Posted January 31, 2021 in Reading / 0 Comments
If you have been a long-time reader of the blog, you know I love a good reading challenge… and so here goes… these are the challenges that I have picked for 2021.
Last Updated: 20 June 2021
1. Annual Goodreads Challenge
I have actually not been reading very much at all. My 2016 Goodreads goal was 100, 2017 was 75, 2018 was 40, 2019 was 20, 2020 was 25, and this year it is set at 25 again… but I really do hope to pass that!
The list of books for this reading challenge can be found on My Bookshelf page where I list all the books I read each year.
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Tagged as Read 2021
Posted November 24, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
The Church and the Middle Ages by Steve Weidenkopf
Series: Reclaiming Catholic History
Publisher: Ave Maria Press (2020 (December 25))
eARC (192 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2020
Synopsis
Few periods of history are more maligned and misunderstood than the Middle Ages—three-hundred years of division, shifting centers of power, and tensions both within the Church and also between the Church and the secular rulers of the time.
In an engaging and easy-to-understand style, historian and author Steve Weidenkopf highlights some of our greatest saints—Francis, Dominic, Anselm, Aquinas, and Catherine of Siena—and dispels nine commonly accepted misconceptions about the era, which was an exciting period of enduring faith, reform, cultural achievement, as well as defeat and division.
With vibrant accounts of pivotal events and inspiring stories of the people who shaped the Church during the eleventh through fourteenth centuries, Steve Weidenkopf provides a clearer picture of an era where critics used events such as the Crusades and the relocation of the papacy to France to undermine the Church. The period also provided the hallmarks of Christian civilization—universities, cathedrals, castles, and various religious orders.
Weidenkopf also chronicles the development of Christian civilization in Europe and explores the contributions of St. Bruno, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Bridget of Sweden.
In The Church and the Middle Ages, you will learn that:
- Most Crusaders were motivated by piety and service, not greed.
- Heresy was both a church and civil issue and medieval inquisitors were focused on the eternal salvation of the accused.
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The Church preached against the mistreatment of Jews.
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Priestly celibacy was practiced long before the twelfth century.
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Serfs were never kept as slaves.
Books in the Reclaiming Catholic History series, edited by Mike Aquilina and written by leading authors and historians, bring Church history to life, debunking the myths one era at a time.
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon
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Tagged as 5 star, Read 2020
Posted October 21, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
Series: Winternight #3
Publisher: Del Rey (2019)
eBook (384 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower
Also in this series: The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower
Reading Challenges: Read 2020
Synopsis
Following their adventures in The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, Vasya and Morozko return in this stunning conclusion to the bestselling Winternight Trilogy, battling enemies mortal and magical to save both Russias, the seen and the unseen.
Now Moscow has been struck by disaster. Its people are searching for answers—and for someone to blame. Vasya finds herself alone, beset on all sides. The Grand Prince is in a rage, choosing allies that will lead him on a path to war and ruin. A wicked demon returns, stronger than ever and determined to spread chaos. Caught at the center of the conflict is Vasya, who finds the fate of two worlds resting on her shoulders. Her destiny uncertain, Vasya will uncover surprising truths about herself and her history as she desperately tries to save Russia, Morozko, and the magical world she treasures. But she may not be able to save them all.
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon
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Tagged as 5 star, Read 2020
Posted October 2, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
It Started in Budapest by Julie Daines
Series: Romance on the Orient Express #1
Publisher: Covenant Communications (2020)
eARC (184 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2020
Synopsis
Molly Cooper is haunted by one simple fact: it is her fault her twin brother, Matthew, has spent his life trapped in a frail body while she has thrived. Deep in her heart, she knows he can’t hold on much longer . . .
In her desperation to save her brother, Molly finds inspiration in an unlikely source: the newly published novel Dracula. When her family embarks on the Orient Express to seek treatment for Matthew in Bulgaria, Molly is prepared to set her plan in motion: she will sneak away from her parents and journey alone to Transylvania, where she will seek a vampire, whose blood can make her brother immortal. Molly’s rash plan is going flawlessly—until she encounters Percy Hunt, a handsome American traveler running from the shadows of his own past. When he discovers Molly’s plan, Percy’s concern for the naive young woman leaves him no choice but to accompany her on her strange quest. But neither Percy nor Molly is prepared for the feelings that quickly grow between them or for the death-defying escapade that awaits.
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2020
Posted September 23, 2020 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments
Otherwise Engaged by Joanna Barker
Publisher: Covenant Communications (2020 {October 12})
eARC (262 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2020
Synopsis
She’s never been afraid of breaking the rules—until she risks breaking her heart.
Constantly stifled by the rules of Society, spirited Rebecca Rowley enjoys finding ways to quietly—or not so quietly—rebel. But riding bareback and avoiding nosy neighbors are nothing compared to the thrilling secret she is keeping from her family.
When Rebecca’s quick thinking saves the life of a young girl, she unwittingly attracts the attention of the child’s dashing brother, Lieutenant Nicholas Avery. As that attention turns flirtatious, Rebecca is forced to tell him the truth: she is secretly engaged—to the one man her family would never approve of. Fortunately, Lieutenant Avery is a navy man with no wish to marry, or so they both assume as they enter into a friendship. Rebecca hopes to change her family’s mind about her betrothed, but the more she comes to know the handsome lieutenant, the more she wonders if she promised her hand too hastily.
After all her carefully laid plans are shattered during a family crisis, Rebecca must force her heart to decide. Should she stay true to the promise she made or fight for the future she’s only just begun to imagine?
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon
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Tagged as 4 star, Read 2020
