Monday, May 30, 2011

MONDAY AND TUESDAY LEFT to ENTER GIVEAWAY FOR "The Story of Beautiful Girl" by Rachel Simon!



A REMINDER!!! MONDAY AND TUESDAY LEFT TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY FOR "The Story of Beautiful Girl, a Novel" by Rachel Simon!
Don't miss this opportunity to get a Book OR E-Book, winner's choice, and the Author's giveaway of an Audio Book! This book is TOO good to miss! It will keep you up LATE INTO THE NIGHT wanting MORE! Trust me, I read the book!
This is SUCH a wonderful love story intertwining four special people and a nurse who knows the part of the secret! You can't stop turning these pages!
Did you get your entry in? You have until Tuesday, May 31st, at 11:59pm! Act now so you don't forget!
Also, check out Rachel Simnon's website: www.rachelsimon.com

Friday, May 27, 2011

UPDATE ON GIVEAWAYS FOR 'The Story of Beautiful Girl' by Rachel Simon

UPDATE!!! NOW THERE ARE "2" Giveaways for "The Story of Beautiful Girl, A Novel" by Rachel Simon!
There is the Audio Book AND 1 Book or Ebook! Your choice if you win!!!
Now go on to the PREVIOUS POST!!! It's all about the book!!! That is what you really want to know about!!! My review is also there as well!
ALSO - GO TO THE GIVEAWAY "STORY OF BEAUTIFUL GIRL, A NOVEL" BY RACHEL SIMON TO "ENTER" AND LEARN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOK AND RACHEL SIMON'S WEBSITE!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

"The Story of Beautiful Girl, a Novel", by Rachel Simon

Currently #30 on the New York Times Best Seller List!!! 1st Edition Printing is SOLD OUT! 2nd Edition Printing is now ready after ONLY '2' WEEKS AFTER BEING RELEASED!!!
MY REVIEW: EXTRAORDINARY! BREATHTAKING! This book is SUCH A DELIGHT! I have never read anything so loving in my life. The bond all the characters have to each other in this book is not come by every day. This 'is' what this book is, it is about LOVE. The FIRST CHAPTER of this book is available on the Author's Website, which is: www.rachelsimon.com Go on over to her site and read it. Trust me, I would NOT steer you wrong! It IS worth your time! As you read this first chapter alone, this book is captivating, spellbinding. It draws you right in and you can't put it down, but ONLY for the demands of life. Even then, if you can get OUT of the demands of life - do it! I would plan on that! This book outshines ANY OTHER BOOK I HAVE EVER READ so far!
Since you read the first chapter, we know Lynnie had a baby and she gave it to The Widow. We know that Lynnie spoke two words to her, which were "Hide her." Now we want to know if Lynnie gets in trouble at the institution or if she gets out of the institution she is in? Does #42 survive the chase? Does he get away? Does he get to Lynnie? Does the Widow continue to care for the baby? How is the baby and how does the baby grow up with a widowed, retired, school teacher? Does the Widow continue to care for the baby? Does she give it to Foster Care? How is this arthritic retired widow able to meet the demands of this newborn baby? Can she keep up with the baby? Can she keep up with the baby once it becomes mobile, if she keeps the baby? Who will help her? Are they all reunited? WHAT HAPPENS??? You keep reading and can't stop! Rachel Simon writes this in such a way you NEED to know MORE! You want the book to go faster, but then again you don't because you want to savor EVERY word of this book!
One of Rachel Simon's other books, "Riding the Bus with My Sister", was made into a movie by Hallmark Hall of Fame. "This book" could make the BIG SCREEN! I don't say that lightly.
Rachel has written the 'most' riveting book out there! DON'T MISS THIS BOOK! Get it TODAY! You CANNOT WAIT! If you do, you only have yourself to blame! Make sure you have enough time to read this book over a weekend, at least! Don't take it to the beach, take it somewhere nice and comfy, where no one will bother you. Settle down with your favorite coffee or tea, and enjoy this to no end! This book WILL stay with you to no end! It may change the way you think! Divine! Breathtaking! There are not words enough to describe 'how' wonderful this is! Again, I don't say this lightly.
Laurie Carlson
Please go to the author's webpage! http://www.rachelsimon.com

Tuesday, May 24, 2011


Wanda E Brunstetters Amish Friends Cookbook Desserts by Wanda Brunstetter
Release Date: 07-01-2011

