Christian Shelves

Happy release day to  Ivy Emerson ! 🎉 Borrowed Sunshine  is the second book in the  Hilton Head Island series  and it's available today! I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Weston and Becky in the first book,  Kayak Girl , and getting to know their story in  Borrowed Sunshine . Some of the tropes include: ✅ Grumpy/Sunshine ✅ Enemies to lovers-ish ✅ Complex Characters ✅ Sizzling Chemistry (without the spice) ✅ Dual POV ✅ Gentle Christian Themes ✅ HEA I'm so grateful that I've been able to read this series; it's definitely become one of my favourites from this year! I reviewed  Kayak Girl   last month, and the review for  Borrowed Sunshine  will be forthcoming.

Over the past several months, I have spent way more time on social media than intended or originally envisioned. While it's been a fun journey and I've met amazing new friends and developed a few rusty skills, it's alarming just how many hours my phone tells me I spend on these apps. It's time that I'm more and more recognizing is taking away from the opportunity to be with people in real life, and to read. I'm not going on a hiatus at this point, but I can certainly understand why this is common. It's quite a consuming activity, and for me, easy to get trapped into all the things I think I should be doing. While I didn't really set up guidelines for myself when I first started posting to my Bookstagram account , I have noticed a few things I've tried to do over time so that I can preserve what social sanity remains in my life. It's also not a prescriptive list as it's fairly personalized; however, if there's anything helpful within these

This might be the season of audiobooks, as I meet work deadlines and get ready for December! While I'm more of a visual reader, it's nice to have some books keep me company while typing away 😊 📘 Clean fiction: Home for Christmas by Melissa McClone (Big whoops, this is not Christian fiction like some of the other books from this author. Now I know; this one is very different! 😬) 📗 Christian non-fiction: Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy

Prompted by artificial intelligence becoming much more commonplace, I thought I'd jump in and share my thoughts from the perspective of someone who briefly worked at a technology company, and who has chosen not to knowingly employ AI tools as of yet. Artificial intelligence doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon. In fact, even the most mundane applications are now incorporating this feature into its functionality. It is no longer limited to creative industries or technical industries; even banks are making this available to their customers to use in the name of "budget management." Its reach is unlimited, and its potential likely unparalleled. All we can do is wait and see what advances will be forthcoming and the risks it may have around privacy and data breaches. I'm not the type to get caught up in conspiracy theories or end-of-the-world doom. As a Christian, I hope that I live each day filled with the hope of the Lord and His Holy Spirit to discern what is ha

Happy Friday! I hadn't realized that both my books this week were Christmas-themed until I put this list together 😄 I'm ready for the season although I still haven't put up any decorations. Once the busyness subsides, I hope to put on some Christmas music and enjoy putting up the tree. These books will surely complement that occasion! 📘 Christian fiction: The Christmas Promise by Gabrielle Meyer 📗 Non-fiction: Celebrating A Christ-Centered Christmas: Seven Traditions to Lead Us Closer to the Savior by Emily Belle Freeman (Update: For full disclosure, I had no idea that this was an LDS book, which means I should have done more research before choosing to read it.)

In seeing the proliferation of book boxes that are available online and in sharing about The Baby-Sitters Collectors Club subscription that I had as a child on Instagram , it made me wonder if some of the popularity of these boxes may be harkening back to childhood when we used to receive letters and packages from pen pals. You know, the items other than bills and the junk mail that seems to be so prevalent now. Even after a while, the packages that arrive from online shopping tend to be associated with stress (at least for me), where I am wondering if anything has been damaged inside, whether it'll arrive in time, or any other thoughts that I definitely didn't have when this service wasn't as readily available. Part of it is that I wonder if I've become so blasé about receiving things that the joy and wonder have been taken out. At the end of the day, there really isn't much mystery involved when I know that I'm receiving a certain something, and I—unfortunate

It's Friday already; time flies when you're having fun with a #BookishChallenge ! This weekend is Remembrance Day, so some people will have a long weekend with others receiving a day off in lieu. I'm thankful that it'll be a time of reflection and stillness in memory of all the sacrifices that have been made on our behalf. With the weekend coming, I'm also looking forward to slowing down and enjoying the following titles: 📘 Clean fiction:  The Time Rift by David H. Ho and Liwen Y. Ho 📗 Christian non-fiction: From Burned Out to Beloved: Soul Care for Wounded Healers by Bethany Dearborn Hiser The Time Rift  is one of the few Liwen Y. Ho books I haven't yet read, and it's co-written with her husband! I can't wait to dive in 😀

