Saturday Smorgasbord Archives - Page 7 of 9

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Summer Reading Wrap Up

Posted on August 4, 2018February 8, 2019 by Jaymie

Back in June I posted my Summer Reading plan for 2018. Today I want to give a brief update.

Family Reading Challenge

By the end of July, my husband was the only one of the three of us to finish the six assigned books. I am so proud of him! My son has almost finished three and I have finished two. We plan to keep pushing forward to get those done by Fall Break (October).

#BookaDay

This is the only challenge I completed this summer. My goal was to read 61 books in 61 days. I finished 69. This includes 20 picture books which really help on days when I don’t have a lot of time to read a longer book.

Some of my favorites from this summer are:

Head On by John Scalzi (adult science fiction – sequel to Lock In which is also awesome)
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins (picture book)
A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman (adult historic mystery)
Annie’s Life in Lists by Kristin Mahoney (middle grade contemporary with a fantastic format!)
The Pros of Cons by Alison Cherry and Lindsay Ribar and Michelle Shusterman (YA contemporary)
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson (YA contemporary – this was literally stunning)
Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart (YA dystopian)

Hopefully I’ll be able to post reviews of a lot of these soon!

TBR Shelf

Instead of cleaning off the TBR shelf, I ADDED more to it! So obviously a big fail here, too!

While I only achieved one of my three reading goals for the summer break, I did a lot of great reading and really enjoyed myself. I had a ton of reviews I committed to do this summer which drove a lot of my reading decisions. Interestingly enough, only one of the summer favorites I listed above was a book I read for a publisher (Grace and Fury). I think that says a lot about the power of reading choice, even for adults.

Did you read anything amazing this summer?

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: The Enneagram

Posted on July 7, 2018June 12, 2020 by Jaymie

One of my goals for 2018 is to learn about the Enneagram. I started reading books about this personality system last year, but this year I really wanted to dig into and understand it. I have read a TON of great books on the subject and found some other terrific resources and wanted to share them here for anyone else who is diving into this system of personal discovery and growth.

Books

The Road Back to You – This was one of the first resources I read and what I would recommend folks start with if you are just getting started. This is written in a conversational, comfortable way that I really enjoyed. You can read my full review here. ♥♥♥♥♥

The Path Between Us – Suzanne Stabile has become my favorite Enneagram expert . She was a co-author on The Road Back to You, but this book is completely on her own and focuses on the Enneagram as a tool in relationships. If someone new to Enneagram asked me where to start, these first two books would be my recommendation. ♥♥♥♥♥

Self to Lose Self to Find – This was a good resource. This gave me my first introduction into some methods for using your self-knowledge through the Enneagram to start changing your thinking and behavior and moving toward health. ♥♥♥♥

The Essential Enneagram – A small quick-to-read resource if you want an overview. Outlines for each type follow a pattern so it is easy to flip from type to type and compare. There’s a quick assessment in this as well. My favorite feature is a set of practices recommended for each type. ♥♥♥♥½

The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective – Before I started digging into the Enneagram, the only thing I knew about it was that Richard Rohr was really into it. So I had to read his book on the subject. This is a longer, more detailed exploration. I enjoyed reading about all 9 types in this one, not just the ones I thought might be my own. ♥♥♥♥♥

Personality Types – This may be my least favorite of the resources I have read through so far. While it is still good, it is extremely detailed. At times that level of detail was too much for me. ♥♥♥♥

The Sacred Enneagram*** – I really enjoyed this, but I am glad I didn’t start my research here. To me this is a good 3rd or 4th resource as it moves beyond “What is my number?” to “What do I do to pursue health and wholeness now that I know my number?” ♥♥♥♥

Understanding the Enneagram – This was an excellent resource for me for a “next level” book with information on the Centers and psychological categories with the Enneagram. ♥♥♥♥♥

The Wisdom of the Enneagram – I am working through this resource right now. It is HUGE and detailed. I can’t say yet how it stands up to the others. It does include a set of questions to rate on a 5 point scale for each number to help you narrow down what your type might be. If you are looking for that sort of information, this book might help (although experts often say that tests aren’t the best indicator of type – but it might help you narrow down the search a little).

