1519 All-Natural All-Amazing Gardening Secrets, Readers Digest

Gardening Secrets, Reader's Digest

Does anybody here read through reference books just for fun? Anyone? No? I guess it's just me then. OK. I can't just sit down and read through a book like this, there's too much to take in and think about. So I just did one small section at a time and it took me months to get through it, but I think I know a little more about garden maintenance now than I did before, and have a few ideas of things to implement in my yard and garden. It covers just about every gardening topic you can think of from where to plant, to pest control, to building a deck and how to pick out a mower. All pretty easy to understand, written for the person, like me, who needs to have such things spelled out for them.

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The Egypt Game, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

 The Egypt Game, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

My daughter bought a box of books and this was accidentally added to it, or maybe added as a bonus. She was not interested in reading it, so she gave it to me.

This is a children's book, and has been given the Newbery Honor. It's about a girl who is obsessed with learning about Egypt, and role plays Ancient Egypt, and her friends join in. There's a murder in the neighborhood, and nobody is sure who did it. Is is the old junk shop owner who owns the property where the kids secretly play their Egypt game, or could it be someone else? The kids are not seeking to solve a mystery, but become involved. 

This book is about role play, pretend play, and having fun while not in front of a screen. It's about interacting with friends, using your imagination, and some hard life situations, and drawing closer to those around you.

It was an okay read, but definitely for a younger audience. It was originally published in 1995 and it kind of felt like it was made in the age before computer and phone screens took over lives of the young. 

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Books I have read in 2024

This is my third year of keeping track of my book reading, and writing summaries of them. I used to read 80-100 books a year but it's been difficult for me to get back to that level of reading. My goal is not quantity, but just to make sure I read as close to daily as possible.

JANUARY

The Egypt Game, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

1519 All Natural All Amazing Gardening Secrets, Reader's Digest

FEBRUARY

Madame Sadayakko The Geisha Who Seduced the West, Lesley Downer

Assistant to the Villain, Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Deepsix, Jack McDevitt

How to Make Money Using Etsy, Timothy Adam

The Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham

APRIL

Unveiled, Cherry Mosteshar

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, Lisa See

The German Heiress, Anika Scott

The Synthetic Man, Theodore Sturgeon

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Joanna Weaver

MAY

EntreLeadership, Dave Ramsey

Art Stories Book Two, Whitford, Liek, Gray

The Roald Dahl Omnibus, Roald Dahl

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Dr. Seuss

JUNE

Trouble with Lichen, John Wyndham

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

Making a Living: How to Craft Your Business, Sophie Rochester

Saving Fish From Drowning, Amy Tan

JULY

Lowe's Complete Home Improvement and Repair

AUGUST

All Together In One Place, Jane Kirkpatrick

Your Fully Charged  Life, Meaghan B. Murphy

The Repurposed Library, Lisa Occhipinti

Outlaw, Ted Dekker

Shortcake + Me, Muriel Juneberry Fahrion

SEPTEMBER

Peter and Peggy, Arthur Gates and Miriam Huber

The Lost Apothecary, Sarah Penner

Powerless, Lauren Roberts

Powerful, Lauren Roberts

Reckless, Lauren Roberts

OCTOBER

Sisters of the Resistance, Christine Wells

2024 total books read: 32

2023 total books read: 30

2022 total books read: 36

Would you like to buy me a book, or help keep my little free library stocked and maintained? You can donate here: paypal.me/AmyVanGaasbeck 

The Memory Weaver. Jane Kirkpatrick

The Memory Weaver, Jane Kirkpatrick

I am a big fan of Jane Kirkpatrick, author from Bend, Oregon. Her historical novels are created with a lot of research, thoughtfulness, and attention to detail, and this story was no different. This is the story of Eliza Spalding Warren, survivor of the Waiilatpu massacre that took the lives of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and many others, over near Walla Walla and Touchet, Washington, where my grandparents came from, and a lot of distant relatives live. I have been to Waiilatpu and the historical center there, so to read this story which relates to a place I know about, made it all the more real to me.

