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

While he’s driving about, my husband has been listening to a variety of books, including Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw. (We were born and raised in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, so this has particular interest for him.) If you’re not familiar with this titan of the Industrial Revolution, Carnegie emigrated from Scotland at thirteen and became a wildly successful businessman and philanthropist. Even on audiobook, my husband says this work is daunting, clocking in at more than thirty-two and a half hours, or nearly 900 pages in paperback.

And to illustrate his varied interests, he’s also listening to Monsters Among Us: An Exploration of Otherworldly Bigfoots, Wolfmen, Portals, Phantoms, and Odd Phenomena by Linda S. Godfrey. I could use this as research for one of my works-in-progress, but I digress. Godfrey has written a dozen books on this topic (including one mentioned here) and is a frequent radio and TV guest expert on cryptozoology.

Not entirely unrelated on the otherworldly spectrum is Manual for Spiritual Warfare by Paul Thigpen. This, however, is less about entertaining curiosities and more about practical advice. It’s highly rated on Amazon (and a good number of the few low-star reviews are download or binding issues not related to content). There is an unseen battle going on around us, inside our families, our homes, and our hearts. Important stuff here.

His last selection is one for beer nerds and foodies (because it’s tied to the Slow Food movement): The Audacity of Hops: The History of America’s Craft Beer Revolution. If your town is like ours, craft breweries and beer pubs have been popping up like dandelions in the spring. This movement, however, has been brewing (see what I did there?) since the 1960s. Interestingly, the author, Tom Acitelli, is a Jim Beard Award finalist, which gives me a perfect segue into what I’m listening to!

The Saturday Night Supper Club by Carla Laureano features a Jim Beard Award-winning Denver chef who is bought out of her upscale restaurant when an essayist’s screed against the coarseness of public discourse on social media goes viral, slandering the chef by hyperlink. And that’s as far as I’ve gotten, though I’ve seen many positive reviews of this book.

The Butterfly Recluse by Therese Heckenkamp was a quick read with a sweet romance and a suspenseful twist I didn’t see coming. We’re tending some Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars right now, so the butterfly element was right up my alley.

David Liss’s The Whiskey Rebels wasn’t at all what I expected, but I loved it just the same. My interest was piqued by having grown up within miles of the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. (See Andrew Carnegie above.) This novel, which includes fictional and historical characters, is filled with intrigue and financial machinations. It follows disgraced Revolutionary War patriot and spy Ethan Saunders and widowed frontierswoman Joan Maycott. I dare say I laughed outloud more during this book than any I’ve read. Ethan Saunders, while hardly a paragon of virtue, has a fantastic dry wit. Kudos to David Liss for Saunders’ dialogue! (For sensitive readers: there are some scenes of non-graphic brutality and a few instances of coarse language.)

My high school junior is reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller. I haven’t read the play since high school, but I think I also read it in the fall, which seems appropriate for the run-up to Halloween. My son enjoyed the first act, but by the second act, he said he loved it. Witchcraft accusations are flying left and right by that point. I feel a re-read coming on.

In middle school, my daughter’s sixth-grade class is reading Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. This Newbery Award winner concerns an orphaned boy and tackles issues of racism, poverty, and homelessness. I confess I’ve never read this one, but my daughter is enjoying it as much as her brother did when he was in sixth grade.

While looking at the library’s selection of puppy books for my younger daughter, I came across Lydia the Patriot: The Boston Massacre by Susan Martins Miller. We visited Boston this summer, a treat for our colonial-history buff daughter, so I thought she’d enjoy this. Turns out it has Christian themes as well, so, bonus!

In the second grade, my younger daughter’s class has already covered several books, starting with Freckle Juice by Judy Blume. I was treated to a re-telling of the awful freckle juice ingredients (said to produce freckles):  grape juice, vinegar, mustard, and more.

You could say the second grade in our parish school is frog-themed because their teacher has an affinity for frogs – or F.R.O.G. (Fully Rely on God) Our Principal is a Frog by Stephanie Calmenson seems like a good fit for the class! My daughter thought this was a fun book.

In the first grade, my son’s teacher has been reading some Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park. At home, we’re reading Our Lady of Guadalupe: The Graphic Novel by Natalie Muglia and Sam Estrada. It’s a beautifully illustrated story within a story as St. Juan Diego’s encounters with the Blessed Mother are re-told to future Cristero martyr St. José Sánchez del Río. You can read my review at CatholicMom.

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.

---

---

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!

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

On our way home from our Boston-area vacation, which included visits to the Concord-Lexington area and Minute Man National Historic Park, my husband downloaded Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence by Carol Berkin. I only heard the first several chapters, but my husband finished it after we got home. (I’ll get to the rest, eventually.) I never took a women’s studies course, but I imagine this is somewhat like the material covered. A little on the textbook side but still interesting, Revolutionary Mothers provides a detailed look at women’s roles during the war that may be overlooked elsewhere.

