November Balancing the Books

Inspired by Fantasy Is More Fun and The Geeky Blogger's Book Blog, I decided to start tracking my book expenses this year. I'll do a wrap up post at the end of each month.

I've given myself $10 real money each month to spend on books, whether for myself, as gifts, or blog giveaways. "Real money" being cash from my bank account as opposed to gift cards and store credits. I am counting money spent to ship giveaways and Paperbackswap.com books. Books from my personal shelves, borrowed from the library or a friend, and books received for review do not count against my purchases.

November Challenge Wrap Up

This year I signed up for fewer year long challenges and I'll do more short-term challenges.

November was the annual Ho Ho Ho Read-A-Thon hosted by the Caffeinated Reviewer and The Book Shelfery. It's less than a week long but lots of fun! I exceeded my goal so I was happy.

I'm hosting 4 reading challenges next year as well as participating in several others. See here for more info and sign up links.

Grab a drink, get comfy, and get ready!

Steph Reviews The Plain Choice: A True Story of Choosing to Live an Amish Life by Sherry Gore

Publisher: Zondervan
Source: Purchased
Release Date: August 25, 2015
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe*/OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Raised in a broken family and emotionally overlooked, Sherry Gore grew up without a solid foundation, a prisoner of her own poor choices, and at times without hope. A series of terrible mistakes left her feeling wrecked and alone and a sudden tragedy threw Sherry into an emotional tailspin too powerful to escape.

Sherry hangs by a thread, unable to see how she can go on living, until it happens: on a morning of no particular significance, she walks into a church and BAM the truth of Jesus’ forgiving love shatters her world and cleaves her life in two: She goes to bed stunned; she wakes up a Christian.

Unwilling to return to the darkness of her former life, Sherry attacks her faith head on. Soon the life Sherry Gore remakes for herself and her children as she seeks to follow the teachings of the Bible features head coverings, simple dress, and a focus on Jesus Christ. Only then does she realize, in a fit of excitement, that there are others like her. They are called Amish and Mennonite, and she realizes she has found her people.

The plain choice that Sherry makes is not easy – and life still brings unexpected pain and heartache - but it changes everything for her, as she becomes one of the few people on earth to have successfully joined the Amish from the outside.

She has found her place. And her story proves that one can return from the darkest depths to the purest light with the power of God.

INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY - BURNING BRIGHT: Four Chanukah Love Stories by Megan Hart, Jennifer Gracen, KK Hendin and Stacey Agdern

It's the holiday season and Chanukah starts in two more days. While we mostly see Christmas stories this time of year, today I'm delighted to share some Chanukah stories with you. There's an interview with K.K. Hendin and a tour-wide giveaway. Take a break from shopping and preparing for the holidays to experience the joy of Chanukah.

Free Romance Reads from Sourcebooks Casablanca

Sourcebooks Casablanca has a free daily email called Free Romance Reads. They serialize some of their best books so you get a snippet of the story each day in your inbox. Just a few minutes a day of reading and you'll have a read a book, for free! Starting on December 7th they will be serializing a prequel novella to a highly anticipated romantic suspense series that’s coming out in 2016 by debut author Katie Ruggle. The novella, On His Watch, doesn’t come out until January, but if you sign up for the email you can read it before it’s released! Then after On His Watch is finished, they move on to another great title. Important: in order to start getting the emails from the very beginning of On His Watch, you need to sign up before 5 p.m. CT on Friday (12/4). That way you will be in their system so you can start digging in when the first email arrives in your inbox bright and early on Monday morning. Below is more about On His Watch and here is the link to sign up for Free Romance Reads: eepurl.com/bvOR45  On His Watch is the pulse-pounding prequel to the riveting Search & Rescue series by Katie Ruggle. In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder… Ice rescue diver Derek Warner never meant to be a hero. But when two little girls go missing, he’s the first in line to bring them home—even if that means scouring the wilderness with the woman he once loved and lost, Artemis Rey. Artemis has never stopped wanting Derek. Now, racing to find the girls before it’s too late, minutes turn to hours. Night falls. Old flames rekindle. And a danger grows in the darkest wilderness that may be more than even the Search and Rescue brotherhood can hope to face…

Cat Thursday: The Cute, It's Blinding

 Welcome to the weekly meme hosted by The True Book Addict that celebrates cats; their foibles and humorousness and the joy they bring. You can join in by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you made or came across, cat art or share with us pics of your own felines, then post your link up at The True Book Addict.

Aaaawwwww, so sweet. This pic makes me smile every time I see it.

Waiting on Wednesday: Pacific Burn by Barry Lancet

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where bloggers have the chance to spotlight upcoming releases they're anticipating.

I found this author last year and I'm looking forward to the next book, which releases in March 2016.