Joy E. Rancatore's Blog, page 2

Traditions and the Legacies They Reflect

Over the holidays, I had time to reflect on our family’s traditions and how they’ve grown and morphed over the years.

Impending life changes in our family hit me with the realization that more alterations to those customs are forthcoming. Through a special gift from my husband, though, I was reminded that while our traditions may change, their legacy and the core of what we celebrate and focus on will remain resolute.

A Look Back

As still-new members of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), I frequently give thanks for our church home and chuckle at the road that led us here.

One of the many ways I can look back over my life and see God’s hand leading and preparing us for where we are now, spiritually speaking, is how drawn I’ve always been to embracing the church calendar and its God-focused traditions.

I grew up in a reformed Presbyterian home where my minister father kept those traditions, including Christmas, at arms’ length. Granted, he obliged the whims of each church where he served to some extent. He refused to participate in some of the activities, though he didn’t always fight a congregation on their traditional events.

What this looked like from my perspective was that we enjoyed the annual Christmas Eve candlelight service, which I believe my parents may have written and fine-tuned over the years.

It also meant that I was forbidden to participate in activities of pagan origins—like the Hanging of the Greens service where I was to have my first solo. And, in the case of the church that insisted on including the jolly fat man during a family event, I found myself horrified at being pulled up to sit on the lap of a man I had been raised to consider a terrible twisting and perverting of a Christian celebration of the infant birth of Christ.

On the home front, I reached a point where I hated Christmas because my father angrily railed against pretty much every aspect of the season around us, both inside and outside the church.

I recall a vague awareness of something called Advent and of Advent candles and calendars. I wasn’t sure what all that was about, but I loved the idea of the candles, especially.

At an early age, I insisted on keeping the wise men far from the nativity and slowly leading them toward the Christ child since that was more accurate. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned that Epiphany—recognized on January 6—has a deeper meaning, one that should be especially precious to every non-Jewish believer in God and our Messiah Jesus Christ.

At some point during my childhood, I recall visiting another church that was more “high church” and followed those church calendar traditions I’d been taught were unnecessary and, perhaps, “Catholic.” It was Holy Week, and I believe we may have been there on Maundy Thursday. Regardless of the exact day, I remember they had special services each day of the week. The minister’s robes were specific colors, and there were reasons behind them. The pulpit was adorned in matching colors, and everything meant something. I was captivated and felt a sense of awe I had never experienced before, and I longed to attend a church where such traditions were kept and explained.

After college, I chose to join a Southern Baptist church. At the time, my now-husband and I were talking about marriage, and he was in seminary to become a Baptist pastor. I knew I wasn’t Baptist, but I also knew that my soon-to-be husband and I had most understandings of the Bible in common, including some uncommon in Baptist circles. I pressed forward with the unnecessary dunking on my own so I would be acceptable to any future church-goers we may encounter once he graduated.

Fast-forward, Tony did graduate, but he chose not to become a pastor. We continued in non-denominational and Baptist churches where he frequently taught and preached and I also taught children and women from time to time.

Our marriage and then parenthood began a new era of holiday traditions. While a couple of the churches we were part of included the Advent candles during the weeks leading up to Christmas, they still seemed to be missing important celebrations and focused remembrances that I began reading more about as I studied the early church. I longed for solemn services to commemorate the most important moments in Christianity. I brought our own version of Advent into the house when the kids were still young.

As the years went by, and I began to research and ask questions about Kings Day that kicks off king cake and carnival season in our part of the world—southeast Louisiana—I became more adamant about slowly moving the wise men toward Christ until January 6 when we give thanks that the Messiah came for the whole world, not just to one people group.

And now, God has brought us to a church where we actively and solemnly and joyfully celebrate each of these moments in the church calendar together with our church family. I’m still learning the history and the focus of each as I gladly shed the half-hearted celebrations I’ve known in the past and polish and improve the mash-up of traditions I had attempted to piece together on my own. 

We attend special services throughout the Advent and Lenten seasons, and I’m learning the colors associated with each day or season of the year and what those colors remind us of and help us focus on. We celebrate each major moment of Christianity’s history and look forward with eagerness to the culmination when Christ will return. We also give thanks for those who have gone before us, including those saints we read about in history and those from our own families and friends who have preceded us into heaven, without worshipping or praying to them.

Aside from the religious traditions we’ve embraced over the years, we’ve also added things like Jolabokaflod, the Icelandic tradition of gifting books for Christmas and opening and reading them on Christmas Eve. It went perfectly with the tradition I’d had since childhood of choosing one gift to open on Christmas Eve. And, of course, we already gifted books to the kids and one another. As each year’s activities shift and change with the plans of extended family and the ever-changing work schedule of my husband, we sometimes celebrate our literary routines on Christmas Eve Eve instead.

A number of years ago, we added the reading of Socks for Christmas by Andy Andrews. His childhood recollections remind us to think of others and be mindful of the needs around us while not getting caught up in selfish greediness. We exchange socks, and I always tear up as our son reads the part about the siblings who received shoes for Christmas but no socks.

Sometimes my daughter and I bake together. When we do, we typically take little packages of sweets to our neighbors. If we don’t have time, though, we don’t force it. I learned that the hard way. Just because it’s something we enjoy doing and we want it to be a tradition we never let slide doesn’t mean it always happens. Instead, we may have a new opportunity together, like filling out the FAFSA or getting a nose pierced or taking my son shopping for clothes because he’s never asked to do such a thing before.

Sometimes I reread A Christmas Carol. Sometimes we read historical accounts of St. Nicolaus. Sometimes we participate in our library’s winter reading challenge, and sometimes I host a Family Reading Challenge.

A Realization

As much as traditions are meant to be a “customary pattern,” as Merriam Webster tells us, they are more about the heart of their meaning than about the action itself. As I looked back over the years, I realized how much our traditions have morphed and shifted and how, often, what we consider a tradition is something we’ve only done once or twice over the years, though it’s stuck with us because of the memories made and the company shared.

And so, as every year changes in some small or large way, I have come to realize it’s the heart and soul of what’s most important that we will cling to, whether the outside actions of it look the same as the Christmas before or not.

At the core of our family traditions are three things: faith in Christ and a focus on the incredible gifts God has given us, intentional time together as the family God has brought together and an awareness of and a choosing to embrace opportunities with friends and to help those around us. 

A Crossroads

I think the reflection on how our traditions have morphed over the years hit deeper this year as I realized I have no idea how next year will look for our family.

