The Heart's Journey Home

Author: Jen Stephens

Genre: Romance, life

Series: I believe it is part of a series called the Harvest Bay series.

Number in series: 1st

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 373

Time period: Present

Main characters: Kate, Nathan, Adam

My overall opinion: I have found a new favorite book! I won this one in a giveaway and am SO glad I did! While it took me a little while to read, I would anticipate it every day, looking forward to when I'd get back to it. :) I enjoyed it the whole way through. I think I would love to read more by Jen Stephens and recommend it to anyone who likes a good clean romance!

Double Fault

Author: Jerry B. Jenkins, Chris Fabry

Genre: Mystery, adventure

Series: Red Rock Mysteries

Number in series: 7th

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 248

Time period: Present

Main characters: Bryce, Ashley

Exciting events: All that you would expect! ;)

My overall opinion: A good book, exciting, fun. :)

Phantom Writer

Author: Jerry B. Jenkins, Chris Fabry

Genre: Mystery, adventure

Series: Red Rock Mysteries

Number in series: Sixth

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 236

Time period: Present

Main characters: Bryce, Ashley

Exciting events: Mysterious writing, being threatened, weird stories

My overall opinion: I didn't like this one as much as most of the others. As you may guess from the title, it had some spooky type stuff in it, which I didn't like. In the end, you figure out how each of the weird things happened and the authors don't try to say that it was supernatural, I still didn't think it was too great.

Escaping the Giant Wave

Author: Peg Kehret

Genre: Adventure

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7

Type: Fiction, children's book

Number of pages: 147

Time period: Present

Main characters: Kyle, BeeBee, Daren

Exciting events: A tsunami!

My overall opinion: A good book. Definitely not one of my favorite EVER books, but there wasn't anything objectionable either. A children's book.

CD: A New Journey

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Singer: Celtic Woman (Chloe Agnew, Orla Fallon, Hayley Westenra, Mairead Nesbitt, Meav Ni Mhaolchatha, and Lisa Kelly).

Type of music: Celtic

List of songs: 

1. The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun
2. The Prayer
3. Newgrange
4. Over the Rainbow
5. Granuaile's Dance
6. The Blessing
7. Dulaman
8. Beyond the Sea
9. The Last Rose of Summer
10. Caledonia
11. Lascia Ch'io Pianga
12. Carrickfergus
13. Vivaldi's Rain
14. The Voice
15. Scarborough Fair
16. Mo Ghile Mear

My overall opinon: I like Celtic Woman. It is (for those of you who are unfamiliar with it) a group of women. It's quite enjoyable!

The Calling of Emily Evans

Author: Janette Oke

Genre: Life

Series: Women of the West set

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 224

Time period: 1800's

Main characters: Emily, Ross, Shad

Exciting events: Near starvation

My overall opinion: I hadn't read this book for a long time, if ever, but now that I picked it up again, I really enjoyed it!

Movie: Billy the Kid Returns

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Main characters: Roy Rogers

Genre: Western

Series or set: It's on my DVD of "Roy Rogers: 5 Episodes"

Primary actors: Roy Rogers

Length: Little over an hour.

Time period: 1930's

Exciting events: Chases, fights, etc.

Year it came out: 1938

My overall opinion: A good one! Again, some unique fun twists. :)

Child of the City

Author: Tito Matias

Genre: True story, conversion

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 199

Time period: 1960's

Main characters: Tito, Paul

Exciting events: Several.

My overall opinion: Okay, you probably saw that I gave this book a high rating. It's because I really enjoyed it! Now before you rush out and buy it, let me caution you: this is not a book for kids. Tito lived in Chicago. Chicago is gang-heaven. There are mentions of shootings. As you get into the book, you learn Tito had a really rocky past. Namely, other men forced themselves on him in the wrong way twice. I hope that's clear enough, I don't want to type more explicitly. There is no detail, but you know. I didn't know much (anything?) about gangs prior to reading this book. It was an excellent read, but don't let your 9 year old read it.

