Category: Ramblings

Bookstagram Cliches
Ramblings

Bookstagram Cliches

RebekahElizabeth2 Comments

I love book photography. I think, deep down, I kind of want to be great with a camera… to be that person with a fancy DSLR running around capturing beautiful moments and posting them to Instagram with vague inspirational quotes and matching emojis.

The photo I wish I took
Reality

As much as I may like the idea of being that person, however, motivation and inspiration seem to elude me, haha. But while nature photography can feel daunting and picture-perfect family moments (complete with great lighting) are difficult to capture, book photography is a simple, creative way to share what you’re reading AND be artistic. Plus, who doesn’t love a stunning book cover?

But if you’ve spent any time looking at Instagram (particularly #bookstagram) you’ll start to notice that certain props and elements get overused. A lot. So for those of you who might want to try your hand at snapping a pic of that hardcover you finished, here is a helpful list of items to be aware of and possibly avoid using too much.

First, a disclaimer: I’ve used most of these personally! I’m not trying to bash anyone here, I’m just poking a little fun at myself and book lovers in general. In fact, I’ve purposely chosen real examples I LOVE just to show that you can utilize these props successfully and creatively. Please feel free to try whatever you like in your book photos. 🙂 Many thanks to Abbi at adventuresofaliterarynature for letting me share her gorgeous IG work–follow the link to see so much more!

Okay, here we go…

1. THE CANDLE.

I’m 90% convinced you won’t even be allowed to post on bookstagram unless you own at least one candle. Maybe all these people have eyestrain from reading too much and need the extra light?

2. THOU MUST HAVE COFFEE.

If coffee is not readily available (shame on you) tea is an acceptable alternative. Just make sure it’s in your finest china. ‘Cause that’s what we all get out when we laze around in our pajamas reading.

Although this could be hot chocolate… yum 🙂

3. THE TWINKLY LIGHTS.

If you have twinkle lights AND candles, you get bonus points. But truly, isn’t this book wreath stunning?

4. KNITS.

Mostly blankies. I’m starting to see a pattern… something to do with being cozy…

5. STACKS WITH MORE BOOKS.

Shelves, piles, between bookends, wherever–as long as there are lots of books! You can’t have too many!

I couldn’t help picking this one just because it has My Hands Came Away Red up near the top. You guys know I love that book, right?

Well, that’s all for today, friends and book lovers… hope you had a good chuckle with me and maybe I’ll see you here or on Instagram. 🙂 What’s your favorite candle scent, and which of the elements listed above do you like best?

The One I Really Want to Love
Ramblings

The One I Really Want to Love

RebekahElizabeth4 Comments

shadow&night2

Science fiction. Final frontiers, colorful characters, thrilling and imaginative challenges to overcome… I love it. But where’s the Christian Science Fiction? I realize it’s more difficult to write because so many of the common constructs of science fiction do not fit within a Biblical worldview, but it can be done. As a teen, for example, I read a lot of the Daystar Voyages series by Gilbert Morris. There was plenty of space travel, conflict, and even an “Intergalactic Academy”, but he removed the evolutionary worldview common to science fiction. Aliens were replaced with humans who had colonized other worlds generations before–and looked unusual due to limited gene pools and environmental factors.

And C.S.F. doesn’t have to be on such a large scale or set extremely far in the future; another book I’ve read, Offworld by Robin Parrish, tells the (invented) story of a team of astronauts who return to Earth after the first manned landing on Mars.

But I’ve had a difficult time lately finding titles I deeply enjoy in this genre. My most recent attempt has been The Shadow and Night by Chris Wailey. I’ve read about 140 pages so far, and it presents the vastly far future. A what if? story,  it imagines what the universe would be like if there was no sin (but it’s not heaven and Christ hasn’t returned yet.) At some mysterious point (I’m not far enough in to know more), God seemingly decided to give humanity a reprieve from sin, and has been holding Satan back… so literally everyone in existence serves and worships God. The main characters spend every day exactly as we wish we would– praying, praising God, working hard to better other’s lives; but everything begins to change when one person tells a lie. Sin begins to spread to others, and the protagonist is at the epicenter of it all.

shadow&night1

It’s a great exploration of multiple ideas; what might it look like to live in a truly Godly society? How does sin spread, and what are its consequences? Without sin, how would different personality traits express themselves (e.g. talkative/quiet, funny/serious)? How seriously should we take sin? All this against a backdrop of space travel and terraforming.