With the flip-forward of a year’s worth of calendar pages, our daughter will be completing her first semester in college and both children should be driving and planning their futures.

Will they be dating at that point? Will we be adapting to other families’ traditions? Which of the things we did this year will we no longer have time to include?

I had a moment of worry and sadness as I realized one year from now may be unrecognizable, but then I thought back to how different our traditions have actually been from year to year.

Recognizing that it was the outer actions, though, that are what have changed rather than the inner motivations calmed the turmoil in my mother’s heart and made me hopeful for the years to come with however our traditions adapt.

That calming of spirit really came thanks to a gift from my husband that was appropriate and beautiful at first glance but that became perhaps the most purposeful and thoughtful gift I’ve ever received. 

Where a Legacy Leads

Tony gifted me two books this year: An Encyclopedia of Tolkien: The History and Mythology that Inspired Tolkien’s World by David Day and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, illustrated by Jemima Catlin.

Both are gorgeous books with fine covers and exquisite designs inside and out. Receiving them as gifts was, as I said, beautiful in themselves. Tony knows how much I admire Tolkien and how much his writing has inspired and taught and molded me and my writing.

But then, as the kids were chatting about the books they’d opened and were trying on their new socks, Tony and I had a quiet moment together where he explained why he sought out an illustrated version of The Hobbit for me.

Several weeks previously, he and I—in one of our rare but treasured times of uninterrupted and deeper conversation—had brought up the topic of becoming grandparents in the not-so-distant future.

Now, I should interject that neither of our children are currently in relationships, and as seventeen- and fifteen-year-olds should not be gifting us grandchildren for a while yet. That being said, Tony and I have lately been feeling the closeness to that stage.

Our conversation centered around how I realized I would be able to welcome that stage once it arrived. It no longer feels distant and weird and like something I want nothing to do with. Instead, I can picture new family members and memories and understand the new type of joy that stage of life will bring.

And so, Tony told me in our whispered conversation alongside the bustle of our kids’ Christmas experiences that our conversation had stuck with him and that he wanted to find an illustrated copy of The Hobbit so that I could read the book to our grandkids one day and continue the legacy of a love for reading that I’d shared with him and our children.

Reader, I teared up.

I believe both of us envisioned those future children snuggled up on either side of me with this olive green book open on my lap as I read the words that, alongside the captivating illustrations, will ignite another generation of imaginations.

Traditions are about legacy. They are what we pass along and what we had passed to us.

The legacy of words and stories upholds the focus of our family’s traditions and the legacies of faith, family, friends and others that they contain.

Now I know the traditions we’ve tweaked and adapted and embraced over the years will continue in differing forms, unchanged in their underlying legacy.

 

What traditions have you held over the years? How have they changed? What is the underlying legacy of your traditions?

The post Traditions and the Legacies They Reflect first appeared on Joy E. Rancatore.

The post Traditions and the Legacies They Reflect appeared first on Joy E. Rancatore.

2025 Word of the Year

For nine years now, I have chosen a Word of the Year. 

These words become touchstones for the opportunities, challenges and decisions of each year. Looking back over each of them shows me a roadmap of where I’ve traveled on this author journey.

The Words2017: FOCUS2018: COMPLETION2019: PERSEVERANCE2020: WISDOM2021: COMMITMENT2022: INFLUENCE2023: LEGACY2024: CLARITY2025: SHIFT

I’m always amazed at how the word fits its year, in some cases feeling somewhat prophetic. The best example of that is 2020. None of us knew in January how much wisdom we would need.

Looking Back

2017 was the year I finetuned my purpose and plowed ahead toward my dreams, setting up Logos & Mythos Press as an official business and choosing a story idea to focus on.

2018 was the year of completion of first drafts and when I first saw my name on a book cover that also sat on library shelves.

2019 began with a great deal of uncertainty over whether I would be able to meet my publishing goal or not, and yet that year’s perseverance paid off with two published books.

God gave me wisdom through the trials of 2020. 2021 saw my commitment tested and strengthened, while 2022 was a year where I began to see the positive influence my books and I could have.

Reeling from a great deal of loss in the last half of the year before, I clung to the word in 2023 as a life raft while I navigated the choppy waters of the emotions for those left behind and pressed forward with the second half of publishing Carolina’s Legacy Collection.

At the start of 2024, I felt cloudy over decisions and paths to take. As the year progressed, though, I saw with God-given clarity for each new step.

And Now …

For 2025, I contemplated a number of words, but shift was the one that stood out. It feels different to me somehow. This year’s genesis has felt different, too.

I have developed certain routines that I make part of my early January. So far, choosing a word is the only one I’ve kept. Surprising to me, I don’t intend to update my clarity cards or create full goal lists or anything else planning-related at the moment.

Instead of freaking out over this deviation from my comfortable, orderly habits, I’m at peace with my decision and believe such contentment directly relates to my 2025 word.

It All Comes Full Circle

You see, I know a shift needs to happen. I’ve felt the need for a while.

What I’ve lacked is a clarity over what exactly this shift needs to cover. I know it will have an impact on my legacy and influence while solidifying my commitment to the right tasks. I will rely greatly on wisdom and perseverance as I seek completion of whatever this shift must be, and I believe a greater focus will be the result.

Looking Forward

And so, once my word and I run through this process together—whenever that will be—I expect to return to those helpful routines (or some version of them) to brainstorm and plot my author plans and goals from the proper place—mind, body and emotions.

For these reasons, I have no immediate intentions to release plans for the coming year. I have some desired goals, but until I figure out how I must shift, I won’t declare them publicly.

Great Expectations

I do expect some changes to occur in the coming weeks. All I can say with relative certainty is:

My weekly newsletter will be the best place for updates when they’re available. https://bit.ly/JoyERancatoreNewsletter I will continue to write; in fact, I believe the primary direction of this year’s shift will lead to more written content.

Beyond those details, I expect to be delightfully surprised as this year unfolds and look forward to what a look back at the changes and this word will reveal.

 

Do you set a Word of the Year? What is yours? Why did you choose it or are you unsure of its purpose yet?

The post 2025 Word of the Year first appeared on Joy E. Rancatore.

The post 2025 Word of the Year appeared first on Joy E. Rancatore.

12 Months of Reading January 2025

Welcome to January’s 12 Months of Reading! Each month in 2025, I will host a different reading challenge category. These categories are broad to fit a variety of reading preferences. 

The January 2025 12 Months of Reading Challenge category is: A Book with Snow in the Title or on the Cover. 

