January 2014 Archives

Bits of Beauty

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Melissa Fischer

Bits of beauty around my home during a crispy cold week.

Artist's Journal Workshop (Cathy Johnson)
The Art of Field Sketching (Clare Walker Leslie)
Creating Nature in Watercolor (Cathy Johnson)
Sketching Your Favorite Subjects in Pen & Ink (Claudia Nice)
The Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature (Cathy Johnson)
The Sierra Club Guide to Painting in Nature (Cathy Johnson)
Drawing Landscapes in Pencil (Ferdinand Petrie)
The Magical Realm of Sallie Middleton (Sallie Ellington Middleton)
The Heart of the Artist (Rory Noland)
Sumi-e: The Art of Japanese Ink Painting (Shozo Sato)
Vincent Van Gogh: His Spiritual Vision in Life and Art (Carol Berry) *

The Hobbit (J.R. R. Tolkien) **
The Spiritual Life (Evelyn Underhill)*
The Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien) **
Escaping Enemy Mode (Jim Wilder & Ray Woolridge)
Holy Listening (Margaret Guenther) **
The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien) *
Winterdance (Gary Paulsen) *
God in my Everything (Ken Shigamatsu) ***
The Return of the King (J.R. R. Tolkien) ***
On Loving God (Bernard of Clairvaux)***
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating (Elisabeth Tova Bailey)***
By the SCRUFF of My Neck (Dr. Craig W. Fisher) ***
The Wright Brothers (David McCullough)
Intimacy in Prayer (Bernard of Clairvaux; ed. Ephrem Arcement)***
The Girl in His Shadow (Audrey Blake)
The Big Book of Christian Mysticism (Carl McColman)*
The Insanity of God (Nik Ripkin)*
Just Like That (Gary Schmidt)
The Surgeon’s Daughter (Audrey Blake)
Glittering Images (Susan Howatch)
Beginning to Pray (Anthony Bloom) **
Irreversible Damage (Abigail Shrier)**
White Goats and Black Bees (Donald Grant)
At Home in Mitford (Jan Karon)
Keeping the Sabbath Wholly (Marva Dawn) *
Remarkably Bright Creatures (Shelby Van Pelt)
Contemplative Bible Reading (Richard Peace) **
Rest in the Storm (Kirk Byron Jones)
An Irish Country Doctor (Patrick Taylor)
The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek (Kim Michele Richardson) *
An Unhurried Life (Alan Fadling)***
Twelve Years a Slave (Solomon Northup)*
The Rest of God: restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath (Mark Buchanan)*
Rebel with a Cause (Franklin Graham)**
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Frederick Douglass) ***
Living Beyond the Limits (Franklin Graham) *
Black Ice (Lorene Cary)
The Critical Journey (Janet O. Hagberg & Robert A Guelich)
Sensible Shoes (Sharon Garlough Brown)**
Stardust (Neil Gaiman)

An Irish Country Doctor (Patrick Taylor)
Shades of Light (Sharon Garlough Brown)*****
Mistborn: The Hero of Ages (Brandon Sanderson)
Thunder Dog (Michael Hingson & Susy Flory)
Where the Light Fell (Philip Yancy)*****
The Chosen (Chaim Potok)
Call the Midwife (Jennifer Worth)*
Yes Sister, No Sister (Jennifer Craig)
The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb (Eric H. F. Law)
Soul Care in African American Practice (Barbara L. Peacock)
The Personal Librarian (Marie Benedict ( Victoria Christopher Murray)
The Shoes of Van Gogh (Cliff Edwards)
My Name is Asher Lev (Chaim Potok)
The Gift of Asher Lev (Chaim Potok)
Shadows of the Workhouse (Jennifer Worth)
Toughest People to Love (Chuck DeGroat)***
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe)
Grace in Addiction (John Zahl) *
Gentle and Lowly (Dane Ortlund)*
Go in Peace; The Art of Hearing Confessions (Julia Gatta, Martin L. Smith)
Dirt to Soil (Gabe Brown) *
Once Upon a Wardrobe (Patti Callahan)
What They Meant for Evil (Rebecca Deng with Ginger Kolbaba)
The Boy Who Felt Too Much (Lorenz Wagner)
The Way of the Heart (Henri Nouwen)
Feathers of Hope (Sharon Garlough Brown)
Quo Vadis (Henryk Sienkiewicz) ***
Silence and Honey Cakes (Rowan Williams) *
The Magician’s Nephew (C. S. Lewis)***
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
Bold Love (Dan Allender)
The Horse and His Boy (C.S. Lewis)
Prince Caspian (C.S. Lewis)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis)
The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis)
The Only Woman in the Room (Marie Benedict)
A Three Dog Life (Abigail Thomas)
Mansions of the Heart (R. Thomas Ashbrook) **
Making Room in Advent (Bette Dickinson) **
Joan of Arc (Mark Twain) *