Unfortunately even with so many great concepts the pace is extremely slow. As I mentioned earlier, I’m 140 pages in, and I still feel as if nothing has happened! The dialogue goes on and on, repeating information that was previously covered…altogether I’m struggling, to say the least. There are two more books in the series (The Lamb among the Stars trilogy) so maybe it’s just taking a long time to set the stage. I really hope that’s the case and things will warm up soon, because this is one book I really want to love.

 

Ramblings · Uncategorized

First Impressions–Christy 2018 Winners

RebekahElizabeth3 Comments

The Christy Awards Gala came and went (and life flew by for me—did anyone miss the lack of a Monday post these past two weeks?) I’ve got two books underway and hope to have a new review up in seven days (ah, the troubles of a book reviewer who also happens to be a slow reader!) That said, the Christy award winners might be a good place to find something new in Christian fiction to enjoy. Here are some of my first thoughts and impressions about the winning entries.

book-true-to-you Continue reading “First Impressions–Christy 2018 Winners” →

Ramblings

Awards Ceremony Ramble

RebekahElizabethLeave a comment

aeroplane-air-travel-aircraft-249581Everyone has wanted an invitation at one time or another. As a child, maybe some of you watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and wondered what it would be like to find a golden ticket. Or perhaps you waited expectantly for your best friend to call you over for a sleepover.

A few days ago I received an email…

YOU ARE INVITED: Two events honoring Christian fiction on November 7in Nashville

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association is hosting their annual Christy Award Gala as well as an Art of Writing Conference, and I was asked to attend!

Granted, I think this email is generically sent out to hundreds of book reviewers who express interest, and it’s not even free ($99 for both events) but I still had a little bit of child-like wonder opening up that email and imagining what it would be like to go.

If you haven’t heard of the Christy Awards before, they are given out each year to recognize novels of excellence written from a Christian worldview. Like the Academy Awards only for fiction written with a Christian worldview, various new books are nominated each year in different categories (romance, historical, suspense, etc.) and the winners in each division are announced at the Christy Awards ceremony. This year’s featured speakers include Francine Rivers and Charles Martin, bestselling authors–among others.

While I don’t really think I’ll be able to spend money on tickets to Nashville next month, I will be very excited to see which books are finalists (and which ones win.) I’ve been known to look through lists from past years (take a look at wikipedia’s here, covering 2000-2014) to get reading inspiration. My Hands Came Away Red is just one of the great books I’ve discovered!

Will you be going to the Christy Gala? Would you want to?

Ramblings

Hoopla vs. Overdrive for Christian Fiction Readers

RebekahElizabeth5 Comments

blur-book-stack-books-590493

I don’t know about you, but since none of my rich uncles have decided to die and leave me untold fortunes (I don’t think I even have a rich uncle) I’m always open to exploring affordable ways to get my hands on books and audio books! Recently I’ve been trying two apps my local library subscribes to, hoopla and OverDrive.

If you haven’t heard of them before, basically both apps are designed to give library patrons access to thousands of free ebooks, audiobooks, and more. If your local library subscribes to these two popular “vendors”, all you need is your library card and a device to get started.  Each app is a little bit different though, so today I’m going to share a few of the pros and cons I’ve noticed as I’ve tried them out, particularly in regards to downloading/streaming Christian fiction.

First off, hoopla.

