Dynah Carey had her whole life ahead of her. She grew up in a Christian home and was engaged to a wonderful Christian man. It looked as though everything was going to be perfect for Dynah’s future.
Then one day while walking back to her college dorm room, she is ambushed by a stranger and raped. Soon after she discovers she is pregnant. Her fiance (it really bothers me that I have spent the last five minutes trying to find his name on-line, but maybe that’s because it’s not important…) struggled with the rape as Dynah was no longer the “pure” girl he had wanted… but the pregnancy took him over the edge and he quickly backs away.
Dynah is left dealing with the Bible school she attends and their rules of how she must go forward as well as needing to tell her parents what has happened. Everyone has advice of what she should do, but Dynah has her own struggles going on as she questions why a God she loves and has served all her life would allow something like this to happen.
Francine Rivers is a long time Christian Fiction hero of mine. I have always struggled with the “all too perfect” Christian fiction reads with the all to perfect characters and (even more annoying) the all too perfect ending. Francine Rivers is not one of these authors.
This book has been on my radar (and my book shelf) for years. I have read most of what Rivers has written but for some reason never got around to this one. Finally, looking for a smaller read – I reached for this and once again, Rivers made me proud.
The topic, a rape… in a Christian environment… is a difficult one. Our protagonist is given much advice from those who are Christians, mostly… they think she should abort the baby and go on with her life. After all, Dynah has a bright future ahead of her and she has done nothing wrong…
What Dynah decides is what makes this book a wonderful read. I enjoyed the internal battles going on within the pages and I rooted for Dynah to stay strong.
Many people have told me that The ATonement Child is their absolute favorite of Francine Rivers. While I found it to be good, I still have to say that Redeeming Love (read pre-blogging) is my all time favorite of hers. Both I would recommend.
The Atonement Child was released in 1997. After finishing it I felt it was left open enough to have a second book… I would be interested in the rest of this story. Francine? Care to bring back Dynah?
I listened to Atonement Child on audio from audible.com
Kick off to the weekend! Last night I got together with a few friends and we crafted ornaments. I did not get a whole lot done but this is what I did accomplish:
These are glass ornaments that you pour craft paint inside and rotate until paint covers"Snow Globe" Thanks Carrie for this cute idea!
We only crafted for a couple of hours so I guess this accomplishment isn’t bad… but really the get together is always more about this:
Hanging with friends, chatting about life.... (Kate and Millie)Just being together.... (Millie's FACE and Christy)
That is my contribution to this weeks Saturday Snapshots. Stop on over to see Alyce and At Home With Books to see what everyone else has been up to this week in pictures. 😀
As for today… this morning I have a breakfast brunch I am attending for a group of volunteers I work with. I am making and taking an Almond Pear French Toast casserole which – if it as yummy as it sounds, will grace this blog later today. 😀
Later I am hoping to do a bit more blog maintenance, and some reading of the several books I have going….
How about you – what adventures do you have planned for today?
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
One family to a home is unheard of. In fact, even homes are rare as most people have apartments. Most people live in vertical trailer parks or “Stacks”, where old trailer homes have been stacked on top of one another. Wade Watts lives with his aunt who does not want him there and lets him know it every chance she gets. Like most of humanity, Wade escapes into a virtual world called the Oasis every chance he gets. In this sprawling 10 world utopia Wade can be his avatar Parzival, with other virtual friends where you can live and play and even… fall in love.
The oasis was created by James Halliday, a big time gamer and lover of all things 80’s. Halliday made billions creating the Oasis and having never married or had children – he left his billions and full control of the Oasis to one lucky person… the one who could crack the clues he left in his will and within the worlds of the Oasis find Hallidays last gift to the world… his hidden “Easter Egg”.
Halliday admits himself that he may have made the clues a little too hard, but from his death-bed, it’s a little late to make changes now. And it is true, that in this starving world with millions of people looking for Hallidays treasure… five years go by and no one has cracked the first clue.
All of Hallidays riddles are hidden within the pop culture he loved – 80’s movies such as War Games, Ferris Buelers Day Off, Monty Python, Better Off Dead, Indiana Jones, Star Wars… and thats just the movies, lets not forget the games such as Joust, Miss Pac Man, Burger Time…
And when you are a kid who finds the real world almost unbearable… you sink all your time into the Oasis… rewatching the 80’s movies until you can recite them almost by heart, playing the video games to the point you know them inside and out including manufacturer dates, glitches int he games, recalls and more… you become almost one with the Oasis… racking up points…. practicing battles….
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Ready Player One?
First of all to those of you said I must must MUST (little Max Headroom there…) listen to this one audio. I thank you, this was the best audio I have listened to this year.
