Expand YourShelf

Reading, Writing, & Found Stuff

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Review of The House on Foster Hill by Jamie Jo Wright

Review of The House on Foster Hill by Jamie Jo Wright

I stayed up late and got up early to finish reading this mystery! Fiction hangover is real, and I have it now.

When I picked this one up, I didn’t initially see the Christian tag, but I was grateful for it and the security knowing I wouldn’t be surprised by something I didn’t want replaying in my mind. Doesn’t mean there weren’t gobs of tension and all the hallmarks of a good, thrilling mystery!

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Seeds, Strains, Chefs, and 3000 lb Pumpkins

Seeds, Strains, Chefs, and 3000 lb Pumpkins

A pumpkin on the road to becoming world record size can, at the height of its growing season, gain 1-2 pounds an hour and guzzle 100 gallons of water a day.

This was one of a few facts that bent my brain while reading about massive produce in the prologue of September’s issue of the Smithsonian magazine.

One more fact: One seed from a record setting pumpkin strain can fetch over $1000 at auction.

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I Should/Could/Would Be Writing

I Should/Could/Would Be Writing

I had a moment or two recently that brought to mind something I’ve been meaning to write about.

Creativity and English’s subjunctive mood.

Sounds pretentious, but that was going to be the title of the hypothetical post. Stick with me, and I’ll try to keep this winding story on track.

The subjunctive mood in English is a grammar construct to explore conditional or imaginary situations. We see it…

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Amazon Wisdom Keeper: A Psychologist's Memoir of Spiritual Awakening

Amazon Wisdom Keeper: A Psychologist’s Memoir of Spiritual Awakening

Amazon Wisdom Keeper: A Psychologist’s Memoir of Spiritual Awakening By Loraine Y. Van Tuyl Publisher: She Writes Press Release Date: 24 October 2017

Who is Dr. Tuyl? I wished I’d known her credentials before beginning this read, but honestly I might not have picked it up if I had. Now I’m very glad I read it.

I feel like this book came into my life for important reasons.One of these is an upset…

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Dog Show Fever

RVs rolling in and setting up isn’t a rare sight at the Prescott Valley Event Center. On one of the first cool weekends in September, though, each RV came paired with kennels, collapsible fencing, food and water dishes, grooming tables, and lots of excited dogs!

I attended the Prescott Kennel Club’s dog show this year, accompanied by my brother, Ryan.

Neither of us had ever been to an event like…

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Reviving An Old Project

Reviving An Old Project

  A book can get shelved before it’s finished, but not in the good way.

Creative work can get pushed to the bottom of the to-do list when priorities shift or you lose interest for the latest shiny new idea.

This doesn’t mean the idea isn’t worthwhile. You just have to be armed with the right tools to get it back up and running when you’re ready to tackle its problems again.

  Read it

Read…

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Book Tag - Reader Problems

Book Tag – Reader Problems

Readers vary in style and opinion; just saying you’re a bookworm doesn’t narrow down your habits any. I’m of the opinion that, just like anything, people can love books in as ways as individual as they are in this world.

I’ve been invited by Terri over at terriluvsbooks.com to participate in Book Tag! The topic is Reader Problems.

Let’s get to it!

  Reader Problems

You have 20,000 books on your…

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Australian Druidry: Connecting with the Sacred Landscape by Julie Brett

Australian Druidry: Connecting with the Sacred Landscape by Julie Brett

Australian Druidry: Connecting with the Sacred Landscape Pagan Portals By: Julie Brett Release Date: 29 September 2017 Publisher: Moon Books

I’ll admit, when I saw this title I believed it was a contradiction in terms. Maybe not a direct contradiction, but when I hear “druid” I think of pre-Christian western Europeans, not Australia.

Some of the most cherished seasonal celebrations in…

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POV: Writing the Bystander Viewpoint

POV: Writing the Bystander Viewpoint

Using the term “Main Character (MC)” is sticky when your story is told through the viewpoint of a bystander. Who’s the “MC” when you have a viewpoint character who is telling the story but isn’t the main actor?

Well, that’s just a party of terms.

Narrator – the character telling the story (in this case, a character related but not central to the action of the story)

Protagonist– the character the…

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Holding Space: On Loving, Dying, and Letting Go by Amy Wright Glenn

Holding Space: On Loving, Dying, and Letting Go by Amy Wright Glenn

Holding Space: On Loving, Dying, and Letting Go By Amy Wright Glenn Publish Date: 14 November 2017 Publisher: Parallax Press

If you’re going to read nonfiction, do it with purpose. Holding Spacedrew my attention for a personal and pressing reason. My father is fighting cancer. He will never stop fighting it, such is the diagnosis. This one will never leave. The best it can do is what it’s been…

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The Creative Tribe: A powerful tool with a double-edge

The Creative Tribe: A powerful tool with a double-edge

I’ve recently taken a step back from my creative tribe. Still a card-carrying member (and officer in a few groups), but, after noticing unsavory patterns, I’ve had to reevaluate my expectations and dial down participation.

Thanks to social media, the stigma of a lonely creative has become less forceful.There are massive hobby groups, channels on YouTube full of tutorials for skills from beginner…

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The Cliffs of Insanity

The Cliffs of Insanity

I had high hopes for this month’s reading list.

The Book Owls sent in their recommendations. I even bought one of the books new, which I rarely do, because I was excited (no spoilers, I’m reading it next month).

I will not give excuses.

I will, however, give a reason.

Anxiety and depression are a repulsive pair of normal emotional challenges gone wild and off the chain.

Due to my own issues in…

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Writing Living Histories: The Memory Book

Writing Living Histories: The Memory Book

I believed my family was close. I grew up with both parents in the home and two brothers, near my mother’s parents who lived a few miles away. We talked about family history regularly. It wasn’t until I took an elective course in college called Introduction to Writing Family History that I realized how little we discussed living family history.

A dear friend recently shared what she and her…

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The Sandlot Principle: Which Team Are You?

The Sandlot Principle: Which Team Are You?

On a sticky summer day, two teams shouted each other down on a scrubby sand lot.

Insults flew between the little league pitcher in uniform and the scrappy catcher in shorts.

The catcher had enough. His face flushed red, his eyes narrow, he yelled the immortal words, “You play ball like a GIRL!”

The boys’ jaws dropped. The catcher’s teammates snickered.

It was on.

Both teams met later to settle…

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Reading American History: A lesson in intention

Reading American History: A lesson in intention

I began this month reading about the American frontier. I realize my selections were about intention.

The whole regional approach, focusing on the Southwest, shattered when I realized I had assumed the book I bought on Native American art and culture (All Roads Are Good: Native Voices on Life and Culture) covered the whole United States, not just the SW. That over-simplifies things, and so will…

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Bookmarking With Style

As a reader, I love a bookish things (of course, books best of all). But there are bookshelves to love and fuss over, which must be the right height, carry all the books we like, and have room enough to always squeeze just one more in. Add to that ereaders which need to have the right back-lighting and a curated library of backup titles, and backup-backup titles, just in case the physical book I…

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A Pudding By Any Other Name

A Pudding By Any Other Name

Fiddling out your own ethnicity is a challenge when generally your historical roots prefer to keep themselves to themselves.

In my experience, it’s not that smart to go looking for German ethnic clubs and it’s not that common to find anyone who feels closely tied to their Danish roots.

These, however, are my strongest ethnic roots, and you can’t pick and choose those.

The safest way to connect…

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