What I'm Reading - September 16, 2019

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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! Although the Book Date link-up happens weekly, I haven't been keeping up with a weekly schedule, so I kind of post these whenever! So in the past couple of weeks:

I finished reading . . . 

The Butterfly Recluse by Therese Heckencamp - Lila tells herself she doesn't need to interact with anyone as long as she has her butterflies, until a motorcycle-riding stranger charges into her garden. (Read my full review HERE.)




A Study In Scarlet Women (The Lady Sherlock Series) by Sherry Thomas - In this version of Sherlock Holmes, the detective is actually a young woman named Charlotte Holmes, who must find a murderer when her own family comes under suspicion. (Just finished this one, so the review will be posted this week.)



Britfield & the Lost Crown by C.R. Stewart - Finished this YA novel a few weeks ago but hadn't posted the review here as of my last What I'm Reading update. You can now find it HERE.

I'm currently reading . . .


Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain - I'm reading this classic along with my students in the Literature class I'm teaching at co-op.

   

Secrets in the Mist (A Gothic Myths Novel) by Anna Lee Huber - Have had this gothic by a favorite author on my TBR pile for a long time. Now that I've started, it's so hard to put down!

  


Detective Trigger and the Ruby Collar by M.A. Owens - Started this clever mystery featuring a canine detective and it's really entertaining - even though intended for young readers!




Immanuel Labor: God's Presence in Our Profession by Russell E. Gehrlein - will be submitting this review for The Old SchoolhouseⓇ website so a version of that will appear here later on.

Next on the stack... 

A Stranger at Fellsworth by Sarah E. Ladd
War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

   

On my blogs recently . . . 

Here on Just A Second:

Scripture and a Snapshot - The Spirit Intercedes
Wordless Wednesday - Sunrise and Spider Web
Recent Reads - The Butterfly Recluse
Recent Reads - Britfield & the Lost Crown
Scripture and a Snapshot - Rooted and Established
Wordless Wednesday - First Day


And on my homeschool blog, Homeschool Coffee Break:

Homeschool Highlights - College and Co-op Week Two
Virtual Refrigerator - First Days (From the Art Archives)
Getting Ready to Write at the College Level (A Homeschool Coffee Break Review)
A Conservatory Tour PhotoJournal - National Botanical Gardens
Coffee Break Reading List - September 9, 2019
Homeschool Highlights - The Week We Started Class
Virtual Refrigerator - Moonstruck Cats
School Scripture 2019-2020
A Conservatory Tour PhotoJournal - Rawlings Conservatory, Baltimore

What are you reading?

©2008-2019 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 - The Spirit Intercedes

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

~Romans 8:26-28~

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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 Scribble Pad.

©2008-2019 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 - Sunrise and Spider Web

This post contains affiliate links.

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life on Chickadee Lane.

©2008-2019 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 Butterfly Recluse

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The Butterfly Recluse by Therese Heckenkamp - Lila is content to stay hidden away in her house and garden, with just her butterflies for company. She's an introvert anyway, and the outside world is just too uncomfortable for her - even though it's been several years since her parents and younger siblings died in a car wreck. Lila never fully recovered from her grief and retreating from others seems to be her safest option.

But from the opening pages of the story, Harvey is challenging her safe and isolated existence. He shows up on a motorcycle, and he's loud and persistent in his hope that she'll agree to do a butterfly release as a gift. He's also kind and thoughtful, and he does seem pretty genuine in caring about her.

Harvey and Lila develop a comfortable friendship - or is it more? - and Lila is overcoming her fears and learning to forgive and to trust. But just as things are falling into place, something happens that sends her into a crisis of questioning everything she thought she knew about Harvey. And at that point, she also finds herself in very real danger and must decide who she can trust.

Contemporary settings are not my favorite, but this one drew me in with the realism of the characters and their interactions. Lila's insecurities and hesitance to allow herself to respond favorably to Harvey seemed quite real and believable. Harvey was likable and sweet right from the beginning, although it was natural for Lila - and for me! - to wonder if there wasn't some ulterior motive. Lila also has an online friend that has been a comfort and virtual companion through the years, which was also a very realistic plotline. What was a little harder to believe was that Lila and Harvey both seemed to be quite financially stable considering their ages.

The plot took a couple of unexpected twists, some pleasant and some unsettling, but Lila and Harvey seemed destined for each other, which kept me turning pages (okay, swiping across my Kindle) to find out how the situations would be resolved. The final scenes were a dramatic kidnap and chase sequence, which was well laid out if a bit over-the-top. The rescue and resolution was somewhat abrupt, without much explanation. It was implied that all the loose ends were tied up but very few details as to how that was done. The ending was satisfying though, despite feeling a rather rushed.

Overall, I was impressed with the quality of the writing and story telling, and will be very open to reading more by this author.


