Kate Willis's Blog, page 52

Spell the Month in Books: December

Ever since I discovered Spell the Month in Books, I’ve wanted to participate, so I’m really excited to be doing this today. Let’s see how it goes.

E- Emmeline by Sarah Holman

Historical fiction, fabulous indie

D – 12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep

Historical fiction, entirely fascinating mystery

C – Calico Bush by Rachel Field

Historical fiction, my childhood

E – Ember Rising by S.D. Smith

Anthropomorphic fantasy, my favorite in the series

M – The Martian by Andy Weir

Sci-fi, I have a censored copy

B – Burning Rose by Hope Ann

Fantasy, mind-blowing

E – Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Fantasy, a classic

R – Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott

Romance (sort of but more about coming of age), my teenage obsession

Happy rest of December!

So Merry, Merry Christmas! (Giveaway, Shhhh)

Are you counting down to Christmas? I know I am!

Sitting by our cute little Christmas tree, enjoying the bowties I taped to our squirrel salt and pepper shakers, lighting our eggnog latte candle (and drinking real eggnog because I discovered I like it ), listening through Joshua’s copious amounts of Christmas music…

I have Christmas presents hidden in the closet that I am so totally going to wrap while he’s at work, mwahaha.

To celebrate Christmas, you all, and this year with you, I’m hosting a giveaway!

Behold the pretties…

The prize includes…

Paperback copy of Twinepathy by C.B. CookSigned paperback copy of Sincerely, Jem by moi“Joy to the World” decorative crateA really big red mug (seriously, it’s huge)CHOCOLATEEmbroidered holly keychain from “From Cass to You” (check our her IG reel to see it)

Open to the contiguous US only. Entries close Saturday, December 18 at 11pm MST. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email before another winner is chosen.

ENTER HERE

I hope you enjoy, and have a merry, merry Christmas!

My Top 5 Favorite Books to Share

Books have the power to open up our worlds and connect them with others as we share stories with strangers, siblings, and closest friends.

Here are five of my absolute favorite books to require everyone in sight to read share. Who knows, maybe this will help you with your Christmas shopping, whether that’s for yourself or someone else.

(*whispers* Buy two copies and make it a buddy read.)

1. Beautiful Blue World by Suzanne Lefleur (and sequel Threads of Blue) is one you’ve likely seen me recommend before. Set in something of a fantasy world World War II, the situations and friendships ring as true as real history. In the midst of that, an intense hope and childlike resilience shine on every page through the main character and the most poetic writing style.

This is your warning to have tissues on hand. I like to say this duology broke my heart and put it back together all in one.

Age recommendation: upper middle grade, though even more appreciated by adults.

CW: implied violence, familial loss, a fire, intense danger.

Who I shared it with: siblings, Mikayla.

2. Wings of a Dream by Anne Mateer is one of the few prairie romances I will tolerate and even love to pieces (I truly do) because it’s so much more than that. It’s kind of a coming of age story, a spiritual journey, and a tragically fascinating history lesson on the 1918/19 flu pandemic.

It’s the perfect balance of serious and sweet for me (with just enough moments that are slightly swoony ).

Age recommendation: teen and up.

CW: plague descriptions, death, loss and emotions surrounding it, kissing.

Who I shared it with: Mikayla gifted me a copy, I read it aloud to a sister right after finishing it.

3. Empowered by Catherine Parks is a newer find from this summer, and oh my, is it soooo good. Each chapter highlighted a woman of faith, some familiar (Joni Eareckson Tada, Fanny Crosby, the ten Boom sisters) and some previously unknown to me (Esther Ahn Kim, Charlotte Grimke, Phyllis Wheatley Peters), and brought out the amazing ways God empowered and worked through them.

Definitely pick it up.

Age recommendation: all ages. (Would be a great read-aloud!)

CW: racism, the Holocaust, and slavery.

Who I shared it with: a younger sister, though I’m still trying to convince others to read.

4. Kate’s Innocence by Sarah Holman is one of the coolest indies ever. It’s the first in a series that reminds me of a cleaner version of my favorite detective shows. The main character isn’t a Christian, but many in her team are, so there’s plenty of opportunity to discuss interesting topics while solving some pretty crazy cases.

I just bought paperbacks of the next two books so I can finally welcome them to my shelves.

Age recommendation: teen and up.

CW: bombing, death threats/danger.

Who I shared it with: my brother. He binge read them.

5. Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder… Don’t even get me started. It has the haunting yet childlike feel of Peter Pan or The Giver, and it exploded my mind with the poetic writing and exploration of growing up. The whole cast of characters is delightful, and the world building is perfection.

Seriously, seriously beautiful.

Age recommendation: older middle-grade and up, again possibly understood more by adults.

CW: implied danger, anger, a girl experiences her first period and is frightened.

Who I shared it with: all my siblings.

So there you go! What are your favorite books to share? Have you read of these?

Being Kind to Myself

I’ve been a little hard on myself lately, and the other night when I thought through it, I realized there are a lot of reasons I should be being kind to myself.

1. I got over Covid just weeks ago, and insomnia, exhaustion, and oxygen issues are still recent.

2. I just went through a SUITCASE full of huge life changes in the space of week.

3. I’ve never made this many adult decisions at once before, and never in this close collaboration as I do with my husband.

4. Moving in is hard work!

5. I struggle with anxiety, low confidence, and minor health problems on a daily basis.

6. Cross out all of the above. I am a human, made in the image of God, worthy of love and honor and kindness because He says I am. I don’t need any more reason than that.

Make your own list and cross it out.

I hope today you are being kind to yourself, and if you find it hard to do so, please reach out to someone who sees you.

You are very loved.

So Thankful for Forever <3

11.13.21

Our wedding day.

A day of celebration, joy, and deep knowledge of God’s goodness that we were standing there together, surrounded by our family and friends.

I thank God for healing me and giving me the energy to enjoy our special day.

I praise Him for the family and friends who pulled together to help finish decorations, set up, tear down, serve food, do hair and makeup, and celebrate with us. Also, our officiant and photographers for being the most amazing.

I thank Him for the super cool passel of guys and gals who agreed to be our wedding party and made the day so special.

And I bless Him for bringing Joshua, the man who stood before me and pledged his heart to mine, into my life.

It was truly the best day.

(I’ll share more professional photos later, but for now, here are just a few of my favorite candids.)

My mom doing my makeup.

Sister picture! Yep, that’s all of us.

Our vows under the chuppah (a Jewish wedding canopy) my dad built.

Mr. and Mrs.!

Happy on our honeymoon!

Since we got back, we’ve been setting up house, routines, going through stuff, putting away the lovely gifts from people, and enjoying our new life together.

Which has already included celebrating Thanksgiving and Chanukah and decorating for Christmas together.

I can’t wait for every next day of forever.

A Long, Drawn-Out Pause

I was humming along, minding my own business when Covid knocked me down for three weeks.

I had a fever for a few days, congestion, lost my sense of taste and smell (sooo weird! It was like having earplugs in one of my senses that is honestly usually overwhelming. ), and thought I was on track to recover in 10 days like my brother and my fiance did when I received a few plot twists.

I was brought through by the prayers of my friends and family, antibiotics and an inhaler (I love that thing), and Great British Bake-Off and Instagram reels.

I’ve been “better” for a few days now, just in time to finish planning my wedding. I still get tired easily and potatoes still taste WEIRD, but I’m so grateful to be breathing easily and allowed to be around my family. God is so good to me.

Now the wedding is four days away. If I think too hard, I can panic over the weeks lost and the tasks that match them, but I’m excited it’s happening and people have been so generous and helpful.

I finally got to see our apartment recently, and it’s the cutest little bean. Joshua’s been setting up furniture, and I got to unpack some of our bridal shower gifts into the kitchen. He just set up a bookshelf, and I seriously can’t wait to unpack my book babies and Funko Pops. I think then it will really feel like home.

If possible, I’m even more excited to grocery shop and plan our meals. I’ve been learning a lot about food lately, so I’m kinda wanting to experiment. #buysallthearugula

I’ll be back with pictures and writing talk (and maybe some Black Friday sales ) soon, but for now, more rest and savoring the moment.

Bookish Highlights

Life is changing so much everyday, but I thought I’d share a few of the highlights with you.

I recently got some pretty cool bookmail when I splurged on two indie books I was eyeing.

Snow-Crossed Letters by Chautona Havig, a.k.a. my upcoming Christmas read. It looks absolutely adorable, and I’m counting on there being some surprise encouragement, true to this author’s form.

Ignite by Jenna Terese looks SO, SO COOL. The cover, the concept, the fact it’s a duology…

Speaking of books, the amazing leaders of my recovery/discipleship group hosted a bridal shower for me, and they made it book-themed.

