13. December 2010 by admin.

If there is anyone out there reading, I’m sorry to do this to you, but I’m moving this blog back to blogger where I started it.  Long story, but I wanted to start a family webpage, so my husband found a web service, and bought us a domain name.  The service came with a built in web page and blog creation modules — it sounded like a great thing!  So, I thought I would move everything over, have it all under our domain name and in one place.  Well, I hate it … I find it very un-user-friendly, and I can’t make things look like I want them too.  For instance the blog stuff is built on WordPress — I’ve seen other WordPress blogs, and they look awesome.  This service only gives me the option of about 10 different themes, none of which do much for me, and only one (the most boring one of the bunch) allows widgets, and even that one won’t allow my Goodreads widget.  I know I shouldn’t be so picky about how things look, but I am, it’s part of my perfectionist personality.  Even over at blogger, I’m still working out some kinks and trying to get things exactly how I want them, but it looks a lot better than I can get it to look here.  I’ve been inspired lately to also do a bit more with my blog … share some of my crafting creations, and I have to get back to being a regular blogger on my children’s blog which I’m hoping to link to my book blog as well.  SO, if you’d like to stick with me, the new address is:  http://katisbookblog.blogspot.com/  Hope to see you there.

~Kati

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13. December 2010 by admin.

Engaging Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This sequel to “Finding Father Christmas” was just as heartwarming as the first book in the series. The first novel had Miranda searching for her father and finding not only her earthly father, but also finding her Heavenly father. This novel has her returning to Carlton Heath to her new boyfriend, in hopes that their relationship is about to become more permanent. There is also a strong theme of forgiveness woven throughout this book, and as with the first book, the title is a bit of a play on words. This was a very enjoyable quick Christmas read.

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13. December 2010 by admin.

Finding Father Christmas: A Novella by Robin Jones Gunn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Miranda heads to London on Christmas eve following the only clue she has to try to find her father … the name of a photography studio. She doesn’t know who her father is, doesn’t even know his name. She was raised by her single mother “Eve Carson the actress” and then by a family friend after her mother dies when she is only 11. The photography studio is long gone, its place now occupied by a tea shop, “The Tea Cosy”. Little does she know, when she ducks inside to ask for more information she will end up finding what she’s looking for and so much more.

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8. December 2010 by admin.

Unwrapping Christmas by Lori Copeland

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like many of us Rose Bergman thinks she needs to do it all. She is on too many committees, volunteers for everything and has herself convinced that it’s her christian duty to do all these things. Unfortunately, her excessive volunteerism is causing her to neglect her family. When a slip and fall on the ice on Christmas Eve puts her out of commission, she realizes she needs to slow down and focus on a smaller number of activities, and in the process she unwraps the true meaning of Christmas.

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8. December 2010 by admin.

The Christmas Clock by Kat Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this novel, which actually tells 3 or 4 different stories within its pages, yet they all tie together. Sylvia (Syl) and Joe were in love years ago and now need to decide if they want to give their relationship a second chance. Teddy has lost both his parents and is about to lose the only other adult who has cared for him due to Alzheimer’s … will he find the family he longs for? Doris and Floyd Culver are married, but don’t really feel in love anymore. Can they find their way back to the way things used to be? A heartwarming story! This book takes place in Dreyerville, MI — there is no such place — yet since I’m from MI, I could easily plug in any number of other little towns from our beautiful state and picture the story taking place there.

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7. December 2010 by admin.

I discovered the website Goodreads almost 3 years ago, and can’t imagine how I ever lived without it.  I love that I can keep track of what I’ve read and what I want to read — no more rogue pieces of paper floating around with lists of things that I think will interest me.  I also love being able to connect to other fellow reading “addicts”, although that is a double-edged sword in that I then see many many more titles that I want to try to read (which is why my “To-Be-Read” list has over 550 items on it :-(.

One other thing I love about Goodreads, is that when they “upgrade” or change things, it’s always something that is extremely useful!  Today I read about about a new feature they are adding to Goodreads that I’m really excited about — readers will now be able to compare prices of books (including eBooks) at various vendors through Goodreads.  If you want to read more about it, you can here.

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7. December 2010 by admin.

Oops … I forgot to do one of these last week
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Christmas Clock by Kat Martin

“Syl was the last to speak.  A painful swell of emotion rose in Joe’s chest as he watcher her cross to stand in her simple, dark green slacks and sweater and begin to talk about how good a  father he would be.”

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4. December 2010 by admin.

Grace by Shelley Shepard Gray

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a nice story that really reminds the reader that life isn’t all about us, and when things don’t go the way we had hoped we need to look beyond ourselves and remember there is always a greater meaning to everything.

Katie is rather upset when guests come to her family’s bed and breakfast so close to the holidays unexpectedly (they normally don’t host guests during this time of year), but soon realizes that both Melody and Levi need people around them who can help them to deal with issues from their past, give them hope and the ability to move on in life.

The copy I read was an ARC (electronic) obtained through NetGalley … I of course don’t know all changes that may have been made before the final publication, but I can tell from reading the excerpt given on Goodreads, that the name of Katie and Jonathan’s baby was changed. In my edition, his name was Eli, the excerpt lists his name as “Stefan”.

I enjoyed reading this book and will check into other things written by this author.

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29. November 2010 by admin.

The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cassie Beaumont wants desperately to get married … or to be more exact, she wants the “perfect” life. The perfect husband, perfect kids, a perfect Christmas. After giving up hope of ever meeting Mr. Perfect on her own, she decides to hire a professional matchmaker. Throughout the process of showing Dr. Simon Dodson, the matchmaker what she’s really made of, she loses her heart to him … can she get him to realize he loves her in return? Debbie Macomber has a flair for telling a story that warms your heart and keeps your interest. This was an enjoyable, quick read, but yet at times, thought provoking as well.

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25. November 2010 by admin.

A Simple Amish Christmas by Vannetta ChapmanMy rating: 5 of 5 starsThis was a really good story … The Amish community described in this book is more accepting of “Englisch” ways than many of the other Amish books I’ve read. I liked the way the main character was able to return to her Amish home, yet still use the knowledge she had learned while living with her aunt in Philadelphia.View all my reviews

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