Willy and Sherman: Battle on the Beach

On August 17, 2019 I had the great pleasure of attending D-day Ohio with my boyfriend. It was a fantastic day and full of battles and LOTS of walking! While I was there my boyfriend purchased this book for me and I finally had time to sit and read it this week. 

Willy and Sherman: Battle on the Beach is a cute book for younger readers about a jeep and a tank who become friends and help the US soldiers in the battle on Normandy beach. It has many beautiful illustrations and is easy to read and understand with some interesting historical notes in the back. If you're teaching your children about D-day and World War Two I highly recommend adding this book to your reading list! It is historical fiction but is full of facts about the tanks and jeeps as well as the battle itself.  You can buy it on Amazon as a hardcover, paperback or in Kindle format.

Russian History

When I was in school, my mom often assigned me books to read. Half for my own learning and half so she'd know if it was a book my siblings would enjoy as they are not as enthusiastic about reading as I am. Often I enjoyed these books immensely in spite of them being nonfiction. Among these books I enjoyed are a series of books on Russian historical figures written by Robert K. Massie.
First, a little about the author...

Robert Kinloch Massie III (born January 5, 1929) is an American historian and biographer. He has devoted much of his career to studying the House of Romanov, Russia's royal family from 1613 to 1917.




THE BOOKS
The books that I read written by this author are as follows, listed from the one I liked best to the least (though still very much liked).

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

This book is about the greatest Russian empress who ever lived. It goes through her life slowly building up the character before you so you get a feel for what she was like even as you see her progress towards the throne. You experience every triumph and every downfall, every joy and every tear the woman went through. A thick book for sure but worthwhile to read every page.


Nicholas and Alexandra

This book is about the relationship between the last Tsar of Russia and Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Alexandra. It starts of the beginning of their time together and goes through every change in their life and every important detail that would eventually cause the end of the Romanov rule. It shows Nicholas' reaction to the births of his girls and finally his son, how he dealt with the opposition of the people of his country. It tells of the strange relationship between Alexandra and the infamous Rasputin and the lives of the Romanov princesses and prince. A heartbreaking story to read but very interesting.

Peter the Great

The ruler who was feared by many and loved by others, who was a contradiction and likely was not an easy person to live with. This well written book goes through Peter's rise to the throne which he shared with his brother, Ivan. It tells of how he expanded the Russian kingdom far beyond the original borders and the changes he made to the operation of the kingdom. This was actually the first of the books that my mom had me read and it was one I couldn't put down so I knew the rest of the books by this author would be an easy read for me. It is thick but it is a good one!

These books are available on Amazon and I've included the links in the titles of each. Read them for yourself and let me know what you thought!

Until next time,

A Wee Note of Appreciation

Dear Readers,
As I looked over my information about each post I've made on this blog of mine I was pleasantly surprised to see just how many views I've had! I write my posts happily informing and sharing my finds because I love to share. Books are something that's worth sharing! So for the people who read my posts and reread them I write this little note to show my appreciation. I will strive to do better on keeping my blog alive and moving forward. Now that it's warming up outside it will be more inviting to read a book while getting some vitamin D as you lay out in the sun.

Keep reading and sharing what you've read with me! I always welcome any and all reviews on books you've read so flood my inbox!

Until next time,

Update

My dearest readers,
It is with great joy that I announce the publishing of the new edition of Loving Adina. It has been updated and the greatest flaws have been corrected. Many of you who read it may have noticed a few. Mainly that Adina's mother dies twice. Haha! So here is the link to the new and refreshed edition if you wish to own your own copy. Since I've used Amazon to publish it, I will receive a percentage of the price of the book for EVERY BOOK that's ordered. Unlike American Star Publishing which gave me a percentage of the total for books ordered in certain months of the year.

.Loving Adina by Lydia Dominguez



Let me know what you think about this new copy! I'd love to hear from you and post your reviews (anonymous if you wish, or mention your name)!

Until next time!

Knights of Arrathtrae Series by Chuck Black

To me, The Knights of Arrethtrae series is one of the best allegorical book series ever written since Pilgrim's Progress. I love this series!

This series by Chuck Black is an allegory of Christians vs. Satan and his evil minions. The books are set with a medieval flair and are full of adventure, drama, emotion and faith. They each have discussions in the back that explain the different parts of each book. I have read every book and have found that they are absolutely hard to put down! I highly recommend the Knights of Arrethtrae. They have audiobooks as well that are SUPERBLY done!

Here are the books in the series

Sir Kendrick & the Casle of Bel Lione

Sir Bentley and Holbrook Court

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart

Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue

My personal favorite... Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor

Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest

Also by Chuck Black is the Kingdom series that is an allegorical retelling of the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation that makes you want to reread the Bible yourself! Absolutely WONDERFUL! (Only one thing though....the fall of Adam and Eve is an apple according to this story.)

These MUST be read in order so you don't miss anything!

1. Kingdom Dawn
2. Kingdom's Hope
3. Kingdom's Edge
4. Kingdom's Call
5. Kingdom's Quest
6. Kingdom's Reign

They come in audiobooks as well and are narrated by the same TWO people as the other series. I stress TWO because the two people that do the voices are so talented that it sounds like you're listening to a full cast drama! In addition to the fantastic narration, the music that helps set the tone was composed and played by Chuck Black's daughter, Elizabeth.

For more information about these two series, check out Chuck's website! There you will find more interesting information about his books, coloring pages, wallpaper, videos and he even has a shop where you can get Kingdom gifts!

Feel free to comment below and let me know what you think of these books!

Book Lover Gift Suggestions

My fellow book lovers and those shopping for them! Here are some inexpensive gift ideas that may help finding something for Christmas. I have set the links to open in new tabs so you can easily come back to the list when you're ready to. Prices shown do not include shipping!

For the girl who loves to read Jane Austen and drink a cup of tea as she does so.

Jane Austen Fabric Top Coasters - $19.99 

And speaking of tea...

Novel Teas- tea bags with literary quotes from the world over- $13.50

You can't forget a......

Mug- $16.99

or

Spoon- $16.99

Bookmarks- various prices

Coffee for the readers who need their coffee fix while they enjoy their book.- various prices

And when they have finished reading and decide they liked the book they just finished they can add it to this journal. $19.95

Subscription to Audible....for the ones who love books but have no patience (or maybe time) to actually read them- 30 Days free then a small fee per month

Speaking of audiobooks...here's an audio drama from BBC of the Jane Austen Classics! Free on Audible or get the CDs for $32.67

Horse lover AND a book lover? How about giving both for Christmas! Here's just a few...

Black Beauty  $22.99

Misty of Chincoteague $30.58

Wild Blue $20.30

Little Prince $18.86

Jewelry.... like this pretty silver key pendant necklace that says "I cannot live without books" $3.99

A set of books in a round silver pendant $7.99

Here's a tote bag with Jane Austen books printed on it to carry your books in! $20.99

These are just a few ideas...but perhaps they have gotten your own inspiration going! Hope you enjoyed this little list! And if you have any other ideas or links to share please leave a comment!

Until Next Time!

So Many Changes

Dearest Readers,
I realized that I haven't posted on this blog for two years! I apologize! So many changes have happened since my last post and I have not had a chance to sit and do any blog writing. Even most of my precious books are packed away still and have not found a good resting place.

Now that Christmas is almost here I thought I'd get on and try to compose a post or two on suggestions for the book lovers....and those who are shopping for book lovers.

Thank you for your patience and for reading my blog!

Yours Truly,