Tag: Book Reviews

Fall 2025 is Here at Books by Rose

October 2, 2025 / rosieadmin / 8 Comments

Welcome October! What a beautiful month you are here in the Midwest USA!

In This Blog You’ll Find…

*Goodreads Challenge 2025

*A Craft I’m Making

*Fall Favorite Recipe

*Special Guest at “The Art Zone at Books by Rose.” (Coming Soon!)

Let’s get started…

*Goodreads Challenge 2025

My 5 Star Reviews

“Insolitam Drive,” by F Wallers

A time travel story, “Insolitam Drive,” by F Wallers

Cassidy wrapped up seventh grade at 13, and wow, everything’s shifting. Her parents have divorced, and now her mom is moving her and her brother to a whole new town. She misses her best friend from her old home and feels the lost connection with her. Soon, Cassidy befriends a new boy in her new neighborhood named Ethan.

Things start to heat up for Cassidy when she decides to get some various jobs to keep her busy. But as she goes from house to house, she noticed that something seems off in each place. Little details just don’t add up. As Cassidy and Ethan spend more time together, they stumble upon a mystery that’s messing with time.

After Cassidy and Ethan visit the homes in their neighborhood, they realize they all have something in common. They are not from this time! They teamed up to figure out what’s going on with the houses. Not only will they solve a few of their questions, Ethan also discovers something even more about his life circumstances. As their friendship grows, so do some unanswered questions.

“The Plain Little Unicorn,” by Jessica D. Adams

“The Underground Toy Society” has a new friend, and oh my, will you love this little one.
“The Plain Little Unicorn” is an adorable book. The illustrations will warm the readers’ hearts as well.
I highly recommend this as a read-aloud for further, meaningful discussions.
Congrats to Jessica D. Adams and her daughter, Janelle, for another great installment.

“Painting Cats,” by Terry Runyan

If you’re a cat lover and love to paint, “Painting Cats,” by Terry Runyan is the purr-fect book for you!

Whether you’re just starting with watercolors or have been at it for a while, this guide takes you from a simple blob of paint to creating stunning portraits of your furry pals. It’s all about having fun and letting your creativity flow, using some cool art therapy tricks to keep things light and enjoyable!

I enjoyed the different options she shared and look forward to adding them to my art pages.

“My Three Lives,” by Tina Cole

I’m familiar with Tina Cole mainly through the TV show, “My Three Sons,” but have known about her as a part of “The King Sisters.”

“My Three Lives” walks readers through Tina Cole’s life. From the beginning of her career with her family, to her TV shows, all the way to the life she is living now.

I enjoyed this candid and truthful look at her cultivated and rich artistic legacy.

A Craft I’m Making

I wish I could show you a close-up of this craft so you’d know what it is, but it’s far from finished. I promise I’ll show you some of it when it’s done and explain a lot more about it. Let’s just say for now, it’s a combination of two of my favorite things… art and reading. I’m in love with this concept, and I hope it will inspire others out there, too.

Fall Favorite Recipe

I have shared this recipe in the past. It’s worth sharing again as it’s a go-to treat for fall parties and gatherings. It does contain nuts, so please add a note for those who have nut allergies.

The only thing you don’t see in this image is “Candy Corn.” Of course, that’s optional. Add as many peanuts, raisins, and M&Ms as you like.

*Special Guest at “The Art Zone at Books by Rose.”

I will be back this month to share a special guest who I have featured before. This time she’ll share some of her “Fall Projects” with us.

I want to make she gets her own special spotlight. Watch for a post coming soon at, “In The Art Zone at Books by Rose.”

That’s all I have for now. I hope you all have a “fall-static” October!

Write us a note and tell us what you are up to these days. Projects? October Events?

As always,

Happy Reading!

Rosie

PS. If you missed my September blog news, click here. 🙂 ►September, School, Bookish News and More at Books by Rose

How To Celebrate National Book Lovers Day August 2023

August 3, 2023 / rosieadmin / 11 Comments

August 09, 2023 is National Book Lovers Day!

