Book Notes: November 22, 2023 - Nonfiction & Fiction November Reviews

 Welcome to the scenic route! I'm excited to share a couple more non-fiction book reviews with you, as well as a couple of fiction ones. Since I missed last Wednesday's post, I thought I'd just go ahead and get caught up. You'll get double the reviews today. Isn't it exciting? I don't have a whole lot of time, so I'm going to get right to it. 

Book Review: The Seven Laws of Teaching by John Milton Gregory

The Seven Laws of Teaching by John Milton Gregory
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a beautifully written book! I absolutely love what this man had to say about the practices that make a good teacher. I also think it's a shame someone thought the book should be abridged. I mean, how many times do we read books and discard the things we find not applicable to us while keeping the things which are? There was absolutely no reason to abridge this book and disrespect the author's thoughts on a topic which he practiced and studied for years. I wish I'd had this when I started home schooling my kids. It would've saved me a whole lot of struggle. I highly recommend it to anyone who teaches whether that be in a home school, an institutional school, or in a volunteer position (tutor, church teacher, etc.) The points John Milton Gregory makes are still applicable today.

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Book Review: Learning Contentment by Nancy Wilson

Learning Contentment by Nancy Wilson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nancy Wilson gives beautifully written, well-thought-out, well-researched, biblical advice to women in this excellent book. At the end of each chapter, she offers thought questions which would be good for personal introspection or group discussion. I learned some new, and was reminded of action points we can take as women in the body of Christ. Not only did Mrs. Wilson nudge me in the right direction, but she also encouraged me to keep going and not give up. I highly recommend this book to you if you are wondering why everyone around you seems so happy and content while you're feeling so...NOT. It's good stuff!

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Book Review: Grumpy Cowboy (Sweet Water Falls Farm #2) by Elana Johnson

Grumpy Cowboy by Elana Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Had Me Laughing and Crying

This book had me laughing and crying at the appropriate moments. I thought the characters were well-written. The setting was easy to step into. And it's a clean, sweet romance which I found to be balanced. I really enjoy reading Elana's writing and plan to keep on reading.

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Book Review: Westward Courage (Courage on the Oregon Trail #1) by A.T. Butler

Westward Courage by A.T. Butler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Good Historical Romance

While this story is clean and there are a couple of references to prayer or church, this is simply a sweet, historical romance. It's well-written, and I found it easy to picture the scenes in my mind as I read. I had trouble loving the characters. They either seemed overdone somehow, or they felt a bit flat. But I read the story through, and I do like a couple of big things. First, the heroine had a backbone and grew in believable ways as the story progressed. Second, I liked how the people functioned just like a healthy community should if they'd want to thrive and succeed.
If you really love sweet, clean, historical romance, then you'd probably enjoy reading this book.

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Just Keep Writing: Wednesday Whimsy

If this is your first time participating in this kind of writing exercise, you're in for a treat. If you've done this with me before, just keep scrolling for the prompt.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (i.e. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

This ought to be a fun list to work with. What do you think? 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you found a new book to add to your TBR list. If you came for the word prompt, I hope you found it helpful. Please visit again tomorrow for another word prompt and bring some more creative friends with you. 

Until next time,
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