What I'm Reading - February 15, 2016

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This weekly reading list meme is hosted at Book Date. Join in to see what others are reading and maybe get some ideas of what to read next! I'm also going to be linking up with Tales of a Pee Dee Mama for D.E.A.R. Monday (Drop Everything And Read).

I recently finished reading...

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - a classic detective story for the Back to the Classics Challenge. (Read my review HERE.)

Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden - once I started this one, I found it difficult to put down, so  it didn't take me long to finish!  (Read my review HERE.)

 


I'm currently reading...

Miriam: A Treasures of the Nile Novel by Mesu Andrews - I just received this ARC on Friday and I dove right in!



White Nights and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - another for the Back to the Classics Challenge.



David and Bathsheba by Roberta Kells Dorr - I just started on this, and have only read the first chapter or so.



Empty Nest: What's Next?: Parenting Adult Children Without Losing Your Mind by Michele Howe




 Next on the stack...

A Beauty So Rare (A Belmont Mansion Novel) by Tamera Alexander
The Prophetess: Deborah's Story (Daughters of the Promised Land)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

   




On my blogs last week . . .

Here on Just A Second:

Scripture and a Snapshot - A Heart to Know
Recent Reads - Into the Whirlwind
Recent Reads - The Hound of the Baskervilles (Back to the Classics Challenge)
Book Blogger Hop - February 12, 2016
Wordless Wednesday - Chopsticks
Teaser Tuesdays/First Chapter First Paragraph - Into the Whirlwind


And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Weekly - Too Cold Edition
From the High School Lesson Book - President's Day
Virtual Refrigerator - Chocolate and Valentines
Other Homeschool Moms - We Need Each Other!


What are you reading?

©2008-2016 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 - A Heart to Know

I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD,

and they shall be my people and I will be their God,

for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

~Jeremiah 24:7~

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

Weekend Whispers is hosted by Barbie Swihart.


Verse of the Week is hosted by Counting Pinecones.

©2008-2016 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 - Into the Whirlwind

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Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden - I so loved the one previous novel I'd read by Elizabeth Camden that I figured she might earn a place among my favorite authors, so I was eager to read another of her novels to be sure. And yes, I loved this one as well!

The story opens with Mollie Knox and Zack Kazmarek trying to get to safety as the Great Chicago Fire rages behind them. Talk about an exciting first couple pages! Then we get the background, going back just six days earlier to find out that Mollie owns a watch company and Zack is a lawyer representing the prestigious Chicago department store that sells Mollie's creative masterpiece pocket watches. Zack has been doing business with Mollie for three years but has carefully hidden his attraction to her, and Mollie has no idea. Finally Zack has brought an offer to buy Mollie's company outright but allow her to continue managing it. Mollie is worried by the short deadline before she must give her decision, and her friend and lawyer is mistrustful of Zack. As they are going through the company's paperwork, they find a deed for property sold to the department store many years ago and suspect that this is what they really want from Mollie. So she goes to meet Zack to confront him about it, and that is when the fire breaks out and spreads, threatening Mollie's factory and apartment.

As Zack helps and protects Mollie and does his best to make sure she's looked after in the weeks following the fire, they develop a relationship, but later on Mollie realizes that Zack did know about the deed when he brought her the purchase offer and fears that she cannot trust him. Their relationship suffers even more when men that her father served with during the Civil War come to help her rebuild her watch factory and their young, handsome, and capable leader seems to have all of Mollie's admiration and attention.

I loved the complex characters and how they grew and coped with everything thrown at them during the tumultuous time of the fire and rebuilding. It was a fascinating setting for a story, and offered a lot of insight into what life was like for the thousands who were burned out of their homes and livelihoods and had to rebuild their lives.

By the same author: Until the Dawn

©2008-2016 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 Hound of the Baskervilles (Back to the Classics Challenge)

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The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Thanks to the many movies and TV shows, I think everyone knows the name of the great detective Sherlock Holmes, but I'm finding that the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are not that commonly read. I've read most of these stories, but despite it being perhaps the most famous detective story of all time, I honestly couldn't remember the resolution or many details from The Hound of the Baskervilles so I decided it would be a good start for the Back to the Classics Challenge.