This book is a delicious collection of delectable, tasty sounding, homemade desserts worth making. They are collected by Amish friends of Wanda Brunstetter’s, the author. I wrote down several recipes to put in my recipe book as keepers! I want to try these out for myself. The desserts in this cookbook are an assortment of goodies you can make with ingredients/staples you probably already have in your cupboards. This is an excellent cookbook to keep in your cookbook library. You will not want to lend this book out to your friends or family because you may not get it back! This book was provided to me for review by NetGalley in exchange for a review, in my opinion, either negative or positive. This is a positive 5 star book!
Laurie Carlson

Natural Patchwork: 26 Stylish Projects Inspired by Flowers, Fabric, and Home by Suzuko Koseki



Natural Patchwork, 26 Stylish Projects Inspired by Flowers, Fabrics, and Home by Suzuko Koseki

This book contains 26 beautifully completed quilted projects, with all the instructions and patterns for every project included. In my opinion, the photos of these projects in this book are absolutely gorgeous, as are all the projects. They are set against a background of old fashioned scenery, and are also photographed outdoors in nature’s beauty. The author states these quilted projects were from the time she spent with her Grandmother, that she fondly remembers, and it is as if she is going back in time. She welcomes you to these projects as her ‘Quilt Diary.’
This book was first printed in 2008, and translated into English in 2011. The first part of this book contains photos of the finished projects, and the rest of is the many patterns for all of the projects shown. The only disadvantage to this book, as it is with most ‘all’ pattern books, is you need to use a copy machine to enlarge most of the patterns. You will have to carefully plan your quilted projects out ahead of time before going to the copy machine to make sure you have all the pattern pieces you need to eomplete your project enlarged
These beautiful quilted projects in this book has patterns ranging is from easy to more difficult. The instructions to make all the different patterns are very clear, concise, and detailed, much more so than many other books I have ever come across in this genre. It takes talent to explain ‘how-to-make’ handcrafted items with the ease that this author does. She has really done well with this. You should be aware that some of these instructions are for ‘hand sewing’, however, the author makes mention of this, and does mention that these ‘can’ be done on the sewing machine as well.
This book will be thoroughly enjoyed throughout time. This book is a book to keep in your library and refer to often as you come across different types of quilting you may want to do. This is also a book you will want to keep, if it is used as a future reference tool, or even just to look at over and over again. It is truly a beautiful and enjoyable book.
This book was provided to me by Shambhala Publishers, through NetGalley in exchange for a written review.
Laurie Carlson

A Time to Heal by Barbara Cameron



A Time to Heal, by Barbara Cameron

Chris, one of the main characters of this book, had been injured overseas in Afghanistan during the war while in the Marines. He met a woman, Jenny, who was working in the medical unit in Afghanistan during the war as well, who was also injured and was staying in the Veterans Hospital. She is from Paradise, (Lancaster County), Pennsylvania. She is Amish. She told him all about where she was from, that she was Amish, about her family and more. While they had both been recovering from their injuries, he decided he wanted to go and visit the area where she lived as he thought it would be so peaceful it would be the perfect place to finish recovering from his injuries, both physical as well as mental. He had been having flashbacks from the war, PTSD, (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and needed a nice, quiet, peaceful place to fully recover. Throughout the book, he gets flashbacks from the war. Jenny even explains to him he is suffering from PTSD, and exactly what the disorder is.
When he does arrive in Paradise, (Lancaster County), he does end up at Jenny’s parent’s home. Is this a coincidence or is it God at work? He ends up staying at her family's home and helping as a farmhand as well. He likes this. He likes the work very much as well.
It is here that he meets Jenny's sister, Hannah. He found himself starting to have feelings for her that did not go away. He knew he was an 'Outsider', (meaning he is not Amish, nor was he raised Amish,) so would he be accepted by the Amish Community? This even prompted a visit to Hannah’s family from the local Bishop of that community. Did Hannah love him back? Could she love him back since he is an Outsider? He found he was quite able to readjust and follow the Amish ways of life very easily. He was already living the Amish way of life since her arrived in Paradise. He loved being here. He liked everything about being Amish.
Suddenly, bad things start to happen around the farm. He felt responsible because he believed he knew who it was causing these terrible things to happen around the farm, including Hannah being injured very badly. He starts to worry he has brought trouble with him (he thinks he knows who it is that is causing this trouble) and he decides to leave. What about Hannah? He did fall in love with her, was she in love with him? It would be safer for Hannah and her family if he left.
There is more to this story, but I cannot say anymore without giving spoilers. You must read this love story. It is so good! I found myself lost in this story, turning page after page as it was such an enjoyable read.
The author, Barbara Cameron, writes a lovely love story. Her writing is very easy to follow, and very descriptive at that. She paints a picture with her words so well you can easily envision where the characters are at, what they are doing, and the beauty and peacefulness of the land. She is truly talented at this.
In my opinion, I enjoyed this Amish series of books much better than some of the other famous authors who write Amish books. I believe this author is able to mix the old ways of the Amish into the current, modern days of ‘now’ with much more ease and a lot nicer than some of the other authors.
I give this book an overall rating of a 4. The time spent reading this book is very enjoyable and worthwhile to spend at it. I do plan on reading more from this author. I do look forward to her 3rd book in this series.
I received this ebook format to read from United Methodist Publishing House through NetGalley in exchange for a written review. No monies were exchanged whatsoever.
Laurie Carlson

