Recap Book Chat

Welcome to our yearly Recap Book Chat Awards for the year 2025. Most whimsical : The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – Its dreamy, childlike philosophical tale of a young prince traveling planets, full of wonder, imagination, and gentle absurdity, captures pure whimsy more than any other on the list. BFG and Much Ado About Nothing also fit this category. Grittiest : Les Misérables by Vic...

Let’s journey to Middle Earth together! Readers meet Frodo, the unsuspecting beneficiary of Bilbo’s ‘Ring’. This gift turns the innocent hobbit’s world upside down. Frodo and his friends, Sam, Merry and Pippin set out on a quest to meet up with Gandalf the Grey which is no small task as Black Riders are trailing the travelers.  Along the way they meet a Ranger, tall, lean, dark, who goes by the na...

It’s the season of curling up with a good book before a cozy fire and reading a favorite book.  It’s also gift giving time. Maybe our lists can help you match your loved ones to the perfect book! We each share our 5 favorite adult and children's books to light up your holiday season!  Kate and Sheila’s Picks:                 Adults’                                       Kids’  Living Fearless Wing...

As a baby, Oswald T. Campbell was left on the steps of an orphanage with a can of Campbell’s soup in his basket. Readers meet him as he receives disheartening news from his doctor; he won’t live to see another Christmas if he doesn’t move to a better climate than the Windy City. Sadly, Oswald has no one to share his devastating news with… sounds like a bummer of a book, doesn’t it? But, somehow Fa...

For episode 208, Kate and Sheila recap The Quarryman’s Bride, by Tracie Peterson.  The story is set in 1880’s in St. Cloud, MN. The contrast in characters is amazing! Emmalyne’s kindness and loyalty contrasts wildly with the bitterness and hardness of her father.  Emmalyne and Tavin were two weeks away from marriage when the tragedy of losing her sisters changed her father’s mind. He announced she...

The period of Judges and Ruth was dark. God raised up Samuel as a prophet, priest, and judge when He answered childless Hannah’s fervent prayer. Samuel was committed to doing what was right in God’s sight, sadly Eli, the current priest, and sons were not. Eli’s dealings with his erring sons teaches us we have to do more than just talk. From Samuel, the last judge, to Saul, the first king, is a tum...

Emma M. Lion returns with gusto in volume 2 by Beth Brower. Do you like underdog stories? Emma may be in a precarious predicament but she’s not one to throw in the towel!  Advice from Emma’s father, “You must be fighting fit, Emma, whatever else. Most of life is the ability to be ready for what comes your way.” Young Hawkes (the unlikely vicar) informs Emma that her cousin has been confessing his...

Naomi has lost her husband and two sons in Moab so she decides to return to her homeland. However, she does not lose her daughter-in-law even after Naomi repeatedly encouraged Ruth to return to her mother’s house.  Ruth's reply was and still is so powerful. “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall...

Join Kate and Sheila as they journey through Judges, a book of disobedience, oppression, crying out to God, judge (aka leader) appointed, deliverance, and peace cycling over and over. God was clear- take over the land, but instead His people intermarried and started to worship idols. Downward spirals are never pretty, but they can teach a great deal.  In chapter 2, the text says they failed to tea...

In today’s visit we dive into The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by the very talented Beth Brower. “It takes a courageous man to marry a woman with a mind.”  Emma M. Lion is definitely a woman with a mind! She lives in London in the house she inherited but is quarantined to just the garret thanks to Cousin Archibald. In 106 pages you are swept back to 1883 England. One journal entry shows a w...

When gentle Hero meets the shy Claudio in this comedy by William Shakespeare, there is alas quite a bit of spice in the gumbo with Beatrice, aka Lady Tongue, and the blunt Benedick as they banter to beat the bands. Don Pedro and company arrive at Messina and go to the home of the governor, Hero’s father and Beatrice’s uncle, Leonata. The unsavory half-brother of Don Pedro, Don John, is, as Kate sa...

 Maisie Dobbs accepts a case from an old friend concerning his potential land purchase. She goes to a small rural community to investigate mysterious fires that erupt regularly, in addition to a series of petty crimes. Her assistant, Billy, and his family are there to pick hops. (Every August or September, thousands of Londoners left the crowded city to live in huts for weeks to pick hops. Not lon...