Non-book resources

I am not much of a podcast person, but these two are changing that for me – The Enneagram Journey and Typology. Frankly, I would rather read than try to listen to a podcast, but Ian and Suzanne have such a lovely style in their interactions with folks, they hooked me right away. I adored Suzanne’s two part podcast with three ladies who work in eating disorders treatment. I was inspired to hear how the Enneagram helped them not only in their work relationships with one another but also their work with clients and families. [I recently bought her MP3 teaching called Know Your Number. I am hoping to listen through those (6+ hours of material) yet this summer. ] If you are more of an auditory processor, consider checking out these two podcasts to learn more about the various Enneagram types.

Suzanne Stabile is quickly becoming my favorite Enneagram teacher. I recently bought her Know Your Number teaching on MP3 (You can get the whole set or just certain numbers). I am just starting to work through this, but I adore it already. The first session is an introduction to the Enneagram as a whole and a discussion of 8s. The session was outstanding! Now I am saving my pennies because I would love to get more of her teachings and eventually have their DVD curriculum that could be used with groups of folks. I think that would be a lot of fun! You can take a look at her website here.

***[EDIT – June 2020: Sadly, some new about the author came out after this post. Readers can decide for themselves how this will impact them. You can read the article here. ]

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: My Summer Reading Plan 2018

Posted on June 2, 2018February 8, 2019 by Jaymie

Last summer I posted a pretty extensive Summer Reading Plan. This year I’m keeping it simple (for me). I’m continuing our Family Reading Challenge, I’m doing #Bookaday, and I have a Summer TBR collection.

Family Reading Challenge

This will be the third year of the Reading Challenge for my teen and I. Last summer we drew my husband in for the festivities. This started as a way to convince my teen to read some books I thought he would enjoy but couldn’t get him to try. This year we have only assigned three books to each person, instead of the five we did last year.

These are the six I will be reading; the first three were assigned by my teen. Renegades is the third book in the Randoms series. My son has assigned me each of the books in this series, and I have liked them more than I expected. Both my husband and son have read Ready Player One, and they have been talking about assigning this to me for months. I might also try listening to the audio book since it is read by Wil Wheaton. Neither of us have read the Marissa Meyer Renegades, but it’s been on my list. My husband is a huge Baldacci fan, but I have only read the ones he assigned me last summer so he’s assigned me two new ones. And while I love Jen Hatmaker, I haven’t read anything by her husband, so I am looking forward to reading one of his books.

These six are for my teen; the first three were assigned by me. I am two books into the Darkest Minds series and I have loved them. I think my son will love the first book. You can read my review of Moxie here. Both my teen and my husband will be reading this one so we can talk about the themes. And while my son has been raised to know that the answer to life, the universe and everything is 42, he is not yet familiar with the source material. This summer, he will be. My son has enjoyed some adult books in the mystery and adventure genres, so this summer he is going to try some Baldacci, Clancy and a science fiction book about Artificial Intelligence.

These are my husband’s challenge books, the first three chosen by me. If it takes me 20 years, one book at a time, I am determined to show my husband the gloriousness that is the Kitty Katt-Martini series. So this year he gets to read book 3. I adored Scalzi’s Lock In, and I think the premise is just the sort of book my husband will enjoy. I am currently waiting for a library hold to come through for the sequel. And he will also be reading Moxie. My son assigned him book two of the Randoms series and both book one and two of the Scythe series. We both have loved this unusual series, and I’m eager to hear what my husband thinks of it.