The Zookeeper’s Wife (Diane Ackerman)*
Finding God in the Lord of the Rings (Kurt Bruner & Jim Ware)*
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)*
A Wolf Called Wander (Rosanne Parry)
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
Barefoot: A Story of Surrendering to God (Sharon Garlough Brown)
Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon (Jeffrey Kluger) *
Proof of Heaven (Eben Alexander)
The Hamilton Affair (Elizabeth Cobb)
The Pact (Jodi Picoult)
Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth (Thaddeus Williams)**
The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss) *
Girl in Hyacinth Blue (Susan Vreeland)
Can’t Nothing Bring Me Down: Chasing Myself in the Race Against Time (Ida Keeling)
Monster Child: A Memoir (Kristal M. Johnson)
Why Didn’t I Notice Her Before?: a memoir about dying to live (Beth Cramer)
The Wise Man’s Fear (Patrick Rothfuss)
Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer (Eugene Peterson) ***
The Leap of the Deer (Herbert O’Driscoll)*
The Slow Regard of Silent Things (Patrick Rothfuss)
Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America (Firoozeh Dumas)
An Impossible Marriage: What Our Mixed-Orientation Marriage Has Taught Us About Love and the Gospel (Laurie Krieg, Matt Krieg)**
Bear in the Backseat 1: Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Kim DeLozier and Carolyn Jourdan) **
The Magic of Recluse (L.E. Modesett, Jr)
The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected (Nik Ripken, Gregg Lewis)****
Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard-Luck Jay (Julie Zickefoose) *
A Change of Affection: A Gay Man’s Incredible Story of Redemption (Becket Cook) **
have a little faith (Mitch Albom) *
The Order War (L.E. Modesitt)
The Sun is a Compass: A 4,000 Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds (Caroline Van Hemert)
London’s Number One Dog-Walking Agency (Kate MacDougall)
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (Kim Edwards)
Sacred Rhythms (Ruth Haley Barton)*****
The Death of Chaos (L.E. Modesitt)
Out of the Silent Planet (C. S. Lewis) *
Perelandra (C.S. Lewis)
That Hideous Strength (C. S. Lewis) **
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Just As I Am (Cicely Tyson)
Dog Flowers (Danielle Geller)
An Extra Mile (Sharon Garlough Brown)**
Journey to Become (Christine Labrum)**
Girl with a Pearl Earring (Tracy Chevalier)
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (Donald Miller)
Becoming (Michelle Obama)
The Final Empire (Brandon Sanderson)
The Well of Ascension (Brandon Sanderson)
Boundaries (Henry Cloud & John Townsend)**

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling)
Seventh Son (Orson Scott Card)
Red Prophet (Orson Scott Card)
Whispers Through the Trees (Susan Plunkett & Krysteen Seelen)
60 Ways to Lower Your Blood Sugar (Dennis Pollock)
Prentice Alvin (Orson Scott Card)
Alvin Journeyman (Orson Scott Card)
Heartfire (Orson Scott Card)
The Crystal City (Orson Scott Card)
Crafting a Rule of Life (Stephen A. Macchia)
Ender’s game (Orson Scott Card)
Ender’s Shadow (Orson Scott Card)
Twin Stories (Susan Kohl)
A War of Gifts (Orson Scott card)
Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic (Michael McCreary)
God’s Hostage (Andrew Brunson) *
Children of the Fleet (Orson Scott Card)
When Being Jewish was a Crime (Rachmiel Frydland) *
The Beekeeper of Aleppo (Christy Lefteri) *
The Freedom of Self-forgetfulness (Timothy Keller) **
Shadow of the Hegemon (Orson Scott Card)
Like the Willow Tree: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce, Portland, Maine 1918 (Lois Lowry)
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse (Charlie Mackesy)
The Mockingbird Next Door (Marja Mills)
Shadow Puppets (Orson Scott Card)
Orphan Train (Christina Baker Kline)
Shadows in Flight (Orson Scott Card)
41: A Portrait of My Father (George W. Bush)
Lost & Found: One Daughter’s Story of Amazing Grace (Kathryn Slattery))
First Meetings [Polish Boy, Teacher’s Pest, The Investment Counselor] (Orson Scott Card)
Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)
Hiding in the Light (Rifqa Bary)
Xenocide (Orson Scott Card)
A Spark of Light (Jodi Picoult)
The Pressure’s Off (Larry Crabb)
Children of the Mind (Orson Scott Card)
Sensible Shoes (Sharon Garlough Brown) **
The Silmarillion (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Harriet A. Jacobs) *
Sensible Shoes (Sharon Garlough Brown) *
The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Two Steps Forward: A Story of Persevering in Hope (Sharon Garlough Brown) *
Lit (Mary Karr) ***
The Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Defying Jihad (Esther Ahmad) ***
The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien)
A Grief Observed (C. S. Lewis) ***
Raphael: Painter in Rome (Stephanie Storey)
The Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien) **

