2012 Reading Challenge Update -- "A Plain and Fancy Christmas" by Cynthia Keller

Clearly I am doing better in 2012 with this reading challenge than I did in 2011.  I just finished my second book -- in 2 days.  That is a record for me, I usually read very slowly. Maybe I won't have such a dismal showing in 2012!

"A Plain and Fancy Christmas" is the second book I have read by Cynthia Keller.  I have read many Amish-related novels over the years, mostly by Beverly Lewis, but these by Cynthia Keller are a bit different.  In this book Rachel Yoder, a young mother born and raised into the Amish community, and  Ellie Lawrence, a young woman of the same age, born and raised in New York City, find themselves in a seemingly impossible situation, forever linked.  It all starts with a letter they both receive and their reactions to the letter and subsequent actions change both of their lives, and those of their families, forever -- and possibly for the better.

I am not going to tell you the story because I don't want to spoil it but I will say that it is a page turner.  There is a small bit of mystery involved although it is dealt with, in its entirety at the beginning of the book so it isn't like you are waiting to get through the book to see "whodunnit".  You know from the beginning and, actually, then the real mystery begins.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Amish fiction.  I don't know why I do, but, I do.  Cynthia Keller, in both her books, use the plot to compare and contrast the Amish way of life to the English way of life and the good to be had from both.  In the end, each group learns something from the other -- they aren't one-sided and preachy -- they are good.  Try it!

An Amish Gathering


Although I wrote exemplary book reports in school, I am a lousy book reviewer. I find that I only explain the plots and never get into character analysis, setting, subplots or any of that so I will make this brief.

I just finished "An Amish Gathering -- Life in Lancaster County" by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Barbara Cameron. It is actually a compilation of three novellas depicting the life of different families in the same area. Each story contains elements of loss, love, redemption and, ultimately, a happy ending.

I really enjoy reading the Amish novels and I am not sure why. I think I like them because so many of them take place in Pennsylvania and I identify with PA because of my family who were decidedly NOT Amish. In any event, these novellas seem to be a bit edgier than most of the others I have read. One deals with anger and abuse, one deals with friendships outside the community and the desire to have a career other than the traditional Amish wife and one deals with mental health issues with a bit of pride and jealousy thrown it. These novellas actually seems more real than what I have read in these types of books before -- there is a real human element in them.

I enjoyed this collection and read it very quickly, for me. I will probably seek out more works of the authors.

Off to a Running Start

As I promised myself, I started on my new cross stitch project -- "Fuji" by Terrance Nolan. I began this on 16 count evenweave but after a few stitches realized that my eyes would be better suited to 14 ct. aida. So, I started again. Now, I am not good at figuring out how to convert sizes so I figured I would just use a really big piece of fabric. I bought the biggest packaged piece I could find which is 30" X 36". Needless to say, when you begin in the center, this is more than a little unwieldy. At any rate, I should have plenty of fabric.

I am going about this project a bit different than I usually do. While I am starting in the center I am completing one grid square at a time. The pattern is divided up into five parts, each part being on a different page so I started with the top, left hand side of the pattern but began at the bottom, right hand side which is the corner in the middle. Confusing, I know. At any rate, the first grid square is about 36 squares and that is what I have completed. That 36 squares was made up of four different colored threads -- I can tell this is going to take a long, long time. That is ok, though, because this is the first project I have done that I haven't been under some sort of deadline to finish. That is sort of throwing me off a bit but I hope to be able to enjoy making the picture rather than just trying to get it done.

I haven't taken a photo yet because there really isn't much to take a photo of -- 36 squares of varying shades of beige/brown with a little grey/blue in it. I will take a photo tomorrow when I get a bit further.

I also started reading "An Amish Gathering -- Life in Lancaster County". It is a work of three Amish novellas written by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Barbara Cameron. I was in B&N the other day, looking for Nook accessories, and it caught my eye -- again, a catchy cover. I am really glad the Nook shows the cover of the books otherwise I would never know how to choose one!

At any rate, I am a few pages into the first story. It is about a young Amish woman who dreams of being a writer and writing about the English who seem, in her eyes, to have problems with religion. Of course, while the young woman is busy trying to be a writer her sister and her mother are busy trying to get her married so her rebellious streak is rearing its ugly head. As I said, only a few pages in so I am not sure if I am going to enjoy it or not.

I also started trying to keep a journal. Ha! Not doing any better job now than the million other times I have tried but I will keep after it and hopefully not give up after the first three days.

After thinking about my time management "issues" I decided to try to budget my time to do more of what I want to do. I think I have done pretty well for the last couple of days. I feel better about doing what I have to do when I make time to do what I want to do.