March 2020 Word List

Every month (and other alternative timelines), The Lost Challenges provide new scavenger lists of up to 50 words to look for while reading whatever you choose to read (for example, the current list includes the word “emerald”). If I come across that word while reading, I mark it down. It’s fun to see how many I can find by the end of the month. This works well if you have more than one book going at a time like me, or read very fast. I do it along with another person I know and we compare lists to see who found the most words.

1. Apple ~ “My dear fellow, he will guard it as the apple of his eye.”  [The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes]

2. Avocado ~

3. Bird ~ And after luncheon they visited the aquarium and the top of the Singer Building and took the subway uptown to spend an hour with the bird of America in their habitats.  [Dear Enemy]

4. Bottle ~ They brought up three rifles, and each man took the lead of a camp of Indians, and passed the afternoon in a bottle-shooting contest, with a prize for the winning camp.  [DE]

5. Bug ~

6. Cactus ~

7. Clothes ~

8. Cucumber ~

9. Dress ~ “The colonel’s renovations are solid work, of excellent quality,” William remarked to me when we were briefly alone before dressing for dinner.  [Enchantress of Numbers]

10. Emerald ~

11. Envy ~

12. Evergreen trees ~

13. Eyes ~ My only eyeball flashes from its pit/ Like a red snake trapped in a sunken snare– /I do not like my eye.  [Broken Hearts]

14. Forest ~ The blessed peace and solitude of our Somerset estate was a welcome remedy for my exhaustion and strain, and after I had enjoyed a good rest, I joined my husband and children in romps through the gardens, long walks along the seashore, and exhilarating horseback rides through the forest.  [EofN]

15. Frog ~ Did it always eat frogs, and had it hurt its other foot?  [DE]

16. Gem ~

17. Glasses ~

18. Grapes ~

19. Grass ~ I inhaled deeply, taking in grass and earth and late-summer blossoms, and I imagined my father here as a young man full of hope and impatience and ambition, breathing in and breathing out, grinning as he envisioned how magnificent the estate he had inherited would be after he restored it to its former glory.  [EofN]

20. Insects ~

21. Ireland ~ “Can’t you get hands from Ireland?”  [North and South]

22. Ivy ~ An open davenport stood in the window opposite the door; in the other there was a stand, with a tall white china vase, from which drooped wreaths of English ivy, pale-green birth, and copper-colored beech-leaves.  [N&S]

23. Jade ~ “The saucy jade!”  [N&S]

24. Jealousy ~ The moon’s abroad– /She is not jealous of my fountain love; /She sheds her gentle light upon our tryst /And decks my love with diamonds of her own!  [BH]

25. Jelly bean ~

26. Kelly ~

27. Kiwi ~

28. Leaf ~ Side by side the two trunks stretched upward to the sky, separate but unified, their branches growing, intertwining, to form a single leafy green canopy.  [EofN]

29. Lettuce ~

30. Lime ~

31. Markers ~

32. Mint ~

33. Money ~ My pittance of pin money could not even begin to pay off my losses, so I borrowed from my mother, claiming that I needed the funds for books and fine gowns for court.  [EofN]

34. Moss ~

35. Nature ~ Jesus’ full human nature means God has said YES! to the whole of His creation.  [Becoming Worldly Saints]

36. Olive ~ I don’t know what our poor doctor would prefer; olive green with a mansard roof appears to be his taste.  [DE]

37. Onion ~

38. Paint ~ They brought the prize with them– an atrocious head of an Indian painted on leather.  [DE]

39. Parrot ~ Tell Jervis to send us some more of those purple pine-trees from Honduras; likewise some green parrots from Guatemala.  [DE]

40. Pea ~

41. Pear ~

42. Pepper ~ Please pepper your letters with stamps, inside and out.  [DE]

43. Shamrock ~

44. Snake ~ *See Eyes

45. Tennis ball ~

46. Trees ~ He was known as “The Wicked Lord,” and “the Devil Byron,” two interesting sobriquets to find on one’s family tree, to say the least.  [EofN]

47. Turtle ~

48. Watermelon ~

49. Woods ~ This was called the Devil’s Wood, planted by the Wicked Lord and strewn with statues of fauns and satyrs.  [EofN]

50. Yarn ~ “Why,” said he, “the Americans are getting their yarns so into the general market, that our only chance is producing them at a lower rate.”  [N&S]

 

 

For Such a Time as This

Hello, world.  This has been a crazy couple of weeks (or months, depending on where you live and when you’re reading this), hasn’t it?  Disease, economic downturn, fear and isolation have been the headlines of the day.  I’m usually one content enough to stay at home and go nowhere for a period of time, more than most perhaps.  But this has even me a little down and out, mainly because we have no idea how long this will continue.  But you didn’t come here to read that, I know.

One of the things I miss the most is my library right now.  But it’s thankful I am that I have collected and curated my own extensive home library.  I’ve documented my new additions throughout the years here on this blog on my Random Book Posts.  I’ve stressed and complained about the lack of room and my lack of self-control when it comes to buying more books (on all types of subjects from witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses to reading body language).  But I’m not complaining any longer!  I have plenty to read ’til the cows come home (or not).  Right now I’m reading “Germ,” by Robert Liparulo.  