Dr. Mortimer brings his concerns to the great detective - there is something mysterious about the recent death of Sir Charles Baskerville, especially considering the story that continues to circulate among the residents of Dartmoor that the Baskerville family is cursed by a devilish hound. As Holmes considers the case, the new heir, Sir Henry, arrives in London amid some strange circumstances. Holmes sends Dr. Watson along with Sir Henry to Baskerville Hall as a protector and observer, while he pursues the case from another angle. The final resolution is, of course, a testament to Holmes' brillance and ingenuity.

Dr. Watson's narrative, as usual, contains most of the clues necessary to solve the mystery, but Mr. Holmes delights in holding the final piece of the puzzle and presenting it with a bit of prideful flourish. In this one, as I read, I developed a sense of who the villain was, but couldn't figure out exactly how he committed his crimes, or why, until Sherlock Holmes explained.

This post is linked to the Challenge Link-Up Post: Classic Detective Novel

All the details are here: Back to the Classics Challenge for 2016, hosted at Books and Chocolate. 

1. A 19th Century Classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.
2. A 20th Century Classic - any book published between 1900 and 1966.
3. A classic by a woman author 
4. A classic in translation - any book originally written and published in a language other than your native language.
5. A classic by a non-white author - can be African-American, Asian, Latino, Native American, etc.
6. An adventure classic - can be fiction or non-fiction.
7. A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic
8. A classic detective novel - It must include a detective, amateur or professional. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, completed February 10th.
9. A classic which includes the name of a place in the title - It can be the name of a house, a town, a street, etc. 
10. A classic which has been banned or censored - If possible, mention why it was banned or censored.
11. Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college)
12. A volume of classic short stories - This must be one complete volume, at least 8 short stories.

©2008-2016 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/

Book Blogger Hop - February 12, 2016

Today - another Book Blogger Hop question from Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.

Are you able to read in the car? 

Only when I'm not driving!

But seriously. I can read in the car and do take along my Kindle or a book when we go on a road trip. It's not my favorite place to read, but helps to pass the time when we have a long drive and don't want to feel obligated to talk the entire time.

©2008-2016 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/

Wordless Wednesday - Chopsticks

My hubby got this beautiful set of chopsticks as part of a Christmas gift from a company he deals with. We finally remembered to use them on Monday since it was the Chinese New Year. All five of us ate our whole dinner with chopsticks - quite an accomplishment!

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life at Rossmont.

©2008-2016 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 - Into the Whirlwind

This post contains affiliate links. 

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!

"Mollie, we both saw the courthouse burn to the ground, and there are no more city records to prove who owns what. Your apartment is gone. There is no way we can ever prove what you had because every record of the transaction no longer exists."
"I still have it."

~Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden, page 89

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

 

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.

CHICAGO

OCTOBER 8, 1871

    A wall of fire towered over Mollie. The city of Chicago had been burning for hours, the scorching wind stirring up firestorms that barreled down the narrow streets and illuminated the night sky. It was getting hard to breathe. Smoke and ash hung in the air, coating Mollie's throat until her thirst grew more painful than the blistering heat. The crush of people jostling to flee northward made it hard to even keep standing.
   The city Mollie loved so well was being destroyed as flames engulfed buildings, weakening them until they collapsed into piles of rubble, blocking escape routes and sending throngs of people into greater panic. By tomorrow, Chicago would be nothing more than a smoldering ruin.

Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden

Here's the blurb:

As owner of the 57th Illinois Watch Company, Mollie Knox's future looks bright until the night the legendary Great Chicago Fire destroys her beloved city. With her world crumbling around her, Mollie will do whatever it takes to rebuild in the aftermath of the devastating fire.

Zach Kazmarek, an influential attorney for one of Chicago's finest department stores, is a force to be reckoned with among the city's most powerful citizens. Bold and shrewd, he's accustomed to getting exactly what he wants--until he meets Mollie Knox, the beguiling businesswoman just beyond his reach.

As the people of Chicago race to rebuild, Mollie comes face-to-face with the full force of Zack's influence. Zack believes this may be his chance to win her, but can Mollie ever accept this man and his whirlwind effect on her life, especially with her treasured company on the line?

What do you think? Would you continue reading?

©2008-2016 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/