A Melodious Sonnet

My Book Recommendations List Keeps Growing!

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Whenever I see a book that sounds interesting being recommended, I try to remember to put it on a list to return to later. So far, I’ve only actually read maybe three books from my list, but I’m intending to keep referring to this list, and maybe one day I’ll get to all of them. (One can dream, right?)

For now, maybe something here will catch your eye and give you an idea for what to read next! (You’re welcome in advance! 😉)

This post contains affiliate links.

I Am In Here cover
Fierce the Conflict cover

I Am In Here by Creston Mapes

Recommended by: The Avid Readers of Christian Fiction Facebook group

Why I’m interested: It’s about someone trapped in their body after an accident. With some personal experience with a dear young woman who suffered something similar, this story intrigues me.

Fierce the Conflict by Allan Crane

Mentioned in: Minka and Margaret by Phyllis Thompson

Why I’m interested: Minka and Margaret made a strong impression on me, and this book was inspirational to one of the women in that story. Also, I’ve never heard of Lilian Hamer before, so I’m interested to get to hear her story!

The Prisoner of Zenda cover
Last Light over Galveston cover

The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope

Recommended by: Two different friends

Why I’m interested: A friend’s book club read and thoroughly enjoyed it, and another friend said it contains one of my top-favorite romance tropes, heroic sacrifice. Plus, it’s a classic adventure story, and I tend to love those!

Last Light over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright

Recommended by: Amanda Barratt (author of The Warsaw Sisters, which was both overwhelming and amazing)

Why I’m interested: I’ve never heard of the 1900 Galveston hurricane before, plus it has a solid faith journey story. Win-win.

The Resurrection Project cover
The Artist’s Way cover

The Resurrection Project by Tanya Sparks Belvin

Recommended by: JustReads (I saw it on tour there)

Why I’m interested: I haven’t read many dystopian stories, but one that involves science, children, grief, and hope sounds like one I’d find fascinating.

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Recommended by: Noah James (from The Chosen)

Why I’m interested: I’m always interested in books on creativity, and this one sounds like it will be both inspiring and helpful. Plus, I know I’ve heard of some of the concepts espoused in this book, so it’s probably about time I read it myself. (I’m not sure about the “spiritual path” part of the blurb…I guess I’ll see what I think once I get into it.)

Columba cover
Constantine cover

Columba by Nigel Tranter

Recommended by: a friend

Why I’m interested: I’ve heard of Columba, but know next to nothing about him. A novel about this historical man sounds like a great idea!

Constantine by Frank G. Slaughter

Recommended by: a friend

Why I’m interested: I’m familiar with Constantine, but again, I know very little about him. This looks like an interesting way to get to know him.

Emperor of Rome cover
Crusader King cover

Emperor of Rome by Robert Fabbri

Recommended by: a friend

Why I’m interested: I’ve been fascinated by the fall of Jerusalem for years, and even wrote a novel set at that time! But I’ve never heard of this series, and don’t think I’ve ever seen a book about Vespasian or Titus—I’m intrigued!

Crusader King by Susan Peek

Recommended by: a friend

Why I’m interested: Again, I’ve never heard of this man and don’t remember reading any adult novels set at the time of the crusades, but it sounds fascinating!

The Scarlet Pimpernel cover
Here Burns my Candle cover

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

Recommended by: a friend

Why I’m interested: A classic, set at the time of the French Revolution, and it has one of my favorite tropes in it—definitely one I’m interested in!

Here Burns my Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs (and the sequel)

Recommended by: a friend

Why I’m interested: A historical romance set in Scotland about bonny Prince Charlie (who I don’t know much about at all), plus it’s a retelling of the book of Ruth? Um, yes, please! This one is on my short list for sure!

There are other books on my list, as well, but mostly more general book lists from different people that sounded interesting for one reason or another.

Oh, and one more I forgot: The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright—I won’t bother to look up the cover, but this was recommended by my good friend A.M. Heath, and since I love mysteries but have gotten out of the habit of reading them in recent years, and haven’t read any of Wright’s books yet, she suggested I try this one. I’m hoping to fit it in soonish!

