ReMo Wrap-Up {Giveaway Winners}

Last month was the second annual Read More "ReMo" Challenge, hosted by a few friends and myself over on Goodreads.

If you want alerts as to when the next ReMo Challenge will be, head on over to this Goodreads page to join the group. Be sure to turn on notifications for the group, so you'll be alerted to updates right when they happen. Then you'll be in the know!

ReMo By the Numbers

18 - The number of participants.

Two of these were ladies from Canada. Yes, international friends are welcome to participate each year, though the prizes might not be able to be mailed internationally. Each year's prize packs will have their own set of rules.

3 - The number of prize pack winners.

Congratulations to our grand prize winner - Beth - and our second and third prize winners - Mikayla and Selah. Their prize packs included books, and these will be mailed out as soon as I have all the books in hand. My pick-up plans got delayed, but thankfully, all the winners understand this and are exhibiting great patience.

221 - The total number of books read.

Y'all, this number blows me away! We read a TON of books in a single month. Congratulations to us all! This averages out to be over twelve books per participant. Our top-three busiest readers were Esther (33 books), Hannah (30 books), and Abigail Harris (28 books). When I was tallying up everyone's totals for the month, I was so impressed by all the books we managed to squeeze into only twenty-nine days. So proud of us!

Characters Who... Have Children

November always reminds me of family.

The whole holiday time of the year does, really. Between buying and wrapping Christmas presents and planning for what I'll make for Thanksgiving, my family members are constantly on my mind and in my prayers. While I think I'm nearly done with Christmas shopping already, I'm nowhere near ready to bake yet. I know I'm making my practically famous (non-alcoholic) eggnog and always-requested sweet potato casserole. I just haven't figured out what my other one or two dishes will be. I like to try new recipes some years, while others are better for tried-and-true things. It's a little hard to tell yet which type of year this is.

If you have any simple holiday recipes, please feel free to share in the comments section.

The reading challenge for November will be in the tradition of family. Any book in which a character has children will count. It can be a children's book or a grown-up book, nonfiction or make-believe. The person who has the children could be a daddy or a mommy. It could be a grandparent raising their grandchildren. It could be a foster parent or surrogate parent.

Back to School Reading Challenge

Another school year has begun.

Do you have kids in school?

My tutoring work begins tomorrow (funny, I don't currently have students on Mondays, which is really odd for me), and I'm looking forward to it. My house is nearly too quiet with no youthful voices chirping about adventures and friends and dreams. To be able to help these amazing children with their studies and learning how to maneuver through life is a complete blessing and a wonderful challenge. I consider myself blessed each year I have the privilege to work in this capacity.

In thinking about work and school and education, I thought it would be fun to have a reading challenge inspired by these things. So how about...

Those Who've Come Before

by Andrea Renee Cox

As I'm working on the Bible study God's called me to pen, I've been thinking about those studies I've worked through and appreciated that were written by other authors. I only got into Bible studies and nonfiction books about biblical topics a few years ago. While I've collected enough of them to keep me busy for a decade, I've only read through a a handful or so in the last three or four years.

Stay tuned to the end of this article. I'll be asking for your advice!

Here are some of the books that have made a positive impact on me. They are written by authors I admire, ones I've gleaned knowledge from as I've read their books. It is my hope that the Bible study I'm working on will someday make a similar impact on the hearts and lives of my fellow nonfiction readers.