Just A Second: 2026

Monday, May 18

What I'm Reading - May 18, 2026

Here's a quick update on what I've been reading and watching lately.

I'm currently reading . . .

A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - Have been working on this one for awhile and it keeps getting shuffled in favor of other things. However, I'm nearing the end now! After a building collapse at an estate sale, Kiera and Gage investigate when there's reason to believe it wasn't an accident. But what could be the motive and who might be the target? There are a lot of variables in this mystery, and I suspect I'll need Kiera and Gage to explain it to me!

The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews - Matthews is another author I can't resist, and this is the fourth in her current Belles of London series. (Never mind that I haven't yet read the first or third) Stella is a respectable and marriageable young lady but her London seasons haven't been successful, largely because her hair is grey and that's just not fashionable! She feels invisible and her options are running out. A promising young painter, Teddy Hayes, has been determined to paint her portrait, fascinated by her luminous beauty, and at a Christmas house party, the two strike up a friendship . . . and possibly more.

Up Next . . . On the TBR stack . . .

I really want to watch the movie version of RBC, and hopefully we'll have an evening available to do that soon. That means that it's most likely that I'll pick up that book next. I've got other books on my stack and in my Kindle library that are in the mix as well, but with a move and vacation coming up, I'm being realistic and only listing one here.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - I've read it a couple times before and LOVED it. Looking forward to another re-read!

I finished reading . . .

Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - A novel based on the account in the Bible of Paul casting a demon out of a slave girl and how the church began in Philippi. The slave girl is Mynestra in this story, and she and the other new believers face difficult decisions and challenges to their faith. (Read my review HERE)

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - I wound up skimming parts of this memoir so that I could finish and get it back to the library, but it was very interesting and enjoyable. Sasha's childhood and teen years were full of uncertainties and changes, and she struggled to connect and belong to a family or community. But after she married and became a mother, the idea to cook her way around the world, a meal from every country, led to her brilliant blog, her success, and her finding peace with her past experiences. (Read my review HERE)

I've been watching . . .

Hockey games, of course! Not much else over the past couple of weeks. During the Stanley Cup playoffs, there's little else that we are interested in, and my husband's favorite team is still in the mix (at the time of writing, anyway - their series will be decided later today) so we're especially focused.

I've been listening to . . .

You Never Know: A Memoir by Tom Selleck and Ellis Henican - I could have listed this as currently reading, but I've chosen to listen to the audiobook version because it's Selleck himself narrating. I'm loving the story of how he got started in acting and the things he learned along the way. And I just love his voice, though it's more gravelly now than in his Magnum PI days when I first became a devoted fan.

At work I also listen to RadioU and various political and social commentary podcasts, and my own eclectic mix of music on Spotify.

On my blogs recently . . .

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

April Bookshelf Review

March Bookshelf Review

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

Scripture and a Snapshot posts

Everyday Images and Photo Challenge posts

Hodgepodge and other Q&A Link-up posts

Five Minute Friday posts

WQ - Family Ties

Currently . . . May 8, 2026

Progress and Goals 2026 (January - April)

WQ - Positive Impact

Share Four Somethings - April 2026

WQ - Overcoming Fear

Currently . . . April 2, 2026

WQ - Simplicity

Share Four Somethings - March 2026

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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.

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Thursday, May 14

Recent Reads - Oracle of Philippi

Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - It was a real pleasure to be able to read an ARC of this novel from Catherine Ensley. The novel explores the possibilities around an encounter described in the New Testament book of Acts, when the apostle Paul sets a slave girl free from an evil spirit. What the Bible tells us is that the slave had been some kind of prophet and that her owners profited from her telling fortunes, so they were very angry to lose their source of income. We know that this confrontation led to Paul and Silas being imprisoned, and that the jailer and his family were baptized. And we know that the church in Philippi met in Lydia's home. If you're like me, you might know all these Biblical facts, but haven't considered that it's possible, or even likely, that all these Philippian believers knew each other.

In this story, Mynestra is the slave girl, a young woman brought up to be a Pythian prophet in service to the Roman gods. In an encounter with Paul and Silas, Paul sets her free from the dark spirit that speaks through her, and Mynestra finds her own voice for the first time. She becomes a believer in Jesus but knows little about the new faith and rarely has an opportunity to attend their meetings. She struggles to reconcile her position as a slave forced to give oracles from Apollo with her desire to serve and obey the one true God.

Clement is the other main character, the son of Jewish parents who are Roman citizens. Clement is rising in the ranks of Roman government and is skeptical of the new faith, but when his mother and his close friend's (Epaphroditus, the son of the jailer) whole family claim the faith, he is also curious and reluctant to carry out any Roman punishments against them. Clement is also a friend of Mynestra's, and has been saving to buy her freedom. The more he observes the faith, kindness, and mercy shown by the believers, the more he grapples with his own beliefs and whether he is willing to take a stand, even if it costs him security and position.

