Friday, January 31

January Bookshelf Review



I woke up thinking a very pleasant thought. There is lots left in the world to read. ~Nicholson Baker

There is so much to read and I'm reading it very slowly! I guess I'm off to a decent start for the year, at about the rate I've come to expect for this season of my life. Here's what I've been working on lately.


January's Books Completed and Reviewed

Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar - Sarah and Darius accompany Nehemiah on his journey to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, with their own missions to accomplish. Sarah is to be Nehemiah's scribe, and she will become a mother; and Darius is looking for the author of a plot against the Persian king. (Read my review HERE)




Mountain Interval by Robert Frost - a collection of poetry and poetic short stories set in rural New Hampshire.  (Read my review HERE)





During January I started reading:

The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa - This has been on my TBR for a long time, and with a new mini-challenge from the 52 Book Club, it seemed like the perfect time to finally get started. I've just met Kota, a cat rescued from a trash bin, who considers himself part of his human family. (The mini-challenge is the Lunar New Year Challenge, and this book will fulfill two of the three prompts: a book set in a country that celebrates the Lunar New Year, and a book by an Asian author.) Hopefully it won't take me too long to read!



During January I continued reading:

A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage accompany Lord Gage to his family home in Cornwall, where they meet this estranged branch of the family and investigate the circumstances of the patriarch's recent death.



Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health by Casey Means, MD with Calley Means - I've been working my way through this book about establishing good health from a holistic approach.



Where My Books Took Me in January . . . Here's where I've traveled through the pages during the month, along with One Word to sum up the ones I finished.

Harvest of Gold takes place in ancient Persia.
One Word: Forgiveness

Mountain Interval is set in rural New England.
One Word: Nostalgia

A Deceptive Composition is set in rural England, mostly Cornwall.
The Goodbye Cat is set in Japan.



Coming Up in February!

Working on the 2025 Reading Challenges is informing my next few choices, although with what I'm working on now, it doesn't look like I'll have time to pick up anything new for awhile. The online book club will be reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnet, which I've never read. I'd like to, but we'll see how my time goes. 

This is the book that is currently sitting on the top of my TBR stack. It's something I've had for awhile and keeps getting put off. In fact, I've put it off so long that it's become a two-book series, so hopefully I can get to it soon!

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn



On my blogs recently . . . 

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



On Homeschool Coffee Break:



And on A Fresh Cup of Coffee:




This post will be linked at Share Your Shelf hosted by Slices of Life.


©2008-2025 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/ 

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


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Monday, January 20

Recent Reads - Harvest of Gold


Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar - As this story opens, Sarah and Darius are still building upon the tentative affection that has begun in their arranged marriage, but Darius is still unwilling to open his heart at all. Darius is able to thwart an attack on their small travel party as they head to the capital city, but is disturbed to discover that the attackers were on their way to assassinate the king. This is reported to the king and Darius is determined to find out who originated the plot. To this end, the king orders Darius to travel to the Syrian provinces along with Nehemiah, the cupbearer who has just been granted permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah is Sarah's cousin, and because Sarah is a scribe, it is arranged that she will go as well, and serve as scribe to him in his role as governor.

Sarah is thrilled at the prospect of seeing Jerusalem, and connecting with her Jewish heritage, but fears that Darius will leave her behind, especially if he knows what she has begun to suspect - that she is carrying his child. Her choice to delay telling him ends up shattering his trust and leaving them both grieving and angry. Sarah must request his forgiveness and exercise patience and faith in God as she waits for him to work in Darius's heart. Darius must confront his own childhood memories and how his experience has caused him to close his heart to Sarah. He learns a new respect for Nehemiah when his wife's cousin challenges and guides him even while leading and managing the massive building project.

In the first part of this duology, Harvest of Rubies, Sarah's character arc is dynamic as she learns to recognize and deal with her own pride, stubbornness, and fears. She grows in her faith and acceptance of God's leading in her life. In Harvest of Gold, it is Darius's turn to undergo character crisis and growth, as he sees his own shortcomings and fears, and reaches his own crisis of faith. Their fictional story is woven into a well-researched narrative highlighting the rebuilding of Jerusalem as described in the Biblical book of Nehemiah, giving insights into the social and political settings. 


