Search This Blog

Syd (On Seeking) Savvy --

On books, theatre, life and Paris Texas. Also, a Blogger for Lone Star Book Blog Tours, and Book Review Columnist for Paris Life *List of Most Popular Posts Follows Each Blog

Pages

Home
Sydney Young - My Stories, My Web Page
Twitter
Instagram
Syd Savvy on Pinterest
Lone Star Literary Life

More…

Posts

September 06, 2017

THESE HEALING HILLS, by Ann H. Gabhart REVIEW Lonestar Book Blogger Tour

Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

4 comments

August 14, 2017

Comfort Plans, by Kimberly Fish, Review Lone Star Book Blogger Tour

Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

NETGALLEY MEMBER PRO READER

NETGALLEY PRO READER

Lone Star Book Blog Tours

Blogger for Lone Star Book Blog Tours

TOP TEN TEXAS BOOKISH DESTINATIONS

Currently Reading

Sydney's bookshelf: currently-reading

Wickwythe Hall

by Judithe Little

tagged: currently-reading

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World

by William H. McRaven

tagged: currently-reading

Varina

by Charles Frazier

tagged: currently-reading

Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living

Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living

by Manjula Martin

tagged: currently-reading

God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State

God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State

by Lawrence Wright

tagged: currently-reading

Everyday Bible Promises for Women

by Anonymous

tagged: currently-reading

book reviewsbook club

Sydney Young

Visit profile

Random Quotes!

Reading Challenges!

2018 Reading Challenge

Sydney has read 27 books toward her goal of 100 books.

hide

27 of 100 (27%)

view books

2019 Favorites!

Sydney's bookshelf: 2019-favorites

Shakespeare: The Biography

by Peter Ackroyd

tagged: writing, reference, plays, paris-life-column, on-my-bookshelf-queue...

Becoming

by Michelle Obama

Listened slowly. Highly recommend. I’d forgotten so many things that happened over the years. So personal and honest. I want to give a copy to every person who has ever felt or been at risk of being invisible. Amazingly honest come of ...

tagged: 2019-favorites, inspirational, my-audio-queue, non-fiction, and women

The Far Field

by Madhuri Vijay

This book surprised me. A greiving young woman goes on a journey--that didn't surprise me, in itself. That seems just like the kind of thing more women should do, like I did when trying to find myself in my 20s and had to do that in a fo...

tagged: 2019-favorites, book-of-the-month-club, historical, and literary-fi...

A Woman Is No Man

by Etaf Rum

Heartbreaking, honest, and hopeful. I'm so glad I read this. Three generations of Palesteomen in America. Has anything changed? Where does change come from?

tagged: 2019-favorites, american-fiction, book-of-the-month-club, book-club...

Live Wire

by Pamela Fagan Hutchins

There is something about Maggie that struck a chord with me (and not just because she's an ex-singing star). She's old enough that she knows exactly who she is and what she wants--even if she can still really misread the signs. She's had...

tagged: 2019-favorites, beachreads, american-fiction, fitness, in-my-kindle...

Daisy Jones & The Six

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Loved it. Lots to say. Hear the podcast (as a guest on The Bigger Show, 5 min in., found on Podbean App), or in Paris Life magazine in April. But yes the hype has it right.

tagged: 2019-favorites, american-fiction, artist, beachreads, book-of-the-m...

The Ragged Edge of Night

by Olivia Hawker

What a wonderful book. World War II. Germany. Defrocked Friar who just wants to save children and others from the regime. A humble man, a brave man. How does he find the strength to choose between his convictions and the safety of his lo...

tagged: war, ww-ii, smart-romance, my-audio-queue, in-my-kindle, historical...

The Wild Girl

by Kate Forsyth

Far more than just fairy tales, this book is powerful for its portrayal of a girl with no power of her own. I’d really like to hear the author give a talk on this and how she did her research. The dark original fairy tales are interwoven...

tagged: historical, 2019-favorites, and smart-romance

What the Wind Knows

by Amy Harmon

tagged: 2019-favorites, time-travel, war, smart-romance, mystery-suspense, ...

book reviewsbook club

Labels

#LoneStarLit71
#LSBBT53
Paris Texas47
Fiction34
Historical Fiction29
Non Fiction27
#parisreads22
#texasreads19
Inspirational19
War17