In my half of this third rock from the sun, January means winter. Of course, in my little corner of southeast Louisiana, we don’t typically get snow. It still gets downright frigid from time to time, so it seemed fitting for our January 12 Months of Reading category to be an ode to the season. 

The Category Is a Guide, Not a Rule 

 I am big on readers reading what they love. For that reason, my book club has no set book! And that is why when I set reading categories for 12 MOR and my other challenges, I make them as broad as possible. 

If a reader prefers nonfiction to fiction, they should still be able to participate. If they prefer short form writing or poetry or anything else, again, they should be able to mold the category to their preferences. 

I am also quite flexible on what fits each category. For aesthetic’s sake, I try to keep categories short. While January’s isn’t as short as I’d like, it still doesn’t capture all that could fit the bill. 

For instance, a book that is set in a snow-prone region (whether or not snow makes an appearance in the story) would be totally acceptable. 

And so, if a reader is uncertain of a category, they need only ask. At the end of the day, my top priority is encouraging readers to read more. 

My Recommendations 

Again, these four books are simply my suggestions to fit the category. Readers may choose any book they’d like that the category can mold to. 

Christmas K-9 Guardians: Mountain Country K-9 Unit by Lenora Worth and Katy Lee 

Last fall, I had the great privilege and true joy of being on a panel with Lenora Worth at the Louisiana Book Festival. Friends, she is kind and gracious and an absolute blast to chat with and spend time around books with. She is also the author of more than 100 books! 

This is her latest release, and she had me at K-9s and mountains. IYKYK 

I am a huge fan of suspense, law enforcement, animals of any kind and K-9s in particular. 

(In fact, I have been playing around with my own K-9 story ideas ever since we adopted our adorable Belgian Malinois, Kaiser, back in May of 2024. Shhhh …. that’s a secret: the story, not the pup. You can see him all over my social media and in my weekly author newsletter!) 

This book contains two novellas. Lenora wrote Perilous Christmas Pursuit, and Katy Lee (an author I look forward to learning more about) wrote Lethal Holiday Hideout. 

While I rarely seek out books set over specific holidays, I think these stories will be exactly what my reader heart wants during this chilly month. Since I am still wrapping up some 2024 reading, I think two shorter stories will be helpful. Plus, this gives me a glimpse at two authors in one! 

To read along with me, get a copy from Bookshop .org and support independent bookstores: https://bookshop.org/a/95576/9781335980250.  

Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John 

This is one of those books that had a profound impact on my life when I was young, and I love to share it with others. 

When I was around five years old, I read this book. The story of forgiveness and grace affected my heart and led me to an understanding of what Christ did for me through his life, death and resurrection. 

During or after the reading of this book is when I surrendered my life to Christ. 

Aside from a clear and simple presentation of the gospel, Treasures of the Snow is a beautiful and poignant story of forgiveness and love, despite tragedy and mistakes. Like all of Patricia St. John’s books, this story will stick with readers in a heart-warming way for years to come. 

For more on the book, read my review on Goodreads and get a copy here: https://bookshop.org/a/95576/9780802465757.  

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See 

This book captivated me and taught me a great deal about a culture I knew very little about. The writing is stellar, and the story compels readers. 

Here is a one-sentence summary from my Goodreads review: “Lisa See presents a compelling story about two women growing up in nineteenth-century China while facing all the horrors and unfairness of the traditions and customs imposed upon them.” 

The book includes some somewhat graphic scenes surrounding the custom of foot-binding as well as some often-abusive marriages and other, more nurturing relationships. 

I am glad I read this book and stand in awe of See’s abilities as a researcher and storyteller. She writes with heart and soul, and her books showcase that ability. 

Here is a link for what I think is the more beautiful paperback: https://bookshop.org/a/95576/9780812980356. In case it is out of stock, though, there is another version that costs the same: https://bookshop.org/a/95576/9780812968064.  

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read 

This is a book I have not read and know very little about. I am, however, curious about this true account of the 10 weeks in 1972 on the snowy Andes Mountain peaks when 16 out of 45 people whose plane crashed survived. 

I would imagine it includes some hard-to-read bits, as any true account of survival in extreme conditions would. I will also say I found several other books that seemed to chronicle the same events, some written by survivors. 

With those facts presented, I decided to recommend this book for a few reasons. The author of this version has an impressive resumé, and this book was published two years after the crash happened. It was also adapted into a film and carries an impressive rating of 4.13 over nearly 80,000 starred reviews on Goodreads. 

I am eager to hear anyone’s thoughts who reads or has read this book or any other account of this tragic accident. 

A personal copy can be purchased here: https://bookshop.org/a/95576/9780380003211.  

A Note on my Recommendations 

Typically, I only recommend books I have read or have had recommended to me by trusted reader friends. This year, I will be including the books I plan to read as I participate in the challenge, as well as a few here and there that seem to fit the category well and may come from an outside-the-box genre. 

In my recommendation posts, I will specify whether or not I have read each book as well as why I chose to recommend it. 

I welcome feedback and honest reviews on the books I haven’t read, including whatever books participating readers choose on their own. 

After all, one of the benefits to a challenge like this is to be introduced to new books. That’s one of the core points to my #ShareTheRead mindset! 

12 Months of Reading Challenge Reminders 

My heart’s desire for 12 Months of Reading is that it encourages timid readers, stokes the embers of readers’ passions that have grown cold in the busyness of society, brings readers and authors together to share the joy of stories and spreads a splash of fun throughout the year. 

For competitive readers who choose to read a book in each month’s category, they may download and print out a 12 Months of Reading Challenge Tracker PDF. Once they complete their twelfth book in December, they can scan or snap a picture of the filled-in PDF and email it to me for a prize: a stylish calendar with next year’s 12 Months of Reading categories. 

To purchase a current version of the calendar (supplies are limited) and to participate in 12 Months of Reading, download free graphics and the PDF tracker, find links to each month’s book recommendation post and more in one spot, visit www.joyerancatore.com/12-months-of-reading.  

Comment below with what you plan to read and then return to share a review. Let’s #ShareTheRead!

(If you use the bookshop.org links above to order, I receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me and independent bookstores by using them for your online bookstore purchases!) 

Remember to #ShareTheRead! Tap the graphic below to download each month’s graphic to share on your social media. How many reader friends can you bring to the party?

Tap the image above to download each month’s graphic. Share graphics on social media with #ShareTheRead and #12MonthsOfReading and tag @joyerancatore!

