Welcome to the December 2019 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

My husband and I are going to be reading 33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Marian Consecration by Michael E. Gaitley together. I did St. Louis de Montfort’s Marian consecration years ago, but I’ve been lax about renewing it, mainly because I found his book tedious and boring. (There, I’ve said it. Take back my Catholic card.) This looks like more of a user-friendly book including not only the words of St. Louis de Montfort, but also St. Maximillian Kolbe, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and Pope St. John Paul II.

I love a good Christmas novella, and Julie Lessman has been adding them to her popular series of novels each year. This year, she released A Gift Like No Other: An O’Connor Christmas Novella, which features the original couple from her Daughters of Boston series, Faith and Collin. (A Passion Most Pure). This book pertains largely to marital intimacy, and though there are scenes of married couples in some pretty passionate embraces, there is no explicit or lurid content. I appreciate that in keeping with her tagline “passion with a purpose,” Julie Lessman refuses to gloss over sensitive issues such as sexuality, temptation, and chastity. (Maybe we have a little in common.) In a world that wants to keep God out of the bedroom at all costs, she introduces Him through characters who welcome Him into every aspect of their lives. I grew a little jealous of the circle of O’Connor family women, who frankly share their most personal problems and are surrounded with prayer and support. On the other hand, I wanted to shake Collin since as a Catholic, he’d do well to avail himself of sacramental confession. I guess that proves his character has become real to me!

Mind Games by Nancy Mehl was a relatively short audiobook that moved at a good clip. FBI profiler Kaely Quinn is paired with a new agent, Noah, to apprehend a serial killer who may have them both in his sights. Going by the killer’s creepy elephant poem, they must stay a step ahead of the killer. I’m happy to say the killer wasn’t whom I expected. The best twist didn’t come from the resolution of the murder mystery but from revelations about Kaely herself. I’m looking forward to listening to the next book in the series.

I’m halfway through Her Stand-in Cowboy by Crystal Walton, and it’s a light-hearted romance that makes me smile. Ainsley is a single mom trying to care for her infant and run a farm. To appease meddling family, she’s claimed Connor Allen is her cowboy/veterinarian boyfriend. Only he’s really her chiropractor from New York City. Add some stinky farm animals and southern charm, and you’ve got an enchanting story. And if you are or have been a nursing mom, there’s some extra humor in store for you!

My high school junior is reading The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. This is his second go-round with this classic, having read it in middle school as well. He enjoyed this Civil War novel the first time. This is another classic that somehow never made it into my hands. So much to read and so little time!

My sixth-grade daughter has been enjoying a book she selected for completing the local library’s summer reading program. At the Battle of Yorktowne: An Interactive Battlefield Adventure by Eric Mark Braun is a choose-your-own-ending book, and I’ve had fun going through it as a French woman. You can be a French officer, a patriot woman, or a patriot slave as well. This girl loves the colonial era, so this was a perfect fit for her. She said it was a good book “because there were so many different ways to die!”

She’s also been reading Poetry for Young People: William Shakespeare to help fulfill her class reading goal that requires her to read in a variety of genres. While she’s not very familiar with poetry, she seems to be enjoying these poems and recognizing the origins of many popular phrases.

My second-grade daughter likes to keep about a half-dozen books going at once. I don’t get it, but at least she’s reading. In addition to the Puppy Place series she can’t get enough of, she’s reading Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan McDonald. This one is an environmentally-friendly themed story. I like to see her laughing at the illustrations, which are always such a treat in early chapter books.

At bedtime, she’s been bringing out her sister’s Mary Engelbreit’s Nutcracker by Mary Engelbreit, obviously. The beloved Christmas ballet is close to my heart, and I love seeing my kids enjoy this story! The illustrations are colorful and inviting, and it’s the perfect book to bring out year after year.

With The Mandalorian series being replayed frequently in our house, the Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded from DK Publishing has found its way out again. For Star Wars fans, this is a great reference for all of the unusual species spotted in cantinas and marketplaces. The book is from 2011 but still relevant, at least in our home, where Star Wars is timeless. I’m linking here to the most recent version, from 2019.

Junie B., First Grader: Boo . . .  and I Mean It! by Barbara Park is the paperback my first grader is toting around the house. It’s such fun to see him reading “big books” now in addition to picture books. He likes all of the “scary secrets” in this book and was anxious to get to the candy corn part!

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During his travels, my husband has been listening to Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates by Eric Jay Dolin. It’s what you might expect from the subtitle, but I found this part of the description interesting:  “[The book] illustrates how American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them.” Hmm. That’s something new to me.

He’s also listening to some different kinds of saint stories with Saints Who Battled Satan: Seventeen Holy Warriors Who Can Teach You How to Fight the Good Fight and Vanquish Your Ancient Enemy by Paul Thigpen. (Is there an award for longest subtitle?) It includes the stories of Saints Pio of Pietrelclina, Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena, Theresa of Avila, John Vianney, and a dozen others.

