Anne Faye

Browsing my local library recently, I came across two books that would make great gifts for the book lover in your life.  Improbable Libraries: A Visual Journey to the World’s Most Unusual Libraries by Alex Johnson explores libraries that don’t fit one’s usual mental picture of “library”. Johnson, the son of two librarians, was clearly raised with a love of books. In Improbable Libraries, he showcases libraries found in airports, tents, subway stations, taxes, and hotels. He highlights libraries in rural locations that travel via mules, donkeys, camels, and elephants. There is also a section on the Little Free Library movement as well as on home libraries. Improbable Libraries is a delight to explore and will challenge your thinking on what a library can be. Remarkable Books: The World’s Most Beautiful and Historic Works is a feast for the eyes. Using a chronological format, it traces the history of influential books from 3000 BCE to today. This oversized book...

Those of us of a certain age can recall the joy of flipping through the cards of a library card catalog. A few years back, I walked into a rural library and was ecstatic to find that they still had one! Yes, a card catalog may be “prehistoric Google” as the internet meme states and I certainly wouldn’t want to trade the ease with which I can search for and request a book via my computer. However, card catalogs served a useful purpose for a century.   The Card Catalog: Books, Cards, and Literary Treasures by the Library of Congress is a delight for anyone who enjoys history, literature, or libraries. It traces the history of how books were organized in libraries (going all the way back to the Library at Alexandria); how the card catalog was ultimately developed; how technology impacted it; and how it has evolved into the computer systems we use today. Anyone reading this book will gain a whole new appreciation for those index cards and the people whose job it was to creat...

Like most people, I have never given the dictionary much thought. It’s a useful tool that I appreciate having, but I never considered that there are people whose job it is to write all those definitions. In her new book, Word by Word , Kory Stamper, lexicographer at Merriam-Webster (located in my hometown of Springfield, MA), takes you behind the scenes of what actually goes into creating a dictionary.  She states, the dictionary “is a human document, constantly being compiled, proofread, and updated by actual, living awkward people. In that unassuming brick building in Springfield, there are a couple dozen people who spend their workweek doing nothing but making dictionaries – sifting the language, categorizing it, describing it, alphabetizing it.” Word by Word is awesome for anyone who loves the English language. Stamper’s writing style is incredibly engaging with a healthy dose of humor. This book was both fascinating and laugh-out-loud funny.   There is a h...

I recently read Scribbling in the Sand by Michael Card. The book offers a reflection on creativity in terms of faith Card begins with the Gospel story of Jesus scribbling in the sand. A woman had been accused of adultery. The Pharisees had brought her to Jesus as part of a trick to find out what he would do. Instead of saying anything, Jesus bent down and wrote in the sand. Once he finished writing, he stood up and stated "Whoever is without sin, let him cast the first stone." We have no idea what Jesus wrote and it really doesn't matter. What Jesus did that morning created a space in tome that allowed the angry mob first to cool down, then to hear his word, and finally to think about it . . . It made time stand still. . . .Jesus' action created a frame around the silence - the kind of silence in which God speaks to the heart. In short, it was a supreme act of creativity. It was art. . . . All the art ever done in his name since that day cannot hope to be more...

Reader's Favorite just posted a 5 Star Review of Sunflowers in a Hurricane. Sunflowers in a Hurricane by Anne M Faye is a tender and sensitive story that is also heart wrenching and emotional. George and Dottie share a powerful love that is cut short when Dottie dies in childbirth. George is left alone to raise his daughter, Katherine, if he can. As time goes on, we find George alone, but he befriends his new neighbor, Ruth. Ruth is a thirteen-year-old girl and has moved into her grandma's house with her mother, Cheryl. Cheryl has her own story of a broken heart and a life changed by circumstances. She and Ruth have returned to put things in order after Cheryl's mother's death. Returning to Meadowbrook was never in Cheryl's plans, but now she is here to deal with the present while trying to avoid the past. As George and Ruth become closer and their lives intertwine, the unusual friendship may be able to heal new and old wounds for all three of them....

