The power of fiction, the beauty of words, and the God who made us to wield them for His glory.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books Featuring Trains

Happy Tuesday, readers! This week has been designated a ‘choose your own topic’ week by That Artsy Reader Girl, and since this weekend has been all about steam trains at our house, I thought I would do a train theme for this week. Each year, the Hunter Valley (NSW) has an event called Hunter Valley Steamfest, celebrating steam technology in all its different guises but most particularly steam trains. And it’s the most exciting weekend of the entire year as far as my kids are concerned! So, in celebration, here are my top ten books featuring trains!

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17 April 2018

Best of 2017 – The Emoji Files, Part V: Take Me Away . . .

Well, it’s the end of the first week of 2018, and it’s also the final post for my Best of 2017 series, The Emoji Files. I hope I’ve been able to remind you of some of your own favourites from 2017, as well as perhaps add to your 2018 TBR! 😉 Today’s post is going to list those books that transported me to another time and/or place. These were immersive reads that made me forget the here and now and took me to places as diverse as Ancient Israel, World War I England, and a modern-day Californian vineyard. Not only

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7 January 2018

Top Ten Tuesday – Reformation Reads

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! Today marks the 500th anniversary of the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, so while many may be gearing up for Halloween festivities, our family has spent this month getting to know some of the people—both well-known and lesser-known—who played significant roles in the Protestant Reformation. I’ve already mentioned this in last week’s Word Nerd post, but if you’re interested, you can find the series of brief (~6 min) podcasts we have listened to each evening this month at www.desiringgod.org/stand. The official topic this week with

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31 October 2017

Top Ten Tuesday – My Reading Wishlist

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, and today’s topic from the girls at The Broke and the Bookish is Ten Things on Our Reading Wishlist. My list today will be generally referring to things I’d like to see more of in Christian fiction, as that is where I pick up most of my books. Well, where to start? 😉

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9 May 2017

Top Ten Tuesday – Unique Settings I’ve Visited Through Books

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This week the topic at The Broke and the Bookish is unique. Literally! Officially listed as ‘Top Ten of the Most Unique Books I’ve Read’, I’ve decided to put a slightly different slant on the topic and share my ‘Top Ten Unique Settings I’ve Visited Through Books’.

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11 April 2017

Newton and Polly (Jody Hedlund) – Review

~ About the Book ~ Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found… Now remembered as the author of the world’s most famous hymn, in the mid-eighteenth century as England and France stand on the brink of war, John Newton is a young sailor wandering aimlessly through life. His only duty is to report to his ship and avoid disgracing his father—until the night he hears Polly Catlett’s enchanting voice, caroling. He’s immediately smitten and determined to win her affection. An intense connection quickly forms between the two,

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25 February 2017

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Loved More Than I Thought I Would

It’s Tuesday! And that means another Top Ten list brought to you by the girls at The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic is ‘Books that you loved less/more than you thought you would.’ I thought the positive side of this topic would make for a much cheerier post than the negative, so without further ado, I present my list of books that I loved more than I thought I would: The Hunger Games Trilogy – Suzanne Collins I’ll start with the controversial one! I have heard many people commenting along the lines of ‘I’ll never read that book,’

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21 February 2017