From the wife of one of my favorite iFit trainers, I felt very close to the author‘s story in which she relives her trauma of losing a parent at a young age, growing up in a legalistic religion, the search for God and, ultimately, the battle for her husband‘s life. Even though I knew the outcome, I was. On the edge of my seat as I read the pages. A tale of healing and self-discovery.

Just. Wow. Compiled journal entries and stories from the Kansas frontier, from the first settlers in mid 19th century through the civil war and women‘s suffrage. There are heartwarming tales of courage, family, and neighbors helping neighbors, as well as tales of fear and the horrors of life tens of miles away from the nearest neighbor. The isolation broke some women but empowered others. Makes me ever more grateful for modern creature comforts.

The incidents surrounding the murder of a prominent socialite in Logan, WV lead to several likely suspects and ultimate conviction of a probably-innocent man. I was curious about this unsolved mystery because I had ancestors in and around Logan in 1932 when this murder happened. Not an easy read, it‘s full of the legal proceedings and court documents, but interesting nonetheless.

Set in Norway, Trond bounces back and forth in the timeline of his life as an old man and as a boy in the late 1940-50s. It started out a bit slow but I quickly became engrossed in the relationship Trond shared with his father and his friendships. However, by the end I felt underwhelmed at the lack of closure. I really wanted to love this book but I suspect it may have more impact on men, as it deals with complex issues between father and son.

An interesting “look” into the life of Mary Queen of Scots through the eyes of her fictional young court jester. The authors skillfully created a story from what little is known about the people in Queen Mary‘s court in a very credible way. Full of intrigue and suspense. Worth a read.

I was very unsure about reading this; I thought it might ruin the magic of “The Twilight Saga” that hit me at just the right time in my youth. Instead, it only reaffirmed my love of the series. Midnight Sun is much darker but it was fun to read it from Edward‘s perspective (maybe even more fun than from Bella‘s). I also liked the greek mythology tied in with Persephone and the pomegranate.

Tragic from beginning to end. Elsa is a young woman on a journey to find love, or anything resembling it after growing up in a loveless home. She finds it most in her children whom she raises in the dust bowl before enduring more hardships after leaving Texas for a “better life” in California. The author admits historical timeline was manipulated a bit to fit her narrative, but I loved the story so I give it a pass.

This book helped me to clarify how I would like to celebrate the season. Hopwood argues that Christians don‘t have to cut out the secular Christmas to realize the true meaning of the season and explains that warring between pagans and Christians over Christmas nearly wiped out the Christian Christmas. It ultimately doesn‘t matter which came first. Being a Christian doesn‘t mean you have to be Scrooge about the secular side and vice versa.