#Bookaday

Teachers, Librarians and other book fanatics all over social media (Instagram, Twitter) choose to read a book each day of summer vacation. My #bookaday will run from June 1 to July 31, so 61 books in 61 days. And to help with that I have a Kindle full of Advance Reader Copies and my personal TBR pile for the summer

TBR Shelf

These are the books that I have prioritized for the summer in addition to my ARCs I need to read. There’s a mix of non-fiction and fiction, books for kids, teens and adults, as well as new books and books I have been meaning to get to for ages. Two were gifts – one from a former student – and one is a new edition of a book I read years ago. It’s going to be a great summer of reading!

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: What Is “Middle Grade?”

Posted on May 5, 2018February 8, 2019 by Jaymie

Publishers Weekly recently published an issue that focused on the “Middle Grade” market for books. This category is defined as books for 8 to 12 year olds who are reading independently. This sparked a fascinating discussion on Twitter about how different 8 to 12 year olds are, and also about the kids in the 10 to 14 year old range who sometimes are forgotten in the publishing world because they are ready for more mature reading experiences, but not necessarily ready or interested in some of the material found in Young Adult books.

After reading the article and participating in some of the Twitter talk, I looked at my middle grade reading very differently. I love this category in general. Middle Grade books are what kicked off my love of children’s literature. But the professionals – teachers, librarians, authors – on Twitter are right. It’s a diverse category trying to be all things to all readers who are at a pivotal time in their development as readers. I’m not sure there is any other reading category that has to cover the same sort of spread as Middle Grade.

When I was teaching, the books my third graders wanted (8-9 years old) and the ones my sixth graders wanted (11-12 years old) were vastly different. Here are some examples:

Middle Grade Books for the Average Third Grader

These books tend to be illustrated, shorter, and focused on kids close in age to the reader – around 10 years old. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule (stronger readers, genre preferences, etc.), but in general these books would have appealed to my third graders.

Middle Grade Books for the Average Sixth Grader

These books tend to be longer and focused on kids close in age to the reader – more in the 12 or 13 year old range. They tackle more mature topics – race relations, death and dying, mental illness, etc., but at a level appropriate for the reader. The stories – and the emotional issues – are often more nuanced and intricate. These books will often work for 7th and 8th graders, too – the 10 to 14 age group. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule (struggling readers, genre preferences, etc. – and some kids in this age group will push toward teen/YA books like Maze Runner and Hunger Games), but in general these books would have appealed to my sixth graders.

Middle Grade Books that Span the Age Range

Then there are the books that work for the whole range – Dork Diaries/Wimpy Kid, animal stories, graphic novels, super hero stories, mysteries and fantasy stories that are mostly action-focused. I had kids at both ends of the Middle Grade age range that would dig into books like these. If they could handle the length of the book and the vocabulary, they could handle anything the story might have dished out, no matter what the age. (Wings of Fire might push the envelope a little on the younger end because of the violence.)

I would love to see publishers push a different sort of division for Middle Grade that reflects the different needs and interests of the kids in this age range. Some of the authors on Twitter said their publishers were marketing their books to the older 10-14 group, which seems like a wise sub-category to me. There are things you can explore with middle schoolers that you wouldn’t want to tackle with younger kids, but you can keep some of the more mature features of Young Adult books out of those stories, knowing that the kids who are ready for that material will seek it out on their own.

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Memorable Protagonists

Posted on April 7, 2018February 8, 2019 by Jaymie

I’ve noticed that a make-or-break part of a book for me is the main character. While I enjoy tons of books, the truly special ones have characters that I adore. I read so much, I often don’t remember a lot of details about the books unless I re-read them a few times. But there are some characters that I remember immediately. I see the cover of the book, and instantly I think of these characters, and I want to dive into the book again. And when I think about these characters, there are often characteristics they have in common.