Tap the graphic above to join LAM Book Club for an extra way to #ShareTheRead with fellow readers! No set book. Meet virtually once a month. Share what you’re reading or ask for recommendations.

The post 12 Months of Reading January 2025 first appeared on Joy E. Rancatore.

The post 12 Months of Reading January 2025 appeared first on Joy E. Rancatore.

12 Months of Reading More Than a Challenge

I love a good reading challenge, but more than that, I delight in watching readers and authors come together over the joy of a great read. That passion is the soul behind the 12 Months of Reading Challenge. 

In 2024, I started the challenge on a bit of a whim and simply floated it out quietly into the world. I didn’t make much of a to-do about it; it was more of a trial run, so to speak. At the end of that year, I decided it should be much more, and so I did a little brainstorming and here we are! 

Just the Facts, Ma’am 

The 12 Months of Reading Challenge gives readers a different category each month. I also share at least four recommendations of books that could be read for that category. Readers choose one of those books or another one of their choosing and read it. That’s it! 

How Big Is This Commitment? The Bare Minimum 

Some readers will pick out one or two categories, and that’s all they want from 12 MOR. And, that is so fine. The commitment can end right there. 

This Challenge also offers a community of lit lovers and more engaging challenges throughout the year for readers who want more fun. 

The Community 

I am primarily active on Facebook and Instagram and have a found a beautiful group of book lovers who frequently interact in the comments of my posts. 

Each week, I post a LAM Book Club graphic and encourage readers to share what they’re currently reading. People can usually find some great recommendations there if they’re between reads. Also, conversations pop up between readers as they discover shared favorites or preferences. 

That community grows during the other events I host throughout the year. 

More Challenges 

One of my goals as an author is to use my virtual platform to bring readers and authors together over the written word. 

I do that year-round through a variety of events and activities that I host on this website, my social media pages, my YouTube channel, my newsletter and on video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Skype. 

Here are a few of the activities I host throughout the year. (By the way, LAM stands for Logos & Mythos, which is the name of my publishing company.) 

LAM Book Club: no set book; readers share what they’re reading and recommendations; weekly posts on social media and monthly virtual chats via Zoom on the first Thursday of each month [More about LAM Book Club]  12 Days of Reading Challenge, December 26 through January 6: this low-key event presents readers with tips, questions, challenges, events and more each day to reflect on the good reads of the past year and prepare for more great reads in the year to come LAM Authors of the Round Table Chats: readers are invited to chat live via Zoom with various authors throughout the year; I interview them in a casual, conversational manner and encourage readers to ask their own questions; the replays are available on YouTube  LAM Couples Reading Challenge: grab your partner and pick a book (or short story or other written medium); held in February, this challenge is the perfect opportunity for husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends to get to know more about each other by diving into a story together LAM Summer Reading Challenge: going strong since 2018, this challenge is a reader favorite; running for eight weeks during June and July, readers interact with one another and authors through social media posts and live Zoom chats and compete for prizes of autographed books, book swag prize packs and two grand prizes of gift cards to bookshop .org. [More about LAM Summer Reading]  LAM Family Reading Challenge: the family that reads together, stays together; encouraging literacy in all generations is important to me, so I host this event in the fall to infuse more fun into family reading; we play bookish games during live Zoom events, set our own challenges for the month and compete for prizes 

The best way to receive frequent reminders of all these opportunities, is to subscribe to my weekly newsletter. A subscription is free and comes with exclusive stories and other freebies as well as first looks at book titles and covers, release dates, behind-the-story details, book recommendations, in-person events and more. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/JoyERancatoreNewsletter.  

The 12 Months of Reading Completion Prize 

For this Challenge, a reader can commit to reading all 12 categories throughout the year—one book a month. For those readers, I have free downloadable graphics to share each month’s read with friends on social media, as well as a PDF for recording all twelve months. Emailing a completed PDF to me by midnight (CT) on January 2 claims the completion prize: a 12 Months of Reading calendar for the following year. 

A Word About Categories 

I am big on readers reading what they love. For that reason, my book club has no set book! And that is why when I set reading categories for 12 MOR and my other challenges, I make them as broad as possible. 

If a reader prefers nonfiction to fiction, they should still be able to participate. If they prefer short form writing or poetry or anything else, again, they should be able to mold the category to their preferences. 

I am also quite flexible on what fits each category. For example, I once had “A Fantastic Book” as a category. While that may immediately bring to mind dragons and faeries for some readers, a fantastic book could be anything someone reads and can’t stop talking about. 

One more example to think outside the category is “A Book with Snow in the Title or on the Cover.” For aesthetic’s sake, I try to keep categories short. While this one isn’t as short as I’d like, it still doesn’t capture all that could fit the bill. For instance, a book that is set in a snow-prone region (whether or not snow makes an appearance in the story) would be totally acceptable. 

And so, if a reader is uncertain of a category, they need only ask. At the end of the day, my top priority is encouraging readers to read more. 

How No-Pressure Are We Talking? 

I am not going to hound anyone who wants to participate in 12 Months of Reading. In fact, it’s really on each reader to let me know they’re participating. Tag me on social media with a downloaded graphic, interact in the comments of my posts or email me to share how it’s going. 

Or don’t! 

This Challenge is for readers. Like the books I write, once I’ve released these challenges into the world, the readers take over from there and make them what they need them to be. 

What’s In It For More Competitive Readers? 

The completion prize is a 12 Months of Reading calendar. This is not any old calendar, though. 

It includes three things for each month: 

That month’s reading category A spot to record the chosen title and author for the month A few literature-related dates 

I will also have a limited number of these calendars available for purchase from me each year. (More on that on the 12 Months of Reading webpage … link below.) 

Aside from the prize for readers who complete all twelve months, 12 Months of Reading is perfect for sharing with fellow book lovers, wherever they happen to be. Let me spin you a couple of tales … 

Two best friends who’ve swapped book recommendations since they both fell in love with Sweet Valley High back in the 1990s live across the country from one another. They both have access to the 12 Months of Reading page and graphics and can have an added friendly competition on social media. First to post their completed book each month gets bonus bragging rights! Or, maybe instead of competing, they take on the challenge together, choosing the same book to read and chat about however they keep in touch. 

A group of friends who love to read decide to form a casual book club, but they’re not sure how to pick each month’s read. Enter 12 Months of Reading! 

Recent empty-nesters, a husband and wife decide to fill their quieter evenings with reading out loud together. They use 12 Months of Reading to guide their choices. 

I look forward to hearing how you use this Challenge to boost your own reading or to share with friends. 