EDIT: re-reading, you need more detail. :) It's the story of Tito, a boy of Chicago, who goes to a place called Inner City Impact, and learns about Jesus. He's a great athlete and participates in AWANA. A man named Paul really helps him. He ends up finishing high school in Montana, at a high school my grandma went to. Though I don't think she knew him. So.

Christmas on Jane Street

Author: Billy Romp with Wanda Urbanska

Genre: Life, growing-up

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 147

Time period: Present

Main characters: Billy, Ellie

Exciting events: It's not really that kind of book...

My overall opinion: A good book. Not my favorite ever, but it had a good moral to it. Nothing bad or objectionable.
Also, I'm linking up with Hannah at Hannah's Hangout for a book love link-up. You can see the button on my sidebar. :) Thanks for hosting, Hannah!

Identical Strangers

Author: Elyse Schein, Paula Bernstein

Genre: ????

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 266

Time period: Present

Main characters: Elyse, Paula

Exciting events: Hmmm...

My overall opinion: Well. This is the intriguing story of twins who don't know they're twins until they meet as adults. What a story! There are a few bad words (the f word once, some others occasionally). Overall, a story that makes you (or at least made me) think. If you can find a copy, read it!

Behind the Secret Window

Author: Nelly S. Toll

Genre: Life

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 161

Time period: World War II, 1940's

Main characters: Nelly, her mother, her father, Sewer

Exciting events: Hiding from the Germans.

My overall opinion: While this is not the best book I've ever read, it is interesting. A good look at life during World War II.

White Christmas Pie

Author: Wanda E. Brunstetter

Genre: Romance, Amish

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 300

Time period: Present

Main characters: Karen, Will, Leroy, Vonda, Mary Jane, Nathan

Exciting events: Buggy crash!

My overall opinion: I bought this one and am not sorry I did! It's definitely worth the time it takes to read it.

Grave Shadows

Author: Jerry B. Jenkins, Chris Fabry

Genre: Mystery, adventure

Series: Red Rock Mysteries

Number in series: 5th

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 228

Time period: Present

Main characters: Asley, Bryce

Exciting events: Long bike ride, dying friend (made me cry:(), criminals

My overall opinion: Another good book!

Wild Rescue

Author: Jerry B. Jenkins, Chris Fabry

Genre: Mystery, adventure

Series: Red Rock Mysteries

Number in series: 4th

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 240

Time period: Present

Main characters: Bryce, Ashley

Exciting events: Stolen alpacas, bears, mean girls

My overall opinion: I like these books. :) You will too! There is a little bit of boy girl stuff, but mostly it's clean.

Missing Pieces

Author: Jerry B. Jenkins and Chris Fabry

Genre: Mystery, adventure

Series: Red Rock Mysteries

Number in series: 3rd

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 206

Time period: Present

Main characters: Ashley, Bryce

Exciting events: Bashed mailboxes, stolen children, more!

My overall opinion: Good book. :)

Movie: How to Train Your Dragon

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Main characters: Hiccup, Toothless, Stoick the Vast

Genre: Fantasy, adventure, animated

Primary actors: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Gerard Butler, Gobber the Belch 

Based on: a book by Cressida Cowell

Time period: Viking, fantasy

Exciting events: Gigantic angry dragons, mean dragons, mean people, chases, escapes, drowning, fire, etc.

Year it came out: 2010

My overall opinion: Okay, I really enjoyed this. Usually, animated movies aren't my thing, but this one! It was very good! I liked it better than Up, but I didn't like Up very much. This one literally made me laugh out loud several times, which is a very good thing. ;) I recommend it! It's rated PG, for language. Nothing too bad, that I caught. Not something for easily spooked younger siblings to watch, but my 13 yr old sister and I really enjoyed it with Dad. :) I recommend it!

The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior

Author: Franklin W. Dixon

Genre: Adventure, mystery

Series: Hardy Boys

Number in series: 43rd

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 178

Time period: Present

Main characters: Joe, Frank

Exciting events: All the normal HB ones. :)

My overall opinion: A good one!

