The Light of Hidden Flowers - The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings on Friday

     The Light of Hidden Flowers by Jennifer Handford is the story of an introvert whose life is overshadowed by her larger-than-life father. Her life changes dramatically when he becomes ill and eventually dies. But things get really complicated when she reconnects with her first love - a veteran from the war in Afghanistan who's going through a divorce. When she travels to Italy and then India, will she find her true calling?
     I enjoyed this story a lot - maybe because I'm not the most outgoing person myself! I also like second-chance love stories. The author did a good job of showing the main character's struggles, and I came to care about her.

Book Beginning:
I didn't usually mock my life. Really - my disposition was quite agreeable most of the time. In fact, people regarded me exactly that way: Missy Fletcher, a real sweetheart. The same way people described kindergarten teachers and puppies. And usually, I really did have an "attitude of gratitude," as my father had always taught me. Count your blessings, daughter, he was fond of saying. We have it so good. But today I felt a gremlin on my shoulder, egging me on.

The Friday 56 (from Page 256 in my hardback copy):
We bumped across town in his slightly off-odored town car. Was it traces of alcohol, vomit? The driver watched me from the rearview mirror.

Genre: Literary Fiction / Women's Fiction
Book Length: 358 Pages (hardback)
Amazon Link: The Light of Hidden Flowers
Author Website: Jennifer Handford
FYI: I won this book in a giveaway!

Synopsis:
     Book-smart Melissa Fletcher lives a predictable life in her hometown, working behind the scenes for her charismatic father in a financial career that makes perfect sense. But when her dad is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Missy is forced to step up and take over as his primary caregiver and the principal of the firm.
     After her father’s death, Missy finds a letter from him in which he praises her for being a dutiful daughter but admonishes her for not taking any risks in life.
     Devastated, Missy packs her suitcase and heads for Italy. There she meets a new friend who proposes a radical idea. Soon, Missy finds herself in impoverished India, signing away her inheritance and betting on a risky plan while rekindling a lost love.
     The Light of Hidden Flowers is a deeply felt story of accepting who we are while pushing our boundaries to see how much more we can become. It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to pursue our dreams.
                

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reads) 
Click HERE to join other Friday 56 bloggers (sponsored by Freda's Voice)

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

Bluebonnets!

I'm over at Smart Girls Read Romance today, blogging about bluebonnets. Stop by and learn about the legends surrounding Texas's state flower. 

Here's the link: Smart Girls Read Romance

Silver Sneakers - Saturday Snapshots

Five or six months ago, I decided it was time to start a regular exercise program again. For years I'd participated in Jazzercise, Aquasize, and/or Step Aerobics, but since moving to the Pacific Northwest, my only exercise has been walking. With so much time spent at the computer, I knew I'd better start moving while I still could.

So, after doing a little research, I found a Silver Sneakers class at my local senior center. It seemed like the perfect starting place for someone who hadn't been to a gym in ten years. I was right. It's great! The class consists of a variety of people with varying degrees of fitness. Everyone works at his or her own pace, using equipment provided by the facility. I always work up a sweat.

Here are the instruments of torture we use.

We refer to this chart to assess how hard we're working.

I've increased the weights I use in the workout from two pounds to three pounds, which isn't a lot but it's an improvement. Speaking of pounds, I haven't lost any weight, but I do have more upper body strength and stamina. I've also met a lot of nice people. The classes are actually fun.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below.  

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate 

for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. 

Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

The Time In Between - The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings on Friday

The Time In Between by Maria Dueñas has it all - mystery, intrigue, history, exotic settings, romance, and a strong female protagonist, set in the years leading up to World War II. This book grabbed me and wouldn't let go!
     As someone who sews as a hobby, I also enjoyed reading about the main character's profession as a seamstress and the styles women wore during that era. The author lists an extensive bibliography at the end of the book, which tells me she did a mountain of research. It shows in the detail. I highly recommend this book.
FYI: Billed as "Spain's Downton Abbey", the book was made into a miniseries. Subtitled episodes are available on DramaFever and Hulu's Drama Fever Channel. 

