Recent Reads - Playing By Heart

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Playing by Heart by Anne Mateer - So just over a week ago, I was casually browsing the Large Type section at my library (I know!), mostly looking for ideas. Since I almost always use reading glasses now, I've also found that it's handy to have an LT book around for those times when I want to read for a little bit without having to hunt down the glasses. This cover and title caught my eye, even though I had never heard of the author before, and I took a chance on it.

This story takes place during the Great War, and the narrative switches back and forth between the two main characters in alternating chapters. Lula is the youngest in a large family, and when the story opens she is teaching college mathematics while pursuing a graduate degree. She receives the news from home that her sister's husband has died unexpectedly. While at home, the older siblings assume that she will be the one to care for the widowed sister and her family, since Fruity Lu (as they nicknamed her) has no husband or family of her own, and they consider her pursuit of higher education to be pointless. Lula puts all her ambitions on hold, figuratively grits her teeth, and seeks a job at the local high school so she can help her sister. She takes the only teaching job the school has available - teaching music, which she doesn't consider her strength; and also finds herself coaching the girls' basketball team, despite knowing nothing at all about the sport.

The male counterpart - and of course, the love interest - is Chet. He is the mathematics teacher and boy's basketball coach; and is caring for his widowed mother, who remains bitter over her late husband's shameful death; and Chet sees that she prefers his brother Clay and views him as courageous because he has enlisted while Chet has not. Chet is also doing the right thing by staying home with his mother, even though he thinks that he is viewed as a coward for doing so. 

It did take me awhile to get invested in the story, possibly because the writing style did not resonate with me; but I really did want to like the book right from the start. I did like that the narration alternated chapter by chapter, and with a chapter heading making it clear whether Chet or Lula was 'speaking'. I think that was done well, so that I always knew whose viewpoint I was reading. I thought it was an interesting storyline, even though it took me several chapters before it or the characters really grabbed me. I kept thinking I could figure out how Lula and Chet would finally overcome obstacles to their obvious attraction to each other, but some new misunderstanding or problem would arise and I'd be guessing again. 

Overall, an enjoyable read, with an ending that wasn't as predictable as I'd expected.

 ©2008-2015 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 - May 17, 2015

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The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;

by understanding he established the heavens;

by his knowledge the deeps broke open,

and the clouds drop down the dew.

~Proverbs 3:19-20~

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

The Weekend Brew is hosted by My Freshly Brewed Life.

©2008-2015 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/First Chapter First Paragraph - May 12, 2015

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. 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!

Henry almost smiled. Margaret wasn't exactly a barrel of monkeys, but at least he didn't have to worry about getting arrested when he was with her. And he wanted to know if she'd managed to pry Mayfair from her mother's clutches.
~Until the Harvest by Sarah Loudin Thomas, page 108

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 
First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is a weekly link-up hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or two) of a book you're reading, or thinking about reading soon.

     Gordon Seiferts looked out the window of the operations module of Skybase Alpha. He blinked and looked again because he saw something that should not have been there: the moon.
     Captain Seiferts was undertaking his daily background radiation reading and thermal image of Earth, but the blue planet was nowhere to be seen in his field of vision. He swivelled the camera 230 degrees and was able to bring Earth into view, but the metrics were all skewed. Fearing that the space station had somehow drifted out of orbit, he hurried down to the command module, where the mystery was compounded.
     Instead of his colleagues and fellow scientists--men who had been working and sharing living space for the last three months--he found a crew of extremely astonished Russian cosmonauts. Seifert did not speak Russian, and the cosmonauts did not speak English, so it took some time to work out that Seiferts was not aboard Skybase Alpha as he supposed, but on Mir 2, which was on a survey expedition to map the moon. Following this revelation, Seiferts grew so agitated and incoherent he had to be sedated and bound to a hammock for the duration of the mission.

Here's the blurb:

     It started with small, seemingly insignificant wrinkles in time: A busy bridge suddenly disappears, spilling cars into the sea. A beast from another realm roams modern streets. Napoleon's army appears in 1930s Damascus ready for battle. But that's only the beginning as entire realities collide and collapse.
     The questors are spread throughout the universe. Mina is stuck on a plain of solid ice, her only companion an angry cave lion named Baby. Tony and Gianni are monitoring the cataclysmic reversal of the cosmic expansion--but coming up short on answers. And Burleigh is languishing in a dreary underground dungeon--his only hope of survival the very man he tried to kill.
     Kit and Cass are back in the Stone Age trying to reach the Spirit Well. But an enormous yew tree has grown over the portal, effectively cutting off any chance of return. Unless someone can find a solution--and fast--all Creation will be destroyed in the universal apocalypse known as The End of Everything.
     In the final volume of the fantastic Bright Empires series, Stephen R. Lawhead brings the multi-stranded tale to a stunning and immensely satisfying conclusion.      

 What do you think? Would you continue reading?

 ©2008-2015 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/

What I'm Reading - May 11, 2015

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This weekly meme has been hosted at Book Journey, but as that blog author has been taking a break, I am linking at the book blog Christian Novels instead.

I recently finished reading...

The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Daylight by Heidi St. John - I reviewed this book for the Schoolhouse Review Crew, so my full review is on Homeschool Coffee Break blog and a shorter version is available here on Just A Second.

Pemberley to Waterloo: Georgiana Darcy's Diary, Volume 2 by Anna Elliott - a sequel to Pride and Prejudice from the viewpoint of Darcy's sister. Read my complete review HERE.