The book titles.

Every detail was so special.

Yours truly, posing like the happy bean she is.

It was a really special day, and I feel very loved.

Also book and wedding related–I’ve been packing! Joshua just moved into the apartment, so I’m getting ready to move some of my stuff over there to make room here for more wedding prep.

My lonely shelf getting ready to move on to new adventures.

I promise these aren’t just books. I have Funko Pops (quite a few actually ) and some keepsakes in there too. But it is also mostly books. *gulps and grins

I’ve been packing up baking stuff as well, getting rid of a few things, and managing Covid quarantine, but I somewhere in there I’ve managed to read a little, brainstorm a little, and keep up on GBBO.

I wonder what’s next.

(Thank you for the bridal shower and the pictures, Pat!)

Giveaway Winner!

The winner of this pile of goodies…

…is…

Autumn Klepper!

Autumn, please respond to your email before end of day October 13th to claim your entry.

Thanks so much for hanging out everyone, and I hope you had as much fun as I did.

My Jewish Identity & Mini Review

(This was meant to be a review, but the book was too good and I read it too long ago, so I went a little off-topic and mostly talked about my own experiences. )

I’ve always known I was Jewish (on my mom’s side, so technically completely Jewish–it’s cool like that), and I’ve grown up with more of the traditions and culture than your average person.

But in the last three years it’s meant a lot more to me. I discovered it would be possible for me to immigrate to Israel if I wanted. I learned more Yiddish words, and we celebrated Chanukah again for the first time in a while. I grew concerned with ideological threats to Israel and have started keeping track of their news. I even research our Ashkenazi genetics for fun because they’re pretty weird.

In all of this, it’s actually become harder to read Jewish books. The Holocaust, aka the main topic of all our books for some good reasons, has become more personal and yet not… We already lived in the US, we didn’t lose anyone close that I know of, and all our backstories are pretty average.

I feel a connection to Israel, to the Jews lost or forever changed by the Holocaust, to the holidays and history and working hand of God, but it feels presumptuous to allow myself this. It’s hard to fit in anywhere, so I carefully walk a line between loving and ignoring this heritage.

Broken Strings by Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer is one of the few books that has made me feel most at home. It’s a story not focused (for once) solely on WW2 or the Exodus or the other handful of topics Jewish characters get. The main character is an American Jew learning more about her complicated heritage (sound familiar? ) while getting to rehearse a school play of The Fiddler on the Roof (a.k.a. the greatest piece of Jewish media of all time and a huge favorite of some relatives I never got to meet). Let’s just say my nerd heart was happy, and I enjoyed the quiet, natural discussions of healing, diversity, and loving all people. Truly satisfying.

Slightly Off-Topic & Mini Review

(This was meant to be a review, but the book was too good and I read it too long ago, so I went a little off-topic and mostly talked about my own experiences. )

I’ve always known I was Jewish (on my mom’s side, so technically completely Jewish–it’s cool like that), and I’ve grown up with more of the traditions and culture than your average person.

But in the last three years it’s meant a lot more to me. I discovered it would be possible for me to immigrate to Israel if I wanted. I learned more Yiddish words, and we celebrated Chanukah again for the first time in a while. I grew concerned with ideological threats to Israel and have started keeping track of their news. I even research our Ashkenazi genetics for fun because they’re pretty weird.

In all of this, it’s actually become harder to read Jewish books. The Holocaust, aka the main topic of all our books for some good reasons, has become more personal and yet not… We already lived in the US, we didn’t lose anyone close that I know of, and all our backstories are pretty average.

I feel a connection to Israel, to the Jews lost or forever changed by the Holocaust, to the holidays and history and working hand of God, but it feels presumptuous to allow myself this. It’s hard to fit in anywhere, so I carefully walk a line between loving and ignoring this heritage.

Broken Strings by Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer is one of the few books that has made me feel most at home. It’s a story not focused (for once) solely on WW2 or the Exodus or the other handful of topics Jewish characters get. The main character is an American Jew learning more about her complicated heritage (sound familiar? ) while getting to rehearse a school play of The Fiddler on the Roof (a.k.a. the greatest piece of Jewish media of all time and a huge favorite of some relatives I never got to meet). Let’s just say my nerd heart was happy, and I enjoyed the quiet, natural discussions of healing, diversity, and loving all people. Truly satisfying.