Contentment Reading Challenge 2013: December

This year is coming to a close - as is the Contentment Reading Challenge. I re-read 5 books in 2013 (the "Floating" level). I was initially going to try "Swimming" (15 books), then "Wading" (10 books)... But still, I got two more than I got when I created and hosted the challenge in 2011! Here are links to my posts regarding the books I re-read:

1. Snow Angel by Jamie Carie
2. Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania by Cerella Sechrist
3. To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer
4. Recalled by Cambria Hebert
5. Watercrossing by Krissi Dallas

...everything from inspirational historical romance to YA fantasy & paranormal! All were great reads and ones I enjoyed revisiting.

The new year will bring a lot of new reads, I'm sure - including Cerella Sechrist's latest, which I can't wait to share more about on the blog, as well as Karen Witemeyer's latest, which I hope to review! However, even though I'm closing down the "official" Contentment Reading Challenge, I do hope to revisit some old book friends in the coming months/years. Here are the ones on the top of my list (books I loved and really want to read again):

• Entwined by Heather Dixon
• Recalled by Cambria Hebert (Yes, again!)
• The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
• Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer (I'm mostly thinking Scarlet... Absolutely cannot wait to continue the series with Cress, which I've pre-ordered!)

 How about you?

If you participated in the challenge, do let us know your total in the comments section (including a link to your wrap-up post, if you'd like)! I'd also love to hear about your favorite re-reads and why you enjoyed revisiting them.

Whether you participated in the challenge or not, please feel free to share a few titles of books you adore so much that you'd like to revisit them in the future! (Or perhaps ones that challenged you or intrigued you so much, you want to re-read them just to figure out the different layers.)

As 2013 and the Contentment Reading Challenge come to an end, let's take this moment to share about some of the stories that have blessed us!

Contentment Reading Challenge 2013: October/November

I just got back not that long ago from seeing Catching Fire at the theater... Oh. My. Goodness. So intense!! While Catching Fire was not my favorite of the books when I read through the series, I think this movie is even better than the first. I'm not sure yet if I'll write a full review - we'll see!

If I was going to accomplish anything more for the Contentment Reading Challenge, re-reading The Hunger Games series would probably be a good idea! As it is, I've re-read five books this year - two more than the first year I hosted and participated in this challenge - putting me firmly at the "Wading" level. It's not as much as I had hoped to accomplish, but it was an enjoyable experience nonetheless, and it was good revisiting dear "friends" because of it.

I know I have another month to do some more re-reading, but I think I'm going to be doing a different, informal challenge instead: catching up on my review books. Some of the books in my review TBR pile have been there for way too long, and my goal is to try to catch up on my review reading by the end of the year, so that I can start 2014 fresh with a new release or two to review in January.

Here's a list of the books I hope to read and review in the next month-ish:

• Pilgrimage of Promise by Cathy Bryant
• Love's Awakening by Laura Frantz
• Born of Persuasion by Jessica Dotta
• Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter
• Elusive Hope by MaryLu Tyndall
• Wishing on Willows by Katie Ganshert
• A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund
• Burning Sky by Lori Benton
• Dragonwitch by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
• All in Good Time by Maureen Lang
• Mountain Homecoming by Sandra Robbins
• Under a Blackberry Moon by Serena B. Miller
• Welcome to Last Chance by Cathleen Armstrong

My sincere apologies to the authors and publishers who have been waiting a long time for me to review their books. I'm hoping I can get caught up very soon! I think there are some gems hidden in that TBR pile, from what I've heard from other readers and what I know of the authors - so I'm sure I'm in for some good reading. =)

Anyway, here's what you can expect in the next month:

For the blog, besides lots of reviews, Lord willing, you can also expect a cover reveal on Wednesday (for author Jill Stengl, in conjunction with Anne Elisabeth Stengl), the conclusion to the Love's Refuge blog tour next Saturday (have you entered for a chance to win a Kindle yet??), and a Christmas cat-detective story blog tour in December (sign-ups are now open for interested bloggers!). For my time away from the blog, I've got an editing project to finish next week (S/O to wonderful client, Miranda Uyeh!), and I've got to really dig into rewrites for Forget Me Not. I'm thinking the blog tour won't be until the end of January at the earliest, so it will be a little while before bloggers hear from me. Rewriting and editing (with the help of Rachelle Rea) will take some time, but it's important, and I think the process will be good for me - and hopefully for my readers, since the story should be better because of it!

