Welcome to the April 2024 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

I’ve almost finished Karen Ullo’s forthcoming historical novel, To Crown with Liberty (Chrism Press). A split-time novel set during the French Revolution and late 18^th century Louisiana, the story of Alix de Morainville of the French nobility, is told through her own eyes. The reader experiences the persecutions and executions of the Reign of Terror and the wilds of the American south as farms and plantations bring civilization to the swamps of Louisiana. Some prominent historical French and American figures appear throughout. The faith interwoven in the story makes it stand out from purely historical and less personal sagas. Even without having read the conclusion, I highly recommend this novel, which will be launched on May 1.

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Welcome to the March 2024 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

For the first time in An Open Book history, it’s a week late. If you even noticed – sorry! I’ve been under the weather for, well, longer than I’ve ever been under the weather, but each day I’m a little better, and thanks be to God it seems it’s merely viral and not anything of a serious nature. 

If I can say anything good about being sick and fatigued for so long, it’s that I was able to complete the lengthy Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell much more quickly than I anticipated. After all these years and coming to it with a mature perspective and greater knowledge of both life and history, it’s still a five-star novel for me. Now, on to what else we’ve been reading!

When I was feeling worst, I needed relief from the brutality of war and death in Gone with the Wind, so I picked up Pepper Basham’s Authentically, Izzy. I always enjoy her writing, and this novel was chock full of fun literary references and likeable characters set in both the Blue Mountains of the American South and a fictional Scottish-like isle. It’s mainly an epistolary novel, which I enjoy, although I think by its nature, it increased the book’s length beyond what was necessary. The repetition of the characters’ bookish natures and the heroine’s wonderful creativity became somewhat tiresome. Still, it suited my mood and was an enjoyable contemporary Christian rom-com.

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Welcome to the February 2024 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

I read Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell several times, but it’s been decades since the last re-read. I’ve been eager to read it again to see how it holds up now that I’m older and an author. So far, I’m still loving Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize winner and marveling at how faithful the movie adaption is to many details. It’s been a rather slow read so far only because it’s long and I’m reading a paperback. Without a decent booklight, a lot of my reading time is lost (since I read ebooks at my younger children’s bedsides at night).

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Welcome to the December 2023 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

December already! We’re closing out the year with a new look for An Open Book that includes the updated Catholic Mom logo and look. Share what you and your family are reading by linking your blog or social media post or simply commenting.

A Faith Such as Heaven Intended is the fifth book in Amanda Lauer’s Heaven Intended series. The story begins in Gettysburg, a place close to my heart and my home, and then moves to Washington City (Washington, DC) during the final year of the Civil War. Amidst the death and destruction of war, brainiac surgeon Ben Holt’s stalwart Catholic faith is just what it takes for determined surgical assistant Ruth Simmons to experience the forgiveness and peace that’s long eluded her.

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Welcome to the November 2023 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

They Call Her Dirty Sally is far and away the most-reviewed (and I’d guess, best-selling) of Amy Matayo’s novels. I’ve loved so many of her books, and I’m so happy to see her readership broaden. Oddly though, this novel isn’t one of my favorites from her. The story is borne from a home and a woman observed in Matayo’s childhood. Those childhood musings are developed and brought to life in a story of small-town Arkansas, where a hospital fire resulted in tragic loss of life. Journalist Finn Hardwick, whose parents had ties to the town, arrives to cover the anniversary of the fire. There, he meets Billi Ellis, a motel receptionist who helps him uncover the town’s secrets and, in the process, the cause for Sally’s ostracization. While I appreciated Sally’s story, I found the character too passive for my liking and the conclusion underwhelming. The modernish (1990s) characters, Finn and Billi, were likable but didn’t have much of a story arc.

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Welcome to the October 2023 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

On a recent visit to see our son at Saint Vincent College, we stopped by Fort Ligonier, a French & Indian War outpost about an hour east of Pittsburgh (then Fort Duquesne). The college is only about 10 minutes from the fort, and I hadn’t been there since I was a child. My son took interest in a historical book that will likely appear in this space at later time, but my husband picked up lighter reading: Ghosts and Legends Fort Ligonier by Cassandra Fell and Dr. Walter L. Powell. It seems to have limited availability outside of the museum store, but it’s what you’d expect—lore and legends from in and around the historical site, which has been excavated and re-created.

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Welcome to the September 2023 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

I have only a few books left to complete on my summer reading list, and the one I’ve just begun is A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon. I’ve loved many of Amy Harmon’s books, but it’s been a while since I read any. This historical novel is about the real-life Deborah Samson, who disguised herself as a young man to fight in the Revolutionary War. In the early chapters, the reader meets Deborah, an intelligent and curious girl, as an indentured servant living amongst a family of boys. I’m eager to keep reading.

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