Saturday Good Reads: A Quartet

Roaming over the internet this week, I happened upon a quartet of posts that had “Saturday Good Reads” written all over them.

Doug Spurling at Spurling Silver

Doug write a story, one that sounds true like all good stories, and I suspect there’s at least some truth to it. But it’s one of those stories you read and say, “Wow that’s a great story.” And I loved the title: Copenhagen Chapel.

Harriett Gilham at The Other Side of the Mountain

Harriett is a retired English schoolteacher in Atlanta, and Atlanta is where she grew up. She writes about family, literature, teaching – and stories about growing up. Like Mostly Shots.

Greg Sullivan at Sippican Cottage

I’ve been reading Sippican Cottage longer than just about any other blog (including my own). Greg Sullivan makes furniture way up thar in Maine. He used to make furniture in Massachusetts, but that’s another story. He loves music, and he loves fine woodworking. And he has some observations to make in Hey Althouse Readers, this is What IKEA furniture is Good For.

Diana Trautwein for A Deeper Family

Diana blogs at Just Wondering, where she tells stories, posts wonderful photographs (mostly of California), and talks about family. This week she had a guest post at A Deeper Family that is classic Trautwein: A Note to My Younger Self.

Painting: Emerson String Quartet at Tanglewood by J Fox. 

A Light Shining: 2 Reviews (and a Giveaway)

I’ve tweeted and posted the links on Facebook, but I wanted to make special note here of two of the reviews that have come in for A Light Shining.

Laura Boggess at The Wellspring said this:

“In turns suspenseful and heartwarming, A Light Shining has all the qualities of those classic tales that stay with you for the long journey. These characters become friends and fellow sojourners…making their way into a reader’s heart and encouraging a deeper faith—one that has hands and feet. We all need such role models as Michael and Sarah Kent-Hughes.

“I don’t want to give away the plot, but I was hooked in the first few pages. Glynn Young’s masterfully developed characters and gift of story make this book hard to put down.

“If you are partial to a good yarn, A Light Shining does not disappoint. And if you haven’t read Dancing Priest? You might want to start there. Nothing like a good book to ward off the chill of the cold season coming on.

“Go ahead. Find a cozy. Read all day.

“You are going to want to.”

And Diana Trautwein at Just Wondering said this:

"’A Light Shining’ is a very different book from ‘The Dancing Priest.’ Yes, the same characters are here and some fascinating new ones, too. Yes, there is, once again, cross-continental travel in this saga, as well as glimpses into Michael's everyday life as an Anglican priest. But from the very first sentence, you know that we are most definitely not in Kansas anymore. There is something ominous afoot, a threat that hangs heavy over every page.

“Initially, I found this almost off-putting. I love these characters and did not want anything terrible to happen to them! So as the story began, I was cautious. However, I was very quickly drawn into the unfolding of this drama, once again a willing and happy prisoner of the strong plotting and wonderful characters. I will not go into that plot in this review because I actually think that sense of dread is important to the reading of this particular story. Rather than romance, this story is filled with mystery and intrigue, hooking you early and well.”

Thanks to both Laura and Diana for their wonderful (and encouraging) words.

Giveaway

Finally, we still have a giveaway going on at Emily Weirenga’s place. It will be by random drawing, and the winner gets his or her choice of either Dancing Priest or A Light Shining. Just leave a comment. The winner will be announced tomorrow.

Thanks to Emily for hosting the giveaway.