The other day I was listening to the radio to Dr. Rosalie de Rosset, professor of literature, English, and Homiletics at Moody Bible Institute.  She recommended a Pandemic Reading Plan.  The constructive structure could help keep us all sane, educated and cultured!  I am particularly interested in “Wolf Hollow” by Lauren Wolk and “The Shadows,” by Nicholas Carr.  I wish she had recommended more fiction.  Of course, you can check out my Recommended Reading List!  🙂  Or, spend an afternoon and plan your own.  Have you always wanted to read the classics but never had the time?  Play a game where each book you read is by an author from a different continent.  Or decade.  Read children’s literary classics to your kids.  Find curated lists online of classic, thought-provoking novels that will take you to another world and work your way down the list!

Good books can take you to another place and point you to reality at the same time.

If you’re looking to relax while someone reads to you for a change, Voices of Calm provides short and free videos for both kids and adults.

 

 

February 2020 Word List

Every month (and other alternative timelines), The Lost Challenges provide new scavenger lists of up to 50 words to look for while reading whatever you choose to read (for example, the current list includes the word “group”). If I come across that word while reading, I mark it down. It’s fun to see how many I can find by the end of the month. This works well if you have more than one book going at a time like me, or read very fast. I do it along with another person I know and we compare lists to see who found the most words.

This month I found most of my words from the same book.  Even though the words had to do with auto racing, ironically the books I found most of them in took place pre-automobiles.

1. Accelerate ~

2. Accident ~ I repeated what her friend had said about my looks, but not wanting to seem a tattletale, I said that she had spoken ‘by accident.’  [Enchantress of Numbers]

3. Ambitious

4. Bank ~ He had been elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1816 and upon the death of his father, a prosperous banker, he had inherited a substantial estate worth one hundred thousand pounds.  [EoN]

5. Brakes/Braking ~

6. Caution ~ “I have no intention of spending the entire season in London,” she had cautioned me before we had left Fordhook.  [EoN]

7. Collision ~ “Thought fights with thought;/ out springs a spark of truth/ From the collision of the sword and shield.”  [North and South]

8. Competition ~ “Then your father proposed a competition, challenging each of the company, himself included, to write a horror story of their own.” [EoN]

9. Crew ~ She considered him the worst of the “Piccadilly crew”, as she called my father’s loyal friends and drinking companions who had led him into insobriety and degradation, undermining his marriage, contributing in no small way to the separation.  [EoN]

10. Crowd ~He ordered an extravagant new carriage fashioned after one belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte, who the year before had escaped exile on the island of Elba and had been welcomed by cheering crowds in Paris only to face defeat three months later at the Battle of Waterloo.  [EoN]

11. Dangerous ~”The imagination is not a dangerous thing, Ada darling– but that is as close as I shall come to speaking ill of your mother to you.” [EoN]

12. Defend ~ The poem was brilliantly wicked, but it was an unwarranted attack on a woman utterly unable to defend herself, and a gentleman simply did not treat a loyal member of his household that way.  [EoN]

13. Develop ~ “She must be brought up with structure and discipline, with rigorous attention to developing her faculties for logic and reason.” [EoN]

14. Distance ~ A dozen or more men and women surrounded our carriage at a respectful distance, noting the coat of arms painted on the door, rising on tiptoe to peer through the windows, drawing back in disappointment when they spied no passengers within.  [EoN]

15. Fans ~

16. Finish ~ If I finished a lesson promptly and well, I might have five extra minutes to play with Puff afterward.  [EoN]

17. Fuel ~ I had not felt so full of energy since before I had the cholera, since before I was married, as if electricity surged through my body, fueling my thoughts, my intuitive leaps, my comprehension.  [EoN]

18. Grid ~

19. Helmet ~

20. Inspection ~ “Did Agnes tell you she is engaged to be married?” my mother had asked me on their first day with us, pausing by my room to inspect me as I dressed for dinner.  [EoN]

21. Lap ~ But I had overestimated the subtlety of my scheme, and after my mother had been gone two days, my grandmother drew me onto her lap, kissed me, and said, “I miss Mrs. Grimes too, and I am certain she misses you, but your mother has decided, and that is that, so you might as well stop terrorizing these poor nurses.”  [EoN]

22. Length ~ “What shall I do with it?” Merle asked, pinching the book between her thumb and forefinger and holding it at arm’s length as if she carried a dead rat.  [EoN]

23. Mechanic ~ My only saving grace was that I excelled in my lessons, especially mathematics and the study of anything mechanical– interests that another, less intellectual, less progressive family would have encouraged in a son but disapproved of in a daughter.  [EoN]

24. Noise ~ I became anxious and timid, jumping at sudden noises and cowering in my room during thunderstorms.  [EoN]

25. Oval ~ Mrs. Somerville had strong, pleasing features in an oval face, her eyes a clear hazel, her lips full with a tint of a smile.  [EoN]

26. Owner ~ So the owner of the ancestral lace became worthy of something more than the languid exertion to be agreeable to a visitor, by which Mrs. Hale’s efforts at conversation would have been otherwise bounded.  [N&S]

27. Pass ~ It was when we were returning to the cathedral proper, passing along the covered walkway from the Lady Chapel to the north aisle of the chancel, that I first became aware of the bold, curious stares of other visitors.  [EoN]

28. Points ~ What had the point of my education been if not to suppress the imagination and enhance the intellect?  [EoN]

29. Position ~ The bird held still once more, the dancer pirouetted and glided back to her starting position, and after a moment the mechanical dance began anew.  [EoN]

30. Pressure ~ I suppose the atmosphere was not conducive to friendship, as we were under such pressure to look our best and impress with our conversation and delight with our accomplishments, all while competing for the elusive prize of a good match.  [EoN]