The Crimson Cord: Rahab's Story by Jill Eileen Smith - beautiful novel based on the Biblical character Rahab, the prostitute from Jericho who saved the Israelite spies and was commended for her faith. Read my complete review HERE.

  

Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer - entertaining and humorous story about the importance - or not - of fashionable appearances. Read my full review HERE.

I'm currently reading...

Until the Harvest by Sarah Loudin Thomas - I've read the previous novella and novel in this series and thoroughly enjoyed them. I'm excited to be able to read and review this one for Bethany House. My review will be coming soon!



Playing By Heart by Anne Mateer - picked this one up on a whim because the cover caught my eye as I was browsing the Large Type section at the library! I like having an LT book around to read in short snippets without having to grab my reading glasses.


Brigid of Ireland by Cindy Thomson - I was working on this one way back in March and only got about halfway through. It wasn't holding my attention the way I'd expected so I set it aside for awhile, and now I'm ready to finish it.

Next on the stack...

Brentwood's Ward by Michelle Griep
The Fatal Tree by Stephen R Lawhead
The Hand that Bears the Sword by George Bryan Polivka
Abigail by Jill Eileen Smith

      

   

What are you reading?

©2008-2015 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 - May 10, 2015

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Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

~Psalm 127:3-4~

Happy Mother's Day!

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

The Weekend Brew is hosted by My Freshly Brewed Life.

©2008-2015 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 Crimson Cord

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The Crimson Cord: Rahab's Story by Jill Eileen Smith - It seems there are at least as many questions about Rahab as there are details offered in the Scriptures. She is described as a 'prostitute' but some scholars take the view that she could have been simply an innkeeper. The book of Joshua details how she stepped out in faith and protected the Israelite spies and secured their promise to protect her and her household when Jericho was destroyed. After that she is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus as the mother of Boaz (and therefore the great-great-grandmother of King David, if I've counted correctly!), with Salman as the father. The book of Hebrews also commends her for her faith.

Smith's historical novel telling of Rahab's story creates a rich background for the character, imagining a life and family for her before Israel is camped on the other side of the Jordan. Rahab is married to a gambler who makes her life a misery. When he finally runs afoul of the prince of Jericho, Rahab's troubles multiply, because she herself winds up a slave to repay his debts. Under the veneer of being a mistress to one of the noblemen, but soon she is forced into the role of courtesan and prostitute. Smith gives a very believable and heart-breaking story of how Rahab may have lived, and the hopelessness and helplessness of her situation.

In Part 2, Salman is introduced and his background developed from clues in Scripture. Smith builds on the belief of some scholars that Salman was one of the two spies sent ahead to Jericho, and creates personalities and a friendship for these spies and fills in believable details about their mission, their visit to Jericho, and their interactions with Rahab.  After the fall of Jericho, when Rahab and her family members are foreigners living with Israel, Salman and Rahab struggle with their attraction to each other - Salman cannot forget that Rahab is a foreigner and a prostitute, and fears that any relationship with her would come under judgment from God; and Rahab's past makes it almost impossible for her to trust any man. Rahab makes the courageous decision to serve Israel's God and obey him whole-heartedly, but wonders whether she can find forgiveness for all her sin and whether she is free to marry even if she decides she wants to.

I loved this fictional telling of historical people and events for its attention to historical and Biblical details, and its sensitive and faithful handling of some of the difficult questions that arise from the Biblical narrative. Questions that are raised today about this Old Testament story are surely similar to questions Rahab must have had - why did God command that everyone be killed, even women and children? Why did God's punishment for Achan's sin seem so harsh? How could one keep all the difficult parts of God's law? Smith's version of the story highlights the Biblical themes of redemption, justice and mercy in the life of Rahab as she comes to faith in God.

By the same author: Michal; Sarai: A Novel

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Recent Reads - Pemberley to Waterloo

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Pemberley to Waterloo: Georgiana Darcy's Diary, Volume 2 by Anna Elliott - In Volume 1 of Georgiana's diary, Anna Elliott gives voice to one of the 'quiet' characters in Austen's beloved work, and we learn about Georgiana's love for Colonel Fitzwilliam and how they eventually come together and are betrothed. Here the story continues, although I don't think it essential to read the first installment before reading this one.

Edward (Colonel Fitzwilliam) has almost decided that he will resign and sell his commission in the army and settle down with Georgiana as his wife when news arrives that Napoleon has escaped his exile. Edward returns to the continent, and Georgiana must once again await his safe return. Georgiana's tentative friendship with Elizabeth's sister Kitty eventually provides an opportunity for her to travel to Brussels and hopefully be reunited with Edward sooner. Not long after the ladies arrive in Brussels, the fighting begins and they endure much anxiety over the fates of the men they love even as they participate in the task of nursing the wounded.

Georgiana provides the entire narrative in her diary, including her thoughts about her brother and sister-in-law and the arrival of their child; her observations and concerns for the behavior of Kitty Bennet; and details from her perspective about other characters. Her description of their experiences in Brussels as the conflict at Waterloo takes place not far away are especially interesting.

This didn't keep me as well-engaged as the first volume, but to be fair I chose to set it aside for awhile at about the halfway point because I was reading other things. However, I appreciated the personal journal styling, which made for a lighter read overall than some other historical fiction, and Elliott's writing is so much more enjoyable than much of the JAFF available.

By the same author: Georgiana Darcy's Diary, Twilight of Avalon, Dark Moon of Avalon, Sunrise of Avalon

©2008-2015 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/