Monday, May 23, 2011

AUTHOR INTERVIEW! RICHARD BARAGER'S "ALTAMONT AUGIE"



Here is the author's link! For Richard Barager's "Altamont Augie" Book Trailer AND MP3 Format Songs in the order they appear in the book! www.richardbarager.com

Scroll down a little further and you can read my Book Review I wrote on the book! Click on the Tab above that says "Author Interviews"!
Enjoy!




***Watch for this Wednesday, May 25th- Tuesday, May 31st, for the "Splash Into Summer" Blog Hop! I will be reviewing the book, “The Story of Beautiful Girl”, by Rachel Simons!
GIVEAWAY: AUDIOBOOK of “The Story of Beautiful Girl” by Rachel Simons!!
www.lauriehere.blogspot.com

Thursday, May 19, 2011

"Leaving", A Bailey Flanigan Series, Book One, by Karen Kingsbury


"Leaving, A Bailey Flanigan Series, Book One", by Karen Kingsbury
Out of all the Karen Kingsbury books she has written, I enjoyed this book the absolute most out of all of them.
This book is about Bailey Flanigan’s hopes and dreams for her future now that she is an adult. She will be auditioning and trying to get a part as a singer and a dancer in New York City’s Broadway play called “Hairspray”. This is Bailey’s dream.
In this book, Bailey had just finished filming the movie, “Unlocked”, (which I thought was really clever of the author to weave in her previous book she had written by turning it into a movie in this book!) Bailey got to fly out to Los Angeles, California, for the red carpet event for the premiere ‘Opening Night’ for ‘Unlocked’. While filming this movie, she met a man named Brandon, who happened to be her co-star in the movie, Unlocked. Romance ignites with him, or at least he is trying to ignite romance. Bailey is holding back because she has and is still going through a lot because her heart still belongs to Cody. She considers it, then not. She had to find out about Cody. He still has her heart. Where is he?
Cody. Cody has still not contact Bailey in the last four months. Why, Bailey asks herself? She goes through a lot trying to figure out why Cody had just disappeared out of her life the way he did. No one can figure out why he is acting the way he is. Bailey feels she cannot give her heart away to anyone else because it is still full of Cody. She cannot figure out ‘why’ Cody did what he did, but where was he? No one knows where he is. He never so much as even called her on the telephone. There is only one thing left for Bailey to do. She must contact Cody’s mother. She knows Cody’s mother is in prison, so she will have to go and visit her there. She had been there once with Cody to visit her, so she could do that on her own. She had to find answers.
Jenny, Bailey’s mother, is having a hard time of her own, as she realizes it s time for Bailey to move on. Bailey, her little girl, has grown up. She is now an adult and ready to live her own life. Jenny has to learn to deal with this difficult part of life, and deep down she is having a hard time. She is feeling all types of emotions. This is her first child that will be ‘leaving’ home, and she is sad, but happy at the same time. All parents go through this, and this is the most difficult part of being a parent. Time to let go.
It felt like it takes forever for time to pass when the children are little, then as they get older, the time just flies by. Next thing is they are ready to move on and live their own lives on their own. This is a difficult time for both the parents and the children, now adults.
As Bailey was packing to go to New York, Brandon flew in from Los Angeles, surprising Bailey. He, again, was trying to talk her into having a relationship with him. He almost convinced her this time, but she still felt she was not finished with Cody, and she explained this to Brandon. She had still not seen Cody and still had to work that part of her life out before she could move on with anyone else. However, when Brandon put his arms around her, it sure felt good. She felt so confused. In a way, she did want to pursue a relationship with Brandon, but still could not. She had to work Cody out.
Bailey did take this matter into her own hands. She goes out to seek Cody. What Bailey does not know is Cody has his own problems that he has been trying to deal with.
One part of this story did not make sense to me, but I am sure will later in this series of books. The author talked about the family of Jenny and Jim Flanigan in a few chapters. He was a Fireman by trade, and had put in a lot of work at Ground Zero. He developed a life-threatening disease, in which eventually he may need a lung transplant. The part that confused me was the two families did not interact at all in this book. No phones calls were exchanged, no information given as to how Jim’s health was, nor anything more. If a reader had not read all of Karen Kingsbury’s novels, they would not understand where this was taking them in the story.
This is most likely painting a picture of things to come, as the author has three more books planned for this series, The Bailey Flanigan Series. The next three books will be: Learning, Longing and Loving. I am excited the author told us there are three more books coming! Three more books to look forward to!
As I said in the beginning of this review, I have to say again, out of ‘all’ the Karen Kingsuby’s novels, I really enjoyed this book the most. I know I am going to enjoy this complete series of books and I am really looking forward to all of them!
This book was provided to me free of charge by the Publisher, Zondervan, in exchange for a written review, either positive or negative. Honestly, it has been my pleasure reading this book and writing the review! I can’t wait for more!
Thanks for reading my review on this book.
Laurie Carlson
www.lauriehere.blogspot.com
(I apologize, but I lost 2 comments when I tried to make a 'link' to this post. I am unable to retrieve them. The original post date was Monday, May 16th, 2011)