Do you keep a list of books people have recommended to you? What books are on your radar right now that you’d like to get to someday?

For the Love of Sourdough

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A couple of months ago, I had a boring, repetitive job to do, and while I did it, I ended up watching a lot of YouTube videos. Around the same time, I became interested in a couple of Facebook ads for sourdough-making groups, and I fell down the rabbit hole of watching other people’s videos about their sourdough-making processes.

Before too long, I was itching to get my starter out of the fridge, and I’ve been baking with it ever since!

Sourdough Focaccia picture
sourdough tomato olive focaccia bread

I’ve dabbled in sourdough on and off for close to 10 years now. For the longest time, the only thing I consistently used it for was sourdough pancakes; the family liked them, and they were easy and pretty much failproof. Bread? Now that’s a different beast!

My first introduction to sourdough was through Traditional Cooking School. We bought (and still have) their sourdough cookbook, and I’ve had fun experimenting with many of their recipes.

Unfortunately, the bread recipes they had in the book didn’t work for me. They were sour, didn’t hold together, and while the occasional artisan-type loaf was nice, I never enjoyed the fact that it looked like a frisbee or a brick when it came out of the oven.

So for many years, aside from making pancakes, I mostly ignored my sourdough starter—and at times, didn’t even have a starter!

Sourdough Vanilla Cake picture
sourdough vanilla cake

Occasionally, I’d get the sourdough bug. Surely there’s a way to do it, I’d think, and try again—only to meet with more failure. It must not be possible with our flour, I thought—New Zealand flour did seem to act differently from what Mom had in the US, after all!

So until around the beginning of April, my sourdough starter was mostly a forgotten fridge ornament.

Then came this boring job, and the advertisements from Facebook that grabbed my attention. Before I knew it, I was watching 2-3 hours of video each day from many, many different sourdough enthusiasts from around the world. They said encouraging things like,

Just start!”

Pick a recipe, and stick with it until it works for you.”

It doesn’t have to be perfect to be a win!”

Sourdough Egg Noodles picture
sourdough egg noodles

I came across an interview with Mike from Rosehill Sourdough, and loved the way he made sourdough feel accessible. Doable. No longer mysterious, but fun and (dare I say it?) yummy. (I’ve since watched some of his YouTube videos multiple times, trying out different recipes.)

Then I came across Rebekah from That Sourdough Gal, and again her tips and tricks and “here’s how it works for me”s made me feel like yes, I can do this, too.

Sometimes, I just watched videos of people with micro-bakeries, pumping out loaf after beautiful loaf of the most delicious-looking bread. I wished we could have smell-o-vision (h/t the Mr. Lemoncello books). Many of them explained the process as they went; the ones that stick out in my mind are Urban Treats from Australia and Simpel Sourdough from Denmark.

Oh, and there’s The Bread Code from Germany—not a micro-bakery, but he does sourdough demonstrations for the more nerdy ones of us, and I love his sense of humor!

sourdough pie crust picture
buttermilk pie (with a sourdough crust!)—it looks burned because I accidentally sloshed it while baking

So…armed with all these great bakers’ words echoing in my head, and knowing that if I had any trouble or needed questions answered, I could turn to the (very active) Facebook communities I found, I pulled my jar of sourdough out of the fridge and started.

I’ve since made two successful batches of sandwich bread, inspired by Christine’s Notebook’s video, but modified to match what I knew worked for our yeast sandwich breads. To my delight, they turned out beautifully! Not quite as fluffy as my normal yeast bread, but not so sour that it shouted “I’m sourdough”, and boy, were they ever tasty!

And, inspired by other bakers, I started experimenting with other sourdough products. Fudgy brownies (we couldn’t believe they were sourdough, since they didn’t taste like it at all—they disappeared!), pizza dough (I got mixed reviews on that one, mostly because I used some too-sour starter for it), foccacia bread, egg noodles, vanilla cake, waffles, pie crust…a good mix of normal bread-type recipes, and surprisingly delicious desserts.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that I’ve been baking a lot more desserts the past couple of months. Which probably isn’t a good thing, but I’ve had such fun experimenting that I’ve kinda ignored it. 😉

The biggest surprise in this journey so far is that sourdough doesn’t necessarily have to be sour to work—almost everything I listed above tasted just like you’d expect a “normal” recipe to taste, except better, somehow. Something like what you’d experience with a stew put together and simmered for a couple of hours, versus a stew made from homemade stock that was simmered for several days and then turned into a meal.