Here are a few of my favorite, most memorable protagonists:

The Protectors – I am a HUGE fan of smart, protective, and fierce characters who defend others. Kitty Katt-Martini in the Alien series by Gini Koch is the epitome of this sort of character. It’s why I am fanatic of the series that is already 16 books long – most of those book over 500 pages – and I re-read it at least once a year. In every book, Kitty puts herself between the evil megalomaniacs and the people she loves and the characters who need to be protected. Tess Kendrick from the Fixer series (book one was my favorite book of 2015 and book two was top of the list in 2016) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is about half Kitty’s age, but she is just as fierce. She has a delightfully strong personality and doesn’t care what other people think about her, but she follows her moral code, “fixing” the wrongs around her. Another teen protector is Adam Blake from Robin Roe’s A List of Cages. This was my favorite book from 2017. Adam is a more happy-go-lucky character than Kitty or Tess – he’s breezy and unconcerned for the most part, but when it comes to Julian, he is fiercely protective exactly when Julian needs him. Finally, Turtle the Seawing dragon is the star of Talons of Power in the Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland. He is fairly meek for a “protector,” but he pushes past his insecurity and fear to do what no one else can to protect his friends.

Graphic Novels for Kids - Phoebe and her Unicorn

The Funny Folks – Wedgie the Corgi is my favorite part of the Wedgie and Gizmo series by Suzanne Selfors. In my head he sounds like Doug from the Pixar movie Up. He’s a goofy, hilarious, earnest character who loves everyone and everything. He makes up fantastic names for other characters – he calls Gizmo the guinea pig “Furry Potato.” I love characters that make me laugh. The other protagonist who always makes me laugh is Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, the unicorn in the Phoebe and her Unicorn series by Dana Simpson. Early in the series it was her declaration of “UNICORN!” in fancy fonts to show why she was awesome and should always win every argument that would crack me up. As the series has gone on, that stellar attitude is only part of what makes her funny. I love her character.

The Brooding and Mysterious Men – It’s always interesting to me to read a series about a set of brothers where each brother gets a book to explore their unique perspective and personality. One series I have read multiple times is the Sons of Destiny series. Yes, I know it’s hard to take that cover seriously. And the content of the book is just what you would expect based on that cover. But what I love most about the series is the fantasy world and the magic as well as the story arc that covers all eight books. Rydan Corvis, “The Storm,” is brother number six, and his story is my favorite. He is the dark and brooding brother that shuns the light and the company of the others. No one seems to understand him, so getting to read a story from his perspective is really enjoyable. (One note about the series – there are four sets of twin brothers and the books go in order from the oldest brother to the youngest. But books five and six, which includes Rydan’s story, take place concurrently. So you get 60% or so of the same story, but from different perspectives, which I found really clever). The other brooding character that captivated me is Gabriel Merrick from Brigid Kemmerer‘s Elementals series. This is another fantasy romance series geared more toward young adults. While I enjoyed reading the whole series, Gabriel’s story was my favorite. He has a fierce, fiery personality, and he is reluctant to let others in, so the only way to really get a read on him is to dig into his own story. (Note, one of the books in the series includes a character’s struggle with his sexuality.) Both of these characters have a dark and mysterious air about them, so breaking through that by learning their stories is really satisfying for me as a reader.

The Character Most Like Me – Meg Langslow is the smart, organized, diplomatic, and creative protagonist at the center of Donna Andrews mystery series. And she is a woman after my own heart. She is the only one of my favorite protagonists who seems most like me. I’d love to be protective like the first group, but that’s not really who I am. But I am Meg. She has her “notebook that tells me when to breathe” and I have my to do lists and planners and forms and calendars and organizational systems. I “get” Meg which makes reading her stories enjoyable!

So these are my most memorable protagonists. What sorts of characters do you enjoy?

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Early Readers and Transitional Chapter Books

Posted on March 3, 2018February 8, 2019 by Jaymie

I had the pleasure of serving on an award committee for the 2017 Cybil Awards recognizing great children’s and young adult literature. My committee focused on books for the kids who are just starting to read on their own – Early Readers/Easy Readers and Early/Transitional Chapter Books.

