Dear Friends,
I want to thank you all for reading my blog this year, and wish you a happy holiday season! I am taking some time off from blogging until the New Year. I will be back the second Friday in January (January 10) and look forward to catching up then.
I have big plans for the holidays including sleeping, snuggling, opening presents, eating treats, visiting with company, and sleeping and snuggling some more!
Here are a few vintage Christmas photos that feature dachshunds. These were long ago and I don't know the people or the dogs, but the dachshunds all look so happy and loved!
A woman in a cheery red dress sits in front of an old fashioned Christmas tree with her dachshund. That tinsel on the tree looks fascinating!
A man shares a Christmas stocking with his dog (on second glance, this may be a little Chiweenie pup).
A dachshund happily watches a very young Santa Claus in this black and white photo.
I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I look forward to chatting with you more in 2020.
Love,
Abby xoxoxo
A southern girl chatting about books, ephemera, life, love, dogs and all things vintage!
Friday, December 13, 2019
My Top 10 Reads Of 2019
10. Lies in White Dresses by Sofia Grant - Historical novel set on a ranch in 1952 Reno, Nevada, where three women wait out their divorce residency. A lovely look at women's lives, friendships, choices.
9. No Judgments by Meg Cabot - Women's fiction about an artist who waits out a hurricane in the Florida Keys, only to find new purpose rescuing pets that were left behind during the storm. First in the Little Bridge Island series. Light, breezy, and so life affirming!
8. The Sky Above Us by Sarah Sundin - Historical fiction about a pilot and Red Cross volunteer stationed in London during World War II. Second book in the Sunrise at Normandy series. A love story that wonderfully evokes 1940's Britain.
7. The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr. "All love stories are ghost stories in disguise." A gothic historical novel about a poet, a postmortem photographer, a mysterious chapel made of glass, and a ghost (or two). An evocative and totally unique book.
6. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith - Mystery about London detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin, who work together to solve a mystery involving a member of Parliament. Fourth book in the Cormoran Strike series. I think this the best book yet in my favorite current mystery series.
5. The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff - Complex triple storyline historical novel about three women working in Special Operations during World War II. Dazzling storytelling and such a moving and unusual look at women during the war.
4. Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts - Historical fiction about Maud Gage Baum's unlikely friendship with a young Judy Garland on the set of The Wizard of Oz. In a book with Frank Baum and Judy Garland, Maud Gage Baum somehow manages to steal the show!
3. The Spies of Shilling Lane by Jennifer Ryan - Historical novel (with a mystery) about a middle aged woman who travels to London during World War II when her adult daughter goes missing. She becomes involved in a twist-filled adventure as she learns about her daughter's double life. A perfect combination of cozy mystery and historical suspense.
2. Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy - Historical fiction about Marilla Cuthbert and her life before Anne of Green Gables. A fascinating look at a beloved character from children's literature in a novel rich with descriptions that read like poetry.
1. The Lieutenant's Nurse by Sara Ackerman - Historical fiction about an Army nurse stationed in Hawaii during Pearl Harbor. A love story and mystery in a book that beautifully evokes 1941 Hawaii.
What were YOUR favorite reads of 2019? I'd love to hear from you about the books you loved most.
Book Review - The Wicked Redhead by Beatriz Williams
Book Synopsis
The dazzling narrator of The Wicked City brings her mesmerizing voice and indomitable spirit to another Jazz Age tale of rumrunners, double crosses, and true love, spanning the Eastern seaboard from Florida to Long Island to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
1924. Ginger Kelly wakes up in tranquil Cocoa Beach, Florida, having fled south to safety in the company of disgraced Prohibition agent Oliver Anson Marshall and her newly-orphaned young sister, Patsy. But paradise is short-lived. Marshall is reinstated to the agency with suspicious haste and put to work patrolling for rumrunners on the high seas, from which he promptly disappears. Gin hurries north to rescue him, only to be trapped in an agonizing moral quandary by Marshall’s desperate mother.
1998. Ella Dommerich has finally settled into her new life in Greenwich Village, inside the same apartment where a certain redheaded flapper lived long ago…and continues to make her presence known. Having quit her ethically problematic job at an accounting firm, cut ties with her unfaithful ex-husband, and begun an epic love affair with Hector, her musician neighbor, Ella’s eager to piece together the history of the mysterious Gin Kelly, whose only physical trace is a series of rare vintage photograph cards for which she modeled before she disappeared.
Two women, two generations, two urgent quests. But as Ginger and Ella track down their separate quarries with increasing desperation, the mysteries consuming them take on unsettling echoes of each other, and both women will require all their strength and ingenuity to outwit a conspiracy spanning decades.
My Review
The Wicked Redhead tells the story of two women. In 1924 Gin (Ginger) Kelly is in Cocoa Beach, Florida with her boyfriend, Prohibition agent Anson (Oliver) Marshall ... until they both make surprise trips back to New York. In 1998, Ella Dommerich lives in NYC in Gin Kelly's old apartment. Her life is up in the air, and she tries to learn about the mysterious Gin Kelly as she makes decisions about her future.
I wanted to read The Wicked Redhead because of the 1920's setting. This is one of my favorite time periods to read about, and this novel certainly did not disappoint! I was surprised, though, at how immediately engrossed I was in Ella's more recent (1998) storyline.