Because he’s also been listening to How to Stay Alive in the Woods: A Complete Guide to Food, Shelter, and Self-Preservation Anywhere by Bradford Angier, I get unusual texts about the edibles in our yard, such as rose hips. As we’ve added more native plants to our gardens, I’ve come to learn a lot about how such plants have been used, and this sounds like an interesting lesson in the varied uses of plants we’ve long considered merely ornamental. And did you know you can eat a porcupine? My husband did say that this book would be more useful in paperback form for easy reference.

I’ve been tearing through a lot of books lately, so let’s get right to it! On audiobook, I listened to The Pirate Bride (Daughters of the Mayflower, Book 2) by Kathleen Y’Barbo. While the word “bride” in the title connotes romance, I do not categorize this is as such. The romance thread only surfaces in the final 10 percent of the book. That said, I loved this book, which my 11-year-old daughter ended up enjoying as well. The narration was well done with characters of French, Spanish, American, and African descent. Plenty of action, some unexpected twists and turns, and a French pirate – er, privateer add to the enjoyment. The heroine, Maribel, is a spirited, independent young woman whom I longed to see reunited with her privateer crew.

I’d been itching to read Sons of Blackbird Mountain (A Blackbird Mountain Novel) by Joanne Bischof for most of the past year. Having loved her novel The Lady and Lionheart and seeing so many rave reviews of this new book, I was anxious to read it. I was not disappointed. The story centers around three Virginian brothers of Norwegian descent: Jargon, Thor, and Haakon. Thor, a burly man who is deaf and mute, is center stage in this story as he meets and woos Aven, the widow of the brothers’ cousin, come to start a new life in America. The characterization of these brothers is among the best I’ve read, and the author does a tremendous job with the challenge of writing a deaf/mute hero. I’ve begun reading the second book in the series, Daughters of Northern Shores.

In between the others, I flew through More Than Words Can Say (A Patchwork Family Novel Book #2) by Karen Witemeyer. The author really makes it look easy in this smooth read that does the marriage of convenience trope justice. The ongoing tension between Zach and Abigail and when their marriage will become more than a simple agreement had me turning digital pages late into the night. Despite the prominence of the whole “marital relations” issues, it’s really a cute, clean story that is refreshingly frank about marital love and the emotional intimacy that should co-exist with the physical intimacy. There’s also a nice spiritual message of relying on God.

Our monthly Star Wars pick is Bloodline by Claudia Gray. This novel focuses more on political intrigue involving Princess Leia in the years before The Force Awakens than action-adventure.

While my son reads the Star Wars novel, I’m eyeing some of his summer reading for school, which includes two novellas written in Latin. Both are written by Andrew Olimpi, and the first is Perseus et Rex Malus. (Translation: Perseus and the Evil King) I may take a crack at reading these myself to sharpen my very rusty Latin translation skills.

In perusing the selections for her summer reading assignment, my daughter discovered a new beloved author! She immediately homed in on books written in the colonial period and began reading Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. She loved the book and quickly moved on to the remaining books in The Seeds of America trilogy: Forge and Ashes. All feature African American slaves during the Revolutionary War.

I’ve begun reading aloud The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald to whichever children care to listen. The version we checked out of the library is illustrated by Okama in Japanese manga style. I love that there are illustrations on every page, but the manga is clashing with the pictures my imagination generates. Just a personal preference. We’re not too far in yet, so I don’t have anything to add about the story itself though I discovered this book through another An Open Book post! Here’s what the description says: “The classic fantasy novel that inspired The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia now featuring playful illustrations by Japanese manga artist Okama!”

My soon-to-be second grader discovered the joys of young sleuth Encyclopedia Brown in Encyclopedia Brown and His Best Cases Ever by Donald J. Sobol. I read many of these with my oldest son and always enjoyed the little mysteries. This collection comprises fifteen favorite stories.

The kids and I enjoyed two books I received from Magnificat-Ignatius. The first is Stories of the Blessed Sacrament by Francine Bay. Twelve true stories emphasizing the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist are retold for children. Some stories were familiar to us, others new, including one I’d like to dig into. Great for all children but especially those approaching First Communion.

Mozart: Gift of God by Demi is a beautiful, sturdy picture book that brings Mozart’s faith to the forefront alongside his immense talent as a composer and musician. In addition to providing a traditional biography of Mozart, it allows the reader to see how faith and devotion inspire creativity and how our gifts and talents can be used in God’s service.

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.

---

---

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!