Sara Reads Things

  Hello Sunday. I'm so glad to be back to normal. The weather is rainy and about 40 degrees. The boys are back in school and we have power and internet, so back to work. My husband is also back to work. His job was without power for longer than our house. It was a long five days. I've read some really great books this last week and I'm excited to share them with you. Please enjoy this weekly recap. Sunday Confessions #84 ~ Weekly Menu #392 And The Book Of The Week ~ Book Review: Emma by Jane Austen ~ Book Review: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey Weekly Menu #393 And The Book Of The Week ~ Book Review: Natalie Portman's Fables by Natalie Portman ~ Book Review: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas ~ Sunday Confessions #86 27/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge ~ 17/20 in my Scotland challenge ~ 44/341 Gilmore Girls challenge ~ 44/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge Grateful to be back to normal. Have a good week.

  Title: Greenlights By: Matthew McConaughey Genre: Autobiography Pages: 308 Release Date: October 20th, 2020 Publisher: Crown Publishing Group Rating: ★★★★☆   Summary from Goodreads: From the Academy Award®–winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction I’ve been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me. Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. I found stories I experienced, lessons I learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs...

  Title: Emma By: Jane Austen Genre: Historical Romance Pages: 474 Release Date: December 23rd, 1815 Publisher: Penguin Books Rating: ★★★★☆   Summary from Goodreads: Emma  is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The story takes place in the fictional village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls, and Donwell Abbey and involves the relationships among individuals in those locations consisting of "3 or 4 families in a country village". The novel was first published in December 1815 while the author was alive, with its title page listing a publication date of 1816. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian–Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters and depicts issues of marriage, gender, age, and social status. Add on Goodreads   Review: I often have a hard time working my way through the heavy old English way o...

  Hello Monday. Welcome back to another wonderful week of reading, cooking and of course dancing. Although, I wish I could dance like I used to, I still can cut a rug with my kids in the kitchen. This weeks book, I've been waiting on for a long time and I can't wait to read it. A Court of Silver Flames is #4 in one of my most favorite series of all time and I happened to get my hands on a copy. There is so much promise here, if I'm disappointed, I swear... Who's with me?! I know, I know, lets get to what you came here for... The menu. Its looking like a delicious one. I hope you enjoy!  WEEKLY MENU   Monday Beef Eggroll Stir Fry   Tuesday Steak and Eggs   Wednesday Beef Nacho Supreme   Thursday Chicken Schnitzel   Friday Creamed Kale Tortellini   Saturday Sloppy Joes   Sunday Leftovers Night

  Hello Sunday. What a week! If I had known that we would be without power for five whole days, I would have planned a lot better. It was freezing and dark. Nothing to do and nothing warm to eat. I tried to read, but my kids just wanted attention, so not much reading was done. Can we never do that again?... Lets get to the weekly recap. Sunday Confessions #83 ~ Weekly Menu #391 And The Book Of The Week ~ Book Review: The Shadowy Horses by Susana Kearsley Weekly Menu #392 And The Book Of The Week ~ Book Review: Emma by Jane Austen ~ Book Review: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey ~ Sunday Confessions #85 27/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge ~ 17/20 in my Scotland challenge ~ 44/341 Gilmore Girls challenge ~ 44/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge Finally happy to be back to normal. Stay safe and warm out there.

  Title: The Shadowy Horses By: Susanna Kearsley Genre: Paranormal Pages: 430 Release Date: October 2nd, 2012 Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark   Rating: ★★★★☆   Summary from Goodreads: The Invincible Ninth Roman Legion Marches from York to Fight The Northern Tribes. and then Vanishes from the Pages of History. Archaeologist Verity Grey has been drawn to the dark legends of the Scottish Borderlands in search of the truth buried in a rocky field by the sea. Her eccentric boss has spent his whole life searching for the resting place of the lost Ninth Roman Legion and is convinced he's finally found it—not because of any scientific evidence, but because a local boy has "seen" a Roman soldier walking in the fields, a ghostly sentinel who guards the bodies of his long-dead comrades. Here on the windswept shores, Verity may find the answer to one of the great unsolved mysteries of our time. Or she may uncover secrets someone buried for a reason.   Add on Goodreads Review: I ...

  Well, that was the worst five days ever! Our part of Oregon had a huge winter storm, lots of ice and snow. Of course you don't hear about it because Texas also had a huge storm, but the difference is, they can't seem to handle the cold.  Our power went out on Friday night, we didn't get it back until Tuesday night, just in time for a hot dinner. My family and I, struggled to stay warm and find entertainment for our neurotypical children. They were thrown out of balance since there was no normalcy. It was rough. We made it through though and here we are.  This weeks book is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It was one of the only books on my book shelf that I actually hadn't read, and since there wasn't much else to do without power, I dove in.  The menu this week is of course shorter than normal, since half the week is already gone, but maybe you can get some use out of it. Please enjoy this abbreviated version.   WEEKLY MENU   Monday Power Out  ...

Due to an ice storm in my area, our power is out and has been since Friday night. Because of this, there is no Menu this week and I'm not sure when I will be able to post again. Be safe and stay warm out there.

  Title: Georgana's Secrets By: Arlem Hawks Genre: Historical Romance Pages: 320 Release Date: January 12th, 2021 Publisher: Shadow Mountain Rating: ★★★★★   Summary from Goodreads: 1811, HMS  Deborah Georgana Woodall dreams of freedom—freedom from her past and freedom from her secret. She has been living on her father’s ship for years, disguised as a cabin boy named “George.” But hiding her true self is becoming more difficult, and she yearns to break free of her life on the sea. Lieutenant Dominic Peyton has no time in his life for love, not with his dedication to His Majesty’s Royal Navy claiming his full attention. Determined to prove himself to his new captain, he strives to be an exemplary officer and leader. When he sees the captain’s cabin boy being harassed by the crew, he immediately puts a stop to it and takes the boy under his wing. Georgana quickly loses her heart to Dominic’s compassion and care, but needing to maintain her disguise as a cabin boy, she is con...