I read Be Brave in the Scared by Mary Lenaburg in one evening. Yes, it’s short, but it is also smoothly written and not longer than it needed to be – and that says something. I often feel as if nonfiction books are trying to fill pages, becoming repetitive, but not in this case. Mary Lenaburg’s story is brutally honest and well-told, and that’s why this book has been so well-reviewed. I expected it to be more specifically about her relationship with her late daughter, Courtney, but it’s so much bigger and broader. If you’ve ever struggled to trust God with your life – and who hasn’t? – I recommend you read Be Brave in the Scared.

I did a final read-through of my own novel, All in Good Time, hoping to catch every last typo or formatting error! It’s the story of a young widow of three children, Melanie, who unexpectedly finds romance with one of the coaches of her oldest son’s Little League team, Brian. (A “fun uncle” helping out, not a married dad!) But just as everything seems to be going right, it all crumbles. Brian has some secrets. One he can’t keep longer than a couple of days, and an old one he desperately tries to hold close. Some humor, some mystery/suspense, and some serious treatment of a pervasive societal and familial problem: pornography.

I’ve begun reading The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise by Cardinal Robert Sarah and Nicholas Diat during a portion of my weekly Eucharistic Adoration. Who would’ve thought so much could be said about silence? So far, lots of food for thought. As a naturally quiet person and someone who tires of the noise of media (social and otherwise), a lot resonates with me. Even so, keeping silent runs so contrary to so much of how life “works” these days that aspects of the book are challenging.

A Reluctant Bride (The Bride Ships Book #1) by Jody Hedlund was an enjoyable book to listen to while running errands and completing household chores. From a writer’s perspective, so much of this novel is done right: internal and external conflicts for the hero and heroine, romantic tension, character arcs, story goals, and more. Beyond that, it was simply an enjoyable romance, drawing upon the common theme of love conquering class barriers. Joseph and Mercy were such honorable characters it would be hard not to like them, even if I wanted to give them a little nudge now and then.

Ella’s Promise by Ellen Gable recently released, though I read an advance copy a couple of months ago. This is the final book in the Great War Great Love series, another sweet historical romance between an American woman and a Canadian man set against the backdrop of World War I in France. I especially enjoyed the bit of espionage that makes its way into this story and the satisfying resolution of the series.

As I make my way through Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a classic I’ve never read, my son is beginning Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker. Inspired by notes and texts left behind by Bram Stoker, Dracul is a prequel to Dracula, set in 1868.

Apparently he has a thing for thick classics, because he’s also begun reading Don Quixote by Cervantes. I think he’s trying to up his Quiz Bowl game in the literature category, but he’s always gravitated toward classics. My son’s going to be better read than I am, for certain.

In sixth grade, my daughter has been borrowing books from the classroom library. Unfortunately, she’s somehow reading a series in reverse order, which is driving her bonkers. The current book is Julie by Jean Craighead George about an Eskimo girl returning home after having lived among wolves. The first book in the series was a Newbery Award-winner.

My second-grade daughter so desperately wants a puppy that it’s become nearly the sole topic of her reading. Poor thing. She recently read Buddy by Ellen Miles, another in the Puppy Place series in which foster dogs are placed in homes by a brother and sister, Charles and Lizzie Peterson.

She also really enjoyed Drawing God by Karen Kiefer. I asked why she liked it, and she gave me a little summary of how a girl tries to draw God by drawing things that God is like: the sun, bread, and a heart. This is a creative story designed to get children to try drawing God themselves and unlock the creativity of their faith imagination. World Drawing God Day is November 7.

In first grade, my son has discovered Nate the Great books, and I am happy to revisit this series that I loved reading with my oldest child. Nate solves simple mysteries, often with a side of his favorite food, pancakes. What makes this series shine are the quirky kids in the neighborhood: Oliver, who follows him everywhere, Annie and her vicious dog Fang, and Rosamond and her cats. The book he most recently read is Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat.

At bedtime, we read Brother Lorenzo’s Pretzels: Prayer and the Holy Trinity by Cornelia Mary Bilinsky. We enjoyed this little history of the pretzel and how it was used to teach children basic religious concepts. It’s nicely illustrated and comes with a pretzel recipe at the end. I recommend it with a side visit to the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery in Lititz, Pennsylvania, the first commercial pretzel bakery in America.

What are you reading? Share it at An Open Book and find new book recommendations too! #openbook Share on X

Want more details on An Open Book? You can also sign up for An Open Book reminder email, which goes out one week before the link-up. No blog? That’s okay. Just tell us what you’re reading in the comment box.

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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! STAY A WHILE AND LOOK AROUND. LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER TO KEEP UP-TO-DATE ON NEW RELEASES, EXTRAS, AND HOT DEALS!

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.