31. Qualify ~ Obediently I finished my French lesson, and then music, and then geography, and then my kindhearted governess agreed that working out the proportions for my wings qualified as mathematics, so she allowed me to race back to work.  [EoN]

32. Race ~ *See Qualify

33. Repair ~ Our plans lay in ruins, my hopes shattered beyond repair.  [EoN]

34. Safety ~ My mother murmured urgently to the dean’s wife, who quickly ushered us past the onlookers down a side corridor to solitude and safety.  [EoN]

35. Schedule ~ “Mr. Turner, if you please,” she said primly, “may I have a moment to discuss your remittance and your schedule for the rest of the spring?”  [EoN]

36. Speed ~ Puff’s stealth and pouncing velocity must exceed the birds’  takeoff speed, I concluded, unless she had caught them while they were sleeping.  [EoN]

37. Sponsor ~ Guided by palace attendants, we merged into the parade of young ladies in white gowns and proud, watchful sponsors who were shown into a salon to await the announcement of our names.  [EoN]

38. Start ~ Over many millennia and through many fits and starts, it slowly evolved “up to the reptile, up to the mammal.”  [Becoming Worldly Saints]

39. Team ~ Down here we have Cleveland sports teams.  [BWS]

40. Technology ~  “I believe that there is no aspect of our lives which cannot be improved by the uplifting benefits of technology.”  [EoN]

41. Throttle ~

42. Tire ~ “Oh! I hardly know what he is like,” said Margaret, lazily; too tired to tax her powers of description much.  [N&S]

43. Traction ~ But even the ingenious steam locomotive faced the possibility of being surpassed by newer technology when the Samuda brothers introduced the “traction piping” railway based on the principle of atmospheric propulsion, employing a system of vacuums, tubes, pistons and pumps to propel rail carriages along the track at an astonishing twenty-five miles per hour.  [EoN]

44. Vehicle ~ But there the heavy lumbering vehicles seemed various in their purposes and intent; here every van, every waggon and truck, bore cotton, either in the raw shape in bags, or in the woven shape in bales of calico.  [N&S]

45. Victory ~ It was not until much later that I spotted her dancing with Mr. Knight, and although I irrationally regretted ceding victory to my rival, I felt no sorrow over losing the gentleman himself.  [EoN]

46. Wall ~ Her heart did not still its fluttering till she was safe in the drawing-room, with the windows fastened and bolted, and the familiar walls hemming her round, and shutting her in.  [N&S]

47. Windshield ~

48.Winner ~

49. Wreck ~

50. Yellow (flag) ~ The thick yellow November fogs had come on; and the view of the plain in the valley, made by the sweeping bend of the river, was all shut out when Mrs. Hale arrived at her new home.  [N&S]

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I’d Follow on Social Media

This is a “Top Ten Tuesday” exercise…

A lot of characters from my favorite books probably wouldn’t be bothered by social media.  But of those I could imagine utilizing it, they are as follows…

 

January 2020 Word List

Every month (and other alternative timelines), The Lost Challenges provide new scavenger lists of up to 50 words to look for while reading whatever you choose to read (for example, the current list includes the word “group”). If I come across that word while reading, I mark it down. It’s fun to see how many I can find by the end of the month. This works well if you have more than one book going at a time like me, or read very fast. I do it along with another person I know and we compare lists to see who found the most words.

It’s hard to believe I’ve played this game for a year now!  This month I found a great many of the scavenger words, but did not beat my game partner who found nearly all of them.  When comparing notes at the end of the month I had to laugh at how some of the sentences don’t make a whole lot of sense out of context. 😀

1) Birthday ~ “I think Phoebe doesn’t care for the drapes of this life so much as some women do and as this is for her birthday let’s have the flowers, sturdy ones with stiff stems and good head pieces.”  [Andrew the Glad]

2) Cake ~ “Shall I have buttered biscuits or cake for tea?”  [AtG]

3) Celebrate ~ “I will give you two hundred and fifty dollars and you can let it be known that no such celebration ever was as the one his colored friends are going to give in honor of the election of Judge David Kildare– his united colored friends, Jeff, high and low.”  [AtG]

4) Decorate ~ She evidently had only the moment to stay and she took in his decorative schemes with the utmost delight.  [AtG]

5) Drink ~ Finally his music lore yielded a point, “It’s about a girl drinking– only with her eyes you understand– and–”

6) Event ~ “Suppose you put up a little faith on the event– be something of a sporting character and back David to win.”  [AtG]

7) Family ~ “Her mother raised Phoebe by keeping boarders, but failed to raise the mortgage on the family home.”  [AtG]

8) Food ~ “Has he sent any more food?” asked Mrs. Matilda as they all laughed.

9) Fun ~ “I’m tired, anyway, of having fun made of all the sacred things in life.”  [AtG]

10) Games ~ And as he walked slowly across the street and into the Buchanan home, Fate took up the hand of Andrew Sevier and ranged his trumps for a new game.  [AtG]

11) Gather ~ Mrs. Peyton Kendrick was there and the card-tables were deserted as the players, matrons, and maids, gathered around her and discussed excitedly the result of her “ways and means for the reunion” mission to the city council, the judge’s insult, and David Kildare’s reply.  [AtG]

12) Gifts ~ And after the confusion, the distress and joy of the afternoon out in the park when she and her gift had been accepted and acclaimed, there came days full of deep and perfect peace to Caroline Darrah Brown.  [AtG]

13) Glitter ~ She leant back and shut her eyes, and the tears welled forth, and hung glittering for an instant on the shadowing eye-lashes before rolling slowly down her cheeks, and dropping, unheeded, on her dress.  [North and South]

14) Group ~ The start for the Cliffs was to be made from the fork of the River Road, where cars, horses, traps and hampers were to be left with the servants, who by half past nine were already in an excited group around a blazing, dry oak fire, over which two score plump birds were ready to be roasted, attended by the autocratic Tempie.  [AtG]

15) Happy ~ “And she must never know, Major, never,” said David with distress in his happy eyes; “we must see to that.”  [AtG]  …Huh?

