Skip to content

Emily C Gardner

Home
BLOG
About
The Shop
Faith
Life Seasons
Books & Reading
Create
Food
- Sugar-Free Living
- Bread
- Breakfast
- Entree
- Salads
- Snacks
- Sweets
- Holiday
- Recipe Index

Currently reading

Search for:

Recent Posts

The Wondering Years by Knox McCoy
25 Bunny Books perfect for Spring
17 Wintery Children’s Books
A Bible Literacy Book Flight
An Epistolary Book Flight

Join me on Instagram!

How’re y’all doing on your Christmas shopping? I am surprisingly ahead of the game this year. That’s in large part due to the fact that I give most people books. This book is going to be wrapped up for a couple people! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Elizabeth Weitzman kindly sent me a copy of her book (#gifted) Renegade Women in Film and TV. As someone whose knowledge of pop culture mostly come from @thepopcast, I wasn’t sure how interesting I would find it. But I loved the beautiful, quirky illustrations and fun tidbits about these powerhouse women. Highly recommend for yourself or someone on your list. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What books are you giving this year?

#gifted @waterbrookmultnomah // Prayer as a practice has always been hard for me - probably because I lean toward perfectionism and want to do it right or not at all. I knew I would connect with this book when the first paragraph began like this: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “The essence of prayer is the love of God, not our ability to pray. Which is not to say the mechanics of prayer don’t matter. The way we practice prayer matters very much. But without our deep realization that you and I are met in prayer by a immovable, sure, and relentless love, the mechanics of our practice inevitably slide toward primacy and weigh us down.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ May It Be So: Forty Days With The Lord’s Prayer is made up of forty short prayers paired with a contemplative image. Interspersed between those are short, story driven reflections on one phrase of the Lord’s Prayer. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I loved having a mix of prayers, imagery, meditations and suggested practices to help guide me through these forty days. I also appreciated how the Lord’s Prayer was treated like a means to dive deeper into the practice of prayer not the final word on how to pray. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Since it’s already broken into 40 days, this would be a fantastic thing to do during lent (but is wonderful anytime, really).

One of my intentions/goals/resolutions (whatever you want to call them) for the future of my reading life is to have less reading that needs to be done on a schedule. I spent most of October powering through some books I needed to read in order to not be a shmuck who says yes and then doesn’t follow through. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I had to set aside The Dearly Beloved to meet a few deadlines but I’m so excited it’s back in my sights. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thanks to the tagged publishers who sent me the other two books (that I’ll be reviewing soon 🎉). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Have you thought through any future goals for your reading life yet? (It am I the only crazy person who does that in November?)

I value being an attentive reader who has THOUGHTS about books (what self respecting English Major doesn’t?). But there’s something to be said for simply appreciating a good story. That’s it. The Dutch House is a really, really good story. Tom Hanks is a fantastic narrator. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What’s the last book you read that bowled you over with it’s story?

It’s the 1920s in Washington and the Great War has left Grace Halstad struggling to piece together the brokenness of her shattered dreams. Halstad House follows Grace as she works tirelessly to create a home for her spirited daughter Allie while running a boarding house on her own. Not only must she face off against ornery “biddies,” a slimy cousin, and a cantankerous rooster, Grace has to conquer demons of her own in order to maintain hope. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you enjoy Janette Oke - central female protagonist, inspirational fiction, gentle love stories - you will really connect with @christymartenson second novel! Thanks for letting me read it early, Christy! #halstadhouse

#gifted @heraldpress // If you’re a Bible reader, are there any books that are particularly intimidating to you? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I find the Old Testament to be a little intimidating. As I’ve gotten older and realized the importance of things like culture, context, genre when it comes to interpreting Scripture, some of the stories I learned by heart as a youngin’ in the church started to not fit the idea I had in my head about God and faith. When I open my Bible to the wild and crazy books that make up the OT, I’m afraid I won’t understand them, won’t make sense of them correctly. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’m grateful that God can speak in the midst of my confusion and desire and doubt. I’m also grateful for people who wade deep into these profound and perplexing pages in order to help others see God better. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Melissa Florer-Bixler has donned her waders in Fire By Night: Finding God In The Pages Of The Old Testament. Her stories and observations are an invitation to wrestle with our expectations of and experiences with the God we find in the OT. Sometimes I didn’t agree and I particularly loved that because I had to figure out why.

GIVEAWAY + REVIEW #freecopy // Knowing that I’m a big fan of Peter Heller (author of this summer’s The River), @scribd reached out to see if I’d like to review his Scribd Original, The Orchard, and host a stellar giveaway for YOU! Yes and yes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Scribd Originals allow established authors to explore their craft without the restraints of conventional publishing and popular opinion. The results are innovative, shorter pieces that dip into new styles and subjects. Not only do these originals give writers a place to experiment and play with their words, they give readers a way to stretch their comfort zone with less commitment. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In the newest #ScribdOriginal story, The Orchard, Heller examines friendship, mother-daughter relationships, love and loss against the backdrop of Vermont’s Green Mountains. On the cusp of motherhood, and in the safety of the rustic cabin that housed her own formative years, Frith loses herself in the reveries and nightmares of her childhood. The past and present are framed by her mother’s translations of poems by the Tang poet, Li Xue. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ While it did take me a few chapters to orient myself to Heller’s structure in The Orchard, the hallmarks of his writing remained intact - tight, lyrical descriptions of the natural world and a delicate treatment of human nature. Her remains a favorite. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ On to the giveaway... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ONE WINNER GETS: • 6-month subscription to Scribd (it’s awesome!) • pair of cozy reading socks • coffee tumbler • quote tote ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ TO ENTER: •like this post • follow @emilyreadsbooks + @scribd • tag a friend • extra entries for sharing in stories! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Winner will be randomly selected on 10/28. *US entries only* ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ BEST OF LUCK!

REVIEW // Thank you to @harperkids and @theshelfstuff for my free copy! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I love a cozy mystery but scary spooky isn’t my jam, so I always feel a little left out with the Halloween reading vibes. Not sure why it never occurred to me to explore middle grade books for some tame chills and thrills. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Shadow School - Archimancy by J.A. White was the perfect PG spooky book. You’ve got (mostly) friendly ghosts and a crazy old mansion turned school in NH that students shouldn’t be in a night. 👌🏻 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Cordelia has moved from CA to NH against her will and finds herself attending a chandeliered and dark hallwayed school where the teachers don’t last long. She soon discovers the school is haunted but not everyone can see these spectral inhabitants. Cordelia and two friends are confronted with the school’s stories past as they try to figure out why the ghosts are there and how to set them free. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ While there were a couple plot points I felt we’re skimmed over (this is Book 1, so maybe they’ll be explained better in books to come?), White definitely knows how to write a spooky but not scary story. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Any other good spooky but not scary books I should cram into my October TBR? 😂

Thank you to @harperkids for supplying me with such fantastic weekend reading. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’m partway through four books at the moment (not my fave reading style), but am I going to start one of these middle grades? 100 percent yes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What are you planning to read this weekend?

Home
BLOG
About
The Shop
Faith
Life Seasons
Books & Reading
Create
Food

Blog at WordPress.com.

Post to

Cancel

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy