Monthly Bookshelf Review - April 2020

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee.

I genuinely thought I was going to do a lot more reading in April, with what I expected to be extra time at home. Well, I did have some extra time, but not as much as I thought, and I've been spending it on other pursuits. And often I was not able to focus on reading - imagine that. Here's what I've been working on!

April's Books Completed and Reviewed

The Chisholm Trail Bride by Kathleen Y'Barbo - Headstrong Eliza has to turn to detective and bodyguard Wyatt for help, not realizing he is her childhood friend that she thought dead. (Read my full review HERE)



The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep - An opera singer flees to a lonely part of England, but realizes she may need to face down her past after taking in an injured man who has escaped Dartmoor Prison and hears his story of wrongful imprisonment. (Read my full review HERE)

During April I started reading:

A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn - I was so excited to be able to get started on the newest Veronica Speedwell mystery. In this one, she and Stoker are prevailed upon to retrieve a piece of jewelry that could bring scandal to the royal family.

Redemption at the Eleventh Hour by Andrew Crown - A Jewish fugitive thinks he's found a new life and a woman to share it in a little fishing village, but a Roman soldier with revenge in mind shatters that hope.

During April I continued reading:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - finally reading this classic as I'm teaching a high school literature class. We are just wrapping this one up, so I really should try to write a review. I'm very behind on doing those for Lit class reads!




During April I shelved:

Until the Mountains Fall by Connilyn Cossette - Something else kept coming up and I've realized that I've barely looked at this one for a couple weeks. Will be getting back to it very soon, I hope!

Coming Up in May!

   
The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
Claiming Mariah by Pam Hillman

     

On my blogs recently . . . 

Besides the reviews, here on Just A Second you'll find:

Scripture and a Snapshot - Conquerors
Share Four Somethings - April 2020
Wordless Wednesday - Voice Lesson
Scripture and a Snapshot - Cheerful
What I'm Reading - April 13, 2020
Scripture and a Snapshot - He Has Risen!
By His Wounds (Good Friday 2020)
Wordless Wednesday - Social Distance Saturday
Scripture and a Snapshot - Rejoice Always (Palm Sunday)
When God Says Go


And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

The Homeschool Mom's Science Podcast
Five Minute Friday - Perspective
Suddenly Homeschooling - Pro Tips! - Resources For You
Street
Five Minute Friday - Another
Twenty-Six Lists - Encouraging Words
Wordless Wednesday - Blooming
Five Minute Friday - Patient
Free COVID-19 Printable Lesson & Worksheet for Students
Mistake
Five Minute Friday - Now
Twenty-Six Lists - Laugh A Little!

What I'm Highlighting . . . My friends that read Just A Second are invited to join me at Homeschool Coffee Break for the Twenty-Six Lists link-up. It's every other week and the list prompts are for everyone, not just homeschoolers.

This post will be linked at the April 2020 Wrap-Up Roundup and Giveaway hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction.

©2008-2020 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/ 

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Scripture and a Snapshot - Conquerors

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~Romans 8:37-39~

<div style='width:100%;text-align:center;'> <span style='margin:5px;padding:5px;border-radius: 5px;border:1px solid lightgrey;display:inline-block;'><a rel=_nofollow href='https://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Scripture%20and%20a%20Snapshot'> <img style='border: 1px solid gray;width:330px;height:330px;' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkEsmWJLn1f3VqhfaylcSn7IABJxDE4XrGPLFjO1V9xTM3ozVgjnerdCaVUqCwcRPIiwfqTfFqk4du0DK8acoLtyo-qFBOeBIKDwilTJVyIcRXpdYZC2QcFtMnVXKNk4Q1SLHMCX7SPU/s320/scripture+snapshot.jpg'><p style='align: center;'> </p> </a></span>

Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea's Photos 'n Scribbles; and at Selah, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

©2008-2020 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/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Share Four Somethings - April 2020

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 

April 2020 hasn't been what I expected. It's been super long, for one thing. At times it's been super boring, super lonely, and super frustrating. I've spent my share of time being upset and angry (to say the least) about the way things are going, but also once I get it off my chest I can settle down and try to find the silver linings. 