16) Home ~ *See Family

17) Kids ~ “I see it now– a lot of magazine stuff jogging the women up about the kids and all– and here Milly is a hero and we– the jolly fun-pokers.”  [AtG]

18) Jokes ~ “Protection at long distance is no joke.”  [AtG]

19) Joy ~ “They are wide-mouthed with joy; but it sliced two days to do it, which I might have spent on the grocery wagon.”  [AtG]

20) Laughter ~ She raised her eyes to his with laughter in their depths.  [AtG]

21) Love ~ “We loved him and let ourselves be laughed into his schemes.”  [AtG]

22) Memories ~ “Major,” said Caroline in a brave voice, “it killed him, the memory of it and not being able to bring me back to her people.”  [AtG]

23) Music ~ “…Major, last night his eyes fairly danced when I plagued Caroline into asking him to whom he wrote that serenade which I have set to music and sing for her so often.”  [AtG]

24) Party ~ An hour later a gay party was gathered around the table in the drawing-room.  [AtG]

25) Photos ~

26) Picnic ~

27) Presents ~ “Isn’t it lovely the way people are making them presents?”  [AtG]

28) Prizes ~

29) Punch ~ He had fought and punched and scuffled in the dawn for his bundle of papers; and he had fought and scuffled for all he had got of life for many years.  [AtG]

30) Quality ~ The determination in her voice matched that in his, and her eyes met his with a glance in which lay a new expression– not the old tolerant affection nor the guarded defense, but one with a quality of comradeship that steadied every nerve in his body.  [AtG]

31) Queen ~ “Why?” and this from Phoebe who had always granted interviews like a queen gives jewels!  [AtG]

32) Quick ~ “No,” answered Kildare quickly, covering his emotion with a laugh as he refused to meet Caroline Darrah’s eyes which wistfully asked the same question that Phoebe had voiced, “he is writing a poem– about– about,” his eyes roamed the room wildly for he had got into it, and his stock of original poem-subjects was very short.  [AtG]

33) Quiet ~ “David,” said the major quietly as he looked into the fire with his shaggy brows bent over his keen eyes, “the combination of a man heart and a woman heart makes a dangerous explosive at the best, but here are things that make it fatal.”  [AtG]

34) Refreshments ~

35) Relatives ~ But maybe a clue into God’s handling of Saul and David and their individual acts of disobedience can be found in their relative willingness and unwillingness to acknowledge their sin as sin.  [Teach Us to Want]

36) Relax ~ But it was not in the nature of David Kildare to be held against the grindstone of serious endeavor too long at a time, and in the midst of the turmoil he proceeded to plot for a brief and exciting relaxation for himself and his strenuous friends, and he chose Saturday for the accomplishment thereof.  [AtG])

37) Restaurant ~

38) Reveal ~ She swallowed the sudden lump and dipped her head, afraid to say what was in her heart and aching for him to reveal what was in his.  [The Doctor’s Lady]

39) Show ~ “It’ll be mostly a show-down of old General Darrah and the three governors I’m thinking.”  [AtG]

40) Shriek ~ Then just at that moment the old genie of the forests, who gloats through the seasons over myriads of wooings that are carried on in the fastnesses of his green woods, sounded a long, low, guttural groan that rose to a blood-curdling shriek, from the branches just above the head of the moon-mad man and girl.  [AtG]

41) Smile ~ “She is the very dearest thing I ever knew,” answered Caroline with a curly smile around her tender mouth.  [AtG]

42) Sparkle ~ The strong winter sun had warmed the flat slab on the south side and, sinking down with a sigh of delight, she embraced her knees and bent over to gaze into the sparkling litttle waterfall that gushed across the foot of the boulder.  [AtG]

43) Streamers ~

44) Surprise ~ Surprise rippled through Priscilla.  [TDL]

45) Tickets ~ Scrawled letters read: “Notice to all persons takin wood from this landin, please leave a ticket payable to the subscriber, for $1.75 a cord.”  [TDL]

46) Toast ~ And they drank his toast with enthusiasm.  [AtG]

47) Wallet ~

48) Watch ~ After a little while Caroline Darrah rose from a dummy and spoke in a low pleading tone to Polly, who had been watching her game, standing ready to score.  [AtG]

49) Welcome ~ “If there had had been any of her immediate family alive we might have felt differently– but her friends– I didn’t know that I would be welcomed.”  [AtG]

50) Year ~ “I’ve been taking them for nearly forty years.”  [AtG]

 

 

 

 

December 2019 Word Scavenger List

I just now realized I never posted this for the last month of last year!

Every month (and other alternative timelines), The Lost Challenges provide new scavenger lists of up to 50 words to look for while reading whatever you choose to read (for example, the current list includes the word “coat”). If I come across that word while reading, I mark it down. It’s fun to see how many I can find by the end of the month. This works well if you have more than one book going at a time like me, or read very fast. I do it along with another person I know and we compare lists to see who found the most words.

