Recap Book Chat

If you've ever wished for a do-over Gordon Korman’s 2017 book Restart is right up your alley!! We meet football star and renowned school bully, Chase Ambrose, after he fell from a two-story window. He has amnesia so bad his personality changes. The rattiest rat changes into a super kind guy! It is quite a transformation! Confusing friends and enemies alike! Each chapter comes from a different view...

Chapter 6 of The Next Conversation focuses on the importance of controlling the pace of communication, particularly through the use of pauses, to enhance understanding and engagement in conversations. Kate and Sheila discuss various examples and personal experiences that highlight how effective pauses can lead to more meaningful interactions and better emotional control. The conversation explores...

The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards is a whimsical and imaginative book that encourages readers to look up and use their senses. It explores the themes of imagination, confidence, and perception, while also highlighting the importance of noticing and play. The book's purpose is to inspire readers to face temptation, use their imagination, and look up instead of down....

“With my mother it was all work. But this is a different type of house. Here there is room, and time to think.” Foster, a novella by Irish author Claire Keegan, slows readers down. We meet the Kinsellas, relatives, who welcome the protagonist into their peaceful home overflowing with warm kindness!  She is dropped off, literally, by her disengaged, shiftless Da (aka father), what a contrast her pa...

Greetings! We are joined by our special guests to discuss Andrew Clements’ classic from 1998, Frindle. Prankster Nick Allen meets his match in the formidable Mrs. Granger. This timeless novel weaves quite a tale. Mrs. Granger said people determine the meaning of words, so Nick invented the word frindle for pen. The battle begins. Jonah’s one word summary was chess, because Nick makes a move and it...

We continue our  journey through Book 3, Psalms 73-89. These Psalms show a plethora of high and low in relationships with God. When we aren’t as close to God we can rest assured that we are the ones who are moving in the wrong direction.  “But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.” Ps. 73:28 “But my people did not listen to my voic...

We hope that episode 242 will bless you in a big way.  We hope you join us as we recap the  holy fear of God in John Bevere's book, The Awe of God.  Each chapter starts with a quote such as:  “Men reverence one another, not yet God.” Henry David Thoreau Kate’s one word summary was humility and Sheila’s was obedience. Both words heighten our awareness of God’s holiness, which starkly contrasts with...

Bildungsroman at its best! The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt transports us to Long Island, NY back to 1967. Readers meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh grader stuck with spending Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of his class goes to religious classes at their prospective churches. Holling is positive his teacher hates him.  This book throws a wide loop. There’s se...

“You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!” Shakespeare had a gift for turning a phrase! “It was Greek to me” and “mischief thou art afoot” are a few more colorful quips from his iconic play, Julius Caesar. This tragedy was written in 1599, however the actual assassination of the powerful general took place about 40 years before Jesus was born.  Betrayal is shockingly portrayed as C...

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” Join the gang as we dive into The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis.  Our one word summaries tell the tale: Adventure, Temptation, Transformation, and Humility. We join Prince Caspian’s search for the 7 lost lords of Narnia. Kate and the boys connected the lords to the 8 evil temptations.  Eustace turned into a dr...

“When you claim it, you control it.” What a power packed statement from Jefferson Fisher in The Next Conversation! We’re in chapter 5, Control the Moment and Jefferson gives us a ‘road map’ to follow. Getting the framework down will take some time, but once it is built, wala communication upgrade! Let’s dive in: Let your breath be your first word. He even gives the breathing technique that helps t...

Readers who loved the Emma M. Lion series will thoroughly enjoy meeting Marianne from Edenbrooke. Yes, dear readers there is a ‘knight’ in shining armor. This complex character exemplifies the mystery of Pierce, the love of books as young Hawkes, and the witty banter of the Duke. How does the perfect romance novel  include a robbery, a shooting, and a kidnapping? I am not sure, but somehow Juliann...

Time travel with us to London back in December 1931. Right off the bat a soldier disabled from WW I  blew himself up with a hand grenade; our heroine was so close she got her bell rung! Among the Mad is Jacqueline Winspear’s sixth Maisie Dobbs novel. Maisie’s summoned to work with Scotland Yard to help solve the case. They’re up against the clock because the Prime Minister's life has been threaten...