Back to the main topic of this post...what's to come for the Contentment Reading Challenge? Well, I'll probably write one more post in December to conclude everything and give any participants a chance to share how they did overall and what their favorite re-reads were (etc.). But as for 2014, I think I'm retiring the challenge. Perhaps we can just do some unofficial re-reading and sharing about our old favorites off and on, or something...? I know there are some great books I've read that would be nice to re-read someday! And I still have a lot to learn about contentment and continually cultivating it in my life.

If you're participating in this challenge, have you made any progress lately? If not, are you doing any other reading challenges or hoping to play catch-up like me?

Contentment Reading Challenge 2013: July/August/September

As you can probably tell by the title of this post, I am behind once again in this challenge and in my posting... *sigh* But I finally re-read another book! That brings my total up to 5.

When super-awesome author Krissi Dallas offered me an early e-copy of Watermark for review, it was the perfect excuse to re-read Watercrossing. It actually kind of became a necessity, 'cause when I tried starting Watermark without re-reading Watercrossing, I realized that it had been too long since I had been immersed in the White Island life. And since Watermark starts right where Watercrossing left off, I needed to be reminded of all that went down in book 3, LOL.

Doesn't this series have such pretty, eye-catching covers? Love the symbolism and colors!

So here's the lowdown...

There are four books in the "Phantom Island" series so far: Windchaser, Windfall, Watercrossing, and Watermark (officially releasing October 29th). (And, as far as I know, there are four more books coming featuring "Fire" and "Earth" - but we don't know the order yet, as that will reveal something about the love triangle... *wink*) While all of them should be read together and in order for maximum enjoyment, the "Wind" books and the "Water" books really do go hand in hand. So while you can take a break between the "Wind" books and the "Water" books, it's especially hard to break the couples up! Let's just say it's been a long wait for Watermark. (But definitely worth it!)

Anyway, this is a YA fantasy series about three best friends who help out at Camp Fusion - a camp for young people who are dealing with difficult losses. Whitnee, Caleb, and Morgan all attended the camp when they were younger, and now they're giving back. But little do they know that this summer is the summer that will change everything...as a portal located across the river sends them to the White Island, where Whitnee's past and future collide. 

And figuring out how to get back to the mainland isn't even the half of it!

I really do love this series - it's incredibly engaging. Even having read Watercrossing once, I got pulled in again this second time around, flying through the pages and feeling all the excitement of the romance and danger. There's just something magical about the settings, the properties of the White Island and its inhabitants, and the relationship drama. You can read my full review of Watercrossing HERE - and here are my reviews of Windchaser and Windfall (books 1 and 2).

I just finished Watermark...and wow. This is an epic conclusion to the "Water" books and the first half of the series. I'll be reviewing it soon, so stay tuned!

Update: I reviewed Watermark on The Borrowed Book.

In the meantime, do share what you've re-read recently, if you've had a chance to get some re-reading done! And if you're participating in the challenge, you can link up below:

Contentment Reading Challenge 2013: May/June

Well, I apologize that I never posted a May update for the Contentment Reading Challenge 2013! I guess there wasn't much to update on my end, seeing as how I didn't re-read anything in May, LOL. However, I did re-read a book this month (bringing my total up to 4)!

I found Recalled by Cambria Hebert on Amazon.com back at the beginning of March when the Kindle version was $.99. The price was right and the cover intrigued me, so I decided to give it a go...

1) The cover has purple on it! 
2) Isn't the mist so fascinating? 
3) He looks like he's about to disappear, and the girl is holding tight to his hand, looking up at him. Color me intrigued!

So, I dove in and devoured the story. It brought me to tears near the end the first time I read it...and the second time, too! I don't imagine there are a lot of stories that are super fun to read again after only a few months, seeing as how the plot would still be rather fresh in one's mind. Yet, I still found this story engaging, enjoyable to re-visit, and - once again - touching.