Monday, May 16, 2011

"Leaving" by Karen Kingsbury


"Leaving" by Karen Kingsbury
Out of all the Karen Kingsbury books she has written, I enjoyed this book the absolute most out of all of them.
This book is about Bailey Flanigan’s hopes and dreams for her future now that she is an adult. She will be auditioning and trying to get a part as a singer and a dancer in New York City’s Broadway play called “Hairspray”. This is Bailey’s dream.
In this book, Bailey had just finished filming the movie, “Unlocked”, (which I thought was really clever of the author to weave in her previous book she had written by turning it into a movie in this book!) Bailey got to fly out to Los Angeles, California, for the red carpet event for the premiere ‘Opening Night’ for ‘Unlocked’. While filming this movie, she met a man named Brandon, who happened to be her co-star in the movie, Unlocked. Romance ignites with him, or at least he is trying to ignite romance. Bailey is holding back because she has and is still going through a lot because her heart still belongs to Cody. She considers it, then not. She had to find out about Cody. He still has her heart. Where is he?
Cody. Cody has still not contact Bailey in the last four months. Why, Bailey asks herself? She goes through a lot trying to figure out why Cody had just disappeared out of her life the way he did. No one can figure out why he is acting the way he is. Bailey feels she cannot give her heart away to anyone else because it is still full of Cody. She cannot figure out ‘why’ Cody did what he did, but where was he? No one knows where he is. He never so much as even called her on the telephone. There is only one thing left for Bailey to do. She must contact Cody’s mother. She knows Cody’s mother is in prison, so she will have to go and visit her there. She had been there once with Cody to visit her, so she could do that on her own. She had to find answers.
Jenny, Bailey’s mother, is having a hard time of her own, as she realizes it s time for Bailey to move on. Bailey, her little girl, has grown up. She is now an adult and ready to live her own life. Jenny has to learn to deal with this difficult part of life, and deep down she is having a hard time. She is feeling all types of emotions. This is her first child that will be ‘leaving’ home, and she is sad, but happy at the same time. All parents go through this, and this is the most difficult part of being a parent. Time to let go.
It felt like it takes forever for time to pass when the children are little, then as they get older, the time just flies by. Next thing is they are ready to move on and live their own lives on their own. This is a difficult time for both the parents and the children, now adults.
As Bailey was packing to go to New York, Brandon flew in from Los Angeles, surprising Bailey. He, again, was trying to talk her into having a relationship with him. He almost convinced her this time, but she still felt she was not finished with Cody, and she explained this to Brandon. She had still not seen Cody and still had to work that part of her life out before she could move on with anyone else. However, when Brandon put his arms around her, it sure felt good. She felt so confused. In a way, she did want to pursue a relationship with Brandon, but still could not. She had to work Cody out.
Bailey did take this matter into her own hands. She goes out to seek Cody. What Bailey does not know is Cody has his own problems that he has been trying to deal with.
One part of this story did not make sense to me, but I am sure will later in this series of books. The author talked about the family of Jenny and Jim Flanigan in a few chapters. He was a Fireman by trade, and had put in a lot of work at Ground Zero. He developed a life-threatening disease, in which eventually he may need a lung transplant. The part that confused me was the two families did not interact at all in this book. No phones calls were exchanged, no information given as to how Jim’s health was, nor anything more. If a reader had not read all of Karen Kingsbury’s novels, they would not understand where this was taking them in the story.
This is most likely painting a picture of things to come, as the author has three more books planned for this series, The Bailey Flanigan Series. The next three books will be: Learning, Longing and Loving. I am excited the author told us there are three more books coming! Three more books to look forward to!
As I said in the beginning of this review, I have to say again, out of ‘all’ the Karen Kingsuby’s novels, I really enjoyed this book the most. I know I am going to enjoy this complete series of books and I am really looking forward to all of them!
This book was provided to me free of charge by the Publisher, Zondervan, in exchange for a written review, either positive or negative. Honestly, it has been my pleasure reading this book and writing the review! I can’t wait for more!
Thanks for reading my review on this book.
Laurie Carlson
www.lauriehere.blogspot.com