The author does an amazing job at crafting two very distinct voices in this dual-storyline novel. Gin is lively and outspoken and quite a character. Ella is more reserved and thoughtful. I found the places where their lives intersected fascinating. While Ella's story resonates more with me, Gin's voice was so distinctive and fun. For instance:
"You can't lose a thing that doesn't ever mean to be lost, Anson. You can't lose a thing that belongs to you. A girl that was made for you, the same as you were made for her, like a handle for a bucket, like a pillowcase for a pillow. A hearth for a fire" (p. 45).
As Ella looks deeper in "the Redhead" (Gin) and her life, she investigates a vintage photo, part of a series of risque pictures that Gin took in the 1920's. My work is all about vintage and ephemera, so I found this storyline particularly interesting.
This is a big, engrossing book. It is such a lively read with many twists and turns in both the 1920's and the 1990's! I stayed up late reading this book and couldn't wait to get back to it the next day. I recommend The Wicked Redhead for fans of historical fiction, and especially for anyone who loves the 1920's.
Author Bio
A graduate of Stanford University with an MBA from Columbia, Beatriz Williams spent several years in New York and London hiding her early attempts at fiction, first on company laptops as a communications strategy consultant, and then as an at-home producer of small persons, before her career as a writer took off. She lives with her husband and four children near the Connecticut shore.
Find out more about Beatriz at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.
The dazzling narrator of The Wicked City brings her mesmerizing voice and indomitable spirit to another Jazz Age tale of rumrunners, double crosses, and true love, spanning the Eastern seaboard from Florida to Long Island to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
1924. Ginger Kelly wakes up in tranquil Cocoa Beach, Florida, having fled south to safety in the company of disgraced Prohibition agent Oliver Anson Marshall and her newly-orphaned young sister, Patsy. But paradise is short-lived. Marshall is reinstated to the agency with suspicious haste and put to work patrolling for rumrunners on the high seas, from which he promptly disappears. Gin hurries north to rescue him, only to be trapped in an agonizing moral quandary by Marshall’s desperate mother.
1998. Ella Dommerich has finally settled into her new life in Greenwich Village, inside the same apartment where a certain redheaded flapper lived long ago…and continues to make her presence known. Having quit her ethically problematic job at an accounting firm, cut ties with her unfaithful ex-husband, and begun an epic love affair with Hector, her musician neighbor, Ella’s eager to piece together the history of the mysterious Gin Kelly, whose only physical trace is a series of rare vintage photograph cards for which she modeled before she disappeared.
Two women, two generations, two urgent quests. But as Ginger and Ella track down their separate quarries with increasing desperation, the mysteries consuming them take on unsettling echoes of each other, and both women will require all their strength and ingenuity to outwit a conspiracy spanning decades.
Purchase Links
HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Review
The Wicked Redhead tells the story of two women. In 1924 Gin (Ginger) Kelly is in Cocoa Beach, Florida with her boyfriend, Prohibition agent Anson (Oliver) Marshall ... until they both make surprise trips back to New York. In 1998, Ella Dommerich lives in NYC in Gin Kelly's old apartment. Her life is up in the air, and she tries to learn about the mysterious Gin Kelly as she makes decisions about her future.
I wanted to read The Wicked Redhead because of the 1920's setting. This is one of my favorite time periods to read about, and this novel certainly did not disappoint! I was surprised, though, at how immediately engrossed I was in Ella's more recent (1998) storyline.
The author does an amazing job at crafting two very distinct voices in this dual-storyline novel. Gin is lively and outspoken and quite a character. Ella is more reserved and thoughtful. I found the places where their lives intersected fascinating. While Ella's story resonates more with me, Gin's voice was so distinctive and fun. For instance:
"You can't lose a thing that doesn't ever mean to be lost, Anson. You can't lose a thing that belongs to you. A girl that was made for you, the same as you were made for her, like a handle for a bucket, like a pillowcase for a pillow. A hearth for a fire" (p. 45).
As Ella looks deeper in "the Redhead" (Gin) and her life, she investigates a vintage photo, part of a series of risque pictures that Gin took in the 1920's. My work is all about vintage and ephemera, so I found this storyline particularly interesting.
This is a big, engrossing book. It is such a lively read with many twists and turns in both the 1920's and the 1990's! I stayed up late reading this book and couldn't wait to get back to it the next day. I recommend The Wicked Redhead for fans of historical fiction, and especially for anyone who loves the 1920's.
Author Bio
A graduate of Stanford University with an MBA from Columbia, Beatriz Williams spent several years in New York and London hiding her early attempts at fiction, first on company laptops as a communications strategy consultant, and then as an at-home producer of small persons, before her career as a writer took off. She lives with her husband and four children near the Connecticut shore.
Find out more about Beatriz at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.
Book Review - The Lost Books of Jane Austen by Janine Barchas
Book Synopsis
In the nineteenth century, inexpensive editions of Jane Austen’s novels targeted to Britain’s working classes were sold at railway stations, traded for soap wrappers, and awarded as school prizes. At just pennies a copy, these reprints were some of the earliest mass-market paperbacks, with Austen’s beloved stories squeezed into tight columns on thin, cheap paper. Few of these hard-lived bargain books survive, yet they made a substantial difference to Austen’s early readership. These were the books bought and read by ordinary people.
Packed with nearly 100 full-color photographs of dazzling, sometimes gaudy, sometimes tasteless covers, The Lost Books of Jane Austen is a unique history of these rare and forgotten Austen volumes. Such shoddy editions, Janine Barchas argues, were instrumental in bringing Austen’s work and reputation before the general public. Only by examining them can we grasp the chaotic range of Austen’s popular reach among working-class readers.