I think what made this a great re-read was seeing the beginning, the clever lines (including the definitions given at the start of each chapter), and the character growth while knowing the end result. It was fun re-discovering gems and noting ones I hadn't highlighted before. I really enjoyed re-living the falling-in-love experience, and I think I loved Hobson the butler even more this time around. ♥ There are a few grammatical errors that slipped through the cracks and a handful of swear words, but my absolute love of the story kept those from being an issue for me. The characters don't always make the wisest decisions or say the right things, but I admire the authenticity and how dear the characters became to me.

Recalled is one of my favorite reads of 2013 so far, and I couldn't resist choosing it as a re-read, especially since book 2 in the "Death Escorts" series (Charmed) is releasing soon! In fact, I signed up for the cover reveal towards the end of June, so I'm looking forward to sharing that with you all!

Update (June 17th): I received the e-mail for the cover reveal tour and determined that the cover and content probably wouldn't match with my audience here. But you can check Cambria's site for more info on June 21st, if you're interested!

So tell me, fellow CRC-ers, what have you been re-reading lately? Feel free to link up below!

Contentment Reading Challenge 2013: April

Not that this is news to anyone, but I've been buying and requesting (for review) a lot of books lately. Now I just need to find the time to read them, LOL!

Despite all of the new, exciting reads I have to look forward to, it was nice to re-visit such a great story like To Win Her Heart. I love Karen Witemeyer's books, and I actually should be reading her latest (Stealing the Preacher) soon! So this was a good time to pick up one of her earlier releases and get a head start on a double dose of her sweet writing.

I love the juxtaposition of the shorter librarian in a pretty, frilly dress and the tall blacksmith, looking like he just stepped out of the forge. Seriously cute!

To Win Her Heart is full of opposites that all work so wonderfully together: troubled pasts and happy futures, fighting and a fear of violence, difficulties with speech and eloquence in writing, hard labor and pressing flowers, and so on and so forth. It's such a lovely story full of unexpected tenderness and unexpected strength, all topped off with hope and charm. I love the unique quirks of the story, and the main characters are such dears. You can read my review from 2011 HERE.

I enjoyed experiencing the sweetness of this story once again. I read a little bit of it outside on a sunny Sunday, and the experience was all the sweeter for the warmth, the bunny nibbling the grass nearby, the pleasant breeze, and the smell of lilacs and other spring delights. I definitely think that where you read a book can have an impact on your enjoyment of it, at least in the memories you make! Can't wait to dive into Stealing the Preacher soon!

And might I add that the covers of Karen's books are just adorable?? 

Adorable!

So, tell me, fellow CRC-ers, what have you been re-reading lately? Feel free to link up below, and/or leave a comment!

Contentment Reading Challenge 2013: March

March has been a bit of a crazy (in a good way!) month for me. You can read a little about that in one of this month's previous posts: "Winner and Wonders." As an update to that post, I finished the first draft of Bleeding Heart! Next step for BH? Well, it should be off to an editor in April, and I'm planning on editing BH that month through May. And I'm hoping to start talking cover design with an author friend sometime next month, which would be awesome! I've been getting pretty excited about all the things to come, but I want to try and make the most of each step along the way. =)

I'm also making some progress with my client for my freelance editing business. I'm looking forward to next week, when I can introduce you to her and a couple of other dear writer friends. Curious as to what I'm referring to? Well, March 30th will be my third blogoversary! I've been blogging for three years, and those years have all been wonderful, challenging, fun, inspiring, and encouraging, thanks to all of you!

To celebrate, I'm hosting a blog party! I wanted to showcase some of the authors who have really helped my business find its footing, so to speak. So we'll be sharing some fun interviews and a couple of giveaways, giving you a chance to learn more about their writing projects! Here's the button for the party:


Copy this code to your website to display this banner!
<a href="http://www.seasonsofhumility.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://mbmfiles.com/Mar2013/130322-qNbU_HkS-VGK.jpg" alt='' border=0 /></a><br>
Feel free to share the button using the code below it, if you'd like! And if you're wondering about the background picture, you can learn more HERE. (You'll find a note about the drinks I used to make these pretty "layered" concoctions, as well as a link to the "recipe"/directions on another blog.)