Classics16
women14
Paris Community Theater13
Texas13
#TexasWriter12
Paris Community Theatre11
reading11
#2017BCA10
#BloggersChoiceAwards9
#BookAwards9
#LSBBTBLOGGERSCHOICE20179
#texasauthors9
Life9
Paris Poet Society9
#HistoricalFiction8
Romance8
writing8
Art7
Fantasy7
Literary Fiction7
World War II7
faith7
mystery7
#Texas6
#romance6
2014 TBR Challenge6
Les Miserables6
summer6
#Historical5
#TexasAuthor5
Dog Days of Summer5
Freedom5
Greek5
Women's Fiction5
artists5
theatre5
#Western4
#mystery4
#texasbooks4
A Good Cry Book4
Politics4
The Vagina Monologues4
#BigTexasRead3
#Ireland3
#LSLL3
#NewRelease3
#ReadUP3
#TTUPress3
#TexasHistory3
#humor3
#readathon3
& #TexasAuthors3
Book Club3
BookPeople in Austin3
Children3
Classic3
Dancing with the Stars3
Dickens3
Family3
Favorites3
Girl Talk3
History3
Lean In3
Paris Municipal Library3
Paris Public Library3
Pride and Prejudice3
Stephen Sondheim3
Texas Bloggers3
Texas Literary Scene3
Theater3
Victor Hugo3
Western3
love3
#5pinksandatux2
#Awards2
#LSBBT AND #LoneStarLit2
#Memoir2
#MisfitsAndMillionaires2
#PamelaFaganHutchins2
#TexasBook2
#TheBigInch2
#WhatDoesntKillYou2
#adventure2
#bookreview2
#cozy2
#romanticmystery2
#westernromance2
#ww22
About Syd2
Alice Walker2
America2
Best Books of 20132
Bleak House2
Bring up the Bodies2
Chris Cleave2
Colin Firth2
Darcy2
Death2
Entertainment2
Funny2
Homer2
James Joyce2
Lamar County Crime Stoppers2
Lone Star Book Blog Tours2
Lots of Candles Plenty of Cake2
MOOC2
Maya Angelou2
Music2
National Readathon Day2
New York2
Paris Junior College2
Sam Houston2
Sherry Scott2
Sport2
Sydney Young2
Teens2
The Iliad2
The Paris News2
Ulysses2
YA2
blessing2
crisis2
dance2
farmer's daughter2
friendship2
hope2
library2
opera singer2
read2
suspense2
veterans2
#ATexasStorySeries1
#AfricanAmerican1
#AfricanAmericansleuths1
#AmberAutumnSeries1
#AnnHGabhart1
#AuthorMarthaDeeringer1
#Ava1
#AzureSprings1
#BaughToBrady1
#BenEnglish1
#BestFiction1
#BigBend1
#Bombshell1
#BritishMystery1
#Catholic1
#ChapterBook1
#ChildrenOfTheDrought1
#ChildrensMystery1
#ChristianFiction1
#CimarronLegacy1
#Comanche1
#ComingSoon1
#Contemporary1
#CoverReveal1
#DebutAuthor1
#DrewFarthering1
#FBITaskForceNovel1
#Faith1
#Family1
#FamilySaga1
#Fantasy1
#FootballHistory1
#Galveston1
#GraveHour @TuiSnider1
#GulfCoast1
#HHLomax1
#HarmonGeneral1
#HiddenSea1
#Historica1
#HistoricalRomance1
#HopeOfAzureSprings1
#Hurricanes1
#IndieAuthors1
#Inspirational1
#IrishCatholic1
#IrishHistory1
#JeffersonTX1
#JoannaDavidsonPolitano1
#JohnAlexander1
#JuditheLittle1
#KimberlyFish1
#LSBBTBlitz1
#LSBBTHOOK2017 #LSBBTCREATIVE20171
#LadyJayneDisappears1
#LamarsFolly1
#LewFreedman1
#LocalHistory1
#LomaxSeries1
#LoveStory1
#MatterOfTrust1
#MontanaRescue1
#MustRead1
#NativeAmericans1
#NativeTexan1
#NewRelease #romance #bestseller1
#PEN/Americannominee1
#PersonalGrowth1
#Politano1
#PostApocalyptic1
#PotatoFamine1
#PrestonLewisAuthor1
#Robots1
#Romance #Mystery1
#SeaOfRust1
#SirKaye1
#SouthernPlains1
#SportsHistory1
#SpyNovel1
#SusanMayWarren1
#SwimmingHolesofTX1
#TexasCavalry1
#TexasHisFic1
#TexasIndependence1
#TexasIndianWars1
#TheCaptiveBoy1
#TheRebirthOfHope1
#TheoryOfHappilyEverAfter1
#TheseHealingHills1
#Thriller1
#TooFarDownNovel1
#TrueCrime1
#UTexasPress1
#UpcomingRelease1
#Virginia1
#WDKY1
#WW2Spies1
#WesternHumor1
#WhyIHateGreenBeans #HumorousNonFiction1
#WomenSpies1
#Womensleuths1
#YA1
#Yonderings1
#amateursleuth1
#amateursleuths1
#anthology1
#antique1
#aransas1
#bookclub1
#bookish1
#booklover1
#booknerd1
#bookworm1
#classicalmusic1
#cozymystery1
#daisyjonesandthesix1
#deepextraction1
#diverse1
#diversity1
#donwinn1
#embroidery1
#femalesleuth1
#ghost1
#hightreason1
#holidaybook1
#houstonFBI1