Informed by the author’s years of unconventional book hunting, The Lost Books of Jane Austen will surprise even the most ardent Janeite with glimpses of scruffy survivors that challenge the prevailing story of the author’s steady and genteel rise. Thoroughly innovative and occasionally irreverent, this book will appeal in equal measure to book historians, Austen fans, and scholars of literary celebrity.
My Review
The Lost Books of Jane Austen is a coffee table book about different editions of Austen books over the years. There is an emphasis on Jane Austen's work, but also on book history and the ways that different editions reflected popular reception of the novels.
I was interested in this book from first description because I love Jane Austen's books. (My favorite is Sense and Sensibility.) I have all the books in paperback and eBook edition (and they are downloaded onto my phone, so they are available at a moment's notice). I also have a hardcover gift edition of Sense and Sensibility.
Although I deal in vintage books and ephemera, I have never looked into vintage Jane Austen books, so that aspect of The Lost Books of Jane Austen was particularly fascinating.
I love the first thing the author writes: "Cheap books make authors canonical" (p. ix). She then describes how Victorian editions of her books were sold in cheap paperbacks at railway stations, given as prizes, and targeted to the British working class.
This is a beautiful, big book with lots of color photos. The photos show differences in edition, and the author describes points that differentiate editions over time (i.e. binding, inscriptions, etc.).
The book is also rich with Austen related anecdotes, including Mark Twain's contempt for Austen's work -- accompanied by a photograph of his copy of Northanger Abbey - Persuasion.
I found the descriptions (and photos) of penny editions of the books particularly interesting. I had heard of Penny Dreadfuls, but wasn't familiar with the Penny Library of Famous Books.
I also found details about the World War II vintage editions, which sometimes included advertisements in the backs of the books, to be very interesting.
Equally fascinating was the story of Hotel Taft's giveaway editions of Pride and Prejudice, including a photo of a 1930 Art Deco design book.
I think my favorite section of the book, though, was Pinking Jane Austen, about the evolution of Jane Austen's paperback publications -- with lots of photo examples. I loved seeing the changes in cover design, especially during the Mid-Century years.
The author is a literature professor, and the writing has a strong scholarly bent that will appeal to serious Janeites, as well as more casual fans like me. The book includes end notes, works cited, and a detailed index.
The Lost Books of Jane Austen is a beautifully designed book, and it is sure to fascinate anyone who has an interest in Jane Austen's novels or book collecting.
Author Bio
Janine Barchas is the Louann and Larry Temple Centennial Professor of English Literature at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of Matters of Fact in Jane Austen: History, Location, and Celebrity and Graphic Design, Print Culture, and the Eighteenth-Century Novel. She is also the creator behind What Jane Saw (www.whatjanesaw.org).
In the nineteenth century, inexpensive editions of Jane Austen’s novels targeted to Britain’s working classes were sold at railway stations, traded for soap wrappers, and awarded as school prizes. At just pennies a copy, these reprints were some of the earliest mass-market paperbacks, with Austen’s beloved stories squeezed into tight columns on thin, cheap paper. Few of these hard-lived bargain books survive, yet they made a substantial difference to Austen’s early readership. These were the books bought and read by ordinary people.
Packed with nearly 100 full-color photographs of dazzling, sometimes gaudy, sometimes tasteless covers, The Lost Books of Jane Austen is a unique history of these rare and forgotten Austen volumes. Such shoddy editions, Janine Barchas argues, were instrumental in bringing Austen’s work and reputation before the general public. Only by examining them can we grasp the chaotic range of Austen’s popular reach among working-class readers.
Informed by the author’s years of unconventional book hunting, The Lost Books of Jane Austen will surprise even the most ardent Janeite with glimpses of scruffy survivors that challenge the prevailing story of the author’s steady and genteel rise. Thoroughly innovative and occasionally irreverent, this book will appeal in equal measure to book historians, Austen fans, and scholars of literary celebrity.
Purchase Links
Johns Hopkins University Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Review
The Lost Books of Jane Austen is a coffee table book about different editions of Austen books over the years. There is an emphasis on Jane Austen's work, but also on book history and the ways that different editions reflected popular reception of the novels.
I was interested in this book from first description because I love Jane Austen's books. (My favorite is Sense and Sensibility.) I have all the books in paperback and eBook edition (and they are downloaded onto my phone, so they are available at a moment's notice). I also have a hardcover gift edition of Sense and Sensibility.
Although I deal in vintage books and ephemera, I have never looked into vintage Jane Austen books, so that aspect of The Lost Books of Jane Austen was particularly fascinating.
I love the first thing the author writes: "Cheap books make authors canonical" (p. ix). She then describes how Victorian editions of her books were sold in cheap paperbacks at railway stations, given as prizes, and targeted to the British working class.
This is a beautiful, big book with lots of color photos. The photos show differences in edition, and the author describes points that differentiate editions over time (i.e. binding, inscriptions, etc.).
The book is also rich with Austen related anecdotes, including Mark Twain's contempt for Austen's work -- accompanied by a photograph of his copy of Northanger Abbey - Persuasion.
I found the descriptions (and photos) of penny editions of the books particularly interesting. I had heard of Penny Dreadfuls, but wasn't familiar with the Penny Library of Famous Books.
I also found details about the World War II vintage editions, which sometimes included advertisements in the backs of the books, to be very interesting.
Equally fascinating was the story of Hotel Taft's giveaway editions of Pride and Prejudice, including a photo of a 1930 Art Deco design book.
I think my favorite section of the book, though, was Pinking Jane Austen, about the evolution of Jane Austen's paperback publications -- with lots of photo examples. I loved seeing the changes in cover design, especially during the Mid-Century years.