Hope Was Here (Joan Bauer) *
All Creatures Great and Small (James Herriot)
All Things Bright and Beautiful (James Herriot)
All Things Wise and Wonderful (James Herriot)
Breakfast at Sally's (Richard LeMieux)
Dingo (Claire Saxby)
Gecko (Raymond Huber)
Who's Pushing Your Buttons? (Dr. John Townsend)
The Lord God Made Them All (James Herriot)
Leaving Time (Jodi Picoult)
Alex and Me (Irene M. Pepperberg)
Educated (Tara Westover) **
How to Have That Difficult Conversation You've Been Avoiding (Henry Cloud & John Townsend)
The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father (Jim Wight)
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Peter Scazzero)***
The Autoimmune Solution (Ann Myers, M.D.)
Run With the Horses (Eugene Peterson)
The Honey Bus (Meredith May) *
It's Not My Fault (Henry Cloud and John Townsend) **
Cathedral of the Wild (Boyd Varty)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
Whatever You Do, Don't Run (Peter Allison)
Gypsy Boy (Mikey Walsh)
What difference do it make? (Ron Hall, Denver Moore, & Lynn Vincent)
101 Kruger Tales: Extraordinary Stories from Ordinary Visitors to the Kruger National Park (Jeff Gordon, editor)
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (Kim Michele Richardson) *
Darkness Is My Only Companion (Kathryn Greene-McCreight) **
The Delightful Horror of Family Birding (Eli J. Knapp)
Introverts in the Church (Adam S. McHugh) **
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Joan Aiken)
Unlikely Companiosn (Laurie Hess, DVM)
Vanishing Acts (Jodi Picoult) *
I'll Cross the River (Hope Flinchbaugh) **
Winterdance (Gary Paulson) *
The Bookshop on the Corner (Jenny Colgan)
Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince (J.K. Rowling)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J. K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling)
Befriending Our Desires (Philip Sheldrake)
American Wolf (Nate Blakeslee) *
A Mouse is Miracle Enough (Myna Lockwood)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling)
The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling)
The Gifts of Imperfection (Brene Brown) *
Parallel Journeys (Eleanor H. Ayer) *
The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (John Fox Jr)*
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The Chimes (Charles Dickens)
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)
The Road to Donaguile (Herbert O'Driscoll) **
Death on the Nile (Agatha Christie)
The Secret Adversary (Agatha Christie)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie)
The Boomerang Clue (Agatha Christie)
The Moving Finger (Agatha Christie)
Death Comes as the End (Agatha Christie)
Witness for the Prosecution (Agatha Christie)
Orbiting Jupiter (Gary D. Schmidt)
The Baker's Secret (Stephen P. Kiernan) *
Shrinking the Monster (Norbert Krapf)
The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster)
The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (Agatha Christie)
To Build a Trail: Essays on Curiosity, Love & Wonder (Paul J. Willis)*
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus (Nabeel Qureshi) **
Vincent Van Gogh: His Spiritual Vision in Life and Art (Carol Berry) **
Sanctuary of the Soul (Richard Foster) ***
A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle)
Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
A Wind in the Door (Madeleine L'Engle)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon)
A Piece of the World (Christina Baker Kline) ***
Picture Perfect (Jodi Piccoult) *
A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Madeleine L'Engle)
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora NealeHurston)*
Many Waters (Madeleine L'Engle)
Hidden Figures (Margot Lee Shetterly) ***
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot) **
An Acceptable Time (Madeleine L'Engle) **
How to Be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job (Benet Tvedten)
I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced (Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui)
Father Ten Boom (Corrie Ten Boom)
A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World (Paul E. Miller)
The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls)
The Boys in the Boat (Daniel James Brown) *
Hillbilly Elegy (J.D. Vance) ***
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman) *
Heaven (Randy Alcorn) ***
Rocket Boys (Homer Hickam) *