In Closing 

My heart’s desire for 12 Months of Reading is that it encourages timid readers, stokes the embers of readers’ passions that have grown cold in the busyness of society, brings readers and authors together to share the joy of stories and spreads a splash of fun throughout the year. 

To participate in 12 Months of Reading, download graphics and a PDF tracker, find links to each month’s book recommendation post and more in one spot, visit www.joyerancatore.com/12-months-of-reading .

Remember to #ShareTheRead! Tap the graphic below to download each month’s graphic to share on your social media. How many reader friends can you bring to the party?

Tap the image above to download each month’s graphic. Share graphics on social media with #ShareTheRead and #12MonthsOfReading and tag @joyerancatore!

Tap the graphic above to join LAM Book Club for an extra way to #ShareTheRead with fellow readers! No set book. Meet virtually once a month. Share what you’re reading or ask for recommendations.

The post 12 Months of Reading More Than a Challenge first appeared on Joy E. Rancatore.

The post 12 Months of Reading More Than a Challenge appeared first on Joy E. Rancatore.

12 Months of Reading: December 2024

Welcome to 12 Months of Reading! Each month in 2024, I will host a different reading challenge category. These categories are broad, and, chances are, whatever you’re reading may fit in them.

Before you latch on to the word “fantastic” and think you have to choose a fantasy book, you don’t.

For this final month of 2024, I want you to dig deep and think what makes a book fantastic … to YOU! Perhaps it takes dragons for you to use that word, but perhaps not. What is it about a book that makes you clutch it to your chest, lingering on its whispers, after you close the back cover?

I’m sharing four recommendations that reside on my heart’s bookshelf because they are too fantastic to let go.

First up: my favorite book of all time by my favorite author of all time is The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. Fall headfirst into the genius of Tolkien’s mind as he presents a history of all the peoples and lands of Middle Earth in this masterpiece of world-building. Choose from paperback, hardcover or this stunning illustrated edition, all from bookshop.org.

Get swept away to the early days of Christianity in this tragic story of love, faith and hope. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz is a classic that every fan of historical fiction—Christian or not—should read. Buy this beautiful copy from bookshop.org.

Follow the hearts of the characters in The Beauty Thief by my dear friend Rachael Ritchey in an adventure for the ages that will transform your view of what beauty truly is. Begin her Chronicles of the Twelve Realms series with this first book from bookshop.org. Or, get this gorgeous illustrated and abridged picture book version to share with younger readers in your life.

Believe in the magic of a mystical island surrounded by man-eating horses and root for your favorite rider in The Scorpio Races by the incredibly talented Maggie Stiefvater. You will never begin the eleventh month the same after reading her chilling opening line, “It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.” Find your personal copy on bookshop.org.

Whether you read one of my recommendations or come up with your own, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a comment below to let me know what you’re reading. Mark your calendar for December 5 and plan to join my virtual LAM Book Club to share your choice with fellow readers.

(If you use the bookshop.org links above to order, I receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me and independent bookstores by using them for your online bookstore purchases!)

What will you read? Comment below with your choice. Return once you’ve finished to share your review and thoughts. Remember to #ShareTheRead! Tap the graphic below to download each month’s graphic to share on your social media. How many reader friends can you bring to the party?

Tap the image above to download each month’s graphic. Share on your social media with #ShareTheRead and #12MonthsOfReading and tag @joyerancatore!

Tap the graphic above to join LAM Book Club for an extra way to #ShareTheRead with fellow readers! No set book. Meet virtually once a month. Share what you’re reading or ask for recommendations.

The post 12 Months of Reading: December 2024 first appeared on Joy E. Rancatore.

The post 12 Months of Reading: December 2024 appeared first on Joy E. Rancatore.

12 Months of Reading: November 2024

Welcome to 12 Months of Reading! Each month in 2024, I will host a different reading challenge category. These categories are broad, and, chances are, whatever you’re reading may fit in them.

You’re never too old to enjoy a kids’ book. Picture books, chapter books and YA books each hold magic within their covers for whoever opens them.

I chose these four books because each one delighted me when I read them as an adult, and I’m willing to bet they’ll have the same effect on you.

Experience a swamp as alive as every character in the story. My sweet friend Candice Marley Conner has written an instant classic in The Existence of Bea Pearl. Get your copy on bookshop.org.

Feel the ups and downs of friendship through the examples of Frog, Toad and friends. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame is a true classic that stands the test of time in more ways than one. Buy this beautiful copy from bookshop.org.

Get swept away to a new world on dragons’ wings with the first in a trilogy by Louisiana author Jessica Deen Norris. Firesight is followed by Frostsight and—coming December 2024—Stormsight. Start your set on Jessica’s website.

Immerse yourself in a simple and beautiful slice of real life … generously spread with sticky sweetness, of course. Gloria Whelan created a beautiful story for a read-aloud or a gentle autumn read in a hammock. Enjoy Jam & Jelly by Holly & Nellie and find your personal copy on bookshop.org.

Whether you read one of my recommendations or come up with your own, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a comment below to let me know what you’re reading. Mark your calendar for November 7 and plan to join my virtual LAM Book Club to share your choice with fellow readers.

(If you use the bookshop.org links above to order, I receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me and independent bookstores by using them for your online bookstore purchases!)

What will you read? Comment below with your choice. Return once you’ve finished to share your review and thoughts. Remember to #ShareTheRead! Tap the graphic below to download each month’s graphic to share on your social media. How many reader friends can you bring to the party?

Tap the image above to download each month’s graphic. Share on your social media with #ShareTheRead and #12MonthsOfReading and tag @joyerancatore!

Tap the graphic above to join LAM Book Club for an extra way to #ShareTheRead with fellow readers! No set book. Meet virtually once a month. Share what you’re reading or ask for recommendations.

The post 12 Months of Reading: November 2024 first appeared on Joy E. Rancatore.

The post 12 Months of Reading: November 2024 appeared first on Joy E. Rancatore.

Weeping with the Mountains

The Southeastern United States I know and love has been devastated. The mountains that have long held my heart are weeping.

I’m not sure people understand the severity of the situation. This is not a typical post-hurricane cleanup. In fact, “cleanup” isn’t even part of the discussion right now.

I’d like to use my small voice to share a few facts as well as a word picture of the homes of our neighbors whose world has literally slid away.I’ve got links for more information from people there as well as links of two organizations I recommend if you’d like to donate financially. Plus, I have several ways you can help right now without spending a dime.And, finally, I will share why my heart is heavy—beyond the obvious, horrendous loss of beautiful and amazing people.How Did This Happen?