So, what does any of this have to do with the Contentment Reading Challenge? To be honest, nothing, really! Basically, I didn't do any re-reading this month, and I'm sharing some of my excuses as to why I didn't. ;) Since I'm doing the "Wading" level (challenging myself to re-read 10 books this year), I'm about 20% of the way through, so I think it will be all right!

What about you? If you're participating in the challenge, I'd love to hear about any books you've been re-reading lately! And if you're posting about it, feel free to link up your March update-post below:

Contentment Reading Challenge 2013: February

February is a "sweet" month - it's short and full of Valentine's Day desserts and candy. So what better book to re-read this time of year than Love Finds You in Hershey, Pennsylvania by Cerella Sechrist? (A love story and chocolate? I'm so there!)

Here's a description of the book from Summerside Press:

"Sadie Spencer has learned that in life, as well as in food, sour balances sweet. Returning to her hometown of Hershey with a five-year-old daughter, she manages to rise from the ashes following the death of her husband, the passing of her mother, and the dissolution of her career as a TV chef. With the help and encouragement of her best friend, Jasper, she opens a restaurant and looks forward to savoring the sweet side of life. That is, until a handsome Russian entrepreneur arrives in town, apparently intent on opening up his own restaurant in direct competition to hers. Sadie becomes obsessed with honing the one skill she’s never had—creating desserts—to keep up with her adversary, and in the process, she finds a love that’s simply icing on the cake."

 Doesn't this look like it's begging to be read in February? 

I read this for the first time in April of 2010. The lovely and super encouraging Renee of Black 'n Gold Girl's Book Spot hosted the author, Cerella Sechrist, for her blogoversary that year, which is how I won a copy of the book. Definitely a sweet treat! 

I really enjoyed re-reading Love Finds You in Hershey. The characters are what make the re-read so delectable - from the super sweet boys, Jasper and Dmitri, to Sadie's forgiveness-seeking father. You can see that the characters made a great impression on me the first read-through in my review from 2010. (Forgive the formatting issues in that post...my blogging expertise has grown a little since then!)

The personalities of these characters and their transparency are awesome, and I loved the feeling of re-visiting old friends and watching them find their happily-ever-afters all over again. And the descriptions of the town of Hershey, the food, Sadie's restaurant, etc., rounded out the experience. Such a great read (and re-read)!

~ ~ ~ 

So, what have you re-read lately? If you're signed up for the challenge, I'd love to hear about your progress or your future re-reading plans! If you're not yet signed up, it's not too late to join us! Click HERE to learn more about the Contentment Reading Challenge.

Feel free to share your own February challenge-update blog post here: 

Contentment Reading Challenge 2013: January

There's only a little over a week left for the first month of 2013. (So crazy!) Fellow 2013 re-readers, how is it going? Have you re-read any favorites yet?

After a little bit of indecision, I finally settled on the "Wading" level of the challenge vs. the "Swimming" level. (So my goal is to re-read 10 books rather than 15.) My first re-read of the year was Snow Angel by Jamie Carie.

The cover and the snowy/cold setting made this a great fit for the winter season!

I read Snow Angel for the first time several years ago or so... I believe it was a gift from my parents for my birthday, or something like that. I was quite enchanted by the romance and danger of the story! The heroine suffers so much, but the hero has a gentle, loving heart that is up to the challenge of winning hers. Here's a description of the book from the author's website:

"Please . . . God . . .

She whispered before collapsing.

When Noah Wesley hears the faint sound outside the door of his remote Alaskan cabin during a violent nighttime blizzard, it is no less than the voice of God that urges him to take a closer look, to discover there his snow angel.

Unconscious and more than half frozen to death, her name is Elizabeth, a beautiful young woman, fragile yet fierce, intent on discovering gold like so many others rushing headlong toward the Yukon.

But why Elizabeth is so drawn to the gold, and why she would chase it even through a pounding storm that no man would dare face, is a secret to be shared with no one, not even at the invitation of Noah’s deep-blue, trusting eyes.

Jamie Carie has penned a can’t-up-down debut novel in Snow Angel, a masterfully romantic story wherein cold and lonely hearts risk everything to be forever warmed."

The first time I read this book, the romance and adventure were new and exciting. And while it was interesting to read the story again at a different point in my life, I found that re-reading can't quite re-capture the feeling of reading the plot for the first time. However, the magic of the wild Alaskan setting was a great thing to fall in love with again!