The author is a literature professor, and the writing has a strong scholarly bent that will appeal to serious Janeites, as well as more casual fans like me. The book includes end notes, works cited, and a detailed index.
The Lost Books of Jane Austen is a beautifully designed book, and it is sure to fascinate anyone who has an interest in Jane Austen's novels or book collecting.
Author Bio
Janine Barchas is the Louann and Larry Temple Centennial Professor of English Literature at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of Matters of Fact in Jane Austen: History, Location, and Celebrity and Graphic Design, Print Culture, and the Eighteenth-Century Novel. She is also the creator behind What Jane Saw (www.whatjanesaw.org).
Friday, December 6, 2019
Dear Abby - Dachshund Memes and Pictures
Dear Friends,
I hope you are having a good week. I've looked forward to chatting with you again after my Thanksgiving break! (Although I hear there is a Christmas break coming up before too long here!)
Today I thought I would share a few dachshund memes and pictures with you. A couple of these are ones I shared on the Doxieposse Pals page (Facebook) and there are some new ones that I've found web surfing as well. (I love to look for dachshund pictures online!)
I like this dachshund's face and hope someone does buy him a bone!
I am not too sure about spiders either. This looks like a good idea!
Aww! This makes me happy.
Oops! Good thing we don't really get school pictures.
Dachshund sleep positions. If you have a dog, which position does he or she sleep in? I am a side sleeper, so I would pick C or E.
Now THIS is a silly dog. I love going to bed at night!
I hope you enjoyed these little pictures. I'll be back with more fun next week!
Love,
Abby xoxoxo
I hope you are having a good week. I've looked forward to chatting with you again after my Thanksgiving break! (Although I hear there is a Christmas break coming up before too long here!)
Today I thought I would share a few dachshund memes and pictures with you. A couple of these are ones I shared on the Doxieposse Pals page (Facebook) and there are some new ones that I've found web surfing as well. (I love to look for dachshund pictures online!)
I like this dachshund's face and hope someone does buy him a bone!
I am not too sure about spiders either. This looks like a good idea!
Aww! This makes me happy.
Oops! Good thing we don't really get school pictures.
Dachshund sleep positions. If you have a dog, which position does he or she sleep in? I am a side sleeper, so I would pick C or E.
Now THIS is a silly dog. I love going to bed at night!
I hope you enjoyed these little pictures. I'll be back with more fun next week!
Love,
Abby xoxoxo
Book Review and Giveaway - Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Book Synopsis
An unforgettable novel about the power of friendship and kindness by the New York Times bestselling author of Pay It Forward.
In the summer of 1969, fourteen-year-old Lucas Painter carries a huge weight on his shoulders. His brother is fighting in Vietnam. His embattled parents are locked in a never-ending war. And his best friend, Connor, is struggling with his own family issues. To find relief from the chaos, Lucas takes long, meandering walks, and one day he veers into the woods.
There he discovers an isolated cabin and two huge dogs. Frightened, he runs. And the dogs run with him. Lucas finds unusual peace in running with the dogs, and eventually he meets their owner, Zoe Dinsmore. Closed off and haunted by a tragic past, Zoe has given up. She doesn’t want to be saved. She wants out. But Lucas doesn’t want her to go, and he sees an opportunity to bring more than one friend back into the light. It’s either the best or worst idea he’s ever had, but Lucas isn’t giving up on Zoe or Connor.
Their unexpected connection might be the saving grace that Zoe thought she’d lost, that Connor needs, and that Lucas has been running toward.
My Review
Stay is the story of Lucas Painter. One morning in 1969, 14 year old Lucas goes running. He encounters two big dogs at a remote cabin in the woods. To his surprise, the dogs run with him. This leads to Lucas meeting the dogs' owner, Zoe Dinsmore. Zoe has chosen to live as a virtual hermit because of her tragic past and notoriety. During the same time, Lucas is concerned about his brother Roy, who is serving in Vietnam, and his best friend Connor, who is battling depression. This is the story of how one act of kindness sparks another, and another ... and lives are changed.
I wanted to read Stay because of the setting. I love anything related to the 1960's. I will admit that I also was curious about the dogs in the story!
I'm so glad I picked this book up. It is really an uplifting, life affirming read, about friendship and kindness and caring for others. Although this book is marketed for adults, I think it would be a fine young adult read, and I think teens would find this story very powerful.
The author captures small town life in the 1960's perfectly. The small town setting is very important to the story; several times news is seen traveling through the gossip grapevine from person to person in this little town.
Lucas is a wonderful character. He is such a good kid -- kind, compassionate, putting the needs of others first. I really cared about his story, and about the people he cared about (Zoe, Roy, and Connor) by extension. I was especially moved by the story of Lucas's brother Roy, and the strong bond between the two brothers.
The author's writing style is simple and direct and immensely appealing. The book begins:
"Is it just me, or does everybody have a day in their life like the one I'm about to retell? I'm talking about those days that act like a fulcrum between everything that came before and your brand-new life after" (p. 3).
The characterization in the book was also strong. I loved a lot of Zoe's homespun wisdom, like the words she shares with Lucas:
"Look ... Kid. Believe me or don't. It's up to you. But there's a better reason why you can't sit here on the porch for the rest of your life. Because you can't control other people. You can't be responsible for somebody else. Not if it's a fully grown adult human, you can't. Sooner or later you have to go home, and you know it" (p. 67).
These words, and the message of much of the book, harken back to the idea of the Serenity Prayer, although it is never directly mentioned -- doing what you can, but also knowing when to accept the things you cannot change.