Hurricane Helene swept in as a powerful storm on September 26, 2024. A mash-up of weather-related conditions resulted in a tragic and devastating 500-mile swath of destruction and flooding unlike any our nation has seen.

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia have all been greatly affected, as well as parts of Kentucky and Ohio. I’m sure there are other areas I’m unaware of at the moment that will come to light in days to come.

Flooding, extensive damage, power outages, loss of homes and loss of life are the norm in all those states and surrounding areas. Recovery will be long.

In some places, recovery will be far longer.

What’s Going on Now?

A week after the storm’s landfall, many places aren’t even close to being ready for cleanup, let alone rebuilding. Flooding and mudslides in the mountains carried houses off their foundations, leveled towns and communities and left hundreds dead or missing.

First responders are still rescuing people. Miracles are happening, and heroes are doing what heroes do.

The death toll, as I write this, has passed 160, but 600 people are estimated to be missing. First responders’ current focus is on rescuing anyone still breathing. Recovery of bodies simply has to wait for the time being.

This is not happening in some other country, far away. Right now, today, in our country, hundreds of our neighbors are missing, swept away by water currents, buried in mud.

People are cut off from neighbors by washed out roads, crumbled bridges and zero communication capabilities. Families were separated when flood waters swept through yards and homes, casting people in all different directions.

Clean drinking water is nonexistent and will be for some time, especially in areas where the entire infrastructure was destroyed.

What’s the Area Like?

Author Pepper Basham—whose latest beautiful book set in those devastated mountains released on 10/1—shares a little about the unique and beautiful nature of communities in the mountains in this video, and another Asheville resident writes more in her Facebook post.

Mountain communities are small and close-knit. Many have one road in and out, and those roads tend to be narrow and windy on fair-weather days. Creeks and rivers snake through the entire area, and most homes are situated on the lower areas of property and often near water.

What Do They Need?

Teams are in the area with helicopters and planes and mules and ATVs. They are working tirelessly to reach the people who are still cut off or trapped.

Long-term—once every man, woman and child is rescued or recovered—an overwhelming number of our neighbors will be without homes, jobs, schools or churches. They will all need someone to talk to because what they’re living through and witnessing and losing right now is not something they will forget. That recovery will be lifelong.

Right now, teams need to reach the missing and rescue or recover them. Those who are out of harm’s way need medical attention, medications, clean water, hot food, running water for bathroom and shower needs, gasoline and other basic needs for life (diapers, feminine hygiene products, pet food—for the animals that survived—and the ability to contact loved ones with an update).

With major interstates and most other roads damaged, impassable or gone, most of us cannot go to the affected areas to help right now. In the worst places, they only want skilled and trained teams who can assist with their immediate needs.

That can leave us feeling useless, but we can help in some big ways.

How Can We Help?

First, we can pray.

Miracles are happening, and I believe they will continue.

Pray for rescues—it’s not too late.Pray for rescuers—for their safety, stamina, awareness and wisdom as well as for their mental and emotional needs.Pray for those who are safe but who need gas and food and water.Pray for those who have lost the most—for their hearts and their minds as they need to grieve while they likely feel numb to their core.Pray for those who are feeling overwhelmed by their grief to the point of wanting to harm themselves.Pray for heroes to arrive and to speak and to listen at the right times.Pray for families torn apart.Pray for little ones who’ve seen things no child should, that their minds will do the amazing work of closing off the horrible memories of this time.Pray that everyone will be recovered so that loved ones can have closure.

Second, we can be aware and we can speak.

We were all caught off guard by the catastrophic effects of this storm. The residents in the mountains certainly were. I didn’t start fully comprehending the devastation until Sunday afternoon, and I think many people are still unaware of the severity of the situation.

Right now, residents of these areas can’t speak for themselves because of a lack of communication, so we need to let people know what’s happening and how they can help.

In all the affected areas, they are in a dire situation because none of them expected what happened. They didn’t stockpile food or gas or gather emergency supplies and food preparation items or withdraw cash because they shouldn’t have been hit like they were. They shouldn’t be without power.

The survivors need all of us surrounding them with an American-sized hug as we cover them in prayers and supply them with everything they physically need to make it right now. That begins with all of us sharing posts on social media, encouraging our communities to gather supplies and finding ways to work together to support our hurting friends.

Third, we can support the boots on the ground.

If you are able to and would like to directly help those being rescued, sheltered and cared for, I urge you to first check with your church.

Most of the larger denominations have trained teams ready and waiting to hit the ground as soon as the winds subside, and those teams are there now. If you’re not affiliated with a church that has a response team, I will personally recommend the two organizations below.

My denomination—Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS)—is already serving up hot meals to folks in Western North Carolina and has been assisting in Florida and other places as well. Visit their donation page. Forged by Fire is a Recognized Service Organization of the LCMS, and it’s the crew that’s in the Asheville area serving hot meals as I type this. They are also based out of The Village Lutheran Church in Lacombe, La., a few miles from my house.

The Cajun Navy has been in the thick of it since the beginning as well, assisting with rescues, supplies, relief and much more. They come from hurricane land and know it’s neighbors we rely on when the storm settles. They are those neighbors. Visit their donation page and be sure to use the links there to donate. Be mindful of scammers like the fake Venmo account; their real one does NOT have an underscore.

Church teams and organizations like the Cajun Navy are the ones who are trained, prepared and responsive. These are the “helpers” Mr. Rogers told us to look for.

Regardless of who you support, I encourage you to research them, see what they’re doing and then ask people in areas often affected by hurricanes. We can tell you where the help really comes from.

Once recovery begins, you will have opportunities to support families of first responders who have been lost as well as families who have been forever changed or who find themselves homeless. Again, research donation opportunities before you give.

Fourth, at some point, we may be able to go and lend a helping hand or supporting shoulder.

We may be able to, instead, open our homes and communities to those without their own. I encourage you—and me—to open our arms when those opportunities come.

What Are My Personal Ties to the Area?

And now, I’ll drift to a more personal response. I believe everyone who has been following the updates and hearing about the devastation has heavy hearts, burdened for these people—some we know, most we don’t. It doesn’t matter if we know them personally, they are our neighbors and they are facing something none of us could have imagined in a million years … forget the talk of hundred-year storms and once-in-a-thousand-year phenomena.

Each of us also has a personal reason or two beyond the obvious for our downcast spirits.

