Currently....

Listening To: Christmas music of course! Now that it's officially the Christmas season, I love turning on the radio and hearing Christmas songs. :) My current fave is Pentatonix (I know. I mentioned this group as a favorite a couple months ago. But I'm still loving them! So I'm sharing it again.)

Reading: I actually just finished reading and listening simultaneously to The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. And wow! What an adventure! I have lots of thoughts and once I can get them coherently into an actual review, I'll be posting about it. But I can tell you that I really enjoyed it. It made my drives to and from work ever so much more exciting! (Plus now I'm excited to watch the movies, as if I wasn't already.)

Enjoying: Quiet holiday's that let me have a day off in the middle of the week. Unfortunately I still had to work on Friday, but it was so nice to have Thanksgiving day to relax and refresh myself.

Watching: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and I'm loving this series!! Seriously, if you haven't watched it, you need to remedy that soon. The set design, the costumes, the characters, the writing, it's all fabulous! Once I'm finished, I think I'll have many feelings to expound on, so be on the lookout! ;)

Feeling: Festive. All this Christmas music and lights and decorations that I'm seeing has been instrumental in getting me excited for Christmas. Not to mention all the fun Christmas movies I'm watching! Last year I was feeling quite discombobulated at this time, what with my big move and all, so I'm very happy to feel more excited this year.

Craving: Pumpkin pie. I had a couple slices on Thanksgiving and now I'm craving more! Must needs to visit mom and dad's soon, see if I can talk them into sharing it again. ;)

Loving: Christmas movies! I love all the cheesy and sweet Christmas movies that show this time of year. I haven't had the chance to watch too many new ones, but it's been great fun digging out my favorites I have in my stash. Makes for a perfect evening, I must say. Been thinking I should do a post about some of my very favorites. What say you?

Anticipating: Seeing some of my out-of-state family that will be visiting for Christmas. Several of my cousins I haven't seen since last year, so it'll be fun to catch up again. Plus it's been a few months since I've seen my brother's family, I'm counting on lots of splendid niece/nephew-spoiling going on! :D

Celebrating: This season that we're entering. Christmas is a wonderful time of year, just like that old song says. Full of family, delicious food, parties, delightful movies, festive lights, fun music, and a wonderful Reason to celebrate. (Why yes. I'm quite looking forward to it! Can you tell?)

Happy Thanksgiving!

"The man that I named The Giver passed along to the boy, knowledge, history, memories, color, pain, laughter, love, and truth. Every time you place a book in the hands of a child, you do the same thing. It is very risky. But each time a child opens a book, he pushes open the gate that separates him from Elsewhere. It gives him freedom. Those are magnificent, wonderfully unsafe things."

~ Lois Lowry

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Happy Thanksgiving! I hope all my American readers are having a lovely day full of family, food, and fun. And that everyone else is having a wonderful day as well! :)

Falling For Jane

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one delights in something, to be able to share that happiness with someone who understands is a wondrous occasion. And a particular story you enjoy quite a lot is probably not to be shared in lengthy detail with someone of your acquaintance who does not read at all, as they will most likely become bored with the subject long before you. Hence, you can imagine my astonished joy when a dearest friend commenced to reading Jane Austen and has, quite simply, fallen in love! :)

This delightful happenstance has led to many an attempt at "Austen-ese" via text message. Which leads to much grinning on my part. It has also led my brain to begin thinking. (As if I'm ever not thinking. My brain never shuts off!)

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For instance, I contemplate when I first fell for Jane. I have to remember back several years. I confess it didn't happen until my twenties. I do remember watching Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson at a friend's house when I was still in school, but my true appreciation for Jane didn't begin then. It began in my early twenties when I watched Pride and Prejudice for the first time. I found the '96 version as well as the '80 version at a small library and proceeded to watch both and fall in love. I can't even tell you exactly what it was that struck me. The whole experience of the time period, the dresses, the characters, the accents, the words they used (felicity! thither! "...a pair of fine eyes..."!), it all combined to draw me in and made me search out every detail on Austen herself, her books, and all the adaptations of her stories. I began to collect just about every adaptation that I could get my hands on! And obsessively watch them many, many times.