For the GIVEAWAY!! CLICK ON THE ABOVE TAB TITLED "CURRENT GIVEAWAYS" and you will see the review of this book again! Also, I will have the review posted for the 'Giveaway' book, too, from March 24th! That, is also a book that 'cannot' be missed! There will be 2 books given away to 2 people!! You will find the instructions on 'how' to enter it!! It will be posted by 2:15 this afternoon (Monday!) Good luck to all!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Altamont Augie by Richard Barager



“Altamont Augie” a novel by Richard Barager

A lot of people will describe books as must-reads, or “5-Stars”, but honestly, this TRULY is. If you really want to revisit the 1960’s and read such vivid detail, and feel like you are such a part of this story, then this IS ‘the book’ to be on your ‘To Read’ list. I can really see this book being made into an award winning movie.
This author’s talent with writing is unbelievable! The author, Richard Barager hits on every detail of the 1960’s unrest unlike any other I have read. It is told in such detail that you are sucked right in to this story. This page turner makes you want to devour this book. It is full of a little of everything from the 60’s unrest. The story weaves you right into it, and you want to know where the next page will take you. Unfortunately, like all books, it ends. It is truly sad when it is over. You want to stay with these characters. It leaves you wanting more, and it is going to stay with you forever, and when you think back to the 1960’s, ‘this’ is the story that will come to mind first and foremost.
This fiction/just about non-fiction book hits the ‘high’ of the 1960’s unrest like no other; Vietnam, Rock Concerts, ‘The Age of Aquarius’, Women’s Liberation, marijuana/LSD/drugs, free love, War Protests, and more.
This book starts off with a young man, Caleb Levy, who travels to San Francisco seeking Altamont Augie’s past for the 13th Anniversary re-release of a movie called ‘Gimme Shelter’, a true-to-life ‘Rock Documentary’ that profiled the last 10 days of the Rolling Stones 1969 U.S. Tour, as commissioned by his employer. He was at the Altamont Speedway where this free concert took place. He got the ‘feel’ of where history took place and talked to quite a few people who experienced it first hand.
The book then goes into a story of two college lovers; characters Jackie Lundquist and David Noble. A very intricate love story intertwined with the war, protests, and more, getting in the way of these two. It follows the lives of these characters and more of what each of them stands for during these times. As the story goes on we get to know so much about the lives of these characters, the good and the bad. Sometimes we want to shout out to them and say what we think, as we are so wrapped up in this story. The story goes on. We experience all that they did and didn’t do, until the ultimate end of this story taking place at Altamont Augie.
We later learn more . . . this part you will have to read as I am not going to give spoilers. This book is to good to do that.
From the back of the book, Altamont Augie: “Khe Sanh and Altamont: red clay and yellow grass . . . the senseless slaughter of Vietnam and the folly of utopian fantasy . . . a battleground and a rock festival, repositories of my generation’s honor and shame . . . but which resides where?”
Please visit the author’s website: www.altamontaugies.com . There is an MP3 playlist of the songs in the order as they appear in the book. There is an EXCELLENT Book Trailer for this book which should not be missed.
About the author: This next paragraph is directly quoted from his website:
Richard Baragaer, M.D. is a Nephrologist in private practice in San Diego’s North County. Dr. Barager, who has twice received a San Diego County Medical Society “Top Doctor” award for distinguished care in his specialty, is a champion of the healing power of literature, and from time-to-time “prescribes” specific novels to receptive patients and families to help them cope with their burden of illness. Please visit the site for more.
In closing this review, I can only hope I have portrayed the quality and integrity of this book to you, the reader. Enjoy!
This book was provided to me for free in exchange for a review by Bostick Communications.
Laurie Carlson