While the committee was working, I couldn’t review or post about the things I was reading. But now that the awards are posted, I wanted to highlight some of the treasures I read for the process, as well as a few personal favorites I had read last year before I was on the committee. If you work with children in lower elementary school (Kindergarten to 3rd grade, depending on reading level and interest) or if you have some kids that age in your life, check out these books for their reading enjoyment!

Early Readers/Easy Readers

Charlie & Mouse & Grumpy – This is book two in a picture book-shaped Early Reader series. This one is a sweet story about a couple of kids and their grandfather. I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of this book with limited word count and vocabulary. I would love to see a middle-elementary teacher read this one aloud and see what the students infer from the story.

My Kite Is Stuck! And Other Stories – This was surprisingly fun! There were some laugh-out-loud moments in this book that I wasn’t expecting. Give this to readers who enjoy Piggie and Gerald or Ballet Cat.

There’s a Pest in the Garden! – This was another one that had me laughing aloud. For this age group, I think funny books are the key to getting kids excited about reading on their own. This is another one that would work for Piggie and Gerald fans.

We Need More Nuts! – This was my favorite book in this category. It’s a counting book, but it’s so much more. Another hilarious book for this age group. I discovered there is a sequel, and I have it in my online cart so I can check it out.

King & Kayla and the Case of the Secret Code – This was the award winner for this category. It’s a fun, clever story – told by the dog, which always amuses me – about secret codes. I enjoyed this one and would recommend checking out the entire series!

Early Chapter Books/Transitional Chapter Books

Heartwood Hotel: A True Story – This was a sweet animal story that I thoroughly enjoyed last year. I may yet post a full review of the first two books in this series. They were terrific.

Heartwood Hotel: The Greatest Gift – This is book 2 in the series, and I enjoyed this book even more than I enjoyed the first.

Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows – I adored this story of a science-minded girl and her pet cat who discover fantasy creatures come to their home for medical care. I loved the combination of science and fantasy in one story. The illustrations are darling. I also love that this series stars an African-American girl in a story that has nothing to do with her race. When I was teaching, I would have put this entire series in the library!

Survivor Diaries: Overboard! – This reminded me a lot of the uber-popular I Survived series that appeals to middle to upper elementary students. This story is shorter, but the suspense and tension was still present. This would have been a hit with my students!

The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation – I am a huge Shannon Hale fan, and I was thrilled that a Princess in Black book made it into the mix for the early chapter book award. This is a fantastic series that I highly recommend.

Wedgie & Gizmo – I was THRILLED when this book was chosen as the best of the year for early/transitional chapter books for the Cybils. I LOVED this funny book about an evil genius guinea pig and his nemesis (who has no clue), a Corgi. The animals tell their own stories which adds to the fun. The voice in this is outstanding! I can’t recommend this highly enough. There will be a sequel later this spring. I may post a full review of this book later this year, too.

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Must-Have Graphic Novels for Kids

Posted on February 3, 2018February 8, 2019 by Jaymie

Recently a teacher friend asked me for my list of “must-have” graphic novels for her classroom (5th and 6th graders). Graphic novels are fun for a lot of kids. While some folks feel like it’s not “real reading,” that is not really true. With graphic novels, students get to practice thinking through the sequencing of a story. Visual learners get a lot of material to work with as they read the pictures as well as the text. Graphic novels can give extra support to kids who are still working on word decoding because the pictures support the text. They can introduce kids to material they might not try otherwise, but they explore because of this format. And for kids who feel like reading is a chore, graphic novels can make reading feel like fun.

Here is the list I gave her for my personal “must have” graphic novels:

Autobiographies

Some of the most popular graphic novels for this age group are autobiographies. Raina Telgemeier is maybe the best known for telling her personal stories in this format. When I was teaching, her books were always checked out from the library from the first day of check outs to the end of the school year. Many kids think of biographies and autobiographies as dry books that someone will have to force them to read. These books challenge that impression. You can read my review of Real Friends here.