Sourdough Sandwich Bread picture

Not everything turns out perfectly every time, of course. I just baked two loaves of bread last night (one of the loaves is pictured above) that were half the size of some loaves I made a couple of weeks ago. My process for these loaves was slightly different than the other two trials I’ve made, and obviously, I did something wrong—or my starter wasn’t in a happy place (which is also quite possible).

Trial and error, and trial and error, and sometimes, trial and success! I’m planning on continuing to experiment, learn, and hopefully grow in this method of bread-making, taking notes in my trusty Dough Diary as I go, and perhaps one day I’ll find myself in a rhythm that works well.

What are you experimenting with in the kitchen right now?

Top 10 Favorite Books from Quarter 1 (ish)

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I had grand plans at the beginning of the year. Every month, I’d make up a TBR list (these lists have been SUCH fun to write up, plus I’ve found them super motivating!) and do a separate post talking about all the books I read in the previous month.

Well…I managed to make a TBR list in January and February, but February’s reading never made it into a post, let alone anything for March or April!

As you may have seen in my May TBR post, 2025 has been an unusual reading year for me. Here are some random observations about my reading year so far:

  • I’ve finished over 40 books
  • This is the year of audiobooks (over the last 5 years, around 20% of my reading was generally audiobooks; so far this year, that number is closer to 60%!)
  • This is the year of classics (I’ve read 9 already this year; I read 18 in 2024, and 8 in 2023)

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed my reading life this year, except I keep complaining that I haven’t had enough sit-down-to-read time. Thankfully, we’re in autumn now, and I’m getting more time for that again. It’s delightful!

Anyway, without further ado, here are the books that stand out from the first four months of the year. Some of these will have shown up in my January wrap-up post, but they deserve a place of their own here, too!

I’m not going to go into much detail on why I loved these books; just give the things that stood out the most to me. You can discover the stories for yourself! They were all 4 ½ or 5 ★ books for me.

This post contains affiliate links.

The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox: Deep, character-driven adoption story…this book reminded me why I love reading all over again.

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson: Foster child, sacrificial love, the true meaning of family. Despite Gilly’s misuse of language sometimes, I fell in love with her and her story.

If the Ocean Has a Soul by Rachel G. Jordan
Even Irina by Lynnita Seibel

If the Ocean Has a Soul by Rachel G. Jordan: Devotional, refreshing, and an experience in itself. This book made me think and was also somehow restful and invigorating at the same time.

Even Irina by Lynnita Seibel: Faith, family, survival, persecution—this children’s book was an unforgettable peek into a country and time I’ve read very little about!

Impossible Escape by Steve Sheinkin
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria A Trapp

Impossible Escape by Steve Sheinkin: Courage, bravery, adventure, hope in dark places. This true story was unbelievable, gripping, and a tough but important peek into the lives of those sent to Nazi concentration camps.

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp: Family, hope, endurance, humor—we read this book aloud as a family, and it was the most gripping, entertaining, fascinating story! I especially loved how Maria kept poking fun at herself.

Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higgnbotham

Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley: Stories, romance, adventure. This book was way shorter and way sweeter than I anticipated, and it made me happy in all the best ways! (I can’t wait to find time for the sequel now!)

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham: Dark, well-researched, informative—I keep thinking about this book, even though I finished it well over a month ago now. Very well written!

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: A character study, entertaining, romance, family. This book surprised me by how easy and gripping it was to read, and I loved all the nuances that you don’t get in movies! One to re-read sometime.

The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron: Mystery, family, cooking, spies, marriage of convenience. There was so much more to this book than I anticipated, and I ended up loving it!

Have you read any of these books? Do you have any top favorites from the first part of this year? If so, please share! I’m always looking for new favorite reads!

May TBR List: The Month of Classics

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After a two-month hiatus, I’m so glad to be back on the blog again! February, March, and a good portion of April were crazy busy, leaving a lot of room to dream of reading, but little time to sit down and read.