1.  Affection ~ It was the first time Creighton had heard Mary speak: a testament to her affection for the young writer.  [Million Dollar Baby]

2.  Attack ~ This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt: “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and get ready, for the sword devours those around you.'”  [Jeremiah 46:13-14]

3.  Beauty ~ But the obedience to which it calls God’s people is obedience inspired by the marvel of God and the beauty of His commands.  [Teach Us to Want]

4.  Breed ~ “I have decided positively that women are just half-breed angels with devil markings all over their dispositions.”  [Andrew the Glad]

5.  Calm ~ “Reverend Price and I calmed him down some and took him home, but we agreed it wasn’t safe to leave him alone in that condition.”  [MDB]

6.  Care ~ “When he came home from the hospital, I took care of him.”  [MDB]

7.  Chase ~ Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Edom from its land in an instant.  [Jeremiah 49:9]

8.  Claws ~ “IT was tall, and black, and hairy,” said the Story Girl, her eyes glowing with uncanny intensity in the red glare of the fires, “and IT lifted one great, hairy hand, with claws on the end of it, and clapped William Cowan, first on one shoulder and then on the other, and said, ‘Good sport to you, brother.'”  [The Story Girl]

9.  Coat ~ Lieutenant Wilcox was a fair-haired, heavyset, fiftyish man clad in the obligatory rumpled detective’s trench coat.  [MDB]

10.  Entertain ~ Her delight in the round of entertainments in her honor and the innocent and slightly bewildered adventures she brought the major for consultation kept him in a constant state of interested amusement.  [AtG]

11.  Faithful ~ Long before the introduction of the law of Moses and its 613 commands, the Scriptures declare that Abraham was faithful and obedient: “Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”  [TUtW]

12.  Fight ~ “You’ll have to fight me, if you keep praying against me,”  said Felix.  [TSG]

13.  Food ~ “Before my death-defying stunt, I fortified myself by taking a few vitamin supplements and eating foods rich with the stuff: bananas, apricots, spinach, that sort of thing.”  [MDB]

14.  Fur ~ After many long months traveling with the fur trappers, he’d seen enough abuse of the native women to realize the depths to which a man could sink when he was lonely.  [The Doctor’s Lady]

15.  Gentle ~ She reciprocated at first but then, with a sudden capriciousness, pushed him away gently.  [MDB]

16.  Hair ~ Her eyes were tinged with red, her hair was slightly mussed and she was wrapped in an overly large bathrobe in a familiar pattern.  [MDB]

17.  Hide ~ “You’re the stupidest idiot I know,” Eli’s stepfather said as he scraped at the hide and didn’t miss a stroke.  [TDL]

18.  Hiss ~ “Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent as the enemy advances in force; they will come against her with axes, like men who cut down trees.”  [Jeremiah 46:22]

19.  Hunt ~ “Good-by, good luck– and good hunting~” called the major after him.  [AtG]

20.  Independent ~ The split-band compressor affects an input signal independently by splitting the audio into multiple bands, as needed, and then recombining the outputs of the bands into a single mono or stereo broadband signal.  [Audio Basics]

21.  Jaw ~ Marjorie set her jaw defiantly.  [MDB]

22.  Jump ~ When the light from his bedroom fell upon the figure, it jumped.  [MDB]

23.  Kind ~ ” You seem to be sincere and kind and eager– but those qualities won’t help you survive the challenges of living in a foreign land.”  [TDL]

24.  Kitten ~ This time her gray blue eyes were large and soft, like those of a kitten.  [TDL]

25.  Lick ~ “Last night, just at twelve, he began to lick his paws.”  [TSG]

26.  Loving ~ The blessing of God’s people is meant for at least two reasons: first, to bind His people into loving communion with Him.  [TUtW]

27.  Mate ~ As Caroline Darrah spoke she swayed the long-stemmed rose she held in her hand and tipped it against one of its mates in the vase.  [AtG]

28.  Nine ~ “Someone might have noticed Gloria or Philips sneaking back home at nine in the morning.”  [MDB]

29.  Odor ~ Even though he’d grown up with the reek of the tannery in every pore of his skin, he didn’t want to spend the next week trying to erase the odor from his clothes and hair.  [TDL]

30.  Outside ~ Once outside, Jameson pulled his car keys from his coat pocket.  [MDB]

31.  Quick ~ “Not that I’m tired,” she added quickly, “but Mary might need me.”  [MDB]

32.  Rescue ~ In his company, she reverted into a retiring, fragile little girl wanting rescuing from the cruel, cold world.  [MDB]

33.  Reward ~ Nighttime brought its own rewards: the handsome policeman who stayed for dinner gave her a piggyback ride around the house, the tall man who talked funny told her a silly made-up bedtime story, and Marjorie tucked her into bed without making her take a bath.  [MDB]

34.  Rub ~ Eli rubbed a hand across the scruff on his face, hoping to hide his embarrassment at being caught staring at the woman.  [TDL]

35.  Scratch ~ He found her in a tiny closet of a bedroom at the end of the hall, taking clothes from a scratched-up dresser and piling them onto an unmade twin bed.  [MDB]

36.  Stray ~ “Almost to the point of paralyzation,” answered David as he filled a stray pipe with some of the major’s most choice heart-leaf tobacco.  [AtG]