I recently read the New York Times Bestseller, The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett. This is an incredible debut novel. This is definitely a secular novel, but the prose was amazing and the story line kept you thinking. I didn't want to put this one down. It tells the story of Eva and Jim throughout their lives. It actually tells the story three different ways (which if you have a poor memory like me can be confusing - I had to keep going back to remind myself what was going on in that particular version). The only thing that happened for certain was that they met in college and that there is a lasting connection between them. After that, their lives took radically different paths depending on what they chose to do next, although their lives do intersect in various places. Like life itself, all three versions had their joys and pains, but it made me think about the choices we make in life and how seemingly inconsequential decisions as well as the bigger choices can have long...

Would you like to read a free copy of the new Catholic Fiction Sunflowers in a Hurricane in exchange for your honest review on your blog, Amazon, and/or Goodreads? Please send an email to AnneMFaye@gmail.com. I'm happy to send you a .pdf, Kindle version, or hard copy. Thank you! "Sunflowers in a Hurricane is a wholesome and inspiring novel, one that I highly recommend for teens and adults alike." - Laura Pearl, author of Finding Grace and Erin's Ring George Ferguson, an elderly gentleman, still misses his beloved wife who died in childbirth many years before. Cheryl Callahan is an angry single mother who left her home and her faith after high school and never looked back. Her teenage daughter Ruth chafes under her mother’s rules and resents having to travel from Ohio to Massachusetts to bury a grandmother she didn’t even know. When Cheryl and Ruth move next door to George, the older man and young girl form an unlikely friendship as all three...

I have a pile of books to read for my other writing life - books to review and books to judge, yet I took the time this past two weekends to indulge in The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald which came in off my hold list at the library. I had seen it advertised and decided to request it. So many times when that is the case, I am disappointed. I read several chapters in the book and then put it away to return. But this one I thoroughly enjoyed. Originally published in Sweden, it features a young Swedish woman named Sara who has been carrying on a correspondence with Amy, an older woman from Broken Wheel, Iowa. When Sara loses her job due to the bookstore where she worked closing, she takes Amy up on her offer to come visit her for a couple months in small-town America. Unfortunately, when Sara arrives, she discovers that Amy has just died. The people of the town tell her to stay in Amy's house because that is what Amy would have wanted. Sara, and her love of ...

Libraries (Roads Reflections) is a visual delight for anyone who loves libraries. An oversized coffee table book, it contains few words - only a paragraph about each library rendered in several languages, but the incredible photos do a great deal of talking. Libraries from around the world from times medieval to modern are featured, with an emphasis on the unique architecture of each one. One can't help but wish it were possible to step into the pages and actually visit these beautiful locations. It definitely could prompt a bibliophile to add to one's list of dream places to visit in a lifetime.

Dancing on the Head of a Pen: The Practice of a Writing Life by Robert Benson Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2014 Robert Benson, who writes and speaks about the practice of faith and spirituality and the art and craft of writing, has been writing for over forty years and has authored nearly twenty books. As such, he has something valuable to say about the art and craft of writing and has shared his accumulated wisdom in “Dancing on the Head of a Pen.” Benson freely admits that he is only sharing what works for him in his writing journey and has a humility and honesty that is refreshing in a world where people are often shouting “Look at me and the wonderful things that I have done!” No doubt individual writers will take or leave different parts of his method and advice, but there is something in these pages that will benefit every writer.  Here are just a couple words of wisdom I valued from this book. There are many more – pick up a copy and read it f...

I finished reading The Heroes of Olympus - Book Three: Mark of Athena today. My eleven-year-old son had asked me to read it, and given the number of books I ask him to read, it's only fair that he gets to pick one for me once in a while. Rick Riordan is a great writer who has made reading and learning about the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian gods cool and I've read several of his books, but his books really aren't my preferred genre. Still, I came across the following passage and reading the whole book was worth it! For the record, I don't hate e-books. I understand their usefulness and why some prefer them. Still, I do prefer to read an actual book. "That is not a book," Achelous insisted. "He gave you that just to get under my skin, didn't he? He knows I hate those things." "You hate . . . .books?" Piper asked. "Bah!" Achelous's face flushed, turning his blue skin eggplant purple. "That's not a book."...