 A young brave truth-teller’s earthly life ended this past week, however his light has not dimmed. Let us remember Charlie Kirk as a life long learner and advocate for truth and living life God’s way. Read a challenging book he recommended like Mere Christianity,1984, A Brave New World… Even with his busy schedule he read 100 books a year! Reading does something nothing else can do, it stretches a...

It’s 1963, four housewives living in the same suburb start a book club. Margaret dreams of becoming a writer, Charlotte an artist, Bitsy a vet, and Viv would like to return to nursing. They all have kids except the youngest member, Betsy, who desperately wants to be a mother.  Charlotte says she will join the book club only if they read The Feminine Mystique . This sent up a red flag for me becaus...

Where the Lost Wander is a gem of a book by Amy Harmon! Join the Mays and John Lowry as they forge westward on the Overland Trail in 1853! Sparks fly when mule man John Lowry meets the young widow, Naomi May. Romance shows us the trail is not the only thing that is bumpy. Grittiness and resilience abound! Memorable Quotes are aplenty in this timely treasure: “The hardest thing about life is knowin...

Greetings Readers! Kate and Sheila recap the impactful middle grade novel, Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.. We meet 13 year old Sal who is traveling with her grandparents to Idaho to see her mother who left the family months ago. During the trip, Sal tells them the story of her friend Phoebe Winterbottom who thinks her mom was kidnapped. The Winterbottom family has been receiving inspirational qu...

It’s Back to School time…Here’s 10 Reading Excuses that Don’t Fly or Read On Sistah : ) Saying you don’t have time - Empty distractions time will rob ( set a goal to read a little every day. Even if it is just a few sentences) It doesn’t matter what I read - Set the bar high - be a reading snob ( we become what we consume. So many great options. Follow book review youtubers you trust or The Recap...

Greetings! Today, Kate and Sheila dive in recapping the book of Joshua!  This scripture is just as powerful today as it was in Joshua’s, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord you God is with you wherever you go.” 1:9. Followed by …”choose this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Spoke...

This novel is set in an interesting way, devoting chapters to Penelope and individual members of her family, but also to more secondary characters such as Antonia and Dannus (the bright spots). Each snapshot gives characters their own unique voice. The Shell Seekers by Rosamonde Pilcher has a dual timeline, WWII and present day which was 1987. Penelope's three children were a bit hard to take. Oli...

Welcome friends! Today Kate, Sheila, and the boys dive into a classic from 1943,   The Little Prince by   Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. As a child the narrator drew two pictures that received heavy criticism from adults. So he became a pilot instead of an artist.  When his plane crashed as he was flying over the Sierra Desert the pilot meets the little prince. As Titus pointed out, the telling of this...

Today we dive into episode 193, Five on the Side, where Kate and Sheila discuss impactful books they’ve read on their own. The list was varied and insightful: S=’The Scarlet Thread” by Francine Rivers-           K= “God’s Chosen Fast” by Arthur Wallace S=”The Gift of Fear” by Gavin De Becker-”T K=”Clear Your Clutter with feng shui”  by Karen Kingston      S=”A Spring of Daisies” by Cindy Escobar ...

“Are you brave enough to wade into the great river of life?” Join us as we dive into a book about family, friends, and love served with a hearty dose of laughter on the side. Kate DiCamillo outdid herself with her 2024 book, Ferris!   It has something for everyone from an outlaw sister to a gifted pianist to Ferris’ plan to reunite her separated aunt and uncle. Emma Phineas Wilkey was born under t...

Greetings dear listeners! Today Kate and Sheila recap the fifth book of the Bible, Deuteronomy.  “…for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.”(7:21) God called Moses from a burning bush and Moses obeyed and led God’s people. They are often referred to as ‘stiff-necked’ people which means Moses’ job was far from easy. Moses’ main goal was to get God’s people to love Him with a...

Join us with our special guests as we discuss the delightful classic by Roald Dahl, The BFG. “Meanings is not important,” said the BFG. “I cannot be right all the time. Quite often I is left instead of right.” Sophie is the youngest but she is also the linchpin in solving the giant problem. Sometimes kids think bravely when adults don’t try to see a possible solution. This is the growth mindset vs...

Join Kate and company as the boys discuss "Way of the Warrior Kid" by Jocko Willink, a decorated retired Navy SEAL, whose motto is, "You can do anything if you do the work.” Readers meet Marc, a 5th grader who can’t swim, can’t do pull-ups, and doesn’t even know his multiplication facts. He has a false identity of being a wimp along with thinking he is dumb. His fixed mindset is holding Marc back...