Jan Jones

BOOKS & STUFF

Published by admin on Wed, 03/27/2019 - 1:03pm

I’ve had to do quite a bit of driving lately. It is sad to see how many buildings have been damaged by the heavy load of snow. Even with insurance, it won’t be cheap to repair or replace those buildings.

This has been a very rough winter, and I really hope that it is over. We all need spring to come soon!

“Tears of God” by Steven F. Freeman was my book choice this week, but it was a disappointment; not because it was poorly written or had a bad plot line, but because I really don’t care for stories where the protagonists go under cover.

BOOKS & STUFF

Published by admin on Wed, 03/27/2019 - 12:10pm

Tom is busy building a “bridge” so we can get from the driveway into our walk-out basement door. The snow is piled high on both sides, so when it melts it puddles in front of the cement stoop there. It won’t get inside, but it makes getting in and out a pain. Ah, spring. We really want it, but we still have to deal with the side effects.

As a person who doesn’t drink coffee and loves chocolate — especially if it is the dark kind — I was immediately drawn to an e-book with the title “Death By Chocolate.” It turned out to be a pretty good mystery by Sally Berneathy.

BOOKS & STUFF

Published by admin on Wed, 03/27/2019 - 10:30am

Wow, March has just begun and I’ve been super busy. Between delivering donations to Helping Hands in Wausau and St. John’s Lutheran in Weyauwega, helping Hope ELCA in Eau Claire make pizzas, preaching at Faith UCC on March 3, 6 and 10, sewing, and the usual duties of home and family, I’ve had little time for relaxing and reading.

I’m definitely not complaining. I’ve been given gifts, and I am thrilled to be able to share them. And you all know that I managed to squeeze in some reading.

Books & Stuff

Published by admin on Wed, 03/27/2019 - 9:33am

This week, I selected an author I’d heard about but never read, Mary Ann Mitchell. She has won many awards for her chilling “horror” books, but “Street of Death” was a dramatization of a terrible time in history, the Spanish Inquisition.

Commissioned by the pope, High Priest Torquemada set out to find and punish any who didn’t strictly adhere to the Catholic faith.

BOOKS & STUFF

Published by admin on Thu, 02/28/2019 - 11:12am

February has flown by bringing us to unpredictable March. This is a difficult time of year for me. I know we’ve got plenty of wintry weather ahead, but those darned seed catalogues make me long for green grass, bird songs and warm days. When it gets to me, I grab a book and pretend to be somewhere else.

The book that took me so long to read wasn’t quite as good as I thought it would be, but I’m still glad I finished it. Simply put, “At The Scent of Water” by Linda Nichols was a story of deep pain and redemption interspersed with Christian faith.

BOOKS & STUFF

Published by admin on Thu, 02/28/2019 - 10:33am

All that new snow has been rough on everyone, but it has hit wildlife especially hard. Although our some of our feeders are hard to get to now, we do our best to keep them and our suet bags filled. That takes care of the birds, but it breaks my heart to see the deer coming up onto our south deck to lick up the spilled seeds under our hanging feeders. Just hoping we have an early and gentle spring.

BOOKS & STUFF

Published by admin on Thu, 02/28/2019 - 9:37am

Ah, Valentine’s Day. Woe to the gentleman who fails to present his love with flowers, chocolates, a dinner out or, at the very least, a nice card. I’m all for romance and romantic occasions, but something in me just can’t handle “romance” novels. The whole idea of a damsel in distress rescued by the white knight makes me cringe. But I know that many readers really enjoy reading happy ending romances. I’ll take a nasty murder instead.

BOOKS & STUFF

Published by admin on Wed, 02/27/2019 - 4:29pm

I expect to see ads selling T-shirts saying, “I Survived the Deep Freeze of 2019” any day now. That super cold weather was hard on people, animals and machinery, but it did “force” me to stay in and do more reading.

A friend at church asked me if I’d read John Grisham’s “The Testament.” I’ve read other Grisham novels but not this one, so I gave it a try. Now I have to figure how to share it with you in a concise way.

bOOKS & STUFF

Published by admin on Mon, 02/18/2019 - 5:20pm

Well, Lincoln’s basketball season is on hold. He fell during Saturday’s tournament in Merrill and ended up with a “buckle fracture” of his left arm. That’s when a bone is bent until it begins to break. He thought it was cool until he found out all the things he couldn’t do. At least he still likes to cuddle beside me with a book.

It was a good day for an e-book so I selected “On the Hook” by Cindy Davis. It is described as the first in her series of Smith and Westen mystery books – yes, I actually picked the first-in-a-series book.

BOOKS & STUFF

Published by admin on Mon, 02/18/2019 - 12:20pm

I’ll soon be back to reading e-books as we’ll be at Lincoln’s basketball tournaments. The first two are in Merrill, so I’ll have plenty of time to read while Tom drives. It is about the only way I can stay awake when I’m a passenger.
I have had many Amish friends, so when I skimmed the back of Karen Harper’s “Dark Harvest,” I knew I wanted to read the book.