Anna > Recent Status Updates

For the first time since I've been doing the Goodreads challenge, I have revised my goal downwards. I can't get out anymore, so the library is out of reach. My reading is pretty much online or out of my own library. I feel sad about this. Reading has always been my favorite occupation. Between my vision and the meds I'm on, it's very difficult to read. Read while you can!

I just started a new book and ran into one of my pet peeves. The author introduced 12 characters within the span of 17 pages, and used more than one name for 3 of them. I read those pages over several times and made some notes to keep the characters straight. Surely there's a better way to set the stage for a story.

Had a question come up in my Book Reviews for Christian Families group on Facebook. I know some of you are authors. How would you respond? "If you had a wild true story you'd like to turn into a book "based on true events" where would you go for help writing it?? I feel so lost so this is a long shot, hoping someone can help."

I am working with a homeschooled student (about 6th grade level) on Kansas History. Does anyone have ideas for books - fiction or non-fiction - that would fit into that parameter? I'd like specifically Kansas, but would consider central midwest as well.

New formula for naming your novel? Just fill in the blanks: The _____ we _____. Anybody else getting tired of all the WE titles?

Can anybody tell me why a book that I have read and reviewed remains on my TBR list? Why don't different editions of a book with the same title and author automatically check off if you read one of them? I'm afraid to discard the TBR one because I'm concerned it will remove my review from the one I've read.

I'm trying to post my review of Midnight Harbor by Davis Bunn. But there is a captcha that just spins and spins. It spun for several minutes and then I closed out and tried again, twice. But it won't let me post. And the captcha won't complete. GRRR!

Is there any way to access the reviews I've written about books?

Helen Keller was amazing! Even though blind and deaf, she entered preparatory school at the age of 16 already "speaking," reading, and understanding three languages besides English: German, Latin, and French. She read books with her fingers that have names I cannot even pronounce!

Can anybody remember a book that had a picture of a dog on the front wearing goggles? It was by someone named Walter, I think.

Anybody have an engaging read-aloud for upper middle-grade/YA during the Lewis & Clark and Sacajawea time period? Fiction or non-fiction, but something that will hold their attention. Especially suitable for girls, preferably.

It's beginning to irritate me to have to do captchas every time I post a review. And then they try to trick you by only putting a tiny bit of each item in a picture. Do you click on it or not? Apparently I don't guess right and have to do them over and over. What is the purpose of this? Are there bots that write reviews with my name??

Can anybody help me with the title of a book where kids are being raised in a colonial village and they think it's real life but it's really just a re-enactment? The adults know, but not the kids. Until somebody is either extremely sick or badly hurt and they have to go outside the colony for help. There is huge culture shock.

DNF this one about 1/3 of the way in without a rating or review. Just finding it holds no interest for me.

Because I am still (still!) reading David Copperfield, GR recommends that I look into "Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to a Better Body..."

I love her dryly humorous look at life in the Maine backwoods in the 1940s.

Has anyone else experienced difficulty with signing into GR? I enter my email address then tab to the password area. While I am typing my PW, the cursor jumps back into the email address line. This happens over and over, differently each time, and sometimes not at all. Just wondered if anyone else has had this happen.

Erica Vetsch is a first-class storyteller! Once you begin one of her books, you are hooked. The story flows with just the right amount of interest and suspense. Her characters are well-drawn and relatable.

Goodreads "recommendations" are frequently ludicrous and sometimes offensive. I've actually had to remove books from my shelves because they triggered offensive "recommendations" based on a single word in the title.

I can't believe that the Penderwicks were never a part of my children's lit background. I guess it's because they were published after my children were born and I never heard of them. Glad I am rectifying that now. This is a fun story about a family of four sisters who spend the summer at the cottage on a grand estate and get into all sorts of mischief.

Oh my goodness! The Eltons of Emma Woodhouse fame are visiting Sea View! Sea View reminds Mrs. Elton of Maple Grove - the estate of her brother (Mr. Suckling is it?) You may believe her - she never compliments! It will be fun to see how the sisters of Sea View interact with the Eltons. Well done, Julie Klassen!

She is a wonderful storyteller! This book is hard to put down.

Mihaly's studies identified many aspects of flow, but it boils down to three core components: choose a clearly defined goal, do something that is meaningful to you, and do something that is at the edge of your abilities, but not beyond them. In this way, it's like you have merged with the task.