I could go on and on about what a beautiful book this is. It's one of the most heartwarming, positive books I've read in a long time, and I recommend it highly to other readers.
Author Bio
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of more than thirty published and forthcoming books. An avid hiker, traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer, she has released her first book of photos, 365 Days of Gratitude: Photos from a Beautiful World.
Her novel Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association (ALA) for its Best Book for Young Adults list, and translated into more than twenty-three languages for distribution in over thirty countries. Both Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List, and Jumpstart the World was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards. Where We Belong won two Rainbow Awards in 2013, and The Language of Hoofbeats won a Rainbow Award in 2015.
More than fifty of her short stories have been published in the Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, and many other journals, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts and the bestselling anthology Dog Is My Co-Pilot. Her stories have been honored in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and nominated for the O. Henry Award and the Pushcart Prize. Three have been cited in The Best American Short Stories.
She is founder and former president (2000–2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation and still serves on its board of directors. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.
Giveaway
One lucky reader will win a copy of Stay. The giveaway ends at midnight on 12/12/19. The giveaway is open to U.S. readers, who can enter at the Rafflecopter form below. The winner will be notified by email, and needs to respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
An unforgettable novel about the power of friendship and kindness by the New York Times bestselling author of Pay It Forward.
In the summer of 1969, fourteen-year-old Lucas Painter carries a huge weight on his shoulders. His brother is fighting in Vietnam. His embattled parents are locked in a never-ending war. And his best friend, Connor, is struggling with his own family issues. To find relief from the chaos, Lucas takes long, meandering walks, and one day he veers into the woods.
There he discovers an isolated cabin and two huge dogs. Frightened, he runs. And the dogs run with him. Lucas finds unusual peace in running with the dogs, and eventually he meets their owner, Zoe Dinsmore. Closed off and haunted by a tragic past, Zoe has given up. She doesn’t want to be saved. She wants out. But Lucas doesn’t want her to go, and he sees an opportunity to bring more than one friend back into the light. It’s either the best or worst idea he’s ever had, but Lucas isn’t giving up on Zoe or Connor.
Their unexpected connection might be the saving grace that Zoe thought she’d lost, that Connor needs, and that Lucas has been running toward.
Purchase Links
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble
My Review
Stay is the story of Lucas Painter. One morning in 1969, 14 year old Lucas goes running. He encounters two big dogs at a remote cabin in the woods. To his surprise, the dogs run with him. This leads to Lucas meeting the dogs' owner, Zoe Dinsmore. Zoe has chosen to live as a virtual hermit because of her tragic past and notoriety. During the same time, Lucas is concerned about his brother Roy, who is serving in Vietnam, and his best friend Connor, who is battling depression. This is the story of how one act of kindness sparks another, and another ... and lives are changed.
I wanted to read Stay because of the setting. I love anything related to the 1960's. I will admit that I also was curious about the dogs in the story!
I'm so glad I picked this book up. It is really an uplifting, life affirming read, about friendship and kindness and caring for others. Although this book is marketed for adults, I think it would be a fine young adult read, and I think teens would find this story very powerful.
The author captures small town life in the 1960's perfectly. The small town setting is very important to the story; several times news is seen traveling through the gossip grapevine from person to person in this little town.
Lucas is a wonderful character. He is such a good kid -- kind, compassionate, putting the needs of others first. I really cared about his story, and about the people he cared about (Zoe, Roy, and Connor) by extension. I was especially moved by the story of Lucas's brother Roy, and the strong bond between the two brothers.
The author's writing style is simple and direct and immensely appealing. The book begins:
"Is it just me, or does everybody have a day in their life like the one I'm about to retell? I'm talking about those days that act like a fulcrum between everything that came before and your brand-new life after" (p. 3).
The characterization in the book was also strong. I loved a lot of Zoe's homespun wisdom, like the words she shares with Lucas:
"Look ... Kid. Believe me or don't. It's up to you. But there's a better reason why you can't sit here on the porch for the rest of your life. Because you can't control other people. You can't be responsible for somebody else. Not if it's a fully grown adult human, you can't. Sooner or later you have to go home, and you know it" (p. 67).
These words, and the message of much of the book, harken back to the idea of the Serenity Prayer, although it is never directly mentioned -- doing what you can, but also knowing when to accept the things you cannot change.
I could go on and on about what a beautiful book this is. It's one of the most heartwarming, positive books I've read in a long time, and I recommend it highly to other readers.
Author Bio
Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of more than thirty published and forthcoming books. An avid hiker, traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer, she has released her first book of photos, 365 Days of Gratitude: Photos from a Beautiful World.
Her novel Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association (ALA) for its Best Book for Young Adults list, and translated into more than twenty-three languages for distribution in over thirty countries. Both Becoming Chloe and Jumpstart the World were included on the ALA’s Rainbow List, and Jumpstart the World was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards. Where We Belong won two Rainbow Awards in 2013, and The Language of Hoofbeats won a Rainbow Award in 2015.
More than fifty of her short stories have been published in the Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, and many other journals, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts and the bestselling anthology Dog Is My Co-Pilot. Her stories have been honored in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and nominated for the O. Henry Award and the Pushcart Prize. Three have been cited in The Best American Short Stories.
She is founder and former president (2000–2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation and still serves on its board of directors. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.
