Monthly Bookshelf Review - January 2023

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

I'm off to a pretty strong start as far as the number of books read so far! It remains to be seen if I can keep up this pace, but I have several review books to work on for the next month or so, which should help me stay motivated.

January's Books Completed and Reviewed

A Wicked Conceit by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage are trying to identify the author of a novel that is spreading rumors about Bonnie Brock and themselves, and are even suspects when the publisher is found murdered. (Read my full review HERE)

Obedient Unto Death by Liisa Eyerly - A young scribe is poisoned during a meeting of the early Christian church in Ephesus, and Sabina is determined to find the murderer and prove the bishop innocent. (Read my full review HERE)

The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky - a reimagined version of Peter Pan, with a strong and ambitious Wendy as the lead character. (Read my full review HERE)

It Happened In Ohio by Carol Cartaino - I got a quick overview of interesting and influential events in the history of the state in this guidebook. (Read my full review HERE)

Bridges by Linda Griffin - An unlikely friendship between a young blind heiress and a middle-aged chauffeur leads to love. (Read my full review HERE)

The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West - A collection of short stories that follows a loveable Quaker couple and their family through the years. (Read my full review HERE)

During January I started reading:

What I Would Tell You by Liz Tolsma - a dual timeline story about the Sephardic Jews in Greece during WWII and a young American woman in search of her true lineage.

In Spotlight and Shadow by Rachel Scott McDaniel - This is also a dual timeline story. It's set in Pittsburgh and centering around a stage prop piece of jewelry and a young actress in the 1920s who was suspected of being a jewel thief.

Coming Up in February!

I'll have quite a job getting through all of these in one short month, but the review titles will have priority. That might mean my Anna Lee Huber novels may continue to be on the backburner.

The Letter From Briarton Park by Sarah E. Ladd

In The Shelter Of Hollythorne House by Sarah E. Ladd

The Cairo Curse by Pepper Basham

Murder Most Fair by Anna Lee Huber

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

A Certain Darkness by Anna Lee Huber

    

   

What I'm Highlighting . . . the dust is settling after a flurry of moves recently. Not just my physical move from Maryland to Ohio, but my new blog A Fresh Cup of Coffee. Everything bookish will still be here, but some of my other writing has moved or will be. See this post for the explanation: Moving Updates

On my blogs recently . . . 

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

Scripture and a Snapshot posts (But from now on this feature will be on A Fresh Cup of Coffee)

Friday Fun posts - The Friday 56 and First Lines

What I'm Reading - January 9, 2023

2023 Reading Challenges

2022 Reading Challenges Wrap-Up

On Homeschool Coffee Break:

Chinese New Year - The Year of the Rabbit

High School Writing Tip Sheets - Writing Dialogue

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Moving Updates

Introduction To My Empty Nest Mom Life

Adapt And Grow

Currently . . . January 4, 2023

December Photo Album

Strength When We're Tired

I Spy Collection - December 28, 2022

And on the new blog, A Fresh Cup of Coffee:

Scripture and a Snapshot posts

Five Minute Friday posts

Share Four Somethings - January 2023

Monthly Musings - Beating The Winter Blues

What's Up Wednesday - January 2023

Everyday Images - My Personal Photo Challenge

Everyday Images - January

Welcome To My New Coffee Break Project!

Introduction To My Empty Nest Mom Life

This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot; and at the weekly reading list meme hosted at Book Date.

©2008-2023 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.

Recent Reads - The Friendly Persuasion

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

The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West - This is actually a collection of short stories following a Quaker couple through the years. Jess Birdwell is a gentle, plain-spoken man with a love for music and nature, and with a poetic way of seeing and thinking about the world. His wife Eliza is a Quaker preacher, and a practical and peaceful woman. They have very different ways of seeing the world, and some of the tensions in the stories arise from the contrast in how they and other characters view things.

Each chapter is a little slice of their life, and the character viewpoint shifts. Most are from either Jess's or Eliza's viewpoint, but occasionally one of their children is the lead character. The conflicts tend to be more quiet and homespun rather than fiery or harsh. The opening story, for example centers around a dispute over whether to have a musical instrument in the house, and how to settle it in a way that satisfies the consciences of both Jess and Eliza. There are mild disagreements and spirited competitions with neighbors, and worries and concerns as they age and consider their mortality. In each story there is gentle humor, kindness, and wisdom, and the Quaker manner of speech and quaint turns of phrase add charm and warmth.

Although this is the second time I've read it, I still was momentarily confused when children mentioned in the early chapters "disappeared" and other children's names appeared seemingly out of nowhere. There is a sense that there are stories of the passing years that are not included in this particular collection; stories that would fill in the gaps as Jess and Eliza grew older, their children grew up, and other children were born and grew up also. Towards the end we even meet a granddaughter as one of the stories is completely from her point of view.

