

U - Understanding the Times by Ken Ham (finished!)

M - Michal by Jill Eileen Smith

M - (The) Mysterious Letter by Carolyn Keene

E - (The) Eight by Katherine Neville

R - Robin: Lady of Legend by R.M. ArceJaeger

And Mini-Challenge #4 was to read a book with the word "Summer" in the title. It took me awhile to decide, so I just started reading a book called Waiting for Summer's Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer. The reference to summer in that title is actually the lead character's name!

I was unable to get an update post up the past two weeks. Mini-Challenge #5 was titled "Have We Met?" and was designed to introduce yourself to a new author. We were encouraged to grab a book by an author we'd never read and settle in. I have a couple books by Siri Mitchell in my to-read stack that look intriguing, but I've never read anything by her before, so I think I will get going on one of those. Either that or Wuthering Heights. Do you know I've never read Emily Bronte? I haven't. I am ashamed.

Mini-Challenge #6 was "What's In A Name?" For this one we had a choice: either read a book with a main character that shares our name, and/or read books with titles that start with the letters of our name. The only book I can think of with a character that shares my name is Kim by Rudyard Kipling. I've never read it. Hmmm... Maybe now is the time.


We have come to Mini-Challenge #7, which is to read a book where the title or the cover photo makes you think of summer somehow. It doesn't have to say summer or be summer related at all. Just reading the title or looking at the photo reminds you of summertime. I picked up a free book for my Kindle awhile ago that will fit this perfectly: Making Waves by Lorna Seilstad. This is a very summery cover! Don't you agree?

Here is the list of titles we are currently reading, or have finished since starting the challenge:

Kennady's Books

The Hunger Games (finished)

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Mysterious Letter (finished)

The Happy Valley Mystery

The Secret of the Old Clock (finished)
Catching Fire (finished)
Mockingjay

Kym's Books

A Stand At Sinai

Michal (finished)

The Eight

The Toll-Gate (finished)

Understanding the Times (finished)

Loyal In Love (finished)
Lady of Quality (finished)
Tried and True (finished)
Robin: Lady of Legend
Waiting for Summer's Return

So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookshelf on the wall. ~Roald Dahl

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/