Connect with Catherine
Website | Facebook | Twitter
Giveaway
One lucky reader will win a copy of Stay. The giveaway ends at midnight on 12/12/19. The giveaway is open to U.S. readers, who can enter at the Rafflecopter form below. The winner will be notified by email, and needs to respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Book Spotlight and Giveaway - Murder, She Encountered (Murder, She Reported Series) by Peg Cochran
Book Synopsis
A gutsy Manhattan socialite encounters murder and corruption at the World’s Fair in this captivating historical cozy mystery for readers of Victoria Thompson, Susan Elia MacNeal, and Rhys Bowen.
New York City, 1939. A rising star at the Daily Trumpet, Elizabeth “Biz” Adams has been sent to the World’s Fair—billed as the “World of Tomorrow,” a look toward a brighter future even as the drumbeats of war grow louder—to cover a robbery. What she stumbles upon instead is a dead woman, dumped into the Aquacade’s pool with a nylon stocking wrapped around her neck.
Elizabeth snaps a photo as the police arrest Joey Dorman, a gentle young hot dog vendor who made no secret of his obsession with the murder victim. Even though she’s thrilled that her photo makes the front page, the fear and confusion evident on Joey’s face are haunting. So Elizabeth vows to prove his innocence—or his guilt—with her partner at the Daily Trumpet, Ralph Kaminsky. Meanwhile, her romance with Detective Sal Marino is heating up, and Elizabeth is more determined than ever to follow her heart.
But when Kaminsky’s efforts to expose the real killer land him in the hospital, Elizabeth is forced to continue the investigation on her own. And as she tries to narrow down the long list of suspects, she discovers a dark secret running through the Fair—a secret some would kill to protect.
Look for all of Peg Cochran’s delightful mysteries featuring Elizabeth Adams, which can be read together or separately:
MURDER, SHE REPORTED
MURDER, SHE UNCOVERED
Author Bio
Mystery writing lets Peg indulge her curiosity under the guise of “work” (aka research). As a kid, she read the entire set of children’s encyclopedias her parents gave her and has been known to read the dictionary. She put pen to paper at age seven when she wrote plays and forced her cousins to perform them at Christmas dinner. She switched to mysteries when she discovered the perfect hiding place for a body down the street from her house.
When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading, cooking, spoiling her granddaughter and checking her books’ stats on Amazon.
A former Jersey girl, Peg now resides in Michigan with her husband and Westhighland white terrier, Reg. She is the author of the Sweet Nothings Lingerie series (written as Meg London), the Gourmet De-Lite series, the Lucille series, the Cranberry Cove series, and the Farmer’s Daughter series.
Author Links:
Website – http://www.pegcochran.com/
Newsletter Sign Up – http://www.pegcochran.com/newsletter-signup.html
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pegcochran
Twitter – https://twitter.com/@pegcochran
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5352603.Peg_Cochran
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peg-cochran
Purchase Links:
Amazon B&N Kobo
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A gutsy Manhattan socialite encounters murder and corruption at the World’s Fair in this captivating historical cozy mystery for readers of Victoria Thompson, Susan Elia MacNeal, and Rhys Bowen.
New York City, 1939. A rising star at the Daily Trumpet, Elizabeth “Biz” Adams has been sent to the World’s Fair—billed as the “World of Tomorrow,” a look toward a brighter future even as the drumbeats of war grow louder—to cover a robbery. What she stumbles upon instead is a dead woman, dumped into the Aquacade’s pool with a nylon stocking wrapped around her neck.
Elizabeth snaps a photo as the police arrest Joey Dorman, a gentle young hot dog vendor who made no secret of his obsession with the murder victim. Even though she’s thrilled that her photo makes the front page, the fear and confusion evident on Joey’s face are haunting. So Elizabeth vows to prove his innocence—or his guilt—with her partner at the Daily Trumpet, Ralph Kaminsky. Meanwhile, her romance with Detective Sal Marino is heating up, and Elizabeth is more determined than ever to follow her heart.
But when Kaminsky’s efforts to expose the real killer land him in the hospital, Elizabeth is forced to continue the investigation on her own. And as she tries to narrow down the long list of suspects, she discovers a dark secret running through the Fair—a secret some would kill to protect.
Look for all of Peg Cochran’s delightful mysteries featuring Elizabeth Adams, which can be read together or separately:
MURDER, SHE REPORTED
MURDER, SHE UNCOVERED
Author Bio
Mystery writing lets Peg indulge her curiosity under the guise of “work” (aka research). As a kid, she read the entire set of children’s encyclopedias her parents gave her and has been known to read the dictionary. She put pen to paper at age seven when she wrote plays and forced her cousins to perform them at Christmas dinner. She switched to mysteries when she discovered the perfect hiding place for a body down the street from her house.
When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading, cooking, spoiling her granddaughter and checking her books’ stats on Amazon.
A former Jersey girl, Peg now resides in Michigan with her husband and Westhighland white terrier, Reg. She is the author of the Sweet Nothings Lingerie series (written as Meg London), the Gourmet De-Lite series, the Lucille series, the Cranberry Cove series, and the Farmer’s Daughter series.
Author Links:
Website – http://www.pegcochran.com/
Newsletter Sign Up – http://www.pegcochran.com/newsletter-signup.html
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pegcochran
Twitter – https://twitter.com/@pegcochran
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5352603.Peg_Cochran
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peg-cochran
Purchase Links:
Amazon B&N Kobo
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Book Review and Giveaway - Death on the Danube: A New Year’s Murder in Budapest (Travel Can Be Murder #1) by Jennifer S. Alderson
Book Synopsis
Who knew a New Year’s trip to Budapest could be so deadly? The tour must go on – even with a killer in their midst…
Recent divorcee Lana Hansen needs a break. Her luck has run sour for going on a decade, ever since she got fired from her favorite job as an investigative reporter. When her fresh start in Seattle doesn’t work out as planned, Lana ends up unemployed and penniless on Christmas Eve.