Movie: Brigadoon

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Main characters: Tommy, Fiona, Jeff

Genre: Romance  

Primary actors: Gene Kelly, Cyd Charise, Van Johnson

Time period: 1950's, 1700's

Exciting events: A big chase

Year it came out: 1954

My overall opinion: This is one of my favorite movies. It's unique. It's a Scottish romance in a disappearing town...literally. You want to watch this one. :) 

Just Jane

Author: Nancy Moser

Genre: Life

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages: 363

Time period: 1800's

Main characters: Jane, Cassandra

Exciting events: Not too many that are exciting but many interesting things.

My overall opinion: Another good read! Thanks for the recommendation, Melody. :) I enjoyed it and I think I will probably read it again. :)

Scarlet

Author: Stephen R. Lawhead

Genre: Adventure

Series: King Raven series

Number in series: Second

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages: 449

Time period: 1200

Main characters: Will, Noin, Angharad, Bran, some Barons

Exciting events: Being imprisoned, more exciting events than I can type!

My overall opinion: A good book. :) Very few improper things, a long but interesting read.

Movie: Hands Across the Border

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Main characters: Roy Rogers, Kim, Denvers

Genre: Western

Series or set: On a Roy Rogers, 5 episodes DVD.

Primary actors: Roy Rogers

Time period: 1940's

Exciting events: Classic: cowboy chases, etc. There is a big horse race that's pretty amazing.

Year it came out: 1944

My overall opinion: Mine didn't include "Colorado", just "Hands Across the Border." No, actually, mine included four movies beside HAtB, but I haven't seen them all yet. Oh dear, that makes no sense. What I meant was that mine has five movies on it, including HAtB, but not Colorado. Okay, there we go. :) An interesting thing about this one was that it included a show at the end of dancing, celebration, that kind of thing. Probably 10 minutes! So that was unique. For more Roy Rogers pictures, click here.

Song: The Way He Was Raised

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Singer: Josh Turner

Type of music: Country, gospel

Length: 4:39

Lyrics: "He always wore those worn out flip-flops; Spent hours in his daddy's workshop; He loved being on the water; Fishin' with His friends." Let me tell you, the first time I listened, 1/2 way through I was ready to delete it. But as I went on...you've gotta listen. :)

My overall opinion: A great song with a moral. :) Listen the whole way through and then come tell me what you thought. :)

Stolen Secrets

Author: Jerry B. Jenkins and Chris Fabry

Genre: Adventure, mystery

Series: Red Rock Mysteries

Number in series: Second

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction, mystery

Number of pages: 198

Time period: Present

Main characters: Ashley, Bryce

Exciting events: Silly, it's a mystery! You have to read it to find out. :)

My overall opinion: Another fun and recommended book!

Haunted Waters

Author: Jerry B. Jenkins and Chris Fabry

Genre: Adventure, mystery

Series: Red Rock Mysteries

Number in series: First

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 202

Time period: Present

Main characters: Bryce, Ashley, Dylan, Sam

Exciting events: Dozens! Chases, escapes, fights...

My overall opinion: Pretty good book! I enjoyed it. There is some very slight boy girl stuff, but over-all, it was an enticing mystery that was impossible to put down. :)

Tenth Stone

Author: Bodie and Brock Thoene

Genre: Historical fiction

Series: The A. D. Chronicles

Number in series: 10

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages: 256 of story, but with the study guide at the end it's about 325.

Time period: Jesus' time/Bible times

Main characters: Daniel, Cantor, Lily, Jesus

Exciting events: Kidnapping and more

My overall opinion: I love these books. This one was a re-telling of the Prodigal Son! It was very interesting.

Instead of Three Wishes

Author: Megan Whalen Turner

Genre: Fantasy

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 132

Time period: Fantasy

Main characters: None.

Exciting events: Nightmares, elven kings, going through pictures, much more!