Today is I Read Canadian Day! According to the website, I Read Canadian Day is a national celebration of Canadian books for young people, with the goal of elevating the genre and celebrating the breadth and diversity of these books. The goal is to have students reading a Canadian book for 15 minutes today. I thought I'd gather some of the Canadian Christian authors that I have on my bookshelves for the adult version of reading 15 minutes today. Here are some suggestions!   Christian Fiction: 📘 The Best of Intentions: Canadian Crossings #1 by Susan Anne Mason 📘 The Mozart Code by Rachel McMillan 📘 Ashton Park: Danforths of Lancashire #1 by Murray Pura Christian Biographies: 📗 Anywhere, Anytime, Any Cost by A. Jean Barsness 📗 Window of Hope... and Reconcilation by Donald Gingras 📗 Fire Road: The Napalm Girl’s Journey through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace by Kim Phuc Phan Thi Christian Non-Fiction: 📗 God in My Everything: How an Ancient Rhythm Helps

The appearance of characters is a topic that recently came up while I was chatting with another Bookstagrammer regarding how characters are described in books. It's something that I've had to set aside in my mind, knowing that as a visible minority, there are much fewer stories that are told about characters who are not (as in the common parlance) normative. I'm fine with it as I certainly don't expect that authors will suddenly write about characters that look like me as an Asian, especially if they have little experience with the culture. I'd rather that no Asian characters be written into a story rather than one who is badly written, as that makes the book memorable for the wrong reasons. Because I've lived in North America my whole life, I am used to more normative characters and think very little of it when I pick up a book. However, I have noticed that in an attempt to make characters stand out that authors will sometimes pick features that aren't as c

Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church . It's a reminder that global Christians in different parts of the world are likely facing persecution and even martyrdom for their Christian faith. Here are a few books that may help in learning more about their struggles and plight. As one part of the body of Christ hurts, so do the others. If you are interested in learning more, some of these resources come from Voice of the Martyrs . 📗 Jesus Freaks by dc Talk 📗 Live Like a Jesus Freak by dc Talk 📗 Killing Christians: Living the Faith Where It's Not Safe to Believe by Tom Doyle 📗 Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians by Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert, and Nina Shea 📗 Between Two Tigers: Testimonies of Vietnamese Christians compiled by Tom White 📗 Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand 📽 Tortured for Christ 📗 God's Double Agent by Bob Fu 📘 Safely Home by Randy Alcorn 📘 Across the China Sky by C. Hope Flinchbaugh 📘 Daughter of Chin

It's Friday! I'm thankful that with daylight saving time, we can fall back an hour, although I wonder if I'll just use that to stay up late and read 😊 I'm also looking forward to revisiting the town of Freedom, Colorado as it's been a while since I've spent time with the Heroes of Freedom Ridge ! 📘 Christian fiction: Guarded by the Hero by Mandi Blake 📗 Christian non-fiction: Winsome Conviction by Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Langer

Here's the cover of All Too Reel by Nicole Lam , a closed door enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience romcom! Book Synopsis One minute, I'm an aspiring actress, moonlighting as an overworked barista. The next minute, I'm spilling an iced Americano on one of the world's most eligible — not to mention royal — bachelors. I'm convinced he's going to make a scene and get me fired, but instead, Prince Kostas Alexopoulos Vasileiou of Dorapolis drops to one knee and asks me to be his wife. That is, his fake wife for a year, so he can inherit land and money from his grandmother's trust fund. He offers me a diamond ring, five million dollars, and free publicity to help get my acting career off the ground, in exchange for marrying him. How can I resist? The only problem is, I'm not sure this is an acting job I can pull off. Because while his offer is enticing, this Prince Charming is way more alluring. The longer our charade goes on, the more I wonder if our a

I've enjoyed getting to share and re-read some of my favourite books these past weeks, especially as I'm being introduced to a lot of new authors. Going back and forth has been quite fun, and I have to admit that it's made me more cognizant of the similarities and differences in Christian fiction between then and now. One of my favourite books from the aughts is Seaside Letters by Denise Hunter, which has a gorgeous cover (that pink!) and an even dreamier premise. Book Synopsis No matter where you are or how long until we can be together, I'll keep searching for you. —Tucker Sabrina never intended to fall in love with Tucker McCabe, the man she serves coffee to every morning at a Nantucket café—especially since he's unwittingly tied to a past she deeply regrets. A past that is so riddled with mistakes, it has separated her from God. But she's fallen hard and isn't sure how long she can hide her feelings. When Tucker learns Sabrina is the research assistant

One of the benefits of being on Bookstagram has been discovering new authors and books. In this case, I got to read a book by two  new-to-me authors! Instead of a non-fiction book review today, I wanted to share The Bookish Bandit  by Erica Dansereau and Britt Howard as it felt like reading a biography, especially of Charlie's parents and their missionary work. Many thanks to the authors for providing a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Book Synopsis “Steal my heart, not my pages.” Aspiring author Charlie Blaire never expected to stumble across her own novel at her favorite bookstore. Except this novel isn’t hers. Published under someone else’s name, the book she wrote to cope with the loss of her missionary parents is already topping charts. Irate, confused, and determined to regain the rights to her book, Charlie leaves her idyllic life in the countryside of Vermont to set things straight in The Big Apple. When she crashes into a charming stranger who off