Christina > Recent Status Updates

Once again, an inaccurate comment about restrictive corsets ("extremely restraining" was the author's choice of phrase). Once again I roll my eyes. If a corset was too tight or restrictive, it was not fitted properly to the wearer.
The author also bemoans the amount of fabric needed to make clothes, as if all the women wearing those clothes were collapsing from heat stroke.

Of course the author has to bemoan corsets and say that Victorian women had 18 inch waists (insert my eye rolls). Extent garments show that is is entirely false, and that most women had waist sizes similar to today.

The author doesn't give a source for this "fact" so it is further disproved.

The story has Lydia as an upper class woman, with household
servants and a handmaiden to do everything for her (including brushing her hair!). I never thought of
the Biblical Lydia as upper class; more of a working class woman.

So far it's ok. Lois has no baking knowledge but makes a perfect loaf on her first try. That seems unlikely to me. She also
manages to make 8 loaves with one batch of starter, but didn't talk about how it needs to be fed differently. What about the discard?

talks of:

•gun violence
•murder
•kidnapping
•forced prostitution
•sexual abuse
•racism
•mistreatment of immigrants

I'm only a little ways into the book but I'm already regretting reading it.

Firstly, it starts with the essay that inspired the movie. The author of the essay kind of portrays Mr Rogers and a creepy weirdo who has to have the praise and adoration of others.

My second issue is how there are random little "once upon a time" stories. They feel disjointed and pointless.

Interesting so far but I find the pictures and captions to be distracting.

Some details seem really random to me, like what he wore to a concert, or what his wife talked about with someone during a visit, but I have a feeling those were included in this book for a specific reason. At the start, Randy states he had to have help filling in some gaps in his memory, so I suspect these "random" tidbits are things he truly remembers, so they are important.

So far an interesting story and I'm having a hard time putting it down! The character of Lucie is pretty high and mighty at times, very judgemental as well. Admittedly I do not find her likeable.

I am seeing some questionable canning practices in the pantry section. In the livestock section there are detailed instructions for milking a goat, but I think the author missed something. If she assumes the reader has never milked a goat before, why does she assume they have a milking stand? Is there a section later that tells us how to build one?

mentions of a "family curse" which I don't think is appropriate for a Christian book

Chapter 1 gives a lot of great recipes if you are perhaps new to baking from scratch. I personally didn't find them interesting because I either already have a similar recipe or am just not wanting to try them. I skimmed this section but it would be worth reading if you are interested in new recipes.

This is the second book I have read by Martha Peace and I agreed with everything so far, until page 85. She advocates for spanking a child, which I do not agree with. There are much better forms of discipline, so I can only hope that future editions of this book take into account the numerous studies that have been done on the negative effects of spanking a child.

Just like the previous books, this one is really hard to get into. It is so boring and slow paced, and I'm already in chapter 6. It seems like there are some interesting plot points that will be revealed later, but I'm not remotely invested in them.

So far this is a good book. I like the homework questions at the end of each chapter because they are not condescending but also require some thought. This book seems to
be written for older ladies who are wanting to mentor those who are younger, but so far not much is applicable to young ladies.

The Christmas Cat story was cute and enjoyable to read. Once again, I think this would have been better as a full sized novel instead of a short story. I am familiar with Amy Clipston and enjoy her writing style.

Finished the first short story and was greatly disappointed . I am unfamiliar with the author, Beth Wiseman, so I don’t know if all her writing is this way, but the first story was not good. It seemed rushed and like things were missing. The idea behind it was nice and I am sure it would have been better as a full novel.

so far I find it hard to empathize with Sherry because I feel like the blame she casts on her father and stepmother may be clouded by the memories of her angry teen years.

I like the idea of choosing what to KEEP instead of what to get rid of.

Her use of the word “tidying” is misleading. I believe she means “putting things away as soon as you finish using them” but to me, it means more than that.

I like her concept of “tidying” (rather, decluttering and discarding) all at once, in one go, but I don’t think it is practical for everyone.

Her use of the word “tidying” is misleading. I believe she means “putting things away as soon as you finish using them” but to me, it means more than that.

I like her concept of “tidying” (rather, decluttering and discarding) all at once, in one go, but I don’t think it is practical for everyone.

Surprisingly good, although it was slow going for the first half. Definitely picked up pace later. a lot of surprises and twists I didn’t expect.

Great book, as I expected! It was different from Beverly Lewis’ other books but still an enjoyable read. The ending was not what I expected, which is always a nice treat.