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Coffee with Kel

Building relationships, encouraging hope

books

Book Recommendations

April 8, 2020 By kelly 3 Comments

Hi, all!

I have noticed an uptick in people asking for book recommendations on social media since our time of quarantine began. Granted, since I’m a reader, I’ve always noticed book recommendation request posts, but I definitely see an increase in that in these recent weeks. While I know NONE of us want to be “stuck” any longer than we need to be, I love that so much reading is happening too. So, I want to share several book recommendations with you all, going back over some of my favorites in the last few years as well as some all-time FAVES.

 

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Filed Under: books 3 Comments

Book Review: A Life Intercepted by Charles Martin

September 8, 2014 By kelly Leave a Comment

life_intercepted

I am writing this review fresh on the heels of attending a book signing event at which I finally got to meet one of my favorite authors, Charles Martin. I just finished his latest novel, A Life Intercepted, last night, so the book signing was well timed for me. It was my very first book signing and I enjoyed it tremendously. It reminded me of just how much I adore small bookstores and how much I enjoy having an actual book in my hands. I love reading and always have, but I have been addicted to e-reading on my Kindle the last few years. It’s fast, it’s less expensive…what’s not to love? BUT, then there are bookstores. Maybe they are a bit old fashioned, but that’s okay with me. I rediscovered a love tonight for locally owned book stores and I will surely be back there. It was wonderful! The two authors present were Lisa Patton and, of course, Charles Martin. I had never read any of Ms. Patton’s books previously, but I left with a signed copy of her first novel, Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’Easter, and I can hardly wait to get started on it. I have read all of Charles Martin’s books already, some more than once, and I also left with a signed copy of A Life Intercepted. Both authors were just wonderful to hear and meet in person and I’m thankful I had the opportunity to be there this evening.

So, back to the book review…

A Life Intercepted is Charles Martin’s tenth novel and it does not disappoint. It was one of those books that I wanted to pace myself to read through slowly, but, at the same time, I didn’t want to put it down. It was such a powerful and amazing read all the way through. I was engaged from start to finish. There were moments when I had tears, there were moments when I had smiles and there were moments when I just felt my heart being pulled all over the place, but in the best of ways. Once again, Charles Martin’s writing style drew me into his characters and their situations. I was invested all the way through the book. And, it didn’t let me down for a single second. Every page, every chapter was just as riveting as the one before and after it.

I hesitate to talk too much about the story lines because, well, I just don’t want to give anything away. I can tell you that there are elements that deal with football, with personal identity, with loss, with redemption and, of course, with love. And, as with every Charles Martin book there is an element of faith intricately woven into the stories. He doesn’t preach and he never gets cheesy, he’s just real and you feel the depth of his own personal faith in his writing and in the fiber of his characters. As my friend Debbie and I agreed in talking about his books, you come away from reading one of his books wanting to be a better person. That says a lot. Books that captivate your attention, get you emotionally invested AND leave you with lessons to apply to your own life? Those are excellent books. And, those are the essence of Charles Martin’s writing.

I absolutely recommend this novel to anyone. It’s a truly wonderful read. If you’ve never read Charles Martin before, start with this one. Work your way through the other nine novels. Then, do me a favor, won’t you? Come back and tell me how much you enjoy them. Because I can guarantee that you will. The way he writes relates to everyone. If I were forced to choose a genre for Charles Martin’s writing, I would say “southern fiction”, but, even at that, his writing has something, I believe, for everyone.

I’m going to close with a photo collage from tonight. On the left is me with Charles and on the right is his inscription in my copy of A Life Intercepted. He wrote: Kelly – Blessings! “Love does what hatred cannot.” Charles. And that, I believe, sums up a lot. That is what you will find in this novel and that’s what you’ll find in this lifetime. Read this novel, and his others, and you’ll be as blessed by them as I am.

mellen_martin

 

Blessings,

Kelly

Filed Under: book reviews, books Leave a Comment

Book Recommendation: Don’t Make Me Come Up There

January 26, 2012 By kelly 2 Comments

I haven’t posted in a week. Oops. I’m really trying to do better about keeping the blog updated, but the last week has been pretty busy. Hopefully, I can keep this blog rejuvenated because I really do enjoy posting here.

Today, I’m sharing a book recommendation with y’all. Don’t Make Me Come Up There by Kristen Welch is a great devotion book for moms. This is a collection of stories and reflections that SO many of us can relate to in our daily lives and in our faith walks too. I haven’t read it all yet, but every time I read a new chapter, I find myself nodding along. I recommend picking up a copy of this book or download it onto your e-reader. You’ll be blessed!