From the publisher:

Learning to love is like learning to fly . . .
Eccentric. Weird. Crazy. Whatever people call her, Lila doesn't mind. Most of the time. She finds solace in her sheltered world by raising butterflies and surrounding herself with their gentle beauty. They're all she needs.

Most of the time.

Until a motorcycle-riding stranger roars up her driveway, invading her safe haven, throwing her life off-kilter, and forcing her to question everything. Persistent and stubborn, Harvey Sanford may be just what she needs - or everything she doesn't.

He's easy on the eyes, but hard on her emotions. What exactly is he after, and what is he not telling her? Should she safeguard her heart or follow it?

As a summer wedding approaches, Lila must decide how much she's willing to risk for a chance at true happiness. In one intense night of desperation and revelation, she must confront her darkest fears - and hopefully discover that with faith and courage, shattered dreams can be restored, damaged hearts can love again, and broken wings can heal . . . maybe even fly.

A clean, inspirational, sweet summer romance!

©2008-2019 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 - Britfield & the Lost Crown

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Britfield & the Lost Crown by C.R. Stewart - This novel is targeted to middle school readers but has quite broad appeal. It features Tom and Sarah, two of the fifty-six children living and working in an orphanage called Weatherly. The orphans have a very hard life, because the owners and staff of the orphanage are cruel and selfish. But the orphans have developed strong and loyal friendships with each other, so when Tom and Sarah face some especially harsh punishment and decide to try escaping the grounds, the others are glad to help. Mr Grevious (the owner) taunted Tom with information that his parents may still be alive, and while skeptical, Tom believes he needs to take the chance and see if he can find out the truth. The only piece of information he has is a word another orphan was able to copy from Tom's files: Britfield. What does it mean?

Tom and Sarah manage to get out of Weatherly, but the Greviouses have hired the renowned Detective Gowerstone to track them down. So begins an epic chase across England, with Tom and Sarah making a desperate bid for freedom in a hot air balloon, with several very narrow escapes. They crash land at Oxford, where they find a friend and ally in Professor Hainsworth, who accompanies them as they elude Gowerstone and head for London. Another unplanned stop takes them to Windsor Castle, but Gowerstone's forces and local law enforcement soon close them in there as well, and they must make another daring escape.

 Their arrival in London means yet another crash landing, this time in Richmond. And with Gowerstone's men and so many other policemen in close pursuit, it feels like their luck may soon run out. Next stop is King's College, where Hainsworth believes a friend can help them get to the bottom of the Britfield mystery. The chase then continues into the heart of London, and finally to Canterbury while Tom puts together the pieces of information gathered to try and discover the truth about his past.

Will they continue to stay ahead of the people pursuing them and find safety? Will they be able to send help for the orphans still at Weatherly? What does Tom find out about his background and his family? There is a happy ending to this book, but it's also a bit of a cliffhanger because there are four more novels still to come in the series!

Britfield & the Lost Crown is an exciting blend of history and imagination, fantasy and facts. I enjoyed it, my 18-year-old daughter started it and was also quickly drawn in. It has something for everyone, with positive family-friendly themes and honorable protagonists. 

You'll find more details about this book and its author in my original review post at Homeschool Coffee Break. You may also visit the publisher's website:  (there's a free Study Guide as well); and the author's website: www.Britfield.com. Also check out some of the following links:

KUSI Book Tour Interview
Another KUSI Book Tour Interview
Community Focus Interview
San Diego Union-Tribune: Sunday Editon
Bridge City News Interview
Britfield School Tour
Britfield Book Trailer
Britfield on Facebook

This is a book I chose for the cover for the 2019 Modern Mrs Darcy Reading Challenge.

©2008-2019 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 - Rooted and Established

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you  may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

~Ephesians 3:14-21~

Yes, it's almost autumn and this photo was taken in spring. But this beautiful tree came to mind as an example of something rooted and established. I don't know how old the tree is, but the town was established over two hundred years ago. It's obviously a well-established tree, with roots that have gone down deep and firm. And thanks to those deep roots, the tree has grown wide and long and high, and will hopefully be there for many more years. 

Just like that tree (and like the redwoods and sequoias out west that I would love to see for myself someday!) we need to dig down deep into God's Word and be rooted and established in his love. Then the power of the Holy Spirit is at work in us to help us begin to understand how wide and long and high and deep God's love is. It's a love too big for us to comprehend, yet it can fill us up so that it overflows to those around us. 

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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 Scribble Pad.

©2008-2019 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 - First Day

This post contains affiliate links.

This is what I chose as our School Scripture this year, mostly for her as a first year college student with all the life decisions that must be made. But also for me as a teacher and as my parent-teacher role with her changes. 

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life on Chickadee Lane.

©2008-2019 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.