I loved how this story gave names to these early believers, and created very plausible connections among the characters mentioned in the Bible. Since we have only a few sentences of Scripture telling us about the slave girl and her owners, the jailer and other officials in Philippi, and the names of the believers in Philippi, it's tempting to think they encountered the gospel and became believers and that's that. But it's likely that they struggled with their roles within their community, their changing loyalties, and the steep learning curve about the one God. All the things the apostle Paul addresses in his letters to the churches are questions or conflicts that the real people in those early Christian communities had to address, and the answers weren't always easy.

Beautifully written and well-researched, challenging and thought-provoking. I'm delighted when an enjoyable story also encourages me to dig into my Bible a little further and reminds me that the characters mentioned in Scripture were real people with real families and real feelings. The time and place they lived in is very different, but many of their experiences and dilemmas in living out their faith may not be all that different from ours.

From the publisher:

A Novel of Faith, Freedom, and the Cost of Truth

She was freed. But freedom cost her everything.

In first-century Philippi, a Roman colony built on power, loyalty, and control, a slave girl once valued for her visions loses the role that defined her―and the place she once held in the world. Mysnestra now stands between two worlds. Rejected by those she once served and uncertain among those she now follows, she must learn what it means to live without the identity that once shaped her―and discover whether her voice still has a place.

Clement, a rising Roman citizen, has everything to gain within the empire. But as he is drawn toward a truth he cannot ignore, he faces a choice that may cost him his future, his standing, and the life he has been trained to pursue.

As new faith begins to spread through Philippi, fear and resistance grow. Because in a city built on control, even a single transformed life can become a threat.

Oracle of Philippi is a richly layered historical novel of awakening, identity, and the cost of truth―for readers drawn to stories that linger long after the final page.

I received a digital ARC of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

This is a book set in an ancient civilization (#1) and has a title that starts with the letter O (#6) for The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2026

This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot.

Thursday, May 7

April Bookshelf Review

Wow, April went by quickly! Mostly because I was very busy, and we were traveling on a couple of the weekends. We've been intensely focused on finding a house to buy and getting that whole process going, and many evenings were taken up by that pursuit, and one of the things that I put on the backburner as a result was reading. Even though my reading pace has been pretty slow for awhile now, it was still weird and a little embarrassing to realize that there is almost nothing to update as far as books read.

April's Books Completed and Reviewed

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - Although I wound up skimming a good portion of this memoir, it was definitely a valuable read. Martin's growing up years were marked by uncertainty, upheaval, loss, and grief, but many of her good memories involved cooking and sharing food, being creative in the kitchen. So after a time in culinary school, and as a way to refocus her life as a wife and new mother, she decided to cook a meal from every country in the world, once a week. Followers of her blog Global Table Adventure will enjoy this more in-depth story of who she is and how her journey of cooking the world came to be. (Read my review HERE)

Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - This New Testament setting novel follows the story of a slave girl from whom the apostle Paul cast out a demon (in the book of Acts). Mynestra chooses to follow Jesus along with the believers Lydia and others, but she is still a slave so living out her newfound faith is complicated. (Review coming soon)

During April I continued reading:

A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber - Kiera and Gage are invited to an estate sale and auction of art pieces, and part of the building collapses. It turns out it wasn't entirely an accident, and they take on the investigation of who sabotaged the building and why. I did largely set this aside over the past few weeks, only dabbling in it now and then.

Where My Books Took Me in April . . . Here's where I've traveled through the pages during the month, and where each book fits in the reading challenges I'm working on.

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness took place mostly in the United States, but the author also lived in Europe for several years.

Oracle of Philippi is set in the New Testament time period, and takes place in the Roman colony city of Philippi, which is in modern-day Greece.

A Tarnished Canvas is set in Victorian Scotland, mostly in Edinburgh.

Coming Up in May!

These are still here on my TBR, and I picked up a few deals for my Kindle recently as well. No idea yet which of ones I'll read next.

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Being Henry: The Fonz . . . And Beyond by Henry Winkler

On my blogs recently . . .

On A Fresh Cup of Coffee:

Scripture and a Snapshot posts

Everyday Images posts

Hodgepodge posts

The Flower Hour - Franklin Park Conservatory

Progress and Goals 2026 (January - April)

WQ - Positive Impact

Share Four Somethings - April 2026

Five Minute Friday - Timing

Sunday Stills and Flower Hour - Hoover Mudflats Boardwalk

WQ - Overcoming Fear

Sunday Stills and Flower Hour - Crystal and Wildflowers

This post will be linked at Share Your Shelf hosted by Slices of Life and Not In Jersey.