Filed Under: book reviews, books 2 Comments

It’s Book Fair Time!

March 9, 2010 By kelly 2 Comments

How many of you have fond memories of the book fair from when you were in school? I always loved it. I don’t remember there being an actual “book fair” on site, but I know we got those cool order forms and I always picked out the books and posters I wanted and put in a campaign to convince my mom that I needed every single last one of them. I mean, the kitten posters were the cutest things EVER. Who didn’t need one every time? Seriously. 😉

Last week was book fair time at Mariana’s preschool. She didn’t actually go to the book fair, but Mickey and I went and did some fun shopping for her. She got some really fun books like Clifford the Champion, Katie Loves the Kittens and Dinner with Olivia. Mariana loves books and loves to “read.” She rarely lets us read to her these days. Instead, she prefers to take the books and “read” them herself which means that she makes up the stories as she turns each page. The cutest part is when she turns the page around to show her “kids” just the way her preschool teachers do. Love it!! It’s really cool to see her have such an interest in books and to see her creativity and imagination in bloom.

Macey’s book fair is this week. Today we get to go have lunch with Macey and then visit the book fair as a family. This is something we do twice a year at her school and we all look forward to it each time. Last week her class got to go to a preview of the book fair and the children got to create their wish lists at that time. Macey’s list includes the following – Library Mouse – A Friend’s Tale, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick and Pinkalicious. This time, there aren’t any chapter books on her list, but that could be because she has a ton of them already. She loves reading all sorts of books. Macey loves reading and enjoys reading to us too. She especially loves when she checks out AR (Accelerated Reader) books from the library each week because she likes to see which grade level she read each time.  It’s really amazing to me to see both of our girls blooming in their love of reading!

I’m just as excited as the girls about the book fair. Yes, we already have a library full of books at home. We have plans to donate some of them. Our friend Annie is serving as a missionary over in Kenya and she has requested books for the orphanage where she is serving. So, we are going to go through our books shortly and find a way to get them over to the orphanage in Kenya. It’ll be a great opportunity for me to go through the books with the girls and determine which ones to send.

We also donate at least one book to the classroom each time. The teachers fill out wish lists and we choose at least one book from the list for the classrooms. The teachers are always appreciative and it feels good to give back. So, book fair really IS a fun time for the whole family. I can’t wait to go again today!

Filed Under: books, Kids, school 2 Comments

Happy Friday!

March 20, 2009 By kelly 1 Comment

I woke up in a groggy state around 5:30 this morning. It wasn’t yet time to get up, but somehow I woke up just enough to wonder what day it was. I had to think about it because I had no idea. Somwhere in my sleepy haze, it came to me that today is Friday and that just gave me the happies. I caught another hour of sleep all happy that it’s FRIDAY!! Friday means that our weekend is about to start. And, this Friday means that Dana and I are going to see Kate Gosselin speak and we are SO excited about that. So WOO HOO…it’s Friday!! 😀

In other happy news, I have some more praises to post. This time about Miss Macey. When she came home yesterday, she was as happy as could be after school. She had been named “Character Education” winner for this month AND she brought home a great report card! Character Ed is an award her school gives to one child per classroom who exemplifies the attributes of the key character word of the current term. Macey’s character word is “commitment.” She is SO happy and so proud of herself for this award. Needless to say, we are very proud too! We sent in a 4×6 picture of Macey for the “Character Wall” at school. She also had her name read on the morning announcements yesterday and she will be in a group photo for the school newsletter. Also, we get to go and have lunch with her on Monday. We actually have the opportunity to eat lunch at school whenever we like, but this time it’s super special because we get to sit in a special area and have a special dessert. So exciting!! Macey’s report card was great too. She is just excelling in Kindergarten and absolutely loves it!

Mariana is watching her new Boz DVD (BOZs and 1-2-3s) right now. She got it as a reward for her potty training successes. She absolutely LOVES Boz! Both girls have loved him, but Macey is sort of hit or miss on it right now since she’s older and, thus, more sophisticated dontcha know?! 😉 Anyway. This new Boz DVD is a hit for Mariana. She asks for it every morning. So cute!!

Today is the 40th Anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar being published. We love that book. Actually, we haven’t “met” an Eric Carle book we don’t enjoy. If you haven’t seen Google today, check it out. Their letters are shapes from the book. Very cool!! Here it is: caterpillar_google

I hope everyone has a GREAT day today! Enjoy this Friday! And, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend too!!

Blessings,
Kelly

Filed Under: books, Daily Life, Entertainment, Family, Kelly, Kids 1 Comment

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