Dotty Thompson, her landlord and the owner of Wanderlust Tours, is also in a tight spot after one of her tour guides ends up in the hospital, leaving her a guide short on Christmas Day.
When Dotty offers her a job leading the tour group through Budapest, Hungary, Lana jumps at the chance. It’s the perfect way to ring in the new year and pay her rent!
What starts off as the adventure of a lifetime quickly turns into a nightmare when Carl, her fellow tour guide, is found floating in the Danube River. Was it murder or accidental death? Suspects abound when Lana discovers almost everyone on the tour had a bone to pick with Carl.
But Dotty insists the tour must go on, so Lana finds herself trapped with nine murder suspects. When another guest turns up dead, Lana has to figure out who the killer is before she too ends up floating in the Danube…
Introducing Lana Hansen, tour guide, reluctant amateur sleuth, and star of the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series. Join Lana as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that, unfortunately for Lana, often turn deadly.
Feel-good stories about friendship, travel, and celebrating new experiences. Coming soon: Books 2 and 3 in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series!
My Review
Lana Hansen is recently divorced, living in Seattle, and trying to decide what she wants next in life. Her friend and landlady, Dotty, owns a travel agency and is suddenly short a tour guide for a New Year's trip to Budapest. Lana reluctantly agrees to go on the trip. After two murders occur on the excursion, she starts spending time sleuthing as well as guiding the tour.
I wanted to read Death on the Danube because I enjoy playing armchair traveler (as well as armchair detective!). Lana's work as a tour guide sounded interesting too.
This was a fun cozy mystery, and a great debut to the new series Travel Can Be Murder. I loved the travel descriptions, especially the Christmas market and the very atmospheric labyrinth. I could really picture the places the tour visited from the descriptions; they were very vivid.
Lana makes a good amateur detective. She depends on research and doesn't take silly, dangerous chances. The mystery aspect of the story was well written. I figured the killer about the same time that Lana did.
I especially enjoyed the fast pacing of this novel, with short chapters and dialogue that moved the story along at a crisp pace.
I would recommend Death on the Danube for cozy mystery fans, and especially for anyone who enjoys travel related mysteries. I look forward to reading future books in this series!
Author Bio
Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip. Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stories.
Author Links
Website: http://www.jennifersalderson.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JennifeSAlderson
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jenniferSAldersonauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JSAauthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/JenniferSAlderson
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-s-alderson
Purchase Links
Amazon COM
Amazon Worldwide
Amazon Author Page
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Who knew a New Year’s trip to Budapest could be so deadly? The tour must go on – even with a killer in their midst…
Recent divorcee Lana Hansen needs a break. Her luck has run sour for going on a decade, ever since she got fired from her favorite job as an investigative reporter. When her fresh start in Seattle doesn’t work out as planned, Lana ends up unemployed and penniless on Christmas Eve.
Dotty Thompson, her landlord and the owner of Wanderlust Tours, is also in a tight spot after one of her tour guides ends up in the hospital, leaving her a guide short on Christmas Day.
When Dotty offers her a job leading the tour group through Budapest, Hungary, Lana jumps at the chance. It’s the perfect way to ring in the new year and pay her rent!
What starts off as the adventure of a lifetime quickly turns into a nightmare when Carl, her fellow tour guide, is found floating in the Danube River. Was it murder or accidental death? Suspects abound when Lana discovers almost everyone on the tour had a bone to pick with Carl.
But Dotty insists the tour must go on, so Lana finds herself trapped with nine murder suspects. When another guest turns up dead, Lana has to figure out who the killer is before she too ends up floating in the Danube…
Introducing Lana Hansen, tour guide, reluctant amateur sleuth, and star of the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series. Join Lana as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that, unfortunately for Lana, often turn deadly.
Feel-good stories about friendship, travel, and celebrating new experiences. Coming soon: Books 2 and 3 in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series!
My Review
Lana Hansen is recently divorced, living in Seattle, and trying to decide what she wants next in life. Her friend and landlady, Dotty, owns a travel agency and is suddenly short a tour guide for a New Year's trip to Budapest. Lana reluctantly agrees to go on the trip. After two murders occur on the excursion, she starts spending time sleuthing as well as guiding the tour.
I wanted to read Death on the Danube because I enjoy playing armchair traveler (as well as armchair detective!). Lana's work as a tour guide sounded interesting too.
This was a fun cozy mystery, and a great debut to the new series Travel Can Be Murder. I loved the travel descriptions, especially the Christmas market and the very atmospheric labyrinth. I could really picture the places the tour visited from the descriptions; they were very vivid.
Lana makes a good amateur detective. She depends on research and doesn't take silly, dangerous chances. The mystery aspect of the story was well written. I figured the killer about the same time that Lana did.
I especially enjoyed the fast pacing of this novel, with short chapters and dialogue that moved the story along at a crisp pace.
I would recommend Death on the Danube for cozy mystery fans, and especially for anyone who enjoys travel related mysteries. I look forward to reading future books in this series!
Author Bio
Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip. Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stories.
