A Bookish Life In AK

I recently took a 2 week vacation to visit family and of course books were involved. My husband and I visited our middle daughter, the grandbabies, and my parents in Branson, Missouri. Then we drove onto Grayson, Kentucky to see my in-laws. Along the way I got to visit local coffee shops and bookstores.

While on my vacation, I finished up “The Silmarillion” by Tolkien. I was very thankful for Tea With Tolkien and her Reader”s Guide for “The Silmarillion.” Without it, I would have been lost, she includes a who’s who and summaries of the chapters, links to other resources that opened up Tolkien’s world to me more than I thought possible. I think one of my favorite things in the Reader’s Guide were the links to the maps. If you are intimidated by “The Silmarillion” like I was, get the guide! As for “The Silmarillion,” it was fantastic! It is the beginning of the Elves, Dwarves, and Men in Middle Earth. It was such a beautiful book. There are love stories, wars, and friendship. There was so much to this book that it took me all summer to read it even though it wasn’t even 400 pages long. Tolkien’s use of the language he created is so impressive. It was so worth slowing down and reading deeply. “The Silmarillion” has made me want top read more of his other works besides “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Ring” series. A friend of mine gave me a copy of Tolkien’s translation of “Sir Gawain and the Green Night” that I am itching to get into after I read a few more of the fantasy books I was blessed with over the summer. Here’s the link for Tea with Tolkien, they have so many fabulous resources. https://www.teawithtolkien.com/

I also read Tricia Goyer’s “Trust the Stars.” It was absolutely fantastic!! While rescuing Jewish children in Rome during WWII, Princess Alassandra is taken into custody by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp where she does her best to journal something of her life there. Meanwhile in the current time Olivia is making a documentary about children in bad situations and her life, although no one knows who she is because she never shows herself on camera it’s only her voice that’s heard. Then there is Prince Louis, from Alloria running away to Africa to nurse a wounded heart after his former fiancé left him to marry a more notable royal. While in Africa he hears a voice that he recognizes as Olivia’s. HE diguises himself and gets onto her safari that her friend insisted in her going to. After being found out at the end of the trip, Olivia runs back to Little Rock, Arkansas and her Inner city work with the girls there. Prince Louis follows her and learns about her life and her and about himself and God. Olivia learns to trust God’s timing and his provisions. Not to mention, this cover, how gorgeous!!

Then there is “Toward the Storm” by D.H. Kilgen. An interesting time-travel tale. Jackie and her mother move to Amery Bay after her father dies in a WWII arial fight while fighting in Europe. She meets Charlie one day in her favorite spot and they fall on love and get married. One night on a walk they see something incredible and can’t explain. Later on that week, Charlie is hit by a lightening bolt and disappears in front of Jackie. She and her best friend, Rose, spend the next few years trying to find Charlie. They get help from a certain scientist while trying to hide from the “FBI.” Liam was struck by lightening in 2011 and hasn’t ever been the same since then. HE and his best friend decide to take a road trip after he starts having black outs and end up in Amery Bay. I won’t say anymore because this book had me on the edge of my seat by the end of the book and the ending was fantastic. I will say that there was some swearing in it but it was minimal, and no f-bombs.

I got to visit The Fig Tree Christian bookstore in Branson, Missouri and it was so wonderful. The staff were so welcoming and friendly. I had so much fun exploring their cute store. I even picked up a couple books and some fun stickers. On our unexpected stay in Nashville, thanks to Alaska Airlines software issue that grounded us for 2 extra days, I got to visit a store that I have wanted to visit for years, McKay’s. It’s one of the largest used bookstores I have ever seen. It was wonderful. Even my daughter who is not into reading like I am even found a book that she enjoyed! Yes, I actually did fill half a suitcase with books. It only weighed 35 pounds too!

It was a fantastic trip and look forward to heading back down to visit my family again. I already miss them so much.

My next post I’ll be sharing about the Love in Maple Falls series that I have been enjoying as well as a few more Sci-Fi and Fantasy books that have been so wonderful. Let me know what you’re reading in the comments.

Prayers and blessings, Becky