A few months back I wrote a post about re-reading vs. re-watching. For some reason (or perhaps several reasons), I get a lot more enjoyment out of re-watching a movie rather than re-reading a book. (Check out Vince's comment below that post - he makes a great point about the difference between the two!) I think if a book is plot-driven, re-reading that book won't be overly rewarding - I mean, you already know what's going to happen! But if a book has an engaging setting or beautiful language or fantastic characters, especially with deeper layers, then there can still be something there to make re-reading worthwhile.

I don't know if I'll want to re-read Snow Angel all the way through another time, but I can say this: despite how plot-driven the books is, the setting made the re-read entertaining. And the ending - I love how the setting makes the ending stand out so beautifully!

Well, I've rambled on long enough! If you're entered into the challenge, please share what you've re-read or what you plan on re-reading first this year! And if you haven't yet signed up but are interested in learning more about the challenge, click HERE. It's not too late to join us!

Welcome, 2013!

As I've probably said on this blog many times before, I love a new month and a new year! I'm the kind of girl that derives much pleasure from flipping the calendar page over to the next month. And this year I have a happy, lovely Disney calendar featuring Thomas Kinkade's artwork hanging by my bed:

I'm looking forward to enjoying those pictures all year long!

Blogging in 2013

What else am I looking forward to in 2013? Well, I'm excited to announce that I will be hosting the Contentment Reading Challenge again! I started the challenge in 2011, Katie from Legacy of a Writer was kind enough to host it in 2012, and now it's back at "Seasons of Humility" for its third year! Click on the page link in the upper right hand corner (or at the beginning of this paragraph) to learn more and to sign up, if you're interested!

As for other 2013 posts, while I can't say for sure what the days will bring, I'm hoping to cut back on the review books I request (in the past I have tended to go WAY overboard on my requests)... So the idea is that there will be 2 to 3 full reviews a month. That will force me to pick the books I really want to read, as well as open up more time for re-reading for the Contentment Reading Challenge (as well as catching up on my TBR stack!). =)

But for those of you who follow me on Goodreads or Shelfari, you know how I generally don't review the books I don't have to review? Well, my hope is that by reducing the pressure of writing so many longer reviews, I can share some mini reviews of books, movies, and music!

I was inspired by Juju's "Wham-Bam Reviews" at Tales of Whimsy. I love the idea of two-sentence reviews that share general impressions of various items without taking a ton of time to put together!

To keep the "seasons" theme here, I'm going to call those posts "'Season'-ed Snack Size Reviews." The "season"-ed part comes into play because I'll still be giving my seasonal ratings along with the mini book reviews. There might also be some mini music and movie reviews thrown in, "unseasoned." ;)

Hopefully, there will also be some personal posts and other non-book stuff occasionally on the blog, as well!

One Day of 2013 at a Time

The year 2012 was full of great joys and lots of challenges for me. One of the big things I had (and will still have) to keep learning over and over again is trusting in God. One year ago today I made "to trust God" my New Year's resolution (you can read that post HERE), because I knew that with college graduation would come some important questions about my future, as well as some worries and uncertainties.

This year I have some resolutions I'd like to try and generally keep regarding exercising, getting my driver's license, reading, and writing. But I think the most important thing I need to resolve to do, through God's grace, is still to trust Him - to wait on Him, to believe that His eternal perspective is much better and broader than my limited one, to rest in the moment, and to do what He would have me do each day and not worry so much about what I can't know right now.

There's a lot I have to work on, but God is so good, patiently walking beside me one step at a time! No matter what 2013 brings, I truly am blessed.

Blog Design

Lastly, I always enjoy changing the blog design for each new season (thank you, Ashley, for giving me that idea back when I started the blog!). I love this particular background from Scrappin' Blogs, because it shows the cold and calm of winter as well as the bright and blooming hope of new seasons to come. I took the header picture on a walk at Corban University last winter, and it, too, shows the starkness of winter in contrast with lightness and brightness.

I look forward to celebrating this winter season and this new year with you here at "Seasons of Humility"! Thank you all for your friendship through the seasons! God bless!