Writings, Wanderings

Nancy Drew. I'm not joking when I say it is possible I have read 100 of the many books written about the teenage girl detective. (Some research turns up over 300 titles across the various lines.) While nearly all the stories were enjoyable reads, some titles stand out more than others. One of my favorites is actually a set of three, the Passport to Romance trilogy (released in 1992 by Simon & Schuster) These three books set their mysteries against the backdrop of fantastic European destinations. Nancy and her friends first travel to Switzerland and then head on to Italy before finishing their touring in Greece. These books tantalized my imagination with their touches of the culture of these countries; I especially remember details from Rendezvous in Rome  with its mention of the Etruscans and a daring chase through the Coliseum. Each book wrapped up its own mystery, but the trilogy introduced a romance arc that also kept me reading. I had to find out if Nancy chose her ...

Published in 1955 by Elizabeth Cadell, The Lark Shall Sing  is a delightful novel that intertwines the story of a family with a romance. After their parents' deaths, the Wayne siblings moved away from home for a year, the older ones into the workforce and military, the youngest with an aunt and uncle. One year to postpone making any big decisions and then they were to come back again as a family. However, situations change in a year, and engaged Lucille, the oldest, now plans to sell the family home. What she expects to be a straight-foward move--put the house on the market and move on--quickly grows complicated as each of her siblings finds their way home, bringing with them acquaintances met along the journey. Soon Lucille finds herself facing emotions and realizations that make her question her once-solid plans for her future. I adored this book the first time I read it and am now proud to be the owner of a secondhand version that once graced the shelves of a high school lib...

There are so many good books to read out there and so little time that choosing can be hard. I love following Instagram but I've noticed most of the books featured in those photos are fairly recent releases. While new books definitely deserve our attention, I also want to highlight books that have been around a bit longer that probably will never fall into the classics category but could be just the read someone is looking for. So read on for my first installment in Throwback Thursdays: Books. Dee Henderson is a well-known author in the Christian romantic suspense world but in the early 2000's, I had never heard of this author. My roommate bought the first book of her O'Malley series for me--in Spanish. I borrowed an English copy from the library to make the reading easier and soon fell in love with this family (I now own all the books in the series). These are my favorite books from Henderson. Kate is a fierce protagonist. She knows she is good at her job, is una...