Today we recap Psalms 42-72, Book 2. The sons of Korah wrote Psalms 42-50, do you remember them? Kate sent us back to Numbers 26:11, Korah died and 250 others, but his sons did NOT die! What a story of REDEMPTION! Psalm 42 begins with an amazing visual of a deer panting for water. This reminds us how we should thirst for God. Our thirst should focus us on God, even in times of trial. Testing our t...

Do you know the last fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5? It is the theme of today’s podcast from chapter 4 in The Next Conversation by Jefferson Fisher, Control Yourself. Fisher explains the two phases of every argument, ignition (aka fight or flight) and cooling (aka rest & digest). “Ignition happens when, with enough friction, the productive becomes destructive.” In this phase, the...

Kate and Sheila share their favorite books about freedom, liberty, and captivity—fiction, nonfiction, and kid lit—ready for America's 250th Independence Day! This firecracker of an episode has a different look. Kate and Sheila discuss a myriad of "freedoms," highlighting book after book. Whether fiction or nonfiction, these treasures are guaranteed to hook. Contrasting both the cost and the blessi...

Let’s dive into the poetry and wisdom genre of the Bible! Today we recap Psalms 1-41 a.k.a. Book 1. David wrote all but 2 of this group, most are prayers of distress or statements of confidence in God. David reminds us in Psalm 1 to delight in the law of the Lord. The man who meditates on His law day and night will be like a tree planted by the water. What a robust visual! As we’ve mentioned befor...

In episode 232, we discover The Truth About Connection, chapter 3 in Jefferson Fisher’s  outstanding book, The Next Conversation.  This was a powerful point: “You’re living in a world of transmission, not connection. . .Transmission conveys information, but connection breathes life into it.” Transmission is reading sheet music and connection is hearing a symphony perform it. We must remember that...

“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more,” Jane Austen’s well-known line from her classic novel, Emma, written in 1815. Readers will love Mr. Knightley, family friend, who does not hesitate to confront Emma Woodhouse when she is in the wrong.  Mr. Knightley: You are materially changed since we talked on this subject before. Emma: I hope so – for at that time I was a fool. Emma b...

Greetings fellow communicators! Are you ready to level-up to chapter 2 in  The Next Conversation by Jefferson Fisher? Have you ever had a moment when you played out a conversation in your head and it went totally awry? Jefferson has a powerful reminder for us: “Have something to LEARN not something to prove.” The next conversation can be much more transformative than the initial one. It levels us...

Kate and Sheila are joined by Jonah as they recap Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Their one word choices were Kind, Protect, and Brave. The beginning is grim. A tragic accident leaves Jeffery Magee an orphan at the age of three.  He is sent to live with a divided family, his aunt and uncle do not talk to each other. By age 11 Jeffery runs away and ends up in Two Mills, a divided town. East side ve...

Let’s dive into episode 228. It’s an absolute gem. The Next Conversation - Argue Less, Talk More - Chapter 1 By: Jefferson Fisher It is so packed full of great information, we wanted to deliver it a chapter at a time.  Jefferson Fisher is a Texas trial lawyer that grew up in a family with a legacy of lawyers. His no nonsense approach aptly applies to all seasons of life.  Chapter 1 - Never Win an...

If you had to choose a book of the Bible that has suffering for its theme, which would you pick? Hands down most would gravitate to Job. God is in the storm even though we sometimes don’t have eyes to see.  Job is about perspective. Job’s, his friends, and God’s all give different perspectives. Job reads like a play, each part revealing something. Job 28:28 is so powerful! “Behold, the fear of the...

Greetings listeners! May brings Mother’s Day our way! Please join Kate and Sheila as they share a mother acrostic using book titles and celebrate stellar moms found in literature! Without moms where would people be? (One need only to read The Brothers Karamazov to find out 😀) Let’s dive into episode 226! Here are few suggestions for moms and mentors in your life: Middlemarch One Thousand Gifts Th...

What would it have been like to walk the first century streets of Galilee when Jesus was healing the sick and teaching the crowds that love was stronger than hate? The main character is an 18 year old Jewish boy named Daniel bar Jamin. He is fueled by his hate for the Romans who killed his father when he tried to help his uncle escape imprisonment for being unable to pay his taxes. Sadly, his moth...