Recap Book Chat

Today we wrap up the epic classic, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. The link to the book is the exact version and translation we read and thoroughly enjoyed. We discuss some new characters that show up in the second half of the book and talk about our favorite quotes. Also discussed are themes of betrayal, vengeance, retribution, wealth and power.  Although this novel was completed in...

A must read for parents, grandparents, teachers and anyone else with children in their life. The 5 Love Languages of Children  is full of insightful and uber beneficial information that helps us connect and love our kids to the max. In this episode we give real life examples of the benefits of understanding love languages and learning to speak our children's primary language. We discuss ways to he...

We opened up our kid lit locker today and discussed the final book in the Whole Nother Story series. Such an adventurous, fun and intriguing book. It wrapped up all of our unanswered questions very nicely. Our two kid consultants joined us in talking about our favorite parts and in singing the Fighting Paper Clip anthem. No Other Story begins in “some times” a time were all of history is occurring...

Written 180 years ago we step back in time through the pages of the classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. This is such a hefty book and contains so much we wanted to talk about we decided to break it up into two parts. We are really enjoying our Penguin Classics version of the book that features the A Storm with Smuggler's Landing on the cover. The artwork was done by Philip...

Today we discuss a small yet impactful book called Keeper of the Doves.  This book was written by Betsy Byars a prolific children’s author, winner of the Newbery Medal and National Book Award and many others. Betsy Byars passed away at the age of 91 in February of 2020, however her lifetime of work lives on. We were grateful to experience her writing in Keeper of the Doves . The novel follows Amen...

Come check out our recap of People Fuel by Dr. John Townsend ! It was an invigorating and grounding read. People Fuel helped me acknowledge and appreciate my need for people and how to better relate and maintain relationships.  Townsend talks about how when we receive the right nutrients we are able to produce good fruit in our life. The opposite is also true, if we are missing one of the key nutr...

Today we dive into our Kid Lit Locker and explore the InvestiGators series by John Patrick Green. We have two special kid guest on the show to get their opinion of the series from a kids perspective. John Patrick Green is a brilliant wordsmith who creates witty and engaging stories and pictures in this graphic novel series. The InvestiGators is full of fun word play, witty phrases and unexpected p...

An epic read of how a simple mindset change has a major life impact! Unoffendable is a witty, insightful, life changing beautiful book! We highly recommend it to everyone. It is in my “read once a year” list. We can’t wait to read more of Brant’s novels. Brant is a raw and authentic author as well as a nationally syndicated radio host and lover of toast. I love the way he breaks down misconception...

So excited to recap The Bible today! My mom and me did The Bible Recap chronological reading of the Bible in 2022 and today we talk about what we learned and how we liked the reading guide. We used a mix of the bible app, physical ESV Bible, and The Bible Recap podcast. Below are links if your interested in joining us this year as we go through the Bible again with Tara Lee Coble and the The Bible...

Happy 2023! We ended 2022 reading this book and started 2023 by recapping it!  Words on Fire is a historical fiction novel written by Jennifer. A. Nielsen . The story takes place in the 1800's during Russia's occupation of Lithuania. In order to help Lithuania assimilate, Russia has insisted every Lithuanian become Russian. They have banned their language, religion, culture and their books. The st...

We end 2022 with a great book from Kristin Hannah called the Winter Garden . Kristin Hannah is also the author of the The Nightingale and The Four Winds .  The Winter Garden takes place during modern times with flash backs to Russia during WWII. Hannah does a superb job of bringing to life the generational affects of war and the family dysfunction that is born from lack of communication. This stor...

Published in 1991 but set during the great depression, this novel shows that even in the worst times our best selves can be found. Nothing to Fear The story which was inspired by Koller's family history follows Danny, a thirteen year old boy and his journey of self discovery and survival. This book gives us a picture of growing up in the mist of great difficulty. We felt like this novel was the ma...

A great read to jump start the new year by understanding habits! Charles Duhigg breaks down the mechanics of habits and explains the process of creating, changing and tweaking them. An overarching theme of the book is intentionally. Charles explains why our brain is constantly trying to make habits and how we have to be intentional to develop the habits we want. Duhigg uses many stories and exampl...

Set in the mountains of Tennessee, William Steele paints us a picture of what life would of been like for those caught in the middle during the civil war. This was a quick, historical accurate, powerful read. With deep relatable themes and a timely message for our current society, this novel is an adventurous book not to miss.

Do you feel like you always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop? Do you wish you had some tools in your belt to help when negotiations in you life come up? One Step Ahead by David Sally may hold the answers you are looking for. A challenge and dense yet illuminating read! David Sally writes of many different stories, research and examples to help show the most effective ways of negotiating.

I was so honored to get to meet author and veteran Jamie Cole at my sons Veterans Day program at school. She was gracious enough to grant me an interview where we got to sit down and talk about her new book and what inspired her to write it. Jamie was able to get Jake and now Shay from the organization Veteran Assistance Dogs of Texas.   If you are wanting to connect with Jamie her number is 325-6...

In the spirit of November and in this season of Thanksgiving we felt compelled to compile a list of our top 10 books we are grateful for. Enjoy!

“If he be Mr. Hyde, I shall be Mr. Seek.” In honor of our one year anniversary on the Recap Book Chat podcast this October we wanted to do a bit of a scary read. Robert Louis Stevenson delivered. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written in 1886 gave us a lot to talk about even though it was not very long. The novella only took Stevenson three days to write. Masterfully done, witty and...

A compelling WW2 historical novel that follows the life of a Jewish forger in occupied France. This is a book that will stay with you. Full of great quotes and extreme courage The Book of Lost Names is a well written look back in time.

This epic classic did not disappoint! Dickens tackles issues dealing with poverty, class and the choices we make head on. It was so fun getting to read the book from which so many adaptations have come.

A quick and easy read that packs a punch! Tai Ann shares so many wonderful nuggets in just a few pages. She is able to discuss huge topics around parenting and children's identity in a manageable and yet practical way. This book opened our eyes and encouraged our souls on communicating with kids. There are many simple yet powerful tools that are mentioned that every parent needs in there tool belt...

Today we take a look at some of our favorite film adaptations of books. Let us know what some of your favorites are! Shelia’s List      Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Pollyanna by  Eleanor H. Porter True Grit by Charles Portis Secretariat by William Nack Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Christy by Catherine Marshall To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Anne of Green Gables by  L. M. Mont...

Set in the 1950’s this is a brilliantly constructed story and coming of age story of troubled teens. Warning there is a spoiler section at the end where we discuss the surprise ending but we give a warning before diving into what happened.

A compelling and engaging historical fiction novel set in London during World War ll. We loved getting to discuss the gritty and compassionate characters and glean wonderful quotes from them. If you want a front row seat to living in London during years of bombs and rationing we highly recommend giving this book a read. Here is a link to the milkman photograph that Sheila mentioned in the episode....

Published in 1953, this noir mystery novel took us back in time with a Dick Tracy feel. This was a quick and fun read and our first of Rex Stout’s, a well know mystery writer of his day. Do not fret, we did not give any spoilers or disclose who the killer is. If you want to know that, you will have to read the book!