Something Loved

Local businesses! I've always liked supporting small local businesses when I could. That doesn't mean I don't shop at big chain stores or whatever, because I certainly do. I feel like even if it's not a locally owned business, it does employ local people, and that matters too. But anyway, for the past month and a bit, small businesses in our area have been hard hit and even those that are considered 'essential businesses' and are still open are not having an easy time of it. Since we all work for small businesses, and we're lucky enough to still have that income, I decided that we would do our best to support other small businesses as best we could. We have seven people living here, eating all their meals with food from our kitchen. Normally we go out to eat quite often, but that's not happening right now. So, we decided that at least once a week, we would get a takeout meal from a local eatery. No regrets!! We've tried a couple places that we've been curious about for a long time, and we have had great food and great service from some of the nicest people ever.


Something Read

I only completed two books in April, although as usual I'm working on several. You can see more about my reading in my Monthly Bookshelf Review for April 2020, which will be posted in the next couple of days.

The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep
The Chisholm Trail Bride by Kathleen Y'Barbo

   


Something Treasured

Oh how grateful I am for hope and for humor - I don't know how we'd get through these long days of not knowing when this lockdown will end! We treasure the freedom that we do have, since so many of our more luxurious freedoms are (temporarily, we hope) forbidden.

But in a more literal sense, I have found many odd little benefits to our lockdown situation. Even though some of us in the household, myself included, are still working, overall we have a very relaxed schedule. Other than work, we really don't have any place we have to be! The calendar is mostly empty and our dinners are often later in the evening than has ever been our habit before. We have the chance to sleep late more often. We're getting some projects done around the house. I'm available to talk to my extended family on the phone. 

And strangely enough, I've become more involved in my daughter's schooling again, even though she's now a college student. She talks to me about her schoolwork even more, since there aren't very many others to discuss it with. We discuss her music classes, her Lit class, and even her math class. And I've been able to listen in on her voice classes, since they take place in our living room via teleconference! 

(She asked me to take this video and share it since so few of our friends have ever heard her sing anything other than worship music or pop/rock! This is 'Bel Piacere' from Handel's opera Agrippina)

Something Ahead

Well, I don't know what's ahead. I really don't. We're hopeful that our businesses will start to reopen and restrictions will start to relax by the middle of next month. One of our boys has been laid off since the beginning, but he received word that he will be back to work the first Monday in May. Let it be so! The other son has been working most of the time, but with fewer hours recently. One of their friends has been living with us because he isn't working, and he hopes to be back at it soon.

College classes won't resume for this semester, but Kennady is registering for fall semester classes now and considering whether to take a summer semester class as well.

I've been teaching my co-op classes using Google Classroom, and the next thing I need to figure out is how to meet with the families I supervise for our homeschool umbrella group. Will we meet in person or using a teleconference? It depends on what each of those families is comfortable with, I suppose, because I'm flexible.

It may be too soon, but if there's any way possible, I want to go visit my granddaughter in May. I hope by the end of the month, things will be opened and relaxed enough that it will work. I promised myself that at the earliest possible opportunity, I would go visit family.

This post will be linked at Share Four Somethings hosted by HeatherGerwing.com

©2008-2020 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/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Wordless Wednesday - Voice Lesson

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee

How she prepares for her voice performance class since everything is online these days.

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life on Chickadee Lane, and at Pictoral Tuesday, hosted by Peabea Scribbles.

Pictorial Tuesday

©2008-2020 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/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Scripture and a Snapshot - Cheerful

A cheerful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

~Proverbs 17:22~

It can be challenging to stay cheerful and optimistic with all that's going on the world these days. I'm generally an optimistic person, but lately it's been harder. Disappointment, frustration, sadness piles up sometimes, and I start to feel my bones drying up. There's no quick prepackaged feel-good answer that will fix this. It's hard. And it's okay to admit that it's hard and to mourn over death, disease, loss, and sin's effect on the world. But praise God, we don't have to stay in that dark place. God is still good, God is still in control, and because we have that assurance and that hope, we are not crushed. Yes, it's possible to have a cheerful heart even during dark days.