Author Links
Website: http://www.jennifersalderson.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JennifeSAlderson
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jenniferSAldersonauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JSAauthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/JenniferSAlderson
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-s-alderson
Purchase Links
Amazon COM
Amazon Worldwide
Amazon Author Page
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Book Spotlight and Giveaway - In Sight of the Mountain by Jamie McGillen
Book Synopsis
In the devastating aftermath of the 1889 Great Seattle Fire, nineteen-year-old Anna Gallagher faces considerable pressure to marry well and soon. But she has no intention of giving up her freedom to keep house. She wants to be the first woman to summit Mount Rainier.
Anna’s grandfather couldn’t disapprove more. And after he discovers that she’s befriended a Duwamish woman in the forest, he threatens to disown her completely.
Still, her resolve to summit doesn’t waver until she meets a fisherman who seems to love adventure as much as she does. He’s not the kind of high society gentleman who could save their family’s finances after the fire, but he adores her and treats her like an equal.
Mountaineering through glaciers, avalanches, and frozen temperatures might cause Anna’s family to disown her forever. It might even ruin any future marriage prospects. But if she succeeds in reaching the icy peak, she could pioneer the way for women mountaineers, and create a new identify for herself, something she’s been longing for her whole life.
Inspired by the trailblazing women of the 19th Century who dared to summit Mount Rainier, In Sight of the Mountain is a charming coming-of-age story, but it also casts the reader’s gaze upon issues of colonialism, class, and women’s far-too-narrow options.
Author Bio
Jamie McGillen lives in the shadow of Mount Rainier, and no matter how many times she moves away, it draws her home. Everything about large evergreen trees delights her, except how poky they are, and the sap. Her poems and essays have been published in numerous literary journals, and she teaches English Composition at Highline College. When she’s not teaching or cutting strawberries for her starving children, she enjoys writing rhyming poetry, but it’s simply not as popular as it used to be. You can find out more about her at www.jamiemcgillen.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a paperback back copy of In Sight of the Mountain! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.
Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on December 6th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Paperback giveaway is open to the US only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.
In Sight of the Mountain
In the devastating aftermath of the 1889 Great Seattle Fire, nineteen-year-old Anna Gallagher faces considerable pressure to marry well and soon. But she has no intention of giving up her freedom to keep house. She wants to be the first woman to summit Mount Rainier.
Anna’s grandfather couldn’t disapprove more. And after he discovers that she’s befriended a Duwamish woman in the forest, he threatens to disown her completely.
Still, her resolve to summit doesn’t waver until she meets a fisherman who seems to love adventure as much as she does. He’s not the kind of high society gentleman who could save their family’s finances after the fire, but he adores her and treats her like an equal.
Mountaineering through glaciers, avalanches, and frozen temperatures might cause Anna’s family to disown her forever. It might even ruin any future marriage prospects. But if she succeeds in reaching the icy peak, she could pioneer the way for women mountaineers, and create a new identify for herself, something she’s been longing for her whole life.
Inspired by the trailblazing women of the 19th Century who dared to summit Mount Rainier, In Sight of the Mountain is a charming coming-of-age story, but it also casts the reader’s gaze upon issues of colonialism, class, and women’s far-too-narrow options.
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound
Author Bio
Jamie McGillen lives in the shadow of Mount Rainier, and no matter how many times she moves away, it draws her home. Everything about large evergreen trees delights her, except how poky they are, and the sap. Her poems and essays have been published in numerous literary journals, and she teaches English Composition at Highline College. When she’s not teaching or cutting strawberries for her starving children, she enjoys writing rhyming poetry, but it’s simply not as popular as it used to be. You can find out more about her at www.jamiemcgillen.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a paperback back copy of In Sight of the Mountain! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.
Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on December 6th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Paperback giveaway is open to the US only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspicion of fraud will be decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– The winner has 48 hours to claim prize or a new winner is chosen.
In Sight of the Mountain
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Dear Abby - Happy Thanksgiving! With Vintage Images
Dear Friends,
I hope you are having a good day. I'm posting a little early this week because I plan to take some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope to get some extra naps in and I just know there is going to be extra good food around next week. (I can't wait!) I'll be back the first Friday in December.
I wanted to share some cute vintage cards and postcards with you that feature dogs enjoying Thanksgiving.
Vintage Thanksgiving greeting card -- a dachshund dances with a girl in a pilgrim costume. She's holding a turkey up very high, out of his reach!
A little terrier dog is chased by a turkey on this vintage postcard:
A little girl and two dachshunds meet turkeys on a farm. Those dachshunds look so curious about the turkey!
Vintage greeting card featuring two shaggy terrier dogs who have made a pumpkin house. (It looks very cozy!)
A hound dog watches as a boy says grace at Thanksgiving dinner:
A dog and cat are interested in the turkey that a pilgrim woman is carrying:
However you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope your day is happy and full of many blessings!
Love,
Abby xoxoxo
I hope you are having a good day. I'm posting a little early this week because I plan to take some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope to get some extra naps in and I just know there is going to be extra good food around next week. (I can't wait!) I'll be back the first Friday in December.
I wanted to share some cute vintage cards and postcards with you that feature dogs enjoying Thanksgiving.
Vintage Thanksgiving greeting card -- a dachshund dances with a girl in a pilgrim costume. She's holding a turkey up very high, out of his reach!
A little terrier dog is chased by a turkey on this vintage postcard:
A little girl and two dachshunds meet turkeys on a farm. Those dachshunds look so curious about the turkey!
Vintage greeting card featuring two shaggy terrier dogs who have made a pumpkin house. (It looks very cozy!)
A hound dog watches as a boy says grace at Thanksgiving dinner:
A dog and cat are interested in the turkey that a pilgrim woman is carrying:
However you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope your day is happy and full of many blessings!
Love,
Abby xoxoxo
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