Gina Rae Mitchell

Friday Finds 1 October 2021

Hello and welcome to the Friday Finds 1 October 2021 edition.

Life is a little smoother this week. I visited the Dr, got some antibiotics for a sinus infection, had a negative covid test, and finished all the canning from the garden. The only things left out there are fall onions, radishes, and turnips.

I am not usually much of an early holiday shopper. However, in light of the US mail slowdown and various delays and shortages, I’m making an effort to think ahead. I ordered my first Christmas gift this week! Probably the earliest I’ve ever started. Are you an early shopper or do you need to wait for the season to begin your shopping?

Deborah Jean Miller is my author of the week! I previously reviewed her book, The Essence of Shade. 

You can find her front & center in my Bookshop this week.

 

Let’s move on to the Friday Finds 1 October 2021  I hope you enjoy them. Be sure to leave a comment with your favorite from this week. Let’s chat about what you would like to see in the upcoming months here in the Friday Finds.

Friday Finds 1 October 2021 –  Books

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See, perhaps the most bestselling and beloved literary fiction of our time, comes the highly anticipated Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Set in Constantinople in the fifteenth century, in a small town in present-day Idaho, and on an interstellar ship decades from now, Anthony Doerr’s gorgeous third novel is a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story about children on the cusp of adulthood in worlds in peril, who find resilience, hope—and a book. In Cloud Cuckoo Land, Doerr has created a magnificent tapestry of times and places that reflects our vast interconnectedness—with other species, with each other, with those who lived before us, and with those who will be here after we’re gone.

Thirteen-year-old Anna, an orphan, lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople in a house of women who make their living embroidering the robes of priests. Restless, insatiably curious, Anna learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds a book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. This she reads to her ailing sister as the walls of the only place she has known are bombarded in the great siege of Constantinople. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, miles from home, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the invading army. His path and Anna’s will cross.

Five hundred years later, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno, who learned Greek as a prisoner of war, rehearses five children in a play adaptation of Aethon’s story, preserved against all odds through centuries. Tucked among the library shelves is a bomb, planted by a troubled, idealistic teenager, Seymour. This is another siege. And in a not-so-distant future, on the interstellar ship Argos, Konstance is alone in a vault, copying on scraps of sacking the story of Aethon, told to her by her father. She has never set foot on our planet.

Like Marie-Laure and Werner in All the Light We Cannot See, Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance are dreamers and outsiders who find resourcefulness and hope in the midst of gravest danger. Their lives are gloriously intertwined. Doerr’s dazzling imagination transports us to worlds so dramatic and immersive that we forget, for a time, our own. Dedicated to “the librarians then, now, and in the years to come,” Cloud Cuckoo Land is a beautiful and redemptive novel about stewardship—of the book, of the Earth, of the human heart.

A fellow book blogger brought this book to my attention with her review on Reading Ladies Book Club. Thank you, Carol!

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(releases today)

The Keeper of Happy Endings by Barbara Davis

An enchanting novel about fate, second chances, and hope, lost and found, by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Last of the Moon Girls.

Soline Roussel is well-schooled in the business of happy endings. For generations, her family has kept an exclusive bridal salon in Paris, where magic is worked with needle and thread. It’s said that the bride who wears a Roussel gown is guaranteed a lifetime of joy. But devastating losses during World War II leave Soline’s world and heart in ruins and her faith in love shaken. She boxes up her memories, stowing them away, along with her broken dreams, determined to forget.

Decades later, while coping with her own tragic loss, aspiring gallery owner Rory Grant leases Soline’s old property and discovers a box containing letters and a vintage wedding dress, never worn. When Rory returns the mementos, an unlikely friendship develops, and eerie parallels in Rory’s and Soline’s lives begin to surface. It’s clear that they were destined to meet—and that Rory may hold the key to righting a forty-year wrong and opening the door to shared healing and, perhaps, a little magic.

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Paint By Sticker – Halloween

Paint a world of spooky fun with stickers!

Step 1: Find the sticker
Step 2: Peel the sticker
Step 3: Place the sticker
…and watch your Halloween painting come to life!

Includes everything you need to create ten sticker paintings on study card stock. Plus, all the pages are perforated—making it easy to tear out each finished work to frame and share!