I still love this sweet and slower paced set of stories and am so attached to Jess and Eliza that I was sorry to reach the end of the book. It remains a favorite and I'm sure I will read it again.

You can also read my 2020 review of The Friendly Persuasion HERE.

This book includes a funeral (#28) for The 52 Book Club's 2023 Reading Challenge

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2023

©2008-2023 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 - Built Up

Please note: This is the last week that Scripture and a Snapshot will appear here at Just A Second. The blog button has been updated to link to A Fresh Cup of Coffee which will be hosting Scripture and a Snapshot every Sunday from now on. Please update your links and your blog button if you haven't already done so. Please let me know if you have any questions!

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

~Ephesians 4:11-16~

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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 the Sweet Tea & Friends Monthly Link-up Party hosted by Simply Coffee & Jesus.

©2008-2023 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.

Friday Fun - The Friday 56 and First Lines for January 27, 2023

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

I had this teaser post all ready to go, but I actually finished the book and already reviewed it! If you're interested, the review is HERE.

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"All my monsters are human. Aunt Edna wants a June wedding."

~at 56% of Bridges by Linda Griffin 

The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your e-reader.

*Find a snippet, short and sweet.

*Post it, and share in the Linky.

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March 1963

The old man was dying, and everyone knew it, so things were topsy-turvy at Westfield Court.

~From the beginning of Bridges by Linda Griffin 

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader.

*It's Book Beginnings on Fridays! Time to gather with our fellow book lovers and share the opening sentence (or so) of the books we are reading this week. Or share from a book that is on your mind right now -- whatever catches your fancy.

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First Line Fridays is hosted at Reading is My SuperPower

*Share the first line or two of the book closest to you, then visit other FLF participants.

*Please keep posts family friendly or clean reads.

*Link back to Reading is My SuperPower within your post or grab a button.

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And here is the weekly bookish question in the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  

This Week's Question: Do you prefer to read in a quiet or noisy setting?

My Answer: I definitely prefer a quiet setting. Low level background noise or instrumental music is fine, but if there's too much going on I have trouble concentrating.

Book Blogger Hop

 ©2008-2023 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.

Recent Reads - Bridges

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

Bridges by Linda Griffin - Neil, a middle-aged chauffeur, and Mary Claire, a blind college student, have little in common when they meet, but they both love books and Mary Claire finds Neil an ally in her grandfather's household. Mary Claire and Neil don't even share similar faith as he claims to be an atheist and she is a devout Catholic. She has been summoned from her college to be with her grandfather during his final hours.  Mary Claire's aunt, who has been running the grandfather's household, is rude and condescending and bullies Mary Claire, and Neil wants to protect her. Mary Claire appreciates that Neil always treats her with respect and recognizes that she is intelligent and capable.

When the grandfather's will is read, he leaves his mansion and most of his wealth to Mary Claire . . . with two provisions. She must allow Aunt Edna to live at the mansion, and she must marry within a year and stay married. If she does not, everything will go to the state. Mary Claire has no desire to be married, and has trouble standing up to her aunt, and frequently talks to Neil about her dilemma. When Aunt Edna insists on arranging a marriage to a man Mary Claire can't stand, she finally pushes back, refusing her aunt's choice, and instead she arranges a marriage of convenience to Neil so that Mary Claire can keep the house and continue to employ all the servants.

What neither of them expects is that they could learn to truly love each other. And if they act on that love, what will it mean for their friendship and for their other relationships?

While this short novel tells an intriguing and sweet May-December love story, the narration is spare and the relationship moves very quickly from respectful distance to trusted confidantes. The dialogue moves the story along effectively, but given that this is a shorter story I had a sense that the characters lacked some dimension. Neil is the viewpoint character and it's through his perspective that we see how Mary Claire matures, and how Neil grapples with his changing attitude towards her. He struggles with the idea that he could be romantically involved with a girl so much younger, but doesn't seem to give much thought to any other personal dilemmas. Aunt Edna's role is rather like a stereotypical wicked stepmother, and other supporting characters are little more than names on the page. Overall, I enjoyed this story as a quick read with a new twist on the marriage of convenience theme, and I liked that the ending was left somewhat open as to how Neil had come to terms with himself and his choices.

From the Publisher:

In 1963, Neil Vincent, a middle-aged World War II veteran and "Christian atheist," is working at Westfield Court as a chauffeur. He spends most of his spare time reading.

Mary Claire DeWinter is a young, blind, Catholic college student and reluctant heiress. To secure her inheritance, she has to marry within a year, and her aunt is pressuring her to marry a rich man who teased and bullied her when she was a child.

Neil and Mary Claire shouldn't even be friends, but the gulf between them is bridged by a shared love of books. Can they cross the bridge to more?

I received a digital copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book features an inheritance (#2) for The 52 Book Club's 2023 Reading Challenge

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2023

©2008-2023 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.