Fantasy

I personally read a lot of fantasy, so these graphic novels are ones I read and enjoy. Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy and The Lightning Thief are both based on novels. The Wings of Fire book series is 10 books long to date, with book 11 releasing this summer. The Rick Riordan mythology books have been around for years. Three of the original Percy Jackson books have been released as graphic novels, too. His entire Egyptian mythology series, The Kane Chronicles, as well as two books in the Heroes of Olympus series have been released in this format as well. HiLo is an original series that I fell in love with when I was teaching. I’ve reviewed the DC Super Hero Girls GN series here on the blog before. I received the Star Wars graphic novels for Christmas (one volume for the original trilogy, another for the prequels, and a stand alone book for The Force Awakens). I love the art style in these and I know my students would have loved these too.

Nonfiction

Some of my students had the idea that nonfiction books were a drag. Thankfully there are a lot of visually appealing nonfiction books being introduced for kids, including these two series of graphic novels. Science Comics covers a variety of topics from dogs to dinosaurs to volcanoes and rockets. Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales cover different time periods in history. Readers will find some swearing in these books as the author directly quotes some historical figures. This series has covered Harriet Tubman, Nathan Hale, World War II and other topics.

Miscellaneous

These final recommendations were “maybes” for my friend. The Action Bible is a graphic novel of the Bible which we had in the school library. I thought it was a great way to get reluctant students to check out the Bible for themselves (I taught at a Christian school). Binky the Space Cat is targeted for a younger reader than my friend is teaching. But the stories I think still work for older elementary students. My younger readers zeroed in on Babymouse and the Lunch Lady graphic novels and sometimes missed Binky. I still love this series and think it is great for kids of any age. I have blogged about Phoebe and her Unicorn many times. These are more comic strip books than graphic novels that tell essentially one story from start to finish. The quality and humor make them perfect for the older elementary crowd. Finally, there is a graphic novel for A Wrinkle in Time. I have not read it (yet!), but with the movie releasing later this year, it could be a terrific addition to a classroom (or home) library.

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: My 2017 Favorites

Posted on January 6, 2018December 30, 2020 by Jaymie

I read a lot of books every year. I like to keep track of what I read every year and see how it stacks up to years before. Here are some of my reading statistics for 2017.

2017 Stats

Through the course of 2017 I read 308 books. There were 26 more that I started but did not finish.

Of those 308, the break down for target audience is

127 adult
98 middle grade
63 teen/young adult
10 picture books/early readers
9 transitional chapter books
as well as 19 graphic novels for various ages

The genre breakdown (some books are counted in two categories) is

77 mystery
73 realistic
72 fantasy
35 science fiction
18 romance
17 non-fiction
6 Christian fiction
5 Christmas
4 historic fiction
3 memoirs/autobiographies
2 dystopian
3 suspense

This year most of the books I read were from the library (104). I read 59 books from my To Be Read shelves (which are overflowing), as well as 58 advanced reader copies from publishers. I also re-read 47 favorites this year.

I read more fantasy and nonfiction last year and more realistic fiction and science fiction this year. And I can see what difference not teaching has made in my reading. Last year I read a lot more picture books and early readers. This year there were more books for teens and adults.

2017 Favorites!!

I read a lot of books every year. I often don’t remember all the details, but I remember how they made me feel. I remember which books follow me throughout the year – how I feel when I see them in the bookstore or library or online. These are the ones I want to go back and read again. These are the ones I recommend over and over and over.

You can see my list of favorites from 2016 here. Last year I had five middle grade books, two YA books, and three books for adults (all fiction). When I went back through my list of the 300+ books I read in 2017, I came up with 50 that were candidates for the best of the year. I whittled that list down to ten – only one middle grade this time, five YA books, two adult fiction books and two nonfiction. And here they are:

10. Nothing to Prove – A fantastic non-fiction book. I hope to read it again this year and complete the Bible study that goes with it. You can read a little about this here and my full review here.

9. Barking Up the Wrong Tree – I loved this romance book, second in a series. I reviewed the third and final book in the series earlier this week. You can read my review of book one here. Book 2 is even better than the first! I enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters.