Let’s Talk About Books!

I can never pass up a chance to talk about books.

With the Goodreads Challenge I’ve been blogging about in my ► past posts.

To see all the books I’ve read and reviewed so far this year, go straight to my ► Goodreads Challenge 2023.

The summer months have slowed my reading down as we are spending more time outdoors. We’ve been on a few trips, but instead of reading, I’ve been drawing. That news is for another day, though.

I’ve checked out more books at our local library than I read. Two large novels were sent back. They were not at all my “cup of tea” but that’s okay. No offense to those authors, we can’t expect to connect with every book we pick up, right?

The books I did manage to read so far this past month are:

“Taste of Home All-American Cookbook: 370 Ways to Savor the Flavors of the USA, “by Taste of Home

For years, I subscribed to the “Taste of Home” magazine. So, when I saw this book at the library, I grabbed it up. I’m so glad I did!

“Taste of Home All-American Cookbook: 370 Ways to Savor the Flavors of the USA” is a great cookbook. I enjoyed all the small back stories from those who submitted recipes. This book would be a helpful edition to have on hand for everyday meals to large crowds, picnics and so much more.

“Kitty Confidential,” by Molly Fitz

Pet Whisperer P.I. #1 “Kitty Confidential,” by Molly Fitz was an engaging book and kept me on my toes on, “who done it?” If you like pets, in this case, cats, you will enjoy this one.
I’m glad I found author Molly Fitz. Her writing is great, humorous and I have added her books to my “to read” list.

Now For Some Really Big News!

The proof to my fourteenth is on it’s way!! I’m so excited to see what it looks like.

I want to thank all my Beta Readers for looking it over. I appreciate you all!

Hopefully if all goes as planned, I’ll release it this fall. I’ll keep you posted.

What Are Your August Plans?

Are you getting in your last days of summer traveling?

Are you busy getting your kids ready for back to school?

Don’t forget to tell how you will spend Book Lovers Day 2023 and what you have been reading.

We’d loved to hear from you. Leave us a note in the comment section. Always feel free to sign up to my “Books by Rose” site for more new to come, too!

As always,

Happy Reading!

Rosie

How to Find Time to Read

April 7, 2023 / rosieadmin / 6 Comments

In this Blog You’ll Find:

*Goodreads Challenge 2023

*Four Tips to Finding Time to Read

*What’s New at Books by Rose

*Books I’ve Read in March and Reviews

Goodreads Challenge

Since I’ve started the Goodreads reading challenge in January 2023, many have asked me how I find the time to read.

I plan to read fifty books in 2023. I’ve always read a lot, but, I haven’t always kept track of those titles. I wish I had now.

Being a children’s author and illustrator, children’s books are always welcomed on my to-read list. I did find out, books under 100 pages are not applicable under the reading challenge. Once you read a book and review it, it automatically goes into your reading challenge shelf. I have since taken those books out, but they still remain on my shelves of my, “read” list and I have reviewed them.

Here are four tips I found helpful for getting those titles read.

My Favorite Reading Time

One of my favorite times to read is in the morning with my first cup of coffee.

My mind is fresh. If I’m reading a nonfiction book, I’m more apt to learn about what I’m reading. As you’ll see, I have some nonfiction books and more, on my list from Goodreads at the bottom of this post.

Find your favorite time to read and enjoy.

Morning Reading — Image: Pexels – Vincenzo Malagoli

Appointments

If I know I have an appointment, I always take a book along. Kindle and audio books are great options for this, as well.

Read while you wait for an appointment — Have a book handy for appointments

Keep Books Close By

I keep a stack of my books handy to grab at any given time.

One can even get a few pages read waiting for dinner to be cooked.

If I know we are going somewhere, instead of getting involved in a big task, I take that time to get in a few more pages to read.

Don’t Forget to Read Cookbooks

I love cookbooks, but the one’s I love the most are ones filled with stories and how recipes came about. You can learn a lot of history through stories shared in cookbooks.