Friday Finds 1 October 2021 –  Gifts

This is a new section I’m starting since I get so many requests for gift suggestions. Naturally, I think books make the best gifts, but I do realize you might be looking for other ideas this time of year.

(Hot ticket item…who knew?)

Compact Countertop Ice Maker Machine with Water Dispenser, Produces 36 lbs Ice in 24 Hours, LED Display

• Highly Efficient Ice Production – Countertop ice maker with a scoop, Makes up to 36 lb of small or large bullet-shaped ice cubes per day and efficiently make 9 ice cubes in as little as 6 minutes
• Portable and Compact – Coollife ice cube maker size is 10” x 15.5” x 14.5”, perfect for home parties, RVs, camping vacations, and boat trips
• Best Design-This multi-functional ice machine adopts a unique design combining ice maker and water dispenser into one machine and can meet a variety of ice making needs and water cooling, such as putting juice or other beverages into ice cubes. It is convenient and lets you enjoy delicious iced food and water at any time.
• Little Noise – Our ice maker is equipped with the most advanced refrigeration technology, including a quiet compressor that takes care of the cooling so that you can enjoy a fresh batch of ice without bearing too much noise.
• Recycling and Waste-free – Any unused ice will melt back into the reservoir and be recycled into freshwater waste-free. If the ice-making machine have any problem, We provide one year warranty and a 30-day return policy

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Echo Show 8

• Alexa can show you even more – 8” HD touchscreen, adaptive color, and stereo speakers bring entertainment to life. Make video calls with a 13 MP camera that uses auto-framing to keep you centered.
• Stay in frame – Make video calls with a new camera that frames and centers automatically. Simply ask Alexa to call your contacts.
• Make life easier at home – Glance at your calendars and reminders. Use your voice to set timers, update lists, and see news or traffic updates.
• Manage your smart home – Look in when you’re away with the built-in camera. Control compatible devices like cameras, lights, and more using the interactive display, your voice, or your motion.
• Be entertained – Enjoy TV shows and movies in HD and stereo with Prime Video, Netflix, and more. Or ask Alexa to stream Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify.
• Put your memories on display – Use Amazon Photos to turn your home screen into a digital frame. Adaptive color helps your favorite photos look great in any light.
• Designed to protect your privacy – Amazon is not in the business of selling your personal information to others. Built with multiple layers of privacy controls including a mic/camera off button and a built-in camera shutter.

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Friday Friday Finds 1 October 2021 – Blog Roundup

Here are the books I reviewed the past week.

T. Ball and the Rise of the Worldspinners by Stephen Moore | Review – $10 Giveaway

100 Ways in 100 Days to Teach Your Baby Maths by Emma Smith | Publication Day Push & Review

Autumn Dreams at Mermaids Point (Mermaids Point #2) by Sarah Bennett | Review

Penniless Hearts by Eve Gaal | Lost Compass Love #1 | Review

These are my spotlight posts from the past week.

Dread Watch by Jared Agard | Mega Giveaways ($10 GC, Kindle Paperwhite, AND a professional critique from Literary Agent Colleen Oefelein

Final Strike by Vanessa M. Knight | Spotlight – $20 Giveaway – Excerpt

Grace Under Siege: Not a Love Story by René Voland | Author Interview-Spotlight-Giveaway

Pixies in the Mist by Rasta Musick | $25 Giveaway

Friday Finds 1 October 2021 – Recipes

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image & recipe from Beauty & the Foodie

Easy Keto Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

 

Friday Finds 1 October 2021 – Creative Project

Halloween Snow Globe DIY kit

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That wraps up the Friday Finds 1 October 2021 edition. Be sure you scroll down to reply and let me know your favorite find this week and I’m open to suggestions for things you are interested in for upcoming issues.

Click the image to check out the sales from small gifts to extravagant luxuries!

I also share many of my reviews on the following websites:

• Lovely Audiobook’s Monthly Link-up (Not limited to audiobooks)
• The Inspire Me Monday Link Party
• Inspire Me Monday with Anita Ojeda
• Grammy’s Grid Unlimited Monthly Link Party
• Esme’s Salon Monthly Link-up