For those of you who read me often, you may be aware that I usually am listening to three audio at one time (one in my bedroom for when I get ready in the mornings, one in the kitchen for cooking and cleaning time, and one in my car for every time I am on the go). RARELY will an audio engross me to the point that it earns the sole right to follow me from bedroom, to kitchen, to car…
however…Ready Player One did.
Where to begin?
Well… I think I will start with Narrator Will Wheaton. How do you know that name? Will starred in the 80’s film Stand By Me, on Star Trek he was the Romulan voice. And even more fun, Will is actually mentioned within this book/audio. Will… has the perfect voice for the audio and I knew within the first minute I was in for something special. Will even does Max Headroom’s voice (as seen above) and that is no easy feat! (Believe, me I tried to do the Max Headroom voice here at home… lets just say it wasn’t pretty).
Of course, while a great narrator on audio is important… it does not make the book complete if the book is not also amazing. No worries… I am sure you can already tell by this early gushing that it is…. FANTASTIC.
Being a die-hard 80’s chick I absolutely adored the constant 80’s references to great movies
80's move: War Games
such as Back To The Future, War Games, Real Genius, Better Off Dead, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Monty Python… and that’s not even mentioning the great arcade references: Miss Pacman, Joust, Burger Time…
and the beauty of the combination in the Oasis was the mixture of the two… you could watch the 80’s movies and play the games in the Oasis. In fact as our protagonist says, many of the movies he has watched hundreds of times. (And you will learn – thank goodness for that!)
I think what really sucked me into this read *80’s flashbacks aside) is that the story is good…. real good… It also is a little scary as I thought about Social media today and how fast it has grown in my lifetime, and found Ernest Cline’s stony not unbelievable. I can imagine a time when the world may be such a mess that people would rather stick themselves into an alternate reality (shoot it’s already happening!) then deal with the emotional drain of reality.
Dont worry – the story never bogs down with doomsday like themes. In fact I am quite sure two things will happen here: 1. I will at some point listen to this audio again and 2. I will own the book to add to my favorites collection.
I also never found being inside the game world boring… instead, I was fascinated… it was as real feeling to me as my own life. I also enjoyed being reminded of movies I once loved and insight to games I had once played (like a glitch in Miss Pacman arcade where you can hide for up to 15 minutes without being attacked)
Treat yourself with this one soon… you will not be sorry. While I have heard the book is just as incredible, I am going to recommend if you listen to audio – this is the way to go.
Warner Brothers bought the rights to the movie almost a year before this book was released to the public.
I hope this day finds everyone well. I am sitting here enjoying my second cup of coffee before I meet a friend at the gym. This is good as this morning with the temp sitting right around 10 degrees…. I could just sit here, sip coffee, and hang out with you. 😀
Friends = motivation.
If you read my morning post yesterday I put myself on the same challenge my son is doing in the Navy… to burn 20,000 calories in 6 weeks. I was pleased to see that some of you are doing this with me and I will make the button this afternoon. I need the motivation…. 😀
And that is not the only thing I need to catch up on around here. My side bar books are sooooo outdated… I want to update that today. I also need to mail books today and if you have won a book from me and are waiting on it, this is totally my bad and I am sorry for the delay. Today…. I am going to the post office and getting caught up.
I am also writing the three reviews I have to write, reading a bit and hopefully finishing one or two more as this weekend there is a little read a thon going on:
In other crazy news I had mentioned earlier this week that my hubby was going to be gone for 6 weeks, having taken a job North Dakota for a company….. uhh… yeah…. they hired too many people and finished the 6 week job in a week. He is working there today and then making the long trek back home tonight and should be here some time in the wee hours of the morning. Life….. is never dull.
Got to run but after the gym I will be back here and finishing up my review of Ready Player One….. it is going to be awesome. 😀
I was going to post this mmmmm…Monday? BUT – as we all know, life has a way of making its own decisions sometimes, and commitments have made this impossible until (hopefully) now.
My Navy Son Brad is coming home the second week of January for two weeks. He and his buddy who is also going to be on leave have been challenged to EACH burn 20,000 calories before that time. I told Brad that I would like to try to do it too….
I think it is doable.
NOW – before you comment about “the crazies” that have apparently attacked my brain again… hear me out. 😛
Seven weeks is 42 days… that’s less than 500 calories a day – AND when I go to the gym (key word here is WHEN), if I spend 30 minutes on the tread mill that’s about 300 calories and 30 minutes on the elliptical is about 300 as well. That’s an hour. If I do a Group Power class I can burn between 300 – 500 calories in that 40 minutes of working out.