My overall opinion: It was okay. There was a ghost story which I don't generally endorse, and some other things that could have been left out. However, there was no bad language or inuendos, so that was good. It's a collection of short stories.  In a sentence: it was okay, I may read it again if I'm desperate, but I don't want to own it.

Movie: The Bells of Rosarita

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Main characters: Roy Rogers, Sue Farnham, Gabby

Genre: Western

Series or set: It's on a DVD called Roy Rogers: 5 Episodes. So...I'm not sure what to put here.

Primary actors: Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Gabby Hayes

Time period: 1940's

Exciting events: A land-hungry man, a desperate woman, a handsome actor...:)

Year it came out: Out in 1945

My overall opinion: This was a pretty good one. I'm a fan of any Roy Rogers movies anyway, but this one was very good and I recommend it. :)

Hood

Author: Stephen R. Lawhead

Genre: Adventure

Series: King Raven Triology

Number in series: First

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages:  472

Time period: 1200, maybe?

Main characters: Bran, Merian, Iwan, Angharad

Exciting events: A mysterious gigantic bird, being hunted by warriors, nearly dying, escapes, captures, much more!

My overall opinion: A unique re-telling of Robin Hood! It's...different. You have to read it to understand. A few slightly inappropriate things, but overall it was a good book. Any boy is sure to enjoy it, and girls will too. :)

Keeper of the Light

Author: Patty Metzer

Genre: Romance, life

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages:  367

Time period: 1700's

Main characters: Kaytra, Colin, Lydia

Exciting events: Many! :)

My overall opinion: This is one of the best books I've read in a long time! I highly recommend it to everyone. Well, not little kids, but you get the idea. :) It's a really unique, sweet story!

Big book giveaway!

Hey, everyone!

Just wanted you all to hear about the big book giveaway going on at Legacy of a Writer. She's giving away a lot of books! But hurry, they all end tonight, January 14.

Click here for your chance to win two books! Either Texas Roads and A Path Less Traveled by Cathy Bryant, Somewhere to Belong and More Than Words by Judith Miller, The Edge of Light and Promise of Morning by Ann Shorey, or McKenzie and Kaydie by Penny Zeller. So go enter!

Then click here to enter to win Surrender the Wind by Rita Gerlach.

Click here to enter to win Singing Winds by Linda Strawn.

And then, click here to win Pearl in the Sand by Tessa Afshar.

And here to enter in the giveaway for The Heart's Journey Home by Jen Stephens.

Good luck!

I Was Awarded!

My very first blogging award! This is terribly exciting. Thank you, Kait! For the rest of you...Kait runs a couple of delightful book blogs. I was awarded on her blog called Reviews by Jane. Check it out! She also blogs with a friend on Book Ponderings.

The great time has come. :) Here is the award!

Ta-da! Yes, I'm a little happy. :) Thanks again, Kait!

Now. I'm supposed to share seven things about myself with you! So...here goes!

1. I love reading. Especially anything Jane Austen. :)
2. I do enjoy watching movies too, especially anything Jane Austen.
3. I have a camera and a photography blog. View my profile to find it. :) I named my camera CaMera.
4. I also have an Mp3 player named LaMera. I like her a lot.
5. I love listening to music, especially Katherine Jenkins, Susan Boyle, Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Turner, Celtic Woman, Enya, and a variety of movie soundtracks.
6. I think I want the Emma 2009 soundtrack. Now I need to save my money and buy it! :)
7. I think I'm rambling. Do you agree? ;) On a side note...I love smilies. :)

Okay. Now I get to choose up to 15 other bloggers who I feel deserve this award! So...I'm going to go with my nine followers. First, thank you all for following me! I love followers and your comments really make my day. :) Before you post the award on YOUR blog, follow these rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award fifteen recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact the named bloggers and tell them they're awarded!

Here we go! I realize I didn't do 15, but I think that 12 will be enough this time. :)

1. Elegance of Fashion
2. Old Fashioned Charm
3. Rather Bookish
4. Regency Delight
5. An Old-Fashioned Girl
6. Book Ponderings
7. Reviews by Jane
8. Libri
9. Content in Christ
10. Inspire
11. Jane and Elizabeth
12. Jessica's Blog
13. That's all!