From the publisher:

An arranged marriage. A man whose heart is closed to love. A king whose life hangs in the balance. A nations on the brink of annihilation. Harvest of Gold (Book 2)

The scribe Sarah married Darius, and at times she feels as if she has married the Persian aristocracy, too. There is another point she did not count on in her marriage — Sarah has grown to love her husband. Sarah has wealth, property, honor, and power, but her husband's love still seems unattainable.

Although his mother was an Israelite, Darius remains skeptical that his Jewish wife is the right choice for him, particularly when she conspires with her cousin Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Ordered to assist in the effort, the couple begins a journey to the homeland of his mother's people. Will the road filled with danger, conflict, and surprising memories, help Darius to see the hand of God at work in his life — and even in his marriage?

By the same author: Harvest of Rubies

This is a book that is 300-400 pages long (#51) for The 52 Book Club's 2025 Reading Challenge.
#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2025



This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot, and at  the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2025 hosted by The Intrepid Reader and Baker.
#histficreadingchallenge

bookworms monthly linky



©2008-2025 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. This post was written by a human.  http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 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.
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Thursday, January 16

What I'm Reading - January 16, 2025


When it's cold outside it just feels right to curl up with a good book inside. However, I'm doing most of my reading at work these days, and curling up is not happening in the break room while I'm eating lunch! Guess I'll need to see if I can knock out a chapter or two before bed each night if I want to get through my reading list any faster.

I'm currently reading . . .

Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar - I'm pretty close to the end of this historical novel that combines romance and a little intrigue with historical and Biblical background. Sarah, a Jew, and her Persian husband Darius travel to Jerusalem along with her cousin Nehemiah, who is rebuilding the city walls. 



Mountain Interval by Robert Frost - An online book club I'm in has chosen this book of poetry for January, and I'm enjoying it. 



Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health by Casey Means, MD with Calley Means - I got several chapters into this book, but haven't worked on it for a bit because I'm caught up in Sarah's story! Obviously, this is a non-fiction selection, and although written in an easy-to-understand conversational style, it still requires time and attention so a few minutes here and there isn't how I want to read it. 



A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber - When I have a few minutes to pick up a physical book, I'm catching up with my favorite detective, Lady Darby. 



Up Next . . . On the TBR stack . . . 

So many things I want to read, but I just don't have the time and energy to get to them all. Here's one thing I've been wanting to read, but there's really no guarantee.

The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa - I've had this one on the stack for such a long time. One of these days I'll get to it! 



On my blogs recently . . . 

Here on Just A Second you'll find:

2025 Reading Challenges (which reminds me, I need to update the pages)


On my main coffee break project, A Fresh Cup of Coffee:

The Practice of Housekeeping
WQ - Holiday Traditions


My "first cup blog", Homeschool Coffee Break, has been idle for awhile. I'm still deciding what to do with it.


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What are you reading?


This post may be linked at What's On Your Bookshelf? #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge hosted by Deb's World, and/or at the weekly reading list meme hosted at Book Date.

 It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

©2008-2025 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. This post was written by a human.  http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/ 

 This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee. 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.
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Sunday, January 5

2025 Reading Challenges


It's the beginning of a new year, which must mean it's time to set some reading goals and join some reading challenges. I enjoy reading challenges, even if I don't have a realistic expectation of completing everything in the challenge. That's been my experience with The 52 Book Club. I don't read fifty books in a year any more, but after a couple of years taking part in the club's challenge, it's still a worthwhile endeavor for me because it motivates me and helps me choose what to read. Often it gets me outside of my usual reading box and introduces me to titles, authors, or genres that I might not have considered otherwise.

So I will be doing The 52 Book Club Challenge for 2025, and my personal goal is to get about halfway through it.

