The First Snow

Silvery flakes drifted down, glittering in the bright light of the harvest moon. The blackbird… flew down and hunted for some food in a nearby plant. I stood there watching out of the window while the steam from my hot coffee left condensation on the cold window. Has it been a year already?

I walked back into the kitchen and dumped the remaining coffee down the sink. I suddenly couldn't stomach drinking the rest of it. The phone rang and I didn't answer it. I took an extra long and extra hot shower. When I stepped out of the shower and breathed in the steam, my head felt like it was in the clouds. Beads of water covered my skin as I contemplated going back to bed and pulling the covers over my head. If only I could have her back. If only I could forget. But I couldn't have her back and I would never forget.

Book Review: Peter and Wendy

Title: Peter and Wendy

Author: J.M. Barrie

Publisher: D.B. Publishing House

Release Date:  August 14, 2011 (originally published in 1911)

Genre: Fantasy

Format read in: nook

What Goodreads says: Peter Pan, the "boy who would not grow up," originally appeared as a baby living a magical life among birds and fairies in J.M. Barrie's sequence of stories, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. His later role as flying boy hero was brought to the stage by Barrie in the beloved play Peter Pan, which opened in 1904 and became the novel Peter and Wendy in 1911. In a narrative filled with vivid characters, epic battles, pirates, fairies, and fantastic imagination, Peter Pan's adventures capture the spirit of childhood-- and of rebellion against the role of adulthood in conventional society.


What I say: I absolutely adored reading this book. I felt like a little kid again as the story unfolded. It was such an escape to tuck myself in under the covers and read about Peter and Wendy and John and Michael and Tink and the Lost Boys and Tiger Lily and, of course, Captain Hook and Smee. What a great adventure and a perfect book for parents to read to their children. Second to the right and straight on 'till morning.

Book Review: The Shack

Title: The Shack

Author: Wm. Paul Young

Publisher: Windblown Media

Release Date:  June 1, 2011

Genre: Christian Fiction

Format read in: Paperback

What Goodreads says: Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his "Great Sadness," Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. 


What I say: I admit that I avoided reading this book. It was recommended to me several times and ever time I promptly avoided it and went on to something else. I'm not quite sure why I was so afraid of it. Maybe it was the cover. Or maybe it was the murder and bloody clothes. Once my mother-in-law handed me the book I opened it and read it. I was not impressed. The hype was definitely overrated. I skimmed many parts. It is hard for me swallow authors - whether they are writing fiction or non-fiction - telling me what God wants and how I should live my life according to God. If I could read this and keep reminding myself that it's fiction, I may have had a better experience but I just couldn't get over the preachiness of it.