Before I get to those books I’ve read, I need to tell you about this…

What’s New at Books by Rose

My 13th book is live and we are having a wonderful book launch for 13 days. It’s so much fun! I appreciate all the wonderful people stopping by with their amazing comments. We have close to 175 names so far entered for prizes and we will have 13 winners. Don’t forget to stop by my “Books by Rose” Facebook page to check it out. Launch ends on the 12th of April and winners picked on the 13th of April!

Welcome, Big E’s Trick to Fishing

If you are unable to visit my book launch, you can take a look at Big E’s Picture Book here.

Amazon:

► Paperback – (Size 7X 10, 32 pages)

► Kindle

💚 Books I’ve Read in March and Reviews 💚

Drawing on The Dominant Eye: Decoding the Way We Perceive, Create, and Learn, by Betty Edwards.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Drawing on The Dominant Eye: Decoding the Way We Perceive, Create, and Learn,” by Betty Edwards was very interesting.
If you studied art and science in high school or college, much of the information in this book will come back to you.
Once learning the fundamentals on how our brains work, one can apply the drawing lessons towards the end of the book.”

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive Edition by Betty Edwards.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (I found this one so fascinating, too!)

“Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive Edition” by, Betty Edwards was an interesting book in which I learned a lot. This edition was written in 2012 and had been updated many times. Watch for the updated version.

Edwards explains, drawing is much like learning the ABC’s and learning to read. The more you practice, the better you will get. This goes for most tasks, though. If you are aware of the left/right brain theories, different parts of our brains are what helps us do the things we do in everyday life.

She suggests to forget the noisy chatter in your mind and draw what you see. Pay attention to negative space, positive forms, angles, proportions and so much more.
Once the techniques in his book are applied with the important information given, most will find themselves a much better artist.”

Billy Miller Makes a Wish by, Kevin Henkes

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Readers 6-8 years old will enjoy the real life events of Billy Miller written by Kevin Henkes. “Billy Makes a Wish” is a story that will engage young readers. A perfect read aloud for further discussions on various topics.” ***(A bit of a spoiler alert. Since death may be a sensitive subject for young readers, caretakers may want to read this book first.)***

The Best is Yet to Come by Debbie Macomber

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“I’ve read quite a few of author Debbie Macomber books and her 2022 release, “The Best Is Yet to Come,” did not disappoint.
Although this is an adult romance book, I think it’s safe to add it as an YA book, as well. The twists and turns were interesting and the outcome of the plot towards the high school issue was a surprise.
Readers will also enjoy this clean romance as Cade and Hope move through their relationship throughout the story.”

Starfish by Lisa Fipps

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Starfish,” By Lisa Fipps is an easy to read free-verse novel.

“It may be a painful subject for some, but the level of content is one that should be considered for discussion among readers.
I was so saddened by the mother’s take on her daughter’s weight. Thank goodness she had her father, a few friends and, of course her, therapist on her side.
Bullying is the strong subject here and should not be taken lightly.”

101 Lasagnas & Other Layered Casseroles by, Julia Rutland

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“If you like the concept of layered meals like Lasagna, you will enjoy this book by, Julia Rutland. “101 Lasagnas & Other Layered Casseroles,” is filled with a variety of options. I especially liked the non-tomato based recipes. The quick and easy instructions will please even the first time cook.”

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! Simple, Scrumptious Recipes for Crazy Busy Lives by, Ree Drummond

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“I enjoyed Ree Drumond’s easy to follow cookbook, “The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! Simple, Scrumptious Recipes for Crazy Busy Lives.”
There are step by step photos with instructions to go along with each recipe.
She has great stories about living on a ranch with her family and animals.
I loved the photographs, as well.
A perfect cookbook to refer to time and time again.”

What’s To Come…

I’m halfway through illustrating another Picture Book. I hope to get back to it in May. You all will enjoy this helpful, funny story for young readers. Okay, I’d better go before I say anymore. Excited for this next one, too! 😃😊

That’s all for this month. I hope you all have a wonderful April.

Let us know what has been keeping you busy. Any new projects? We’d love to hear from you.

As always,

Happy Reading!

Rosie