Yes it will take commitment but since the accident in June when I had to drop kickboxing and Group Power, I have had a hard time getting back into the rhythm again… I am hoping this is the push I need. The bonus will be that in six weeks that should create a workout habit that I can stick to… and that is the bigger bonus. 😀
I plan to keep you updated here under my morning posts…. I will make a cute little button updating my progress but not this morning as I an 33 minutes out from needing to be at work and need to get moving here. Anyone care to join me? Say so in the comments here and maybe we can email and encourage each other. 😀
I have not started yet… hopefully I will get to credit some calories later today and get this party started. Have a lovely day. I am out of here.
Not a good way to wake up… but there it is. AND it has hung over me for a little over a month now. Just a lot of stuff going on… some good, some bad, some sad…
ARGH.
Anyway – once again as I have trudged through these days I am reminded I am not alone and many of us are “trudging” through our own things.
On the bright side in the past few weeks I have had some time to spend with some of my friends and really… are they not sometimes these paranormal beings with magical powers? My friends can heal, can make tears turn to smiles, make a mountain… feel like a power hike when they walk beside me…
and in turn, I like being that kind of friend back.
Just something I have been thinking about as of late as I flip through the chapters of my life story…. even each of you have a place in my book.
What happenings in my reading adventures? I am spending time with 14-year-old La Vaugn as she is taking care of Jolly’s kids in Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff. I am also sitting in an abortion clinic with Dynah and her mother as they ponder what should be done when a child is produced out of a rape in The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers.
Hope everyone has a lovely Wednesday. I have a full one… which is good….
In the spring of 1865, after a long day of meetings, Abraham Lincoln alongside his wife Mary, took to the theater. While Lincoln knew that he had a lot of enemies and had even thought there was a good chance he would be assassinated, he had no idea that his life was about to end.
John Wilkes Booth was an anchor and charismatic ladies man as well as an impenitent racist. His hatred for Lincoln burned so strong it was obsession. He stressed over the details for months… working out accomplices in the mission. It started as a kidnapping plan… and lead to a much deadlier conclusion.
The theater box where Lincoln was shot
Ok… here’s my thing about Lincoln. He is my all time favorite president. And here was my uneducated reasons why:
1. freeing of the slaves
2. He was the 16th president and 16 in my favorite number
3. He was honest
After listening to this audio I realize – I did not know him at all. He was only 56 when he died. More surprisingly to me… Booth was 26.
I did not know about all the background of Booth and the Lincoln conspiracy. Out of their three sons, I had not realized that 3 had died by the age of 18. And while I suspected the toll this took on Mary (Todd) Lincoln I did not to the point that after her third child’s death their remaining son put her in a home.
What I am saying here is I found this audio to be very informative and interesting. I learned much about Lincoln’s life, General Grant, and John Wilkes Booth.
I leave this audio feeling like I now know more about the president I adored from afar.
Yesterday I was trying so hard to stay focused on the Monday meme and visiting and it just wasn’t in me. I would read a few blogs…. then wander away to other areas of the blogosphere. I could not stay on task. So what does a wandering Sheila do?
Well for starters…. I am loving the game Words With Friends on Facebook and have about 15 games going. (It is like scrabble, and you take turns, when your opponent has played the board comes back for you to play)…. lets just say once a word girl… always a word girl. 😛
Then I went to find out what district I was in for Hunger Games. You can actually go to the Capital and find out for yourself… which many Hunger Game fans have already done… it just took me awhile. 😀 So what district am I in?
There I am… ready for battle with District 5. (It is times like these that crazy pictures of someone playing buck hunt arcade game pays off… 😀
Made coffee…. drank coffee… drank some more coffee 😯
Downloaded work out music on to my IPOD (Podette)
Started a draft of this post so I did not forget what I wanted to chat about
… and then I went to work, ran some errands… came home late afternoon… played some more Words with Friends and went to my study last night.
A good day… but I did not get through the Monday Memers like I had hoped to.
Today I only work a partial day. I am attending my friends sisters funeral and then going out to a late lunch with some of my friends who will be in attendance.
Beyond that I do not know what this day holds beyond reading the rest of the INSPY Award books.
I hope your day is lovely – and all your distractions are good ones. 😀
Hello and welcome to another fun addition of It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling me how many you visited. **You do not have to have a blog to participate! You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.
Is anyone else wondering what happened to this past week? I seriously feel like I ran from one thing to the next all week. My book life was null but audio time (during cooking, cleaning, relaxing) scored big! Here is the week:
I also finished the audio books of Killing Lincoln and Ready Player One – reviews to come over the next few days.
