Some of you may be familiar with Denise Hildreth Jones but if you haven’t there is an opportunity to get one her ebooks free this week. On her website, she describes herself this way: “I’m just a southern girl from South Carolina who knows crazy people, the south, and rigged beauty pageants. So, I thought I’d write a book about them. I didn’t even know I could write fiction. Come to find out people have fallen in love with that crazy Savannah from Savannah and I’ve fallen in love with telling stories.”
Her book, The First Gardener was chosen as Books A Million October Faith Point Book Club Pick! You can read the first chapter of it on her website but better yet the e-book is free for the next week on Amazon.
Back to School has always been exciting for me. As a kid, I wanted to get back to school to see my friends. Later when I became a teacher, I thought the summer was always too short but looked forward to getting my classroom ready and meeting my new students. When I was in South Carolina I was Back to School for teacher orientation in the beginning of August but now I don’t start until the week after Labor Day and I love that.
Back to School has always meant getting all the school supplies which I have always loved doing. There were also some new clothes which was fun. While in college, part of what I liked was seeing what new books I was going to be using. As a teacher I still get school supplies, maybe a new outfit and have already gotten a few books in my area of teaching to read during the summer.
For my Back to School Giveaway I am giving away an Amazon $25 Gift Code. You can get all kind of school supplies, books and even clothes at Amazon. Easy entry using the Rafflecopter below. The winner will be chosen using random.org and has 48 hours to respond via email.
I have always been interested in religious mysteries, or as they are usually labeled today, clerical mysteries. I read all of Charles Merrill Smith’s Reverend Randolph series from the local library, got Eric Sheperd’s Nunnery series from a Catholic Bookstore that had a wonderful selection of older books in a basement, read through most of Ellis Peter’s Brother Cadfaelbooks, devoured the classic Father Brown stories from G. K. Chesterton and scores of others through the years. What draws me to them? I am not sure. I read mysteries set in schools because I teach. My brother is a pastor, but I started reading clerical mysteries before he entered the ministry or others in my family entered Christian parachurch ministries. I read mysteries because there is a sense of right and wrong. In mysteries good triumphs over evil. Maybe that idea is seen clearer in religious mysteries as you read about sin even among those who claim to be holy
Main character, Felicity Howard has decided that she wants to be nun and wants to visit different convents to find the right match for her. Father Antony, a church history expert is her good friend, or is it more than friendship? Felicity struggles with her feelings for Antony while Anthony seems more sure of his attraction to her. A historical icon is missing and they want to figure out who took it. A close friend is found dead and they wonder if there is a connection. To add to the mix, Felicity’s mother, who has not been much of a mother, shows up at the convent and that doesn’t make Felicity happy. Anthony and Felicity continue to search for the icon. Antony fills in details as they try to find the path of this icon. There are twists and turn that I didn’t see coming but that do make sense.
I did not read the first in the series, A Private Grave so I don’t know the background. I found it hard to get to know Felicity and there wasn’t an attachment for me at first. I kept wondering why she was on a course to become a nun as it did not seem to fit her personality. As I read more I came to like Felicity and thought that becoming a nun did not fit her but wanted Anthony and her to get together.
I teach some church history and found the sections where Anthony explained about history interesting but for some people it may be a little long. I have read numerous clerical mysteries but this series was a new one to me. A Darkly Hidden Truth stands alone but I do plan on going back and reading the first in the series, A Very Private Grave, as I have grown to really like Felicity and Antony and want to fill in some gaps.
Donna Fletcher Crow does her church history research and has written a new series that is well worth reading. If you want to know more about her and the other books she has written, check out her blog, Donna Fletcher Crow.
Christmas in July Giveaway hop is hosted by Matter of Cents, Just Married with Coupons & Sweep Tight. Grand Prize is sponsored by Maggie Bags and is valued at over $600. Maggies Bags takes high-quality recycled material & gives it new life by creating sophisticated handbags that are eco-friendly! Save 25% off the Linear Line with Coupon Code: Christmas-n-July through 9/30. The 2nd Prize is an Ultimate Munchkin Gift Basket, Munchkin offers clever, innovative solutions to help make parenting safer, easier & fun.
I am a huge fan of Christmas, so I couldn’t wait to sign up to be in this Christmas Giveaway Hop! And I found the perfect gift to give–a Chocolate Fondue Maker.
The kit contains the Fondue maker, 2 packages of Belgian Chocolate and 4 matching fondue forks.
It is available in 14 unique designs. They use a 25-watt light bulb, which makes them really safe. I have been using mine for a few months and have really enjoyed the ease of use and the delicious chocolate.
One of you will win one of these warmers, 4 fondue forks and 2 packages of premium chocolate. To enter this contest, please check out the review on this site and choose which color and style you would like to win. It’s that easy! The contest is over July 27. This contest is open to Continue reading →
Sticker available at http://www.redbubble.com/people/turtledove/works/3603482-summer-of-69-tee?p=sticker
I graduated from high school. Graduation day was very hot in our school gymnasium. I lost my voice while singing the school’s Alma mater. I came back home to a party for me with all the relatives but it was hard as dad wasn’t there. He had died the year before but I knew he would be proud of me. His father needed him to work on the farm so dad never finished high school.
The #1 song of 1969. I remember singing this bubble gum song with the radio blaring while driving my 1960 Lark Studebaker down Woodlawn Drive.