Find out more about the 2025 Reading Challenge HERE, and check out the 2025 Reading Challenge Guide too.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2025


They've added a Read It, Watch It challenge as well, and I'm not sure I'll be able to complete that but it looks like fun.


I've been a member of the What The Dickens Book Club on Facebook for a few years too, but haven't participated in quite some time. To be honest, the posts in the group have tended to get lost in my newsfeed so I wasn't sure what they were reading, and was either unable to join in the scheduled discussion parties or didn't find the dates until too late. I planned ahead a little better this time and grabbed the info about the books and discussion dates. Again, I probably won't participate in all of the discussions, but I'm happy to see the books chosen include some shorter and easier reads, and are a mix of books I've already read and would be happy to revisit, and classics that I haven't read and probably should.



I also joined a Facebook book club group with members of the chorus I sing in, and they've shared other reading challenges, so maybe that group will help me stay motivated as well.

Updated to add . . . Since I consistently gravitate towards historical fiction anyway, I'm also going to participate in the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2025 hosted by The Intrepid Reader and Baker. I love that it's such a simple challenge. Just link up my historical fiction reviews each month. I think I'll do the Renaissance Reader level, which is ten historical fiction books over the year.


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For my personal interest, I will continue keeping track of the titles I read in an "Alphabet Soup" challenge, to see how many letters of the alphabet I can represent. From time to time I have done Friday Fun posts, but it's been quite awhile since I've done them regularly - I do them sporadically at best! Friday Fun posts include some combination of First Line Fridays, hosted by Reading is My SuperPower; Book Beginnings on Fridays, hosted by Rose City Reader; the Friday 56, currently hosted by Anne at My Head Full of Books; and the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. The problem is that I just don't have the time to get these done on a regular basis or to visit the other participants, and it bothers me to join a link-up and not spread the comment love to others.

 I do try to be consistent with writing bookshelf summaries, and depending on how the posting dates line up, I share with Book Date, at the BookWorms Monthly link-up, at Share Your Shelf hosted by Slices of Life, and What's On Your Bookshelf? #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge hosted by Deb's World.

While I don't have as much time to devote to reading as I'd like, I still love a good book, and I like talking about good books. My book totals may not be very high, but I'll keep doing a little blogging about books here and there. Something to look forward to in retirement might be more book and blog time! 
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Happy Reading!


©2008-2025 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. This post was written by a human. 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.


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Friday, January 3

2024 Reading Challenges Wrap-up


Back in the waning days of 2023, when I decided on my reading challenges for 2024, I had hoped I would find more time and motivation for reading. Well, I was taken a little by surprise when I was able to shift from part-time to full-time hours at my job starting in January, and I realized that would affect how much time and energy I'd have for a lot of things. Reading included. There were some ebbs and flows over the year, and I wound up with about the same number of books read as in 2023. It's tempting to be disappointed when I see others reading 60 or 70 or 100 books in a year, but after all, it's not a competition. Or so I tell myself! This is just a season in my life in which 20ish books per year is what I have time for, and as long as I'm enjoying what I read, it's a win.

So here's how I did this past year. First, a DNF challenge . . . The 2024 European Reading Challenge is hosted by Rose City Reader, and the goal is to read books set in Europe or by European authors, and to 'visit' as many European countries as possible. Quite a few of my books were set in the United Kingdom, but other than that I had only one other European setting and that was Italy (The Juliet Code by Pepper Basham). So I'm not going to do this challenge in 2025, and won't link this wrap-up post either. I do like keeping track of the locations my books are set in, but at present this is a challenge that isn't suiting my reading habits.