So I suspect more out of me this week including clean up of books from last week and these additions:
For Donia Bijan’s family, food has been the language they use to tell their stories and to communicate their love. In 1978, when the Islamic revolution in Iran threatened their safety, they fled to California’s Bay Area, where the familiar flavors of Bijan’s mother’s cooking formed a bridge to the life they left behind. Now, through the prism of food, award-winning chef Donia Bijan unwinds her own story, finding that at the heart of it all is her mother, whose love and support enabled Bijan to realize her dreams.
From the Persian world of her youth to the American life she embraced as a teenager to her years at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris (studying under the infamous Madame Brassart) to apprenticeships in France’s three-star kitchens and finally back to San Francisco, where she opened her own celebrated bistro, Bijan evokes a vibrant kaleidoscope of cultures and cuisines. And she shares thirty inspired recipes from her childhood (Saffron Yogurt Rice with Chicken and Eggplant and Orange Cardamom Cookies), her French training (Ratatouille with Black Olives and Fried Bread and Purple Plum Skillet Tart), and her cooking career (Roast Duck Legs with Dates and Warm Lentil Salad and Rose Petal Ice Cream).
An exhilarating, heartfelt memoir, Maman’s Homesick Pie is also a reminder of the women who encourage us to shine.
I am really excited about this one!
The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill’s wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby’s four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own lives. They haven’t celebrated Christmas together since their father’s death, but when Gaby announces that she’s getting married–and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day–she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.
But the wedding isn’t Gaby’s only surprise–she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their lives forever.
This is for our book club read for December. Every year I gripe about how fluffy Christmas reads are… I am hoping this one has a good story!
When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family.
Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.
On sale this week at audible.com for $4.95!
And that’s the plan! I am anxious to see what you are reading this week! Be sure to add your What Are You Reading link below where it says: Click here.
Powered by Linky Tools
Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
Somewhere in Britain, a man known only as “Jack” kills an unsuspecting family…
all but one of the family dies. The youngest, a toddler, slips away into the night and into a nearby graveyard where he is adopted by the ghostly inhabitants. The toddler is named Nobody Owens, raised up by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, and a mentor named Silas.
As the weeks turn to years, Nobody, “Bod”, learns the way of the graveyard. By visiting the local inhabitants, he learns to make himself fade, how to call ghouls, and even meets a real live girl! But as Bod gets older, he longs for the chance to be among the living – to experience school, and friendships. What Bod doesn’t understand is that the graveyard is where he is safe. Reluctantly, Silas helps Bod made his dreams come true, all the while knowing that “Jack” is still out there…
looking for the boy that crawled away….
all those years ago.
I started listening to this audio while in a van in La Esperanza, Honduras. When I put my ear buds in and the start-up music (above) began…. I swear my whole body tingled! The music is entitled Danse Macabre and this music actually inspires a chapter in the book where the characters both living and dead dance the Macabre. This was my first experience with Neil Gaiman and it was going to be on audio… read by none other than… Neil Gaiman.
Danse Macabre:
According to legend, “Death” appears at midnight every year on Halloween. Death calls forth the dead from their graves to dance their dance of death for him while he plays his fiddle (here represented by a solo violin). His skeletons dance for him until the rooster crows at dawn, when they must return to their graves until the next year.
The piece opens with a harp playing a single note, D, twelve times (the twelve strokes of midnight) which is accompanied by soft chords from the string section. The solo violin enters playing the tritone (or “Devil’s chord”) consisting of an A and an E-flat—in an example of scordatura tuning, the violinist’s E string has actually been tuned down to an E-flat to make this chord more biting. The main theme is heard on a solo flute, followed by a descending scale on the solo violin which is accompanied by soft chords from the string section, particularly the lower instruments of the string section, followed by the full orchestra who then joins in on the descending scale. The main theme and the scale is then heard throughout the various sections of the orchestra until it breaks to the solo violin and the harp playing the scale. The piece becomes more energetic and climaxes with the full orchestra playing very strong dynamics. Towards the end of the piece, there is another violin solo, now in modulation, which is then joined by the rest of the orchestra. The final section represents the dawn breaking (a cockerel’s crow, represented by the oboe) and the skeletons returning to their graves.
The Graveyard book is one of mystery and fantasy, dreams, and nightmares. Neil reads it in a fantastic tone that fits everything I just said in the previous sentence. Listening to this book was like living it. While it is a story about a murder, and then subsequently, a graveyard… it is a middle grade book. While that may surprise (or concern) you… don’t let it. The book is never graphic or gory… handled well as just an old-fashioned spooky story with a great paranormal twist.
My thoughts in the end… it was actually a fun experience. I will definitely look for more from Neil Gaiman.
Book Journey 