Monday, May 9, 2011

Rachel Yoder Story Collection 2: Four Stories in One by Wanda E. Brunstetter


Rachel Yoder Story Collection 2: Four Stories in One by Wanda E. Brunstetter
Rachel Yoder Story Collection 2 - Growing Up: Four Stories in One by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Wanda E. Brunstetter wrote a series of eight books about a little Amish girl named Rachel Yoder. This book is the second set of the four last books in her series about Rachel Yoder, which are four books combined into one.
The four volumes in this book are “A Happy Heart”, “Just Plain Foolishness”, “Jumping to Conclusions”, and “Growing Up”.
These books are about a little Amish girl named Rachel Yoder, who is 8 years old, and has a birthday in these books where she turns 9. She experiences all kinds of things she calls ‘trouble, trouble, trouble follows me everywhere.’ What is really happening is what happens to all little girls, Amish or not. She is growing up and is going through the trials and errors of growing up and learning what is and is not right to do. She does not understand this and keeps saying ‘trouble, trouble, trouble follows me everywhere.’ It is not trouble she is getting into, but common everyday things that little girls learn from while growing up. Sometimes she has to be punished for what she does, but that happens to all children as they learn about what is right from wrong.
In the first book, Rachel Yoder has to face the possibility of needing to wear glasses and the thought of wearing glasses does not sound like fun to her. In the second book, Rachel Yoder feels very jealous of her newborn little baby sister, Hannah, because she is born on her birthday. She thinks everyone has forgotten her birthday because they are all paying so much attention to her new little baby sister, and have not done anything for her birthday. In the third book, Rachel Yoder eavesdrops and overhears people talking about things and thinks she knows what they are saying. She does things differently than what she normally would do because of what she thought she heard them saying, and she also repeats some of the things she thinks she has heard other people say. She ends up getting it all wrong and has to face the trouble she gets into. In “Growing Up”, Rachel goes through a stage of absent mindedness and ends up doing all sorts of silly things. She does end up realizing this and starts to do things differently, and her family starts to see she is acting and is more grown up.
All little girls and boys who read this book will be able to relate to Rachel Yoder’s problems as she grows up and faces what she calls ‘trouble, trouble, trouble follows me everywhere’. They may feel the very same way.
These books are the first introduction to children about the Amish way of life. What the children who read these books will learn is that there really is NO difference between what they learn and what Amish children learn at the same ages.
These books will fascinate little girls and boys as they read these books and learn the differences between what it is like to live as an Amish child and their own lives. They will see how Rachel Yoder lives a differently, on a farm, wearing different clothes and attending school differently than the way they do.
I received this book from Barbour Publishing, through NetGalley, in exchange for writing a review on the book.
Laurie Carlson
www.lauriehere.blogspot.com

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Review: Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler


I can honestly say this is a truly positive review! This book was a true joy to read, as is very interesting and captivating. It drew me in from the very first sentence. I could not put this book down but only for the demands of life.
Ira, the author, was born into a very large Amish family of eleven children. His father is the editor of an Amish periodical that is subscribed to by just about every Amish household that exists. It is quite amazing how this periodical came to be and still exists today, which is explained in the book. As Ira meets strangers and tells them his name, he is recognized by other Amish people as his father’s son by his last name alone by recognition of his father’s name, and is often asked if he is ‘the writer’s son’? This is how popular and a good writer his father is. (Ira’s fathers’ talent for writing has rubbed off on his son, Ira, the author of this book, as you will see if you choose to read this author’s wonderfully written, descriptive, and talented book.) It shows how dedicated his father is to living and believing the Amish lifestyle is the only way to live and the only way of life. This creates a lot of tension between Ira and his father.
Ira tells the story of his life as he is confiding his deepest, darkest secrets in you. You feel like you are right there, sitting right next to him, listening to all his trials and tribulations of his Amish life. You feel what he feels as he grows and experiences all that he does. Is the Amish way of life the life he wants to live?
You also learn the real, nitty-gritty rules of Amish life, things you would not know unless you read this book. The rules all differ as to what is accepted and what is not accepted in many different ways; the differing communities, communities from county to county, from state to state. I was not aware these rules even existed the way they do. Again, the many different ways/rules of doing things and living that are or are not accepted, right down to the type of buggy wheels the Amish were allowed to use and even the clothing they wore. I learned so much about the Amish in this Non-Fiction book than in any fictional book I’ve ever read.
Ira, being from a very large Amish family, he pretty much had a normal childhood, until the closer he got to the age of 16, when the children were then considered adults. This is about the time when the young Amish youth, now adults, start to experiment different ways of living and doing things socially. Ira had been feeling uncomfortable and confused living the Amish way of life. He did not know or feel as if ‘this’ life was for him. He had many questions about his Faith, and exactly what it meant to him. He went on many journeys seeking answers to his questions several times. When he would come back home, he would try to readjust and live the Amish way again, but he just could not do it for any length of time. Something was missing from his life; he felt a void. One of the lengthier times he came back home he tried dating. He was continually trying to find just what that void was.
What did fill his void happened one day when he met a special man in another Amish community. This opened up a new way of thinking about faith for Ira
This book is quite a journey through Ira’s Amish life. Where he goes, what he does, what he tries to do and where he ends up. To pass this book up and not read it would truly be a great loss. I honestly cannot say enough good about this book. It’s truly a must-read!
This book was provided to me by Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for a review of my opinion of the book, either positive or negative.
Laurie

Crochet Collection by Leisure Arts


This book is a nice collection of a number of different types of projects to crochet. Some of the projects even use fabric instead of yarn. I liked this book a lot, but I came across some patterns that did not give sizes, nor did they state of a certain amount of materials (such as yardage) you might need to make the item. This leaves you at a loss when you go shopping, either in your home supply, or at the store.
I did like most all of the patterns in the book. The selection of items to make was many.
This is a book to keep in your library to refer back to time and time again in case you might want to make a project in this book. The cover image is an afghan that does have the pattern in the book. It is beautiful. The details of this American Flag Afghan are many. This is a Leisure Arts book.

The Thimbleberries Guide for Weekend Quilters



Thimbleberries Quilt books are always beautiful and collector's items. This is a gorgeous book of quilts, bed quilts, wallhangings, table runners, placemats, and more. This book is full of just beautiful quilts. Patchwork quilts, Applique quilts, and more. This book even has a special section for each quilt called 'color play'. What that is is they show you the same quilt in different colors, sometimes up to 3 different colored quilts. That is a really nice feature as sometimes it is hard to imagine a quilt in different colors other than the ones that are shown. For instance, some quilts are shown in light color, and the color play comes in with the same quilt in darker colors. I love that they do this. It gives you more ideas, more colors to choose from. They take the work out of changing colors of the quilts for you. I will admit from experience, you cannot make these quilts in 'one' weekend. In particularly, the applique quilts, and the bed quilts. The more details in the quilts, the longer it takes to make them. Perhaps some of them you can make the top in a weekend, but others need a few weekends. I think the point of this book is not to make a quilt in 'one' weekend, but maybe over two or three weekends. All in all, I LOVE this book! It has been, and will stay in my library forever. This is the kind of book you go back and look at over and over because all the quilts are so beautiful. Also, you have every intention of making every quilt in this book! I highly recommend it to quilters who love quilting.

Creative Crochet




Creative Crochet

From afghans, to all around the house items, to gifts, fun things, baby items, shawls, cardigans, hats, scarves, and holiday items, this book has it all. All the items in this book are very nice looking, very creative. The afghans in this book look exceptional. This book also does not necessarily have sizes for some of the wearable items, which makes it impossible to make for someone, in particularly, baby items. Either you make them newborn size, or not at all. I don’t like that about this book. Every other item in this book does have all the necessary amounts of product required stated. This is a book to keep in your library as at a later date you may want to bring this book out and crochet one or more of these items. This is a Leisure Arts book.





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