I have lived in South Carolina and North Carolina, so they are part of the many beautiful homes I’ve had over the years. I have family in South Carolina and Virginia and Kentucky. Most of my life has been spent in the Southeastern United States, so this entire region is truly my home.

For one summer in college, I got to live in Asheville, N.C. I attended the World Journalism Institute and received the great honor of being a WJI Fellow. That summer was an immense time of growth for me—growth as a young adult, as an aspiring journalist, as a writer and photographer and as a Christian.

I gained many things in my short time in Asheville, and much of it happened because of the people and the place.

What Are My Memories?

While I don’t remember many names, I remember homes and smiles and hugs. People from area churches opened their homes to us, shared meals with us around their tables, laughed and joked with us and encouraged our budding careers.

The people were kind, compassionate, open and giving. They didn’t live in extravagant houses—there’s only one Biltmore in the area, after all. Their houses may have been simple and perhaps ordinary, but they were homes, filled with love and memories and warmth and fellowship. That’s worth more than any mansion.

What’s So Special About the Mountains?

And then, there was the land—the mountains.

If you’ve never been, I’m sorry for what you’ll never see, but the beauty is still there and will shine brightly again once the mud and the crumbled mountainsides are cleared.

I should probably back up to my childhood and explain that we were frequent visitors to the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. My oldest siblings attended Covenant College on Lookout Mountain, Ga., and a couple of them lived in Chattanooga, Tenn., and surrounding areas for years afterward. I have fond memories of vacations in chalets in the mountains or at church gatherings. Places like Beech Mountain, Banner Elk, Linville, Grandfather Mountain, Tweetsie Railroad, Chimney Rock, Blowing Rock, Boone, Bonclarken at Flat Rock were as much home to me as anywhere I had an address. 

Those names may be familiar to you if you’ve read the recent news.

The song “For These Are My Mountains” has always been a favorite. (I have Scottish roots and heard Alex Beaton sing it in person at many a Scottish Highland Games.) I have never been able to listen to that song without a shimmer in my eyes because there is something about the majesty and grandeur of the mountains that captures my heart and stirs my soul.

My heart has always rested somewhere atop a mountain peak, and every time I’ve driven toward a mountain range, I’ve sung those words, “For these are my mountains, and I’m going home.” And I meant them.

There is a reason mountains have appeared in just about every story I’ve written. Mountains are strength, security, peace, clarity and beauty. Mountains are home.

The faerie shepherdess I relate most to is Montana, shepherdess of the mountain faeries.

Mountains feature in some of the poems I occasionally write.

And, the very mountains and towns currently devastated in real life feature prominently in Jack’s story, because “It was the mountains that sang to him.” Just like they do to me.

All of the towns, events and descriptions from western North Carolina in Any Good Thing and One Good Thing are completely devastated or simply gone.

WeavervilleBurnsvilleAshevilleShindig on the GreenBlack Mountain and Flat Creek, across from a retreat center—that center was MontreatJack’s mountain peak—I’ve heard it no longer exists

And so, my heart aches in a deep-down-in-the-core-memories-kind-of-way as I scroll through the reports of missing and found and as I pray and as I weep with those who are weeping.

What Now?

Hurricane Helene and its effects have done damage on a scale our country has never seen. Yes, we’ve had many major hurricanes. I’ve lived through a few of them—Hugo, Katrina, Ida—so I know the devastation, the power, the loss, the isolation and the long road to recovery.

We’ve stood on bare foundations and in the middle of neighborhoods suddenly barren of homes. We waited in long lines for gas and food. We sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic with armed National Guardsmen right outside our windows. We lived without power during the summer’s scorching heat. We had failed promises from certain agencies and above-and-beyond kindness from groups who dropped everything to come. We lived in a time where “Looters will be shot” signs were spray-painted on jagged pieces of houses and when spray paint on front doors left symbols we came to learn meant life and death. We watched the numbers rise as bodies were recovered—people, lost in a moment.

And yet, in some ways, those were nothing compared to what some parts of our country are facing right now. I say that not to diminish the horrors of previous storms (nearly 20 years post-Katrina, we’re still recovering), but to explain this is beyond anything we’ve experienced.

Mountains aren’t supposed to be ravaged by hurricanes.

Hundreds of people today—right now, as I type this from the comfort of my home and as you read it over your morning coffee—are using skills few of us know to be rescued, to survive, to live to see another sunrise. They cannot be reached where they are. Roads are gone. They are trapped. Many things are nowhere near where they were.

The mountains are weeping, but the heroes are still rescuing—against all odds. Mountains—and their people—are resilient, strong, steadfast.

Tolkien Cat says …No One Ever Mentions the Cats.

Mama didn’t want to type about them because she got all teary, so here I go.

Cats don’t like water. We don’t. It’s a messy liquid we need only to drink. We have all we need for bath time, thank you very much.

That being said, we are quite agile and strong swimmers when the need arises. Cats, as a species, are plucky and adept at survival.

Some humans are currently pulling tired felines from harm’s way and getting them to safe places with food, water in bowls and the space and freedom to bathe as God intended.

Here’s one group you could help. They’re rescuing animals, large and small.

Donate to Animal Search and Rescue, if you’re able.

The post Weeping with the Mountains first appeared on Joy E. Rancatore.

The post Weeping with the Mountains appeared first on Joy E. Rancatore.

12 Months of Reading: October 2024

Welcome to 12 Months of Reading! Each month in 2024, I will host a different reading challenge category. These categories are broad, and, chances are, whatever you’re reading may fit in them.

I adore animals, and I love books! The October category of our 12 Months of Reading Challenge is pawfect. (See what I did there?)

At the beginning of the year, I had hoped to have a special cover to reveal to you with this post. Unfortunately, I’m still struggling with a final title for my animal tales book, so I haven’t been able to recruit my awesome cover designer.

Soon, though. I hope!

Until my book is ready for you, check out these fantastic reads with animals on their covers.

The Wolf Prince by Claire M. Banschbach brings another delightful tale in the Faeries of Myrnius series. Set long after the events in Adela’s Curse, readers get to revisit a few familiar characters while falling in love with a whole new cast. Killian, Lars and Rose make an unlikely trio on an extraordinary quest to break a double curse and stop a wicked sorcerer. If you like faeries, quests, troubled princes and the intrigue of a curse, this book may just be a new favorite for you. See my review on Goodreads.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot is a book I adored as a child. As an adult, I have loved experiencing these true stories of a country vet through the PBS series. I’ve also loved watching my daughter enjoy the book, and I have been wanting to reread it. I recommend this to anyone who loves true stories told in an engaging manner. Get your copy from bookshop.org.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle centers around the last unicorn and the unlikely traveling companions she attracts along her way to find any remaining of her kind. This is a tale of beauty and wonder and belief and hope in the darkest of nights. It’s a story of knights and heroes (including the most unlikely among them), love and loss, humanity and immortality. The Last Unicorn is a story for all ages … in both senses of the phrase. Get your copy from bookshop.org.