As far as reading goes, I have actually had a wonderful reading year so far. I just finished my 40th book for 2025 last Sunday, but in saying that, almost 60% of the books I’ve read this year were audiobooks.

This month, I’m in the mood to read just about anything, so long as I can read it with my eyes rather than my ears. I’m still working through a few audiobooks, but I’m hoping to prioritize physical sit-down-and-read time this month, because that side of me is feeling slightly deprived at the moment.

May 2025 TBR List

This post contains affiliate links.

Every Hour until Then by Gabrielle Meyer
Doing Life With Jesus by Gloria Boakye
The Atlas of Untold Stories by Sara Brunsvold

Upcoming Releases/ARCs:

I always find this section the most exciting every time I put together my TBR list! There are so many great authors out there, and it’s a lot of fun to be among the first to get to read these new books.

Releasing May 20: Every Hour until Then by Gabrielle Meyer. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed books #1–4 in this series, and am definitely looking forward to this one! I’ve had a bit of a preview already, and this book looks like it will be a lot of fun and have an intriguing mystery in it.

Doing Life with Jesus by Mrs. Gloria Boakye: I field a lot of emails from authors asking for reviews, and most of the time, the books aren’t a great fit for me. This time, though, this looked like a book I may be able to glean something from, so I decided to try it out.

Releasing June 17: The Atlas of Untold Stories by Sara Brunsvold: I’ve loved Brunsvold’s books ever since her debut novel. With this one being focused on books and a family road trip, I’m certain I’ll love it.

Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
Anne of Windy Poplars by L. M. Montgomery

A Year of Maud:

I’ve gotten behind in this readalong, but I’m hoping to get to both March and April’s books this month. I just started Anne of the Island a couple of days ago (I’m loving it so far!), and am hoping to fit Anne of Windy Poplars in somewhere along the line, too.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Twice Sold Tales by Chautona Havig

Read Your Bookshelf Challenge:

I didn’t quite get to reading a book for April’s prompt this past month, but I’ve settled on reading Pride and Prejudice for the flowers prompt. I read that story for school years ago, and enjoyed it, but I’m looking forward to reading it again. Sense and Sensibility really surprised me early in April with how gripping and unputdownable I found it, so I can’t wait to see what I think of this one!

For May’s prompt, “favorite”, I decided to pick Twice Sold Tales. Chautona Havig is one of my favorite authors, and so far, I haven’t managed to read any of her books yet this year—hopefully, this book will change that metric! I’ve been looking forward to this story ever since it was first published, and I really don’t have an excuse as to why I haven’t picked it up already.

Suit and Suitability by Kelsey Bryant
Mr. Pettigrew's Train by Leonard Clark

Other Books I Want to Read:

A backlisted title: I read Suit and Suitability by Kelsey Bryant many years ago, but somehow neglected to ever leave a review, as I promised. Oops! I’m looking forward to rereading it, especially since it’s a retelling of a book I loved in early April.

A book published in the ‘70s: Mr. Pettigrew’s Train by Leonard Clark: I have no idea where I picked this one up, but it’s been on my decide-if-I-really-want-to-keep-it list for a very long time, so I thought I’d try to get through it this month. It’s an easy reader; it should be a breeze to get through!

The Wolf Dog by Ken Anderson
Lovers' Vows by Elizabeth Inchbald

A book with an animal in the title: The Wolf Dog by Ken Anderson: I had this on tape as a child, and loved the story. Recently, I found it in print, and I’m looking forward to enjoying this one all over again now as an adult!

Celebrating Jane Austen—May’s prompt: Lover’s Vows by Elizabeth Inchbald: Beyond knowing that this is a play that features in Mansfield Park, I really have no idea what I’m getting into here. I haven’t read a play in ages, though, so I’m looking forward to it!

Within the Palace Gates by Anna P. Siviter
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

If I can fit it in: Within the Palace Gates by Anna P. Siviter: This is my all-time favorite Biblical fiction story, which was first published in the 1930s. I recently reread the book of Nehemiah, and that reminded me of this story. I’m looking forward to picking it up soon, if I can make it work!

