A wonderful meditation on life, spirituality, womanhood, motherhood. Emma Lou Thayne is a poet and an all around fascinating person, who here shares s...moreA wonderful meditation on life, spirituality, womanhood, motherhood. Emma Lou Thayne is a poet and an all around fascinating person, who here shares stories from her life and how they have shaped her outlook on the world and her own being. Hard to describe, but gorgeous to read, complete with poems (her own and those of others) and photographs.(less)
To start off with, we have a totally lovely and lovable main character that you are rooting for the entire time, even...moreThis book was un-put-down-able!
To start off with, we have a totally lovely and lovable main character that you are rooting for the entire time, even when you're not sure if she's gone completely crazy. She's wonderfully flawed and fragile after an accident that has robbed her of her health and a promising career as a concert pianist. You just ache for her and everything that she's lost. But added to the complications of feeling her way out of the haze of physical and emotional pain, she's got a loving fiance who is running for political office, an ill mother, meddling grandmother (wonderful characters all), and as if that isn't enough: now she might be having visions of a terrible catastrophe destroying her small town!
It's some crazy stuff, y'all, but because the characters are all so real (down to the locals at the diner), you are fully invested in everything that happens. And I hate the phrase, It really makes you think, but seriously, IT REALLY MAKES YOU THINK. (I hate that phrase because EVERYTHING should make you think, genius! Anyway...) This book makes you think about what it would be like to receive a vision. How would you know it was real, and not the onset of insanity? How would you tell people, and what would you do if even those closest to you didn't believe you? It started me wondering how many people over the centuries have been given visions and ignored them, or tried to tell people and were ignored, or judged insane. I won't tell you what happens here, but I will say this: UN-PUT-DOWN-ABLE and IT WILL REALLY MAKE YOU THINK!(less)
A charming, inspiring story about the birth of Christ, beginning with the story of Mary and Joseph and how they reacted to the revelation that she was...moreA charming, inspiring story about the birth of Christ, beginning with the story of Mary and Joseph and how they reacted to the revelation that she was to bear the Son of God. The writing was clear and vivid, and made me feel what it would be like to live at that time, in that place: the fear of the Romans, the yearning for someone to save their people, the heat, the wind, the dust . . . lovely!
My only problem was with her characterization of a couple of characters. Was that really what Mary's mother was like? And Joseph's father? The former is depicted as a bitter, selfish, unbeliever, the latter an alcoholic. I know she did a great deal of research for the book, so I'm mostly just curious about what is fact and what is fiction.
An enjoyable read overall, though. And I loved Mary, Elizabeth, and Joseph especially.(less)
Possibly my favorite (so far) of Virginia Smith's thrillers! I'm mortally afraid of sharks, and diving, and drowning, so the tension here is extra hig...morePossibly my favorite (so far) of Virginia Smith's thrillers! I'm mortally afraid of sharks, and diving, and drowning, so the tension here is extra high!(less)
I stayed up late to finish this book, which didn't take long because it is short, and deeply disturbing. I'm guessing that this is supposed to be insp...moreI stayed up late to finish this book, which didn't take long because it is short, and deeply disturbing. I'm guessing that this is supposed to be inspirational and uplifting, but what it really is is sickening. In fact, it's like Christian church lady revenge fantasy. "After I'm dead, everyone will come to my funeral and talk about how wonderful I am, and then my husband will have a change of heart and stop being such a jerk, and my horrible children will regret their behavior!"
Ew. Ick.
Essentially, Penny Burford dies (which is right in the cover copy, so not a spoiler), and her jackass husband and her horrible children discover that she was using her husband's spare change (which he rudely left all over the house for her to pick up every day) to lead a secret life of small pleasures and good works.
Why did she have to use her husband's change? And why was this life secret?
Why, because she was trapped for forty years in an emotionally abusive marriage! Penny constantly points out how wonderful her husband is, despite his flaws: he's a hard worker, he's a good provider, a good husband and father. Nope. He may be a hard worker, and a good provider (at least about things that concern him), but he is a terrible husband and father who kept her a virtual prisoner, constantly walking on eggshells, frightened of sending him into a rage. He never hit her, he just constantly nagged and belittled her, smirking at her, counting every penny of the grocery money and shouting at her for buying the wrong brand of coffee. At Easter he would give her the money for a new dress, on her birthday she got forty dollars to buy the rest of her clothes. Every three years he bought her a new Cadillac, which she hated, and cruised around town in it, showing off, which embarrassed her. Her children (probably taking a cue from their father) dismissed her as useless long before they were teenagers. Her husband was a racist, he was sexist, and he watched her constantly to make sure she wasn't embarrassing him or doing something he didn't like.