8. Draw the Circle – This is a forty day prayer journey. This is one I will go back to again and again. You can read a little about this book here. I’ll be doing a full review later in 2018.

7. Alien Education – This is book 15 in the Alien series by Gini Koch. This is my favorite fiction series. I included book 14 in my list last year. Book 16 releases in February. I just finished a re-read of the whole series, and I was struck again by how fun this particular book is. I know it is because so much of the story centers on the kids. I can’t wait to see what happens next! You can read my thoughts about this book here.

6. The Names They Gave Us – This book stuck with me all year because there were so many times in it where I felt known and understood in the description of the main character. You can read my review here.

5. It’s Not Me, It’s You – This book was not at all what I expected – in all the best ways! I loved the unusual format and the terrific characters. I actually have two books by this author on my list for 2017! You can read my review here.

4. Greetings from Witness Protection – This has a fantastic premise and the main character is a delight. I hope there will be more books with these characters. You can read my review of this one here.

3. Letters to the Lost – Another fantastic book for teens and young adults. I am chomping at the bit for her new book that comes out this spring since this one was so great! You can read my review here.

2. Prince in Disguise – This was a late addition to my list as it came out in December. Reading it was like eating a favorite dessert. I savored each page, giggling. The writing is so smart and the characters are delightful. This is the second book I have on my list from Stephanie Kate Strohm. You can read my full review here.

#1 – A List of Cages – Oh, this book. Whenever I see it I think about how the characters impacted me. They have followed me all year long. It’s a difficult read, but worth every tear and every tissue. You can read my review here.

As always, if you are looking for even more fantastic books, you can always check out my Five Star Reviews to see all of my favorites! I had a hard time choosing only 10 from all the terrific books in 2017. I have high hopes for great reading in 2018!

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Spiritual Growth Resources from 2017

Posted on December 2, 2017November 14, 2017 by Jaymie

I have had fantastic luck this year finding terrific spiritual growth resources. I wanted to highlight a handful of them here today. These would make great Christmas gifts.

Draw the Circle – A 40-day prayer challenge. This was inspiring! I would have preferred to read it cover to cover because I enjoyed the writing so much, but I’m so glad I took it one day at a time.

Enjoying Jesus – This study on spiritual disciples from the folks at IF: Equip was exceptional. I completed the study with the folks at IF, and I enjoyed the videos that went along with the study. I have tried a lot of studies this year, trying to replicate the experience I had completing this study.

Enough – I chose “enough” as my word for 2017. Our pastor’s wife posted about this study on Facebook, and as soon as I saw the title, I knew I had to try the study. It was excellent. I felt like I was able to split the sessions into polite-sized chunks to cover a portion each day and really dig into the material. I wanted to go deeper, not just check something off a list. I have a second study by these same folks waiting on my shelf for 2018.

Nothing to Prove – I read this with a group that was meeting each week on Facebook with the author. It was a timely book, working with my word for the year, “enough.” And I have purchased the Bible study that goes with this so I can spend more time with the material in 2018. You can read my review of the book here.

She’s Still There – Proverbs 31 hosted a study of this book that included videos and conference calls. The entire experience was excellent! I grew so much from working through this book. I’ll be reviewing this in 2018.

The Wellness Revelation – This may be the resource that impacted me most this year. This 8-week journey toward lifestyle change and pursuing wholeness was like a breath of fresh air. I’ll also be reviewing this in 2018. I highly recommend this book!

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Christmas books for 2017

Posted on November 4, 2017October 28, 2017 by Jaymie

I’ve mentioned before that this is my favorite time of the reading year because all of the new holiday books releasing in the fall. I love watching Christmas movies and reading Christmas books to help me get into the spirit of the season. I’m not going to include descriptions for all of these. But the covers are usually what grabs my attention anyway! Many of these have been highlighted in Book News over the last few weeks if you want to know more about these stories.