The Everywhere Girl by my friend Julie Mayerson Brown is a delightful read. Rebecca might be my favorite main character yet in the Clearwater series, and I’m so happy she got her own book. Her surrounding cast was phenomenal, and I can’t wait to see which character headlines in the next one! Anyone who loves Hallmark- or Lifetime-style movies or who adores imperfect characters who are perfectly relatable will love this book. Get your copy from bookshop.org.

Whether you read one of my recommendations or come up with your own, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a comment below to let me know what you’re reading. Mark your calendar for October 3 and plan to join my virtual LAM Book Club to share your choice with fellow readers.

(If you use the bookshop.org links above to order, I receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me and independent bookstores by using them for your online bookstore purchases!)

What will you read? Comment below with your choice. Return once you’ve finished to share your review and thoughts. Remember to #ShareTheRead! Tap the graphic below to download each month’s graphic to share on your social media. How many reader friends can you bring to the party?

Tap the image above to download each month’s graphic. Share on your social media with #ShareTheRead and #12MonthsOfReading and tag @joyerancatore!

Tap the graphic above to join LAM Book Club for an extra way to #ShareTheRead with fellow readers! No set book. Meet virtually once a month. Share what you’re reading or ask for recommendations.

The post 12 Months of Reading: October 2024 first appeared on Joy E. Rancatore.

The post 12 Months of Reading: October 2024 appeared first on Joy E. Rancatore.

12 Months of Reading: September 2024

Welcome to 12 Months of Reading! Each month in 2024, I will host a different reading challenge category. These categories are broad, and, chances are, whatever you’re reading may fit in them.

September’s book category is a book on a hobby or topic that interests YOU! What do you love to do or learn about? What floats your boat or makes your heart soar? Read about it!

I’m as diverse in my interests as I am in my reading and music preferences, so this is a fun one for me. I have four suggestions geared toward readers interested in writing, reading, literary history and baking/biblical writings.

I can’t wait to hear what you decide to read!

Finders Keepers: A Practical Approach to Find and Keep Your Writing Critique Partner by me and my critique partner, Meagan Smith is a one-stop-shop for all things critique partners. We wish we’d had a book when our journey began, so after many lessons and trial and error, we decided to write it! Get your copy from bookshop.org.

How to Read a Book, by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, is a book you’ll wish you’d read long ago and will immediately want to share with the students and readers in your life. Get your copy from bookshop.org.

A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and A Great War by Joseph Loconte presents a sweeping historical examination of how the war influenced soldiers who returned with fantastical stories to tell—and how those stories were influenced by the war and the men’s experiences in it. Get your copy from bookshop.org.

Bread of Life, by Abigail Dodds, combines baking—with recipes of varying degrees of difficulty—with devotions. This book celebrates family and faith and fellowship. Get your copy from bookshop.org.

Whether you read one of my recommendations or come up with your own, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a comment below to let me know what you’re reading. Mark your calendar for September 5 and plan to join my virtual LAM Book Club to share your choice with fellow readers.

(If you use the bookshop.org links above to order, I receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me and independent bookstores by using them for your online bookstore purchases!)

What will you read? Comment below with your choice. Return once you’ve finished to share your review and thoughts. Remember to #ShareTheRead! Tap the graphic below to download each month’s graphic to share on your social media. How many reader friends can you bring to the party?

Tap the image above to download each month’s graphic. Share on your social media with #ShareTheRead and #12MonthsOfReading and tag @joyerancatore!

Tap the graphic above to join LAM Book Club for an extra way to #ShareTheRead with fellow readers! No set book. Meet virtually once a month. Share what you’re reading or ask for recommendations.

The post 12 Months of Reading: September 2024 first appeared on Joy E. Rancatore.

The post 12 Months of Reading: September 2024 appeared first on Joy E. Rancatore.

12 Months of Reading: August 2024

Welcome to 12 Months of Reading! Each month in 2024, I will host a different reading challenge category. These categories are broad, and, chances are, whatever you’re reading may fit in them.

August’s book category is a a biography, autobiography or memoir—or a historical fiction book focused on a real person. It’s all about PEOPLE!

I love reading about people’s lives, challenges, lessons and accomplishments. Do you have a preference among these four options? Let me know in the comments!

The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings by Philip and Carol Zaleski gives us a deeper look at the powerful relationships of some my favorite authors. This book inspired the name of my publishing company and blog and fueled my dream to become a published author. Get your copy from bookshop.org.

Lilia, by Linda Ganzini, recounts the childhood and coming-of-age story of the author’s mother in war-torn Italy. Learn more about Linda and her book on her website.

Shared Courage by my dear friend Michelle Keener presents a homefront view of a Marine family. She shares the challenges, joys, fears and hope her family experienced during her husband’s deployment. Order her memoir from your local independent bookstore or online.

J.R.R. Tolkien, a biography, by Humphrey Carpenter is the only authorized biography about the father of modern fantasy. If you love the author and want to who he was, this is the book for you. Get your copy from bookshop.org.

Whether you read one of my recommendations or come up with your own, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a comment below to let me know what you’re reading. Mark your calendar for August 1 and plan to join my virtual LAM Book Club to share your choice with fellow readers.

(If you use the bookshop.org links above to order, I receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me and independent bookstores by using them for your online bookstore purchases!)

What will you read? Comment below with your choice. Return once you’ve finished to share your review and thoughts. Remember to #ShareTheRead! Tap the graphic below to download each month’s graphic to share on your social media. How many reader friends can you bring to the party?

Tap the image above to download each month’s graphic. Share on your social media with #ShareTheRead and #12MonthsOfReading and tag @joyerancatore!

Tap the graphic above to join LAM Book Club for an extra way to #ShareTheRead with fellow readers! No set book. Meet virtually once a month. Share what you’re reading or ask for recommendations.

The post 12 Months of Reading: August 2024 first appeared on Joy E. Rancatore.

The post 12 Months of Reading: August 2024 appeared first on Joy E. Rancatore.