Oh, but he grew up very poor, and his father was an alcoholic! Oh, the POOR BABY!
After her death, as her family encounters secret after secret that she was keeping, I became more and more upset. Some of these were small things, like enjoying eating at Burger King. She leaves a wonderful letter for her husband and children, telling them how great they are and how much she loves them.
Why couldn't she tell them these things when she was alive? Because she was afraid of her husband, and knew her children wouldn't listen! She was so afraid of upsetting this bastard, she couldn't tell him that she liked to eat hamburgers, and go to the movies! Her daughter gets all misty-eyed over the fact that it turned out that yes, her mother did have a happy life. So, apparently, she didn't think her mother was happy before . . . yet she did absolutely NOTHING to help her. No small act of kindness. They hardly spoke. You are a bad person, daughter! Your father is a jerk, and so is your brother, and you shouldn't all be inspired and uplifted, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED.
This book upset and depressed me. It made me tense the whole time, scared that Penny would be "found out" and that her husband would do something cruel to her. I was angered by her entire family. It's a thin book, so every word needs to count. If the author was using her words carefully, then the picture she painted is vastly different from the outward story of redemption she's telling. The children are described in mean, stingy terms. Roy, the husband, is constantly described as thick, beefy, with a smirk on his face, which goes red at a moment's notice. Quick to anger, never forgiving, making only cruel remarks, hating everything and everyone. Penny is, physically, not described, but everything about her is gentle, sweet, soft, and afraid. None of this changes until the last page, which is too late both for me as the reader, and for Penny.(less)
A tender, heartfelt novel about family, love, loyalty, and . . . time travel. Yes. TIME TRAVEL! And pioneers! Time-traveling pioneers, people! It's ge...moreA tender, heartfelt novel about family, love, loyalty, and . . . time travel. Yes. TIME TRAVEL! And pioneers! Time-traveling pioneers, people! It's genius. So many times in church we hear stories about the pioneers, and how we should appreciate their sacrifices, and we think, Yeah, yeah, I know! But do we really understand what they went through? And how would be reassess our lives if one our pioneer ancestors stood in front of us? In this fascinating novel, a young girl so caught up in her own sense of injustice comes face to face with her five times great-grandmother, and through their shared experience comes to understand the good things in her own life, as well as the things that need to be changed. Beautiful!(less)
I will never look at scented candles the same way again!
A fun finale to Smith's trilogy about a musical trio who just can't seem to stay away from mu...moreI will never look at scented candles the same way again!
A fun finale to Smith's trilogy about a musical trio who just can't seem to stay away from murders! Caitlin heads up to "Little" Nashville, Indiana, to do some shopping and meditating before the trio's finale wedding gig. She stops off at the local candle factory to get a free tour, and winds up with much more!(less)
This is such a perfectly wonderful book. I couldn't put it down, and by the end I was sobbing. I emailed Julie (I'm lucky enough to know her) right aw...moreThis is such a perfectly wonderful book. I couldn't put it down, and by the end I was sobbing. I emailed Julie (I'm lucky enough to know her) right away to a) tell her how much I loved it, and b) demand to know if it was in any way based on her life. (It isn't.) Suzy, the main character, is so REAL and what she goes through is so heartbreaking and yet inspiring, I simply could not believe that someone (even someone as talented at Julie) could make this stuff up! (less)
Mayla is back, conflicted about her feelings for her good-looking preacher, and now facing a job crisis. She decides to go on vacation...moreAnother charmer!
Mayla is back, conflicted about her feelings for her good-looking preacher, and now facing a job crisis. She decides to go on vacation, but her problems follow her. Literally. Just as humorous and touching as Just as I Am, I couldn't put this one down either.(less)
Another fun mystery by Virginia Smith! This one takes place at a retirement farm for Thoroughbred Stallions. The culture of the breeders, plus the fac...moreAnother fun mystery by Virginia Smith! This one takes place at a retirement farm for Thoroughbred Stallions. The culture of the breeders, plus the facts about the horses and their lives, were fascinating, and all tied up nicely with a romance and a murder (two, actually)! I ripped right through this book, unable to put it down once the first body was discovered and our two main characters met and were instantly attracted in Chapter One . . . that's good stuff!(less)
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