37.  Stroke ~ ” He had suffered a stroke that left him very weak.”  [MDB]

38.  Swat ~

39.  Tail ~ “You know Pat doesn’t like to have his tail meddled with.”  [TSG]

40.  Tame ~ Without his hat, the wild, untamable waves of his hair had rebelled against his obvious attempts to smooth them down.  [TDL]

41.  Tease ~ “Marjorie, have you developed a soft spot in your heart for Mrs. Van Allen?” Creighton teased.  [MDB]

42.  Toys ~ “She’ll be needing clean clothes for tomorrow, and there’s some toys she likes to play with.”  [MDB]

43.  Treats ~ “My treat, of course.”  [MDB]

44.  Unwanted ~ The noise gate is used primarily as a fix-it tool to reduce or eliminate unwanted low-level noise from amplifiers, ambience, rumble, noisy tracks, and leakage.  [AB]

45.  Vet/Veterinarian ~

46.  Wash ~ “When I woke Pat was washing his face, and he was taken a whole saucerful of milk.”  [TSG]

47.  Water ~ I wake to clean water running from my faucet.  [TUtW]

48.  Whiskers ~

49.  Wild ~ The cross of Jesus Christ assures us of this wildly improbably proposition that God can remain good in the face of disfiguring loss, even death, and the cross defends the truth that “sometimes God seems to be killing us when He’s actually saving us.”  [TUtW]

50.  Yard ~

 

 

My Reading Life Ahead of Me, 2020

Hi, guys!  Have you made your reading goals for 2020?  I have a couple of things I’d like to accomplish.  I seem to do well at the “2 books a month rate” and I have particular reason to change it, so I’ll just leave it at that.  Of course that doesn’t prevent my TBR to increase at an alarming exponential rate!  Sometimes I think I like collecting TBRs than I do actually reading.  Am I the only one like this, and what is the reason do you think?

I’ve made out my annual fiction list weeks ago, and some of the highlights I’m hoping to get to are as follows:

It looks like I have a lot of vintage mysteries in store for me!

Then, I have some non-fiction books I really want to get to this year:

My Word of the Year 2020 is ‘DWELL’, so a lot of the books I want to read has to do with being in the moment.  Another aspect of that is journaling, which I have made a renewed resolution to do.  My journaling life the last few years has felt rather blah.  I feel the desire to do things differently, and so I have checked a stack of books out of the library, as well as peruse my own home library, on books pertaining to the subject.  Something in line with art journaling is the direction I want to go in.  Right now, I’m reading “A Trail Through Leaves: The Journal as a Path to Place,”  by Hannah Hinchman and am really enjoying it!  I’m also having fun with a cute little coffee table read, “Cosy: The British Art of Comfort,” by Laura Weir.

What will be new on the blog?  At this point, I don’t foresee any changes on the horizon.  The good news is that I read a lot of books last year (for me, anyway), so there will be more book reviews coming.  Since I want to spend more time reading and journaling, I might spend less time blogging so there might be less of other types of posts, such as movie reviews.  I do love me a good movie, but I can’t do everything I’d like and some things need paring down.

One thing that has been helping me celebrate the completion of a good book is sharing via goodreads book groups.  There are a few games I partake in, and am currently playing my first team challenge reading game.  That means, I’d best get off the www and crack open the book on my nightstand!  Excuse me!

 

 

2019 Year in Review + Favorites Awards!

I guess I have myself pretty well pegged by now, as I completed exactly the amount of books I set out for myself in 2019, which was 24 books.  That was more than I had read in the previous 4 years, so hooray for me! 😀  Do you reach any reading milestones?

I read some great Christian living non-fiction books this year, tried a lot of new-to-me authors, did some rereading and even stepped out into the cozy mystery genre a few times.  I also decided to quit my third-party book selling on Amazon, and haven’t been attending as many used book sales.  That freed up more space around here for my ever-growing home library.  I now have two half shelves of space (but not for long)!

This is the part of the show where I say “This is the part of the show where I answer silly questions with silly titles from silly (or not so silly) books…”  I play this every year and it’s a real blast!  This year, there’s a few more questions thrown in.  I will try not to repeat:

Describe yourself:  “This Is My Body,” by Ragan Sutterfield

Describe where you currently live:  “Uncle Sam’s Plantation,” by Star Parker

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:  “Ashenden,” by Elizabeth Wilhide

Your favourite form of transportation: “Slow,” by Brooke McAlary

What’s the weather like:  “Rhythms of Rest,” by Shelly Miller

You and your friends are: “Between Us Girls,” by Sally John

You fear:  “The End of Law,” by Therese Down

What is the best advice you have to give: “The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success,” by Wayne Breitbarth

Thought for the day: “Distinctly You,” by Cheryl Martin

My soul’s present condition: “Seated with Christ,” by Heather Holleman

How I would like to die:  “Love’s Awakening,” by Laura Frantz

2019 can be summed up as: “Respect for Acting,” by Uta Hagen

If you looked under my couch you would see: “The Shape of Sand,” by Marjorie Eccles

At a party you’d find me (with/in etc.): “The Country Beyond,” by James Oliver Curwood

At the end of a long day I need: “The Enchanted Hour,” by Meghan Cox Gurdon

My fantasy job is (to be): “Million Dollar Baby,” by Amy Patricia Meade

To fight zombies, I’d arm myself with: “The Woman in White,” by Wilkie Collins

A happy day includes: —-

On my bucket list is/are: “The Fortunes of Captain Blood,” by Rafael Sabatini

If I was competing in the 2020 Japan Olympics/Paralympics, my chosen sport would be: “Rooted,” by Banning Liebscher

Almost filled in all the blanks!  It’s more fun when you have a longer list of titles to work with.  What would your answers be?