Movie: America's Test Kitchen

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7.5

Genre: How-to, cooking

Series or set: America's Test Kitchen

Number in series: Season 9, Disc 3.

Primary actors: Christopher Kimball, Julia C. Davison, Bridget Lancaster, Adam Ried

Time period: Present

Year it came out: 2009

My overall opinion: This was fun. :) A cool thing was that in each episode, they would compare a bunch of cooking utensils, as in, they might get 15 sets of measuring cups and figure out which was best. Or rice cookers, scales, etc. :)

Movie: Emma

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 10

Genre: Romance

Primary actors: Romola Garai, Johnny Lee Miller, Michael Gambon

Based on: Emma by Jane Austen

Time period: 1800's

Quote(s): There are many quotable lines in here, but I'm unable to recall any at the moment. :(

Year it came out: 2009

My overall opinion: My rating shows...I love this movie! Saw it three times in a row. :) It's definitely worth every minute you spend watching it. About four hours long! But it's so totally worth it. You're guaranteed to love it if you enjoy reading Jane Austen's book and/or watching the movies of them. :) This one follows the book quite closely. Highly recommended! Oh, also, the soundtrack? I don't have the CD, but I LOVE the music! SO beautiful. :)

Love that scene, and the dance music. :)

And finally, two banners made by Elegance of Fashion:

Make sure you check her blog out! :)

Another book giveaway!

Yes, another book giveaway! This one is at Book Ponderings.

Click here to enter this giveaway!

50th Post!

That's right! This is my 50th post! I'd offer a giveaway, maybe, but I already told you: when I have 25 followers, there'll be a book giveaway! Tell your blogging friends about Austenitis, and let's have this giveaway! :)

Movie: A Christmas Carol

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Main characters: Scrooge, The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, Future, Bob Cratchit

Genre: Life, classic

Primary actors: Patrick Stewart

Based on: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Time period: 1800's

Exciting events: Many travels, walking through walls, etc.

Quote(s): God bless us, every one! I was wondering if you'd like Mr. Marley's name removed from the sign, outside. No, time will erase it at no cost to us. He'll be about as merry as a graveyard on a wet Sunday.

Year it came out: 1999

My overall opinion: This is a good movie! It sticks fairly closely to the book, but there are some differences.

Love's Secret Storm

Author: Leonora Pruner

Genre: Romance

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 262

Time period: 1800's

Main characters: Meg, Charles, Will

Exciting events: Many!

My overall opinion: This book was okay, I didn't love it. There were some things about it I didn't like, but I'm not going to say what because it'd give away some of the story. :)

Taste of Home's Casserole Cookbook

Author: Ummm...it's a TOH publication.

Genre: How-to, cooking

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Cookbook

Number of pages: 317

Time period: None

Main characters: Chicken, beef, seafood, vegetables

Exciting events: None

My overall opinion: Whoever heard of a cookbook with exciting events, or a time period? Actually, there are some time period cookbooks. ANYWAY, this is a pretty great cookbook. It has recipes for pretty much every imaginable casserole. Recommended!

A Conspiracy of Kings

Author: Megan Whalen Turner

Genre: Fantasy, adventure

Series: I don't think it's in a series, but it may be. I haven't read the potential preceding books.

Number in series: Fourth, IF it's in the series. I don't know! Okay, according to Wikipedia it's in The Queen's Thief series.

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 313

Time period: Fantasy, Byzantine

Main characters: Sophos, Eugenides, the Queen of Eddis, the magus

Exciting events: Sword fights, escapes, and more.

My overall opinion: A fun read! It sounds long, but is worth the time. I wish I'd read the books earlier in the series first, but didn't miss them too much, still was able to understand the story. It is a fantastical story, in a fantastical time, but similar to Byzantium, which is why we have the confusion about time period up there. :)