In June the last Star Trek aired. A few years later we girls had a small black and white television in our bedroom where we loved to watch the rebroadcasts of that show. We never would have guessed what a cult hit it would become.
I didn’t buy it but it was the #2 song of the year.
July 20, 1969 my whole family was watching television getting ready to watch man walking on the moon. Mom was baking new small potatoes that we had just dug up on the farm. We were popping them in our mouth after rubbing them in butter. We had grown up hearing about the race to space and were so happy that America did it first. Neil Armstrong captured the moment so beautifully in “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The Manson murders took place and it was hard to hear the gruesome details. It shook the world to realize what had happened.
The Time of the Year by The Zombies #39 for year
In mid August, on a farm in upstate New York, Woodstock happened. I watched the news and heard about the mud, the drugs, the music, the sexual promiscuity. It was a turning point in popular music. Others longed to be there but the lifestyle was not what I wanted. The Woodstock lifestyle became the mantra for many in my generation and I knew that as a Christian I had a different calling.
Sly and the Family Stone were at Woodstock. This song Hot Fun in the Summertime was #7 that year and their Everyday People was #5
Few could believe the Mets made it to the World Series and then they won it. I followed baseball religiously then and still do. I like other sports but American’s National Pastime is still my favorite.
The last week of August I started my freshman year at University of Maryland Baltimore County. It was a new world for me and couldn’t believe the courses I was stuck with that first semester: Geography 101, Introduction to Theatre, Probability and Statistics, Comparative Literature and Golf. There were all kinds of protests on campus against the Vietnam War. Many students wore black armbands in protest. There were demonstrations all the tie including sit downs. I went to classes and then to work. I lived at home and was glad to have my family as ‘times they were a-changing’.
The Youngbloods version of Let’s Get Together was re-released in 1969 and made it to #5. This version has footage from Woodstock.
The summer of 1969 was extraordinary – changing the world and me.
Here are some book posts from my journeys on the internet lately that my fellow bibliophiles may enjoy:
The Dead End of DIY Self-Publishing I read a lot and belong to several groups of writers. I have gotten many advanced reader copies to review through the years. Sometimes reading them with the errors has been tough. I also have gotten self-published books, more since the e-book revolution. As a teacher it is so hard for me to read books full of errors. I ask, where is the editor? Since I was a youngster I have always marked in books that belonged to me, any mistakes that I find. Unfortunately today there are often so many it makes it hard to read. I have been concerned with so much self-publishing today and this article brings to light some of my concerns. With the publishing industry there were checks and balances for the reader and the writer. Eugenia Williamson offers some insights into the industry. I hope that the publishing industry continues to flourish, and we will not need to weed through so much poorly written material.
A Book’s Lover’s Guide to Reading and Walking at the Same Time: Lev Grossman’s article in Time Entertainment made me laugh. I usually love to be in a comfortable chair or laying down to read but I have been known to keep reading as I go to answer the door or answer the phone. But besides that I don’t walk and read. I tried reading while exercising on the stationary bike but it gave me a headache so usually when I read I am stationary.
Having taught second and third grade for over 20 years and been a school librarian also, I am well acquainted with the Encyclopedia Brown Series written by Donald Sobol. I remember the covers back from the 80’s. Some of the second grade boys were determined to read all the books they could find in the series. The Encyclopedia Brown Strikes Again was first published in 1965 by Scholastic.
via http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/underwire/2012/07/encyclopedia_brown.jpg
They were always popular for those students who loved mysteries whether boys or girls. And I found they were especially great for those reluctant readers. Each book was less than 100 pages, with some pictures. They were self-contained stories so it did not matter what order you read them in. Like many children’s series, these books followed a similar progression which involved Leroy, “Encyclopedia” solving several mysteries in each book.
Other favorite related books from Donald Sobol were the Two-Minute Mysteries where Encyclopedia Brown used his logic and keen observation to solve the puzzle. Students would love to give the answer before they turned to the back of the book for the answers.
Donald Sobol recently died at age 87. I am thankful for his books that certainly left some impressions on his young readers, especially crime novelist and forensic pathologist Jonathan Hayes. He shared the influence these books had on him in Encyclopedia Brown: The Great Sleuth from my Youth.
These books are still selling today so if you have a young one in your life that likes to read mysteries or solve puzzles get them one to read from the library or check them out at Donald J. Sobol, his Amazon page.
From my personal library listed on LibraryThing.com
On this Independence Day as we celebrate the birth of our country it is good to reflect on the freedoms we have and those who have sacrificed their lives for us to enjoy that freedom. John Adams, the second President of the United States wrote to Abigail, his wife on July 3, 1776 about celebrating this special day. (original spellings are kept)
The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will triumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not. (The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142).
I realize that many this year may not be celebrating this holiday as they have in the past. For those with family serving in the military overseas it is difficult. Due to the fires in Colorado some areas are not having fireworks for safety reasons. In other areas of the country the hot weather has caused some jurisdictions to put their celebrations on hold. In my area, some still do not have electricity due to a severe storm with hurricane winds. Mom and I will be watching some celebrations on television as it is still too hot for her to go outside and most of the family is out-of-town. We usually grill out with family and sometimes visit the parade and fireworks of my brother’s hometown.
However you are celebrating this year remember what a privilege it is to live in the United States. Here is part of the 2011 firework celebration in New York City. Enjoy.
What Fourth of July traditions does your family have