Arranged by category, my 2019 Favorites Awards are as follows:

2019 Most Resonated With- All my life I have spent comparing myself to others and wanting perfection. I needed such an encouraging read.

2019 Best Humor- Sigmund Brouwer got my funny bone when I read his books as a kid and continues to strike me funny. Although a little weak in plot, the characters and witty banter was very entertaining!

2019 Most Thought-Provoking- I read this early on in the year, but the ramifications were far-reaching because I’m still making a weekly effort to rest, adjusting and readjusting the details to do it well. I also have followed up the book by subscribing to the author’s newsletters.

2019 Most Beautifully Written; 2019 Best Atmosphere- Mervyn Peake is simply the best. Settings and characters, sometimes seemingly without a reason for their existence but simply for the beauty of the idea of the thing and the words used to describe them.

2019 Best Romance- A girl, a lawbreaker, and a dog… Will love or justice win?

2019 Most Admirable Heroine- The best thing is that this book was based on the true life story of Elizabeth Keckly, who served as fashion seamstress to many of Washington D.C.’s elite, and the official dressmaker of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Her story doesn’t stop at the White House, though. As she faces many trials throughout her life, she exudes loyalty, resourcefulness, independence and strength.

2019 Best Non-Fiction- It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to an audiobook, and the author was well directed in her reading. I listened like it was a podcast and took scads of notes because her research and facts were so interesting.

2019 Best Drama; 2019 Most Admirable Hero; 2019 Best Villain; 2019 Best Story Plot; 2019 Most Fun Read- There’s so much contained in this masterpiece. The characters were memorable; the suspense fantastic! Walter Hartright wins as hero of the year, sacrificing his immediate happiness for the love of his heart. On the flip side, Count Fosco gets my vote for best villain. The psychological thrills are plenty!

What fiction book won my heart this year?…

#2 in the Gormenghast Series was just so much fun to read and though some books may come and go, not many leave such an impression as the world Mervyn Peake created, on the edge of insanity and pure bliss.

Here’s to another wonderful year of reading; may it be informative and full of wonder and imagination!

 

Random Books Post: Wrapping Up from 2019

I’ll be posting soon with my New Year’s Looking Back & Looking Forward posts, but I wanted to get this random book stack catalogued and onto my shelves first.  Not all of these will live with me for a long time, but some of these just came into my hands and I thought I’d rather read them or look at them as not.

One of my favorite subjects. Life is in the details!

An unusual acquistion for me as I usually don’t read contemporary secular memoirs. But I’m curious.

Interesting coffee table book.

Such beautiful pictures!

I am definitely making room for reading this book this year!

In honor of my own dear Raggedy Ann.

A Christian novel about Godiva? Hmm… Author’s family history tied into it has me intrigued.

Right up my alley!

Wish my copy was this pretty.

I’m amazed at the wonder of paper craft and hope I can make my own creations some day.

Why not?

So glad to find this classic!

For when I run out of intellectual stimulation.

Because I’m not.

I’m not sure if I’ll like this one or not, but Terry Kay has been catching my attention.

Sequel to “Kidnapped.”

Interested in hearing his theological argumentation.

My series collection is complete!

This looks to be a later and better edition that the one I originally read.

Disappointed to find a serious crack in this spine. 😦

I was so happy to come across a few Raggedy Ann books at the book sale.

You just don’t find these books every day.

Will be a short look-through.

Well, when the books were basically .05 a piece, I couldn’t very well leave it behind.

I have never heard of this author but the book looks so interesting.

I am now the proud owner of a Cook’s Illustrated tome.

Not sure why a man finished writing this.

I haven’t read anything by this author yet, but these books are intriguing. They are a sort of mixed media epistolary.

Not sure if I’ll glean anything from this, but it was free.

I have happy memories of reading this series when I was around 8 years old.

Want to read more about my dear old homestate!

Interested in making my gut happy.

Contemplative Christianity… I’m (usually) in.

To healthify my second brain.

I don’t come from a liturgical church background and just would like to know more.

Reference for later.

I’m not a huge fan of Yancey’s style, but the subject of this has me interested.

Oooh! I can’t wait to read this!

My precious!

Seeking to eat healthier…

Vintage book which also came with The Heart of Midlothian.

I’ve parted with my LOR series, but I do keep on a few of Tolkien’s minor works.

Really?! Okay!

This is Part 1.

Seeking to understand the British way of life and mentality.

Quentin Schultz’ forward hooked me here.

I loved this book years ago!

 

November 2019 Word Scavenger List

Every month (and other alternative timelines), The Lost Challenges provide new scavenger lists of up to 50 words to look for while reading whatever you choose to read (for example, the current list includes the word “deadly”). If I come across that word while reading, I mark it down. It’s fun to see how many I can find by the end of the month. This works well if you have more than one book going at a time like me, or read very fast. I do it along with another person I know and we compare lists to see who found the most words.

