M. Jean Pike's Blog, page 28

Coming Soon!

pretty

Couldn’t resist brightening your day with this pic of my granddaughter, Miss Mya, along with a quote by Marilyn Monroe. Isn’t she the cutest?

“All little girls should be told they are pretty.”

– Marilyn Monroe

tulips!

At least someone likes this crazy Ohio weather

A Dream Come True!

A lifelong dream came true today. Ten books under my belt, but today I held my very first hardcover copy of one of my books in my hands! That being said, The Little Things is now out in a hardcover, large print edition from Thorndike Press.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Thorndike Press.

Or if you’d like to ask your library to get a copy it would be appreciated muchly

Small Miracles

When I got my first pair of reading glasses, at age forty, I was devastated. I felt so old. A few years later I graduated to bifocals, which for a while I refused to wear.

For a while, I fought every wrinkle and gray hair tooth and nail. And while I’m still not ready to take the plunge and go gray, I don’t stress over it anymore. I remember that my mother never had the privilege of having gray hair.

Every year is a gift.

A couple of years ago I started to notice I couldn’t hear as well. I’ve lived in a very quiet world recently. I finally had a hearing test and discovered my left ear was doing most of the work.

Today I got my first pair of hearing aids and all I feel is blessed.

I could hear my turn signal blinking as I drove home, could hear my dog lapping water out of her bowl, and the symphony of bird song in the sugar maple outside my back door.

I’m not as young as I used to be. But there’s no shame in that.

I’m learning to embrace these helping hands like glasses and hearing aids, and yep, even hair color out of a box.

I’m learning to embrace the wisdom and the quiet acceptance that comes with having made a few extra circuits around the sun.

I’m learning to be grateful for small miracles.

Puzzling in the New Year!

I can’t think of a more fun and relaxing way to bring in the new year than with a “stack of books” puzzle. Guess I’m officially old

Chapter One…

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Be blessed today!

among us

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  

John 1:14

50 Books/50 States

It’s no secret that I love books. I love that reading transports me to places I may not otherwise visit and introduces me to so many interesting people and scenarios.

Between the regular demands of life, working a full-time job, and writing my own stories, I’m usually good for about three books a month, 36 books a year. Last year I heard about a fun challenge; to read fifty books set in fifty different states. I decided to push myself a little further this year and see if I could complete that challenge.

Though I do buy new books from time to time, most of my TBR pile comes from library book sales, yard sales and thrift stores. On these treasure hunts I have discovered many older titles I missed. I’ve discovered some amazing new- to- me authors and reconnected with some old favorites. It was fun to try and collect my fifty states and I read some books I might not have read, had I not needed those states.

I met the goal of reading fifty books more than a week ahead of schedule. I feel great about that. However, I only managed 39 of the 50 states. Finding some books that were not set in the USA, but that I could not resist, I ventured across the ocean to England, Israel, and the Netherlands. I visited Maine, New Mexico and Virginia twice this year. Sadly, there were two books I had to abandon after a couple of chapters. Life is too short to read books that don’t hold my interest!

I read so many wonderful books this year that I gave 5-Star ratings for content, writing style and characters, that it would be hard to narrow it down to a favorite. But there were three that I rated 5-Plus. These three books will stay with me for a long time and earn a permanent place on my book shelf.

Favorite #3

Favorite #2

Favorite #1

I would have to say this heartwarming story of unlikely friendships was my number one favorite book of the year for its characters, content and being an all-around incredibly written story:

(I also read through the entire New Testament this year, but that was part of a different challenge )

And so another year of books is, as they say, in the books. I am thinking of trying the Alphabet Challenge in 2024. Only half as many this time because I have projects of my own simmering on back burners that need my attention. But since I am the type who needs to finish what I start… Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, and Utah – I will catch up with you soon!

Comment and let me know about your reading challenge, or what your favorite books were this year