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Finished reading: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie A Flavia de Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley 📚 2009 | Mystery, historical fiction | Flavia de Luce #1 This was our bookclub pick this month. I read it alternating between page and audiobook (which happily was read by Jayne Entwistle). I am not …

Finished reading: Little by Edward Carey 📚 2018 | Historical fiction (Berne, Switzerland, and Paris, France, 18th century) This is a fictionalized biography of Madame Tussaud (she of wax museum fame). It’s really good–weird and interesting. I’m not sure how I would have felt about …

Finished reading: Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer 📚 1969 | Middle grade, time travel, historical fiction (WW1, 1950s) I gave this book to my husband for his birthday. The book was the inspiration for The Cure’s song “Charlotte Sometimes” (one of his favorite songs from his …

Finished reading: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 📚 1989 | Magical realism, historical fiction (Mexican Revolution, early 20th century) I am a huge fan of magical realism. This book was ridiculous, and I loved it. It very much had the feel of a folktalke and/or a telenovela, so the parts …

The Books We've Read in Book Club: Links: I got a bee in my bonnet to list all the books we’ve read in book club. The list is at 108, and I think it’s really close to comprehensive, but record keeping is not my strong suit, so I may have missed a few. Contemporary fiction Historical fiction More fiction (includes Classics, …

Books we've read in book club: Nonfiction: BIOGRAPHY A Light So Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine L’Engle by Sarah Arthur Pub. 2018 | Read November 2020 CHRISTIAN Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura Pub. 2021 | Read June 2021 The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and Women’s Work by Kathleen Norris Pub. …

Books we've read in book club: More fiction: CLASSICS Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery Pub. 1923 | Middle grade | Read September 2017 Emma by Jane Austen British lit., romance | Pub. 1815 | Read ? (discussion was at Holmes Lake) Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy British lit., romance | Pub. 1874 | Read December 2024 …

Books we've read in book club: Historical fiction: HISTORICAL FICTION 1st Century The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd Nazareth | Pub. 2020 | Read October 202 12th Century Godric by Frederick Buechner England | Pub. 1980 | Read November 2021 16th Century Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell England | Pub. 2020 | Read May 2023 | Watched movie February …

Books we've read in book club: Contemporary fiction : CONTEMPORARY FICTION Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Pub. 2013 | Read January 2015 Anxious People by Fredrik Backman Pub. 2019 | Read May 2021 Beartown by Fredrik Backman Pub. 2016 | Read July 2018 Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata Japanese lit. | Pub. 2016 | Read March 2021 …

Finished reading: Awake by Jen Hatmaker 📚 2025 | Memoir 📖 (library) ✭✭

Finished reading: Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen 📚 2020 | Christian, mental health I know you’re not really supposed to do so, but I read this primarily with someone else in mind (not toxic thoughts about this person, but helping her overcome her own toxic thoughts). Overall, I thought …

Finished reading: The Black Wolf by Louise Penny 📚 2025 | Mystery, number 20 in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series I’m ambivalent about this series. Twenty books in, there is too much repetition, too little character growth, and too much really cheesy writing (I was going to flag …

Finished reading: The Kitchen Madonna by Rumer Godden 📚 1967 | Children’s I was so taken by this sweet story. And the illustrations were gorgeous as well. 📖 (library) ✭✭✭✭✭

"As Kingfishers Catch Fire" by Gerard Manley Hopkins: As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame; As tumbled over rim in roundy wells Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name; Each mortal thing does one thing and the same: Deals out that being indoors each one dwells; …

Finished reading: The Blizzard Voices by Ted Kooser 📚 1986 | Poetry, historical fiction (The Children’s Blizzard, January 12, 1888) I picked this up at Bluestem a few weeks ago, and a post reminded me of the anniversary of the blizzard (137 years), so I ended up reading it on that day. Having …

Finished reading: Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) by Leigh Bardugo 📚 2015 | YA, fantasy, heist I do love a good heist story. And this cast of characters was really fun. I don’t love that it ended on a cliffhanger because by the end of the book I felt like I needed a bit of a break from the …

Finished reading: Visitation Street by Ivy Pochoda 📚 2013 | Mystery/thriller (but very much character-driven and not at all plot-driven) This book is set in Red Hook, Brooklyn, just as it was beginning to be gentrified, and has such a strong sense of place–the neighborhood feels like a …

Finished reading: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy 📚 1905 | Historical fiction (French Revolution), classics January bookclub pick This was my second time reading this, and I liked it again, but not quite as much as the first time I read it (several years ago). Baroness Orczy is aggressively …

Finished reading: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans 📚 2025 | Epistolary novel, contemporary fiction I absolutely loved this one. I found myself processing long after, as if Sybil were someone I had actually known. Also, it made me want to write letters. A new favorite. 📖 (library) ✭✭✭✭✭

Finished reading: The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis 📚 2025 | Historical fiction (Hatshepsut-like pharoah), mystery/thriller (but lowkey), dual timeline (1930s, 1978) 🎧 (Libby) ✭✭✭✭

Reading Project Thoughts: A bit more than a week into thinking about a longer-term reading project, I have thoughts. What is working: I have started both War and Peace (first time) and The Brothers Karamozov (again!), reading at the pace of one chapter a day. W&P is 361 chapters, and TBK is 96 chapters (in the edition …

Reading Project : I’ve been thinking for a while about starting another long-term reading project. I know about myself that I don’t necessarily need to complete a reading project to enjoy it, but I like the idea of planning it out and following as long as it remains enjoyable. As an example of what I …

My Favorite Appetizers in Lincoln, Nebraska: Today I had an appetizer that I wanted to add to my Favorite Appetizers in Lincoln list. Up to now, that list has lived exclusively in my head. but now I’m giving it a place on the blog. Beet Fries at Piedmont Bistro Togarashi seasoning / kewpie mayo / chili apricot sauce / cilantro oil …

Currently reading: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury 📚 This book is different than I remembered–more strangely written and more sinister. It feels like a good October read, but I’m not loving it as much as I did the first time through.

A confession of sin: Father, you tell us in your Word that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. We confess that we have frequently relaxed our faith. We have allowed ourselves to become cynical, and our cynicism has boiled over with slander, criticism, prayerlessness, and pessimism. How …

Flowers from a dear friend’s garden this morning. Beauty is a balm.

A prayer for one of my kids after a hard first day of school: But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. Psalm 3:3

Yesterday I finished King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby. Each time I talk about this book, I reflexively do a long blink, take a deep breath in, and say, “It was dark” on the exhale. I mean, wow. Although the first one I read, Blacktop Wasteland, is still my favorite, Cosby’s books have …

Our contestants have no idea what game it is they’re about to play. The only way to learn is by playing, the only way to win is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning. So without further ado, let’s begin. –intro to Game Changer and the description that keeps coming to mind as …