I won for the second month in a row!  This time, I did better than I ever have before:

1)  Airplane ~ “My father made his fortune in England, manufacturing airplane parts.”  [Million Dollar Baby]

2)  Arms ~ “There’ld be no harm in having the men stand to their arms on the island tonight.”  [The Fortunes of Captain Blood]

3)  Attack ~ “Because these pirates dare not venture a frontal attack against your heavily armed fort of Santo Antonio here, they hope to march overland from San Patrico and take you in the rear.”  [FCB]

4)  Authority ~ “Don Ilario is the man in authority now.”  [FCB]

5)  Battle ~ Almost every night battle, murder, or sudden death played some part in her visions.  [The Story Girl]

6)  Bullet ~ “The doctor found the bullet during examination.”  [MDB]

7)  Bunk ~

8)  Chief ~ So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard.  [Jer. 30:13-14]

9)  Chopper ~

10)  Combat ~

11)  Courage ~ And it was actually with laughter that they set about reloading, their courage resrrected by that first if slight success.  [FCB]

12)  Danger ~ It had been sprung, and was not merely useless, but a source of danger.  [FCB]

13)  Deadly ~ Under the compulsion of that tone and of the eyes so blue and cold that looked with deadly menace into his own, Tim’s resistance crumpled, and obediently he climbed down into the hold.  [FCB]

14)  Defend ~ She can defend everything she decides to do because she has wanted to.  [Teach Us to Want]

15)  Deploy ~

16)  Discipline ~ “I will discipline you, but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”  [Jer. 30:11)

17)  Duty ~ A good, but unexamined life will be high on duty and not likely to celebrate the odd paradoxes, the ironic coincidences, and the humor of being dirt…  [C.S. Lewis’ Little Book of Wisdom]

18)  Enlist ~

19)  Exercise ~ When our group became too large, we moved to the school parking lot, and sometimes up to 50 people came to exercise.  [Seated with Christ]

20) Fierce ~  “And he plunged fiercely in.”  [TSG]

21)  Forces ~ But on Monday morning the exasperated Admiral once more plastered the Island with shot, and then stood boldly in to force a passage.  [FCB]

22)  Front ~ *see Attack

23)  Government ~ “It amounts to a government charter for a traffic against which there was a government decree.”  [FCB]

24)  Guard ~ The army of the king of Babylon was then beseiging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.  [Jer. 32:2]

25)  Guns ~  Her poop-rail had been shorn away, and her swivel-guns had gone with it overboard.  [FCB]

26)  Hero ~ Across the harbor and into this scene of heroic activity came towards evening Don Clemente Pedroso, greatly daring and more yellow-faced than ever.  [FCB]

27)  Intelligence ~ “Even if it were not, I might without boasting assert, and you, I am sure, are of intelligence to perceive that the first ship to thrust her bowsprit across that line will be sunk before she can bring a gun to bear.”  [FCB]

28)  Invasion ~ Jameson flinched slightly, then carried through with his invasion.  [MDB]

29)  Join ~ “We have all the apples in and haven’t much to do just now and we are having lots of fun but we wish you were here to join in.”  [TSG]

30)  Loss ~ How often– will it be for always?– how often will the vast emptiness astonish me like a complete novelty and make me say, ‘I never realized my loss till this moment’?  [CSLLBW]

31)  Loyalty ~ -Loyalty  [The Power of Visual Storytelling]

32)  March ~ *see Attack

33)  Mission ~ If every street in the world had people on mission to love their neighbors and see them as a specific assignment from God to love, protect, and belong to, how would the world change?  [SwC]

34)  Muscle ~ She enjoyed participating in the investigation, relished the opportunity to flex her sleuthing muscles, and even found some measure of joy in sharing Creighton’s company.  [MDB]

35)  Operation ~ Wolverstone’s mistrust of the operation of the Spanish conscience continued unabated, and nourished his contempt of Blood’s faith in the word that had been pledged.  [FCB]

36)  Order ~ He turned to beckon some of the hands in the waist and issued orders briefly whilst the fruit-seller was climbing the accomodation-ladder with a basket of yams balanced on his head.  [FCB]

37)  Parade ~ Even now, they count the straggling parade of kids– one, two three, four, FIVE?  [TUTW]

38)  Patrol ~ He could have been at the theater earlier, but he had spent the past ten minutes scouting the area for a glimpse of Jameson’s patrol car, as it was Creighton’s only means of knowing whether the couple had followed through with their plans.  [MDB]

39)  Peace ~ His single eye remained apprehensively watchful in the three or four peaceful days that followed, but it was not until the morning of Friday, by when, the mast repaired, they were almost ready to put to sea, that he observed anything that he could account significant.  [FCB]

40)  Protect ~ “In short, that it is not to the honour of the flag of France that it should protect a horde of brigands.”  [FCB]

41)  Ready ~ *see Peace

42)  Rifle ~ He was suddenly distracted by the sound of Marjorie rifling through the pages she had placed, face down, on the desk after reading them.  [MDB]

43)  Rounds ~ Round and round.  [CSLLBW]

44)  Security ~ Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.  [Jer. 30:10]

45)  Training ~ Nor he would account sufficient the measures taken in emplacing the guns anew, so that all but six still left to command the Dragon’s Jaw were now trained upon the harbor.  [FCB]

46)  Troops ~ The sixty that remained whole were resolute and steady men– there were no better troops in the world than those of the Spanish infantry– but reduced to helplessness by the bewildered incompetence of the young officer in command  [FCB]

47)  Veteran ~

48)  War ~ Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future.  [CSLLBW]

49)  Yelling ~ We were much taken aback to find that Mrs. Ray came to the gate instead of Judy, and rather sourly demanded what we were yelling at.  [TSG]

50)  Zone ~