Sadly for me, no one of my immediate circle of friends understood my obsession, so I was left to squeal and fangirl all by myself. Then I discovered the online community of awesome people who love Jane too! And that made me very happy indeed. :D

And all that thinking about Jane has lead me to wonder what exactly it is that makes her still so popular. (Note: Many, many others have contemplated this exact thing and have written lots of wonderful articles and posts about it much more eloquently than I. All I'm going to venture into is a small portion of my thoughts and opinions on this subject.)

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In speaking with said friend, who is currently making her way through Emma, one thing did come out. She didn't precisely say this, but I think she had had this idea of Jane's writing to be much more romantic than it actually is. Not to say that Jane's stories don't have romance in them because they do! And quite swoonworthy it is too. ;) But I think the adaptations tend to focus quite a lot more on that aspect than the actual books do. Which, when I think about it, how can we expect real people to be able to accurately act out all the minute details and observations that Jane employs in her books? We can't. That's the difference between books and movies. It's the quandary that will always be there, in my opinion. Writing can convey ever so much more than a person can act out. Because we simply can't read minds like we can via a book. (Which is okay. I can appreciate both things. I like Jane's books a great deal, but I'm also more than a bit fond of all the adaptations out there. :)

In fact, in going back and reading a few portions of her stories that I have on my shelves, I was reminded that Jane excelled in giving detail but not really giving detail. That doesn't seem to make much sense, except I don't know how else to explain it. In Persuasion (which happens to be my favorite btw), she doesn't give every single detail about what exactly was said word for word between Anne and Captain Wentworth in the final few chapters, yet she gives enough detail that we understand completely what they said and how they said it and what they were feeling. So there's plenty of detail, but it's not the he-said-then-she-said-then-he-responded-and-then-she-responded kind. She alludes to it more or less. Does that make sense? It's something that's pretty unique to her writing. And it's a part of her writing that I really like actually.

If you're an Austen fan, I think it's safe to say that whatever our reasons for liking her stories, she most certainly was an excellent writer! And when you're privileged to find another fan of hers (especially in real life!), it makes for wonderful and fun conversations. :) What about you? When did you first fall for Jane? What was it that made you a fan? I'm curious to know how it happened for everyone else!

Blog Tour Review: How a Star Falls by Amber Stokes (Plus Giveaway!)

I had the privilege of reading an advance copy of this wonderful story and can I just say how sweet it is? For a novella, it packs quite a bit of heart and sweetness into just a few pages! Ms. Stokes branches out beyond her usual historical genre and tries her hand (beautifully I might add! :) at contemporary romance.

Derrick is a young man who is still trying to figure out what he wants in life. Which is extremely easy to relate to, for haven't we all struggled with that very question? And when Brielle suddenly falls into his life, she emphasizes how lost he feels. Which he doesn't appreciate at first! But it doesn't take long before these two lost souls begin to discover things about themselves through the influence of the other. And the mystery of who Brielle really is keeps you turning pages and wanting to know what will come next!

Mystery, romance, family bonding, and just all around fun makes this little story a delightful read. When you're in need of a sweet story and with only a small amount of time to escape real life for a while, this is the perfect book to pick up! Most definitely recommend. :)

Blog Tour :: Goodreads :: Amazon

"Are you familiar with Orion?"
Her question sent a jolt through him-a needle prick of memories from a childhood that felt light-years away. He simply jerked his head in a semi-nod.
She glanced up at the stars. "I'm from Orion's Belt." At his groan, she only grinned and added, "You could say the great hunter sent me."
"Is this some kind of joke? What on earth are you on?"

About the Author

Amber Stokes works as a content writer (marketing services) for a Christian publisher. On the side, she self-publishes inspirational fiction depicting the seasons of life and love. Her passion for books compelled her to earn a bachelor's degree in English and to run her own freelance editing and publicity business for over a year. Happily, this new chapter of her career takes place in the Pacific Northwest-a part of the world she's always considered home. Learn more about Amber's books at Seasons of a Story.

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