Your library pays a small fee every time you borrow an item through hoopla, which means the vendor is motivated to have a really good variety of books available in the hopes you will find what you want and digitally “check it out.” As a result, the selection on here is fantastic– even with the less popular Christian fiction genre.  I’ve found semi obscure books like Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard, for example, or the futuristic The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley. Personally, the selection alone makes this app my favorite of the two options we’re looking at today! Some other thoughts:

  • There’s no way to search “Christian Fiction” and just see a mix of that genre, which makes it more difficult to discover new titles and authors.
  • I can’t find any way to recommend titles be added to the collection if they don’t have what I want.
  • All the books I’ve looked at have a loan period of 21 days.
  • You can “favorite” an item to come back to it later if you don’t want to borrow it now
  • At the end of the loan period the item is “returned” and removed from your device if you downloaded it
  • Limited borrows (may not be an issue depending on your library.) Through my library I am allowed to check out up to five items per month.

OverDrive

Each library or school that utilizes OverDrive picks the digital content they want for their users, so the selection available to you may be far better or worse than mine. More than likely, this is directly correlated with budgeting, so in my case I’m not surprised that it’s difficult to find anything but the most well known Christian fiction authors. On the upside, you can recommend an item for purchase and will be emailed if the item is added to the collection. Also:

  • In a roundabout way I can search Christian fiction; after bringing up a Christian fiction title and then clicking on it for more info the app lists the genres it falls into. From there I can click “Christian fiction” to see a selection of similar items
  • There are only a certain number of digital copies available of each book—so you might have to wait by putting the item on hold
  • Haven’t had any troubles downloading this to any of my android devices, including old nook
  • Like hoopla, there are limited borrows allowed. I’m not sure if this varies by library, but for me the limit is 7 items per months.

Both apps are worth looking into if you haven’t used them before. If you have, which do you prefer? What did you like (or not?)

 

 

Ramblings

Sneak Peek and Ramble, Hind’s Feet on High Places

RebekahElizabeth1 Comment

branches-dirt-road-field-160636

Recently I’ve been reading an old allegory by Hannah Hurnard called Hind’s Feet on High Places. Similar to Pilgrim’s Progress in ways, the main character (named Much-Afraid) is traveling up a mountain with the help of the Good Shepherd, hoping to someday make it to the High Places. Along the way she learns lessons and encounters various interesting characters. Continue reading “Sneak Peek and Ramble, Hind’s Feet on High Places” →

Ramblings

A Handful of Children’s Picture Books

RebekahElizabeth2 Comments

I have a slightly different (and more colorful!) review post for you today! I thought I’d take a rabbit trail into children’s picture books and see if I could find any with good Christian messages you could add to your collection or check out from the library. Being an Auntie myself, I’m always bringing a few hardcovers home to read to my nieces and nephews, but it’s difficult sometimes to find any with Biblical messages. Here are a some brief thoughts on what I’ve come across lately!

Continue reading “A Handful of Children’s Picture Books” →

Turn Back the Page Thursdays (Are Retiring)
Ramblings · Turn Back the Page Thursdays

Turn Back the Page Thursdays (Are Retiring)

RebekahElizabethLeave a comment

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said “There is nothing permanent except change.”
I disagree with him on one point, since there is someone we can always count on to be invariable– as Hebrews 13:8 puts it, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

I’m a little more inconsistent, however, and as I’ve been slowly building this blog I’ve also been learning a little bit about what works (and doesn’t) for me. As a result, I’ve decided to retire Turn Back the Page Thursdays. Hopefully that isn’t too disappointing, but I’ve found that scouring the internet for photos that are old, interesting, and also not protected by copyright is a lot more time intensive than I thought it would be. It doesn’t really build the blog long term in any way, and I’m starting to feel as if it doesn’t fit very well with the overall theme of book reviews.

Moving forward, I’ll be able to spend this freed-up time reading, acquiring, and photographing more books and writing reviews as well as other book-related posts, so please look forward to continued Monday content!

P.S. Don’t forget to enter the book giveaway going on this week if you haven’t already! 🙂 Details in previous post.