Book Beginning:
     A typewriter shattered my destiny. The culprit was a Hispano-Olivetti, and for weeks, a store window kept it from me. Looking back now, from the vantage point of the years gone by, it's hard to believe a simple mechanical object could have the power to divert the course of an entire life in just four short days, to pulverize the intricate plans on which it was built. And yet that is how it was, and there was nothing I could have done to stop it.

The Friday 56 (two sentences from Page 56 in my trade paperback):
     I discovered that there are substances you can smoke or inject or snort that will jumble your senses, that there are people capable of gambling away their mother at a baccarat table, and that there are passions of the flesh that allow for far more combinations than just those of a man and a woman horizontally on a mattress. I learned, too, that there are things that happen in the world that my dim education had never touched upon: I found out that years earlier there had been a great war in Europe, that Germany was being ruled by someone called Hitler who was admired by some and feared by others, and that someone who one day occupied a given place with a feeling of permanence could the following day vanish in order to save his skin, to avoid being beaten to death or ending up in a place worse than his darkest nightmare.

Genre: Historical Fiction / World Literature (Spanish & Portuguese)
Book Length: 609 Pages
Amazon Link: The Time In Between



Synopsis:
     The Time In Between is a word-of-mouth phenomenon that catapulted María Dueñas, a debut author, to the top of Spain's bestseller lists.
     This sweeping novel, which combines the storytelling power of The Shadow of the Wind with the irresistible romance of Casablanca, moves at an unstoppable pace. Suddenly left abandoned and penniless in Morocco by her lover, Sira Quiroga forges a new identity. Against all odds she becomes the most sought-after couture designer for the socialite wives of German Nazi officers. But she is soon embroiled in a dangerous political conspiracy as she passes information to the British Secret Service through a code stitched into the hems of her dresses.

                

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reads) 
Click HERE to join other Friday 56 bloggers (sponsored by Freda's Voice)

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

Jewel - Teaser Tuesday and First Paragraph / First Chapter

Jewel by Bret Lott is an engrossing and beautifully written story. The author delves deep into the main character's fears and dreams, and he does a great job of portraying the reality of the Deep South in the 1940s and 1950s, especially regarding treatment of children with Down's Syndrome. Jewel is a book I won't forget.

First Paragraph:
     I was born in 1904, so that when I was pregnant in 1943 I was near enough to be past the rightful age to bear children. This would be my sixth, and on that morning in February, the first morning I'd known I was with child, I'd simply turned to Leston in bed next to me, the room gray from a winter sky outside the one window, that sky not yet lit with the sun, and I'd said, "There'll be no more after this one."

Teaser (from Page 80 in my hardback copy):
     But I let that fear hole up inside me until February, praying each day something might happen: that my baby would smile up at me when she came to, that she would roll over, that the sound of a baby's laugh might escape her and make its way into the house.
     Nothing came. Now she was five months old.

Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction / Family Saga
Book Length: 358 Pages
Amazon Link: Jewel
Author's Amazon Page: Bret Lott

Synopsis:
In the backwoods of Mississippi, a land of honeysuckle and grapevine, Jewel and her husband, Leston, are truly blessed; they have five fine children. When Brenda Kay is born in 1943, Jewel gives thanks for a healthy baby, last-born and most welcome. Jewel is the story of how quickly a life can change; how, like lightning, an unforeseen event can set us on a course without reason or compass. In this story of a woman's devotion to the child who is both her burden and God's singular way of smiling on her, Bret Lott has created a mother-daughter relationship of matchless intensity and beauty, and one of the finest, most indomitable heroines in contemporary American fiction.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B of A Daily Rhythm. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please!

Link at ADailyRhythm.com

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.

Link at BibliophileByTheSea

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

Texas Capitol Ornaments - Saturday Snapshots

Over the years my husband's sister has sent our family special Christmas ornaments to remind us of our Texas heritage. Each item relates to the Texas State Capitol.
[Click on photos to enlarge] 

The Texas Goddess of Liberty ornament from 2006 represents the 16-foot-tall statue that crowns the capitol building. 

The 2004 ornament is a replica of the interior of the capitol's dome.

This year's selection "...pays homage to the most iconic Texas image ... the Lone Star."

Each ornament comes with an explanation of its significance (click to enlarge)

We're delighted to receive these ornaments and think they add interest and a sense of history to our tree. Thank you, Judy! 

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below.  

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate 

for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. 

Please don’t post random photos that you find online.