A buddy read: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: A friend of mine has been wanting to read this epic for quite a while, and since I’d like to get through it sometime, too, I suggested we try to read it at the same time. We’ll see when we actually start it, but I’m definitely looking forward to reading it!

And that’s a wrap—with around 13 books on my TBR shelf (physical or digital!) for the month. Am I going to get through them all? I doubt it. But it’s fun to dream, anyway!

What are you hoping to read in May? Have you read any of the books on my list this month?

January 2025 Reading Wrap-Up

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After putting this list of titles at the beginning of my TBR posts for the past year, I’ve decided this section deserves a post of its own. So here we are! I’m excited to share these books with you.

January was a tough reading month for me. Due to having more away-from-home work than I am used to, company, garden work, family life, trips, etc., I felt like I had hardly any time to sit down and just read last month. In the end, I really shouldn’t have felt sorry for myself. I finished 13 books last month: 7 audiobooks and 6 physical books (4 of which I finished in the last 8 days of January!).

It’s not an understatement to say that I’m a little audiobook-ed out at the moment, and am really looking forward to all the delightful physical books I have on my TBR shelf for this month!

Some links in this post are affiliate links. Your purchase through these links help to keep this blog going, at no extra expense to you. Thanks for your support!

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James

1. The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James (★★★★): A delightful peek into what may be behind Jane Austen’s writings. It isn’t the greatest fiction ever, but I loved it (especially because it helped me finally identify one of my favorite writing tropes—I discovered I love romances where the characters don’t end up getting married for noble reasons! Weird? Maybe, but I love them.).

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

2. Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (★★★★ ½): Hilarious, heartwarming, delightful…think Pippi Longstocking, Amelia Bedelia, young Anne of Green Gables, and you’ll have an idea of what this book is about. SO much fun!

New Kid by Jerry Craft

3. New Kid by Jerry Craft (★★★): I enjoyed parts of this graphic novel, but overall, it wasn’t for me. An underwhelming read.

The Secret Society of Salzburg by Renee Ryan

4. The Secret Society of Salzburg by Renee Ryan (★★★★ ½): This was a great story! Unexpected, more difficult than I anticipated, a fascinating peek into the art world and pre-WWII antisemitism…this is one I wouldn’t mind reading again sometime.

The Trouble Begins at 8 by Sid Fleischman

5. The Trouble Begins at 8 by Sid Fleischman (★★★ ½): An interesting biography about Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain. Not a standout story, but enjoyable enough.

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

6. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (★★★★ ½): This was so much fun to read! Even better than when I heard it read aloud—I love Anne!

The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming

7. The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming (★★★★ ½): I loved this peek into little-known World War II history! As a bonus, it wasn’t overly feministic (which I feared)—a fascinating read.

Lilith by George MacDonald

8. Lilith by George MacDonald (★★ ½): I’ve just about concluded that MacDonald’s fantasy stories are not for me. I struggled with this one, BUT it was fascinating to see parallels to Narnia in this story, so that was its saving grace for me!

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson

9. The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson (★★★): A sweet story about an orphan girl living in a lighthouse on Lake Superior. The story was somewhat contrived, but I enjoyed her imagination, the setting, and the family aspect.

A Small Book About Why We Hide by Edward T. Welch

10. A Small Book About Why We Hide by Edward T. Welch (★★★★ ½): A wonderful devotional. Convicting, encouraging, helpful…I’d love to reread this one day.

The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox

11. The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox (★★★★★): This book reminded me why I love reading all over again. Excellent, excellent story; highly recommended!

Lyddie by Katherine Paterson

12. Lyddie by Katherine Paterson (★★★★): A fascinating, unusual story. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in pre-Civil War Vermont before, and despite the feministic leanings of the story, I ended up enjoying it.

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

13. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson (★★★★ ½): I connected with Gilly before the end of the first chapter. She has a foul mouth and isn’t an ideal character, but her storyline, the setting, and the people around her are all fascinating and well-written.

Whew! After going through most of the month feeling like it was a disaster in the reading department, I’m thrilled for all the ones that ended up being unexpected hits.

Have you read any of the books above? What did you read in January?