Preparing for Jesus (Walter Wangerin Jr.) *
The Arabian Nights (ed. by Kate Douglas Wiggin)
Lone Wolf (Jodi Picoult)
The Long Walk (Slavomir Rawicz) *
The Courage to Grieve (Judy Tatelbaum) *
Constructing a New Normal (Helen R. Lambin)
The Jungle Book 1 (Rudyard Kipling)
Inside the Kingdom (Carmen Bin Ladin)
The Jungle Book 2 (Rudyard Kipling)
The Shack (Wm. Paul Young) *
The Dispossessed (Ursula K. leGuin)
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)
Reliving the Passion (Walter Wangerin Jr.)
Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)
Three Cups of Tea (Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin)
Around the World in Eighty Days (Jules Verne)
A Year in the Maine Woods (Bernd Heinrich)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
Grace at this Time (C. W. McPherson) *
Prince Caspian (C. S. Lewis)
Sanctuary of the Soul (Richard J. Foster)
Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis)
The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis)
Hearing God (Dallas Willard)*
The Horse and His Boy (C. S. Lewis)
The Magician's Nephew (C.S. Lewis)
The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis)
A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League (Ron Suskind)*
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austin)
A Different Kind of Daughter (Maria Toorpakai and Katherine Holstein)
On the Edge of Nowhere (James Huntington)*
The Practice of the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence)*
Crossing Antarctica (Will Steger and Jon Bowermaster)
The Princess and the Goblin (George MacDonald)
The Road from Home (David Kherdian)
The Princess and Curdie (George MacDonald)
When God Looked the Other Way (Wesley Adamczyk)
Single, Gay, Christian (Gregory Coles) *
Holes (Louis Sachar)
One Man's Wilderness (Sam Keith)
Merle's Door (Ted Kerasote)
Go Set a Watchman (Harper Lee)
Phantastes (George MacDonald)
Let Dogs Be Dogs (The Monks of New Skete)
The Rule of Benedict: Insight for the Ages (Joan Chittister)

Foundation (Isaac Asimov)
The Lost Crown (Sarah Miller)
The Birds: Our Teachers (John Stott)
Foundation and Empire (Isaac Asimov)
Leota’s Garden (Francine Rivers)
The Case for Christ (Lee Strobel)
Second Foundation (Isaac Asimov)
Songs of the Humpback Whale (Jodi Picoult)
84, Charing Cross Road (Helene Hanff)
Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate (Justin Lee)
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Prayer (Philip Yancey) *
Sarah's Key (Tatiana de Rosnay)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne)
Sacred Companions (David G. Benner) ***
Spiritual Friendship (Wesley Hill)
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)
The Illuminator (Brenda Rickman Vantrease)
24/6 (Matthew Sleeth, MD)
Growing Pains (Paul Villiard)
Sabbath (Wayne Muller) *
The Sabbath (Abraham Joshua Heschel) ***
The Island (Gary Paulsen)
The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-free Living (Amit Sood)
The Summer of the Falcon (Jean Craighead George)
The Hospitality Commands (Alexander Strauch)
Sacred Marriage (Gary Thomas)
Camilla (Madeleine L'Engle)*
Artist's Sketchbook (Cathy Johnson) **
Mudhouse Sabbath (Lauren Winner)*
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)*
Thunder Dog (Michael Hingson)
The Personal Touch (Rachael Crabb)*
The Prince and the Pauper (Mark Twain)
Being Mortal (Atul Gawande) **
Pudd'nhead Wilson (Mark Twain)
Goodbye, Friend (Gary Kowalski)
A Dog's Purpose (W. Bruce Cameron)
Where Your Treasure Is (Eugene Peterson)
The Christmas Letters (Bret Nicholas)

The Joy of Missing Out (Christina Crook) *
It's All Too Much (Peter Walsh) *
A Midnight Clear (Katherine Paterson)
Learning to Walk in the Dark (Barbara Brown Taylor)
The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
The Seven Storey Mountain (Thomas Merton)
Bright Shoots of Everlastingness (Paul J. Willis)
Art for God's Sake (Philip Graham Ryken)
Vanishing Grace (Philip Yancy) ***
My Name is Asher Lev (Chaim Potok)
Surprised by the Voice of God (Jack Deere)
The Moon by Night (Madeleine L'Engle)
Meet the Austins (Madeleine L'Engle)
Old Watercolorists Never Die; They Just Wet Their Sheets (Joe Miller)
Conan Doyle Stories (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
damned if i do (Percival Everett)
How the Light Gets In (Pat Schneider) *
Soul Survivor (Philip Yancey) **
Fire Bringer (David Clement-Davies)
Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Jack Deere)
The Creative Call (Janice Elsheimer)
Pulling Your Paintings Together (Charles Reid)
Becoming a Healing Presence (Albert S. Rossi)
The Leap of the Deer (Herbert O'Driscoll) *
With Christ in the School of Prayer (Andrew Murray) **
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke)
Navigating Early (Clare Vanderpool)
Christ in the Passover (Ceil and Moishe Rosen)
Let's Roll (Lisa Beamer)
Eternity in Their Hearts (Don Richardson)
Peace Child (Don Richardson) *
Stones from the River (Ursula Hegi)