If you are not doing okay, please talk to someone you trust and let them know. Share the burden. If you don't have anyone, tell me. Check on the people around you - are they okay? Really okay? Let's take care of each other, church. Be kind, be loving, be the church.

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Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

I also link up at Sunday Scripture Blessings, hosted by Peabea's Photos 'n Scribbles; and at Selah, hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

 ©2008-2020 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/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

What I'm Reading - April 13, 2020

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee.

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! Although the Book Date link-up happens weekly, I don't manage to post that often. At this point, I am posting and linking about once a month! I kind of thought I'd have a lot more time for reading with things being shut down and all. I'm always home in the evenings now, but I guess I still have enough to keep me busy that there hasn't been much extra time in the schedule.

I finished reading . . . 

From Sky to Sky by Amanda G. Stevens - A small band of people have been given a serum that has halted their aging process and essentially made them immortal in this follow-up novel to No Less Days. (Read my full review HERE.)




The Next Always by Nora Roberts - Beckett Montgomery pursues young widow Clare as he and his brothers ready a historic inn for its grand opening. (Read my full review HERE.)

Lady of Secrets by G.S. Carr - A free colored woman of means and a poor Irish immigrant fall in love as the Civil War is going on. (Read my full review HERE)



The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep - Oliver is an escaped prisoner, and Maggie is an opera singer who has run away from the spotlight. They realize their situations are connected and decide to confront their pasts and accusers together. (Read my full review HERE)




The Chisholm Trail Bride by Kathleen Y'Barbo - Wyatt is a detective looking out for his employer's daughter, Eliza. What Eliza doesn't realize is that he is the childhood friend she thought was dead. (Read my full review HERE)

I'm currently reading . . .

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - reading the classic for the Lit class I'm teaching, although the urgency to finish it was diminished when we had to switch to an online class format.

Until the Mountains Fall by Connilyn Cossette - As a childless widow, Rivkah is expected to marry her late husband's brother Malakhi, but she resents the Hebrew custom and keeps looking for a way to avoid the wedding.

A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn - Veronica and Stoker are asked to help retrieve a gift that could connect a member of the royal family to a scandal during the same time that Jack the Ripper is terrorizing London.

Redemption at the Eleventh Hour by Andrew Crown - Dismas is a fugitive who is trying to find the  man he's heard can do miracles. 

Next on the stack... 

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
Claiming Mariah by Pam Hillman


   

What I'm Highlighting . . . My friends that read Just A Second are invited to join me at Homeschool Coffee Break for the Twenty-Six Lists link-up. It's every other week and the list prompts are for everyone, not just homeschoolers. The most recent list is Laugh A Little! - so if you've got some humorous book recommendations, share them! Coming up this week is another list that avid readers might enjoy - Inspirational Quotes.

On my blogs recently . . . 

Besides the reviews, here on Just A Second you'll find:

Scripture and a Snapshot posts
Wordless Wednesday - Social Distance Saturday
When God Says Go
Monthly Bookshelf Review - March 2020
Share Four Somethings - March 2020
Connect Five Friday - Nurses and Doctors
Wordless Wednesday - Signs of Spring
Connect Five Friday - Ireland
Wordless Wednesday - Morning View


And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Five Minute Friday - Patient
Free COVID-19 Printable Lesson & Worksheet for Students (Courtesy of Homeschool Labs)
Mistake
Five Minute Friday - Now
Twenty-Six Lists - Laugh a Little! #twentysixlists
Five Minute Friday - Adjust
March Photo Album
Clear
Homeschool Highlights - Social Distancing Edition
Five Minute Friday - Tomorrow
Twenty-Six Lists - You're Doing a Good Job! #twentysixlists
Suddenly Homeschooling - Pro Tips - Establishing a New Normal
Mystery
Coffee Break Reading List (March 16, 2020)
Five Minute Friday - Less
After
Plan

What are you reading?

©2008-2020 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/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.