Eliza is the daughter of Henry and Eliza Spalding, also survivors of the massacre. This story, however, takes place a few years afterward, and focuses on Eliza the daughter, after the loss of her mother to illness, and the PTSD she is still dealing with. She has flashback episodes, where a sound or perhaps the sight of blood will take her back to the days she was a hostage and what she dealt with. Even though she was just a child, she judges herself for not doing more in the situation to help the other hostages/victims. 

She meets a dashing young man that her father disapproves of, and begins secretly courting him, and eventually marrying him. He decides to move their family over to Touchet so their cattle will have room to spread out and feed. Touchet is very close to Waiilatpu, and it terrifies her, the thought of being over so near to it. But she finds that sometimes, we have to return to what brought us fear and trauma to see and understand what the truth actually is, overcome that fear, and begin healing.

This was a great story, with lines of redemption and restoration, not just regarding Eliza's PTSD, but also for other members of her family. 

I highly recommend this book, especially if you like historical fiction.

Would you like to buy me a book, or help keep my little free library stocked and maintained? You can donate here: paypal.me/AmyVanGaasbeck 

 

The Book of Creation, Pierre-Marie Beaude

The Book of Creation, Pierre Marie Beaude

I picked up this book second hand, and what attracted me to it were the lovely watercolor illustrations by Georges LeMoine. They portray the look of the hot, dry Middle Eastern desert, and more colorful aspects of creation, but are really quite lovely in their simplicity.

The story itself, although based on the Genesis story of creation, has a bit of artistic and poetic license. It isn't a book necessarily for teaching your child the actual Genesis story of creation, but is still lovely to look at and read. 

Would you like to buy me a book, or help keep my little free library stocked and maintained? You can donate here: paypal.me/AmyVanGaasbeck 

 

Fix Freeze Feast: Prepare in Bulk and Enjoy by the Serving, Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik

Fix Freeze Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik

As with most of my books, I picked this up second hand but if I knew ahead of time what a great cook book it was, I would gladly have bought it brand new from the store. I love freezer prepping meals so I can just pull something out and cook it without giving it much worry, and this is one of the top freezer prep cookbooks I have come across. I have already tried so many of the meals inside, and they have all been winners so far! Each recipe makes three meals, so you can cook one if you want and freeze two, or you can divide the recipe by thirds if you just want to make one meal, no issue. This is definitely a book worth investing in full price brand new! 

Would you like to buy me a book, or help keep my little free library stocked and maintained? You can donate here: paypal.me/AmyVanGaasbeck 

 

The Illustrator's Notetaking Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible

The Illustrator's Notetaking Bible

I purchased this to take with me on a mission trip to Kenya in 2017, I thought the pages for coloring would help keep me busy while traveling. I think it's the only time I have colored in it, which seems weird, considering I am an artist. 

I have a problem in that I have a lot of fun coloring books but don't use any of them, because I feel like if I am going to sit down and doodle or color, I should be making something that I can sell. I need to get over this and enjoy creating just for the sake of creating, not just to be productive.

I started reading this in 2017 but wasn't using this version daily until 2021, so it took me roughly two years of reading daily to finish it. I prefer King James, but it's nice getting a modern language translation. 

One has to be aware of changes that are made, though, such as removing words like virgin and replacing them with young woman, which can completely change not only the meaning of a sentence, but also doctrine. This seems to be something a lot of Bible manufacturers are doing, and they need to be careful to keep things accurate to the original translations, as much as possible, instead of pandering to modern viewpoints. 

I am reading through the Bible again. I am not sure how many times I have read the Bible all the way through in my life--twice in high school, and at least 4 times as an adult, I think. It is something I will continually be working on. The version I am working on now is the King James version, and is the Bible I used in grade school and high school. 

Would you like to buy me a book, or help keep my little free library stocked and maintained? You can donate here: paypal.me/AmyVanGaasbeck