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Although I knew it was highly unlikely that I'd complete it, I did work on the 52 Book Club's 2024 Challenge. These kinds of challenges are fun for me, and worthwhile even if I don't complete them, because it encourages me to read titles, authors, and even genres I might not otherwise consider. Find out more about the 2024 Reading Challenge HERE.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2024


1.  Hardy Haul at Hardy Hall - PJ Fitzsimmons (locked-room mystery)
3.  Blood of Adam - Rachel S. Neal (more than 40 chapters)
4. Voice of the Ancient - Connilyn Cossette (lowercase letters on the spine)
7. Sisters of Fortune - Anna Lee Huber (at least four different points of view)
8.  The Juliet Code - Pepper Basham (features the ocean)
9. Once Upon A Prince - Rachel Hauck (a character-driven novel)
10. The Vanishing at Castle Moreau - Jaime Jo Wright (told in non-chronological order)
11. The Kamogawa Food Detectives - Hisashi Kashiwai (title starting with the letter K)
12. The Lady of Bolton Hill - Elizabeth Camden (title starting with the letter L)
14. Ticker - Lisa Mantchev (a grieving character)
15. Harvest of Rubies - Tessa Afshar (part of a duology)
24. Find Momo Across Europe - Andrew Knapp (a cover without people on it)
25. The Sentence Is Death - Anthony Horowitz (an author "everyone" besides me has read)
30. The Matrimonial Advertisment - Mimi Matthews (picked without reading the blurb)
32. A Christmas Charade - Karla Hocker (time frame of a week or less)
37. A Fatal Illusion - Anna Lee Huber (palindrome on the cover)
**39. Good Energy - Casey Means (non-fiction recommended by a friend)
43. The Crumbs off Heaven's Table - D.M. Griffin (about finding identity)
44. Silencing the Siren - Denise L. Barela (includes a wedding)
47. The Word is Murder - Anthony Horowitz (author self-insert)

I counted one book in the challenge that I haven't finished, so I've ticked off twenty of the 52 prompts. I read a few books I'd had on my Kindle for ages and I'd nearly forgotten about, and I picked a couple books based on other blogger's mentions, and found a couple of new-to-me authors I enjoyed. So I didn't complete the challenge, didn't even get to the halfway point, but I'm still happy with my result. And this IS a challenge I'll do in 2025, and do my best to get my number up at least a little bit. 

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This post will be linked at Share Your Shelf hosted by Slices of Life.



©2008-2025 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/ 

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


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December Bookshelf Review


Making this just a wee bit shorter than usual, as I need to also do a summary of my 2024 Reading Challenges and what I'm planning for reading challenges in 2025. And well, my monthly summaries tend to be short anyway, since I don't read that many books in a month!

December's Books Completed and Reviewed

A Christmas Charade by Karla Hocker - a light romantic historical with a holiday theme. The ghost was probably my favorite character. (Read my review HERE)



During December I started reading:

Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health by Casey Means, MD with Calley Means - Purchased this earlier in the year but didn't start reading until December, after discussing it with a friend. I'm obviously not finished yet, but far enough along in the book that I'm going to count it in the 52 Book Club as non-fiction recommended by a friend.




A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber - I got started on this one that's been on the top of TBR for a really long time. 



During December I continued reading:

Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar - I got back to this book and am enjoying the continuing love story between Sarah and Darius, and the intrigue and drama they deal with in the Persian court, and then when they are asked to accompany Nehemiah to Jerusalem. I really wanted to count this towards my 52 Book Challenge, like I did with Good Energy, but it doesn't seem to fit any of the prompts I have left.



Where My Books Took Me in December . . . Here's where I've traveled through the pages during the month, along with One Word to sum up the ones I finished.

A Christmas Charade is set in England, specifically along the Sussex coast.
One Word: Returning

A Deceptive Composition is set in rural England, mostly Cornwall.
Harvest of Gold takes place in ancient Persia.


Coming Up in January!

I'm rethinking what's next on my reading list since I'm starting on 2025 Reading Challenges, so I haven't got anything definite picked out yet. Well, except for a book of poetry that I feel like I can get through in time for a Facebook book club I'm still following but haven't really participated in for a couple years. My hope is to pick up my pace on reading at least a little this year!

Mountain Interval by Robert Frost 




On my blogs recently . . . 

This blog and Homeschool Coffee Break have been quiet, but on A Fresh Cup of Coffee you'll find:

WQ - Traditions (this is the link-up post)


This post will be linked at Share Your Shelf hosted by Slices of Life.


©2008-2025 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/ 

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


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