Sunday, May 3

Recent Reads - Life From Scratch

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - Sasha Martin is the food writer and blogger who became very well-known for her mission to cook a meal from every country in the world, which she shared on her blog Global Table Adventure. That project eventually introduced Martin to the world, but in this memoir she tells her own story, how her growing up years were marked by instability and uncertainty, loss and grief. She grew up with only her mom and her older brother, and were often living in poverty, but her mom was creative and resourceful, and they were happy. Sasha and her brother were eventually cycled through a series of foster homes before going to live with her mother's friends as their guardians. Though well provided for and loved, their personal struggles continued, especially when coping with the tragedy of her brother taking his own life. Many years later, after moving around Europe with the family, and returning to the USA and beginning to reconnect with her mother, Sasha was inspired to go to culinary school. (I found it fascinating that it was the movie Babette's Feast that gave her the idea. It's one of my favorite movies.) She had always enjoyed cooking with her mother and relished opportunities to get into a kitchen and experiment.

Later, Sasha met the man known as "Mr Picky" on the blog and they married. Sasha's relationship with her mother and other family members was still complicated and often unpredictable. She renewed her love of cooking and came up with the idea to cook a meal from a different country every week, encouraging her husband to try new foods and raising their daughter to be adventurous and open to mulit-cultural experiences. Over the course of four years, Sasha researched and cooked her way around the world, blogging about it to a growing audience, and the experience helped her reconnect with family, cope with the lingering pain and questions and complicated emotions from her past, and build new friendships and bridges in her community.

I came across Global Table Adventure partway through its journey and followed with great interest. I was homeschooling my kids and wanted to try foods from other countries occasionally as part of our educational experience so the whole idea of the blog and its recipes resonated with me. It took me all these years to finally read the book and found it poignant and moving, and it renewed my appreciation for the power of sharing a meal to connect friends and family and build community. Food is much more than just functional and utilitarian, eating just to survive, but can also be an emotional, communal, and cultural experience. Sasha's journey while cooking the world is testimony to that.

From the publisher:

Witty, warm, and poignant, food blogger Sasha Martin's memoir about cooking her way to happiness and self-acceptance is a culinary journey like no other.

Over the course of 195 weeks, food writer and blogger Sash Martin set out to cook―and eat―a meal from every country in the world. As cooking unlocked the memories of her rough-and-tumble childhood and the loss and heartbreak that came with it, Martin because more determined than ever to find peace and elevate her life through the prism of food and world cultures. From the tiny, makeshift kitchen of her eccentric, creative mother, to a string of foster homes, to the house from which she launched her own cooking adventure, Martin's heartfelt, brutally honest memoir reveals the power of cooking to bond, to empower, and to heal―and celebrates the simple truth that happiness is created from within.

This is a book that spans a decade or more (#10), and has a subtitle with a comma (#15) for The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge.

#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2026

This is #9 in the Connections Challenge. It shares a narrative technique with the previous book (first person with internal dialogue). (I'm continuing the connections from the 2025 challenge)

This post will be linked at the current BookWorms Monthly link-up hosted by At Home A Lot.

Monday, April 6

March Bookshelf Review

I meant to post this several days ago and forgot. So that's embarrassing. Also I only completed ONE book in March, and I'm having trouble understanding how that was the case, but I guess that's how March went. We had a lot going on, and I started off the month with a week's worth of jury duty, during which I don't think I read anything. The next little while looks to be pretty busy too, so I guess I'll have to lower my already ridiculously modest expectations as to how much I'll be able to read. LOL At any rate, here's the summary for the last month.

March's Books Completed and Reviewed

An Unsuitable Job by Bonnie Hardy - Josie McFarland lost her job as a Harvey Girl, but she gets a second chance as an in-house detective for the Harvey House after a salesman was found murdered in a room and Josie is tasked with finding the murderer while keeping the Harvey reputation clean. (Read my review HERE)

During March I started reading:

Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC) - This New Testament setting novel is based on the story in the book of Acts, where the apostle Paul casts a demon out of a slave girl, leading to Paul's arrest. But that's just the beginning of the story! What part might this slave girl have played in the early church in Philippi?

During March I continued reading:

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin - I have a feeling I will wind up skimming much of this memoir of Martin's growing up and the experiences that led her to a project of cooking a meal from each of 195 different countries.

During March I shelved . . .

When the Cranes Fly South: A Novel by Liza Ridzén (translated by Alice Menzies) - I got invested in this novel quickly, but I wasn't able to get far enough before the library told me I had to return it, so it got shelved. I hope I'll remember to borrow it again and finish!

Where My Books Took Me in March . . . Here's where I've traveled through the pages during the month, and where each book fits in the reading challenges I'm working on.

An Unsuitable Job by Bonnie Hardy took place in Las Vegas, New Mexico in about 1929.