#jeftonwriter1
#kidsbooks1
#knights1
#lovingluthernovel1
#maggie1
#marlenembell #stolenobsession #sheeplady1
#milesarceneaux1
#needlepoint1
#onenightinsixes1
#paranorma1
#paranormal1
#portaransas1
#postmodernjukebox1
#rockandroll1
#septemberphotochallenge1
#series1
#spinepoetry1
#standalone1
#stevienicks1
#sweetromance1
#texasgulfcoast1
#timetoread1
#wickwythehall1
#womensleuthmystery1
#ww2fiction1
4th of July1
A Christmas Carol1
Alaina Logee1
Alan Jones1
Amy Tan1
Ann Lamott1
Anna Quindlen1
Anne Hathaway1
August Paris1
Aziz1
Beachread1
Because of Winn-Dixie1
Ben Fountain1
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk1
Bonham Creative Arts Center1
Boublil1
Braveheart1
Byrd by Byrd1
Cancer1
Cemeteries1
Cheryl Strayed1
Chimpanzee1
Chip Gaines1
Chopin1
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney1
Dallas Theater Center1
Dee Martin1
Defending Jacob1
Downton Abbey1
Drift1
Earnest Hemingway1
El Paso1
End of the Affair1
English Lit Lovers1
Epic1
Everyone Brave1
Failing Schools1
Fall of Giants1
Fantine1
Farce1
Farmer's Market1
First United Methodist Church1
Flag1
Food Pantry1
Forest Gump1
Gathering Courage1
George Elliot1
George H. Mahon1
Giants in the Sky1
Giveaway1
Go Set a Watchman1
Gone With the Wind1
Hammocks1
Hands1
Harper Lee1
Hashmi1
Henry VIII1
Hilary Mantel1
Homegoing1
Hugo Oklahoma1
I Dreamed a Dream1
Incredible1
Inner Landscapes1
Into the Woods1
Jean Valjean1
Jerusalem1
Joanna Gaines1
John Green1
June in Paris Texas1
KOYN1
Karen Joy Fowler1
Ken Follett1
Kimberly Fish1
Kingsolver1
Law1
Lawyers1
Life After Life1
Lincoln1
Litsy1
Llano Estacado1
Lonesome Dove1
Longview1
Mel Gibson1
Memoir1
Middlemarch1
My Life in Middlemarch1
NWYC1
Naomi Shihab Nye1
North Lamar1
Old Sport1
Out of Africa1
PCT Paris Community Choir1
Palo Duro Canyon1
Parenting1
Paris Downtown Association1
Paris France1
Philipp Meyer1
Poetry1
Reading to the Future1
Sacre Bleu1
Safe-T Crisis Center1
Samuel Barber1
Savvy1
Schonberg1
Science Fiction1
Sharda Brody1
Short Story1
Sisters1
South1
Southern1
Spencer Sansom1
Storytime1
Summer 2013 Reading List1
Sweet Tooth1
Sweetbitter1
Texas Book Tour1
The Ascent1
The Big Inch1
The Bite of the Mango1
The End of Your Life Bookclub1
The Fault in Our Stars1
The Ghost Bride1
The Golem and the Jinni1
The Great Gatsby1
The Lost Wife1
The Magnolia Story1
The Nest1
The Panhandle1
The Paris Wife1
The Sandcastle Girls1
The Son1
The Valley of Amazement1
The Woman Upstairs1
These Women Surround Me1
Thoreau1
Tim Wood1
To Kill a Mockingbird1
Tocqueville1
Tommy Stone1
Travis Cottrell1
Tweet1
Underwater Dogs1
Until Tuesday1
Virgina Dehn1
WWI1
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves1
Where'd You Go Bernadette1
Wild1
William Wallace1
Winston Groom1
Wolfhall1
Writers Respond1
Yaa Gyasi1
Yangsze Choo1
award1
boys1
compost1
dewey's1
dirt1
fiscal cliff1
grief1
guns1
horses1
imagination1
improve mind1
jealousy1
laugh1
lazy weekend gardener1
miracle1
muse1
national book award1
peaches1
podcast1
readathon1
relax1
religion1
rural1
salsa1
self-inflicted recession1
shoes1
soul1
spy1
streaming1
submissions1
the Bishop1
travel1
vegetable1
worship1
yesteryear1

Show more Show less

Report Abuse

A Note on Ratings

You will notice that I have a number of high ratings for my 20-- Favorites list. I do really enjoy books. I also believe we are all a little stingy with our ratings. It is very hard to write a good book! So if a book is well written, resonates with me, and has a satisfying ending (not meaning happy but right), then I rate the book a 5 star rating. If I loved the book, but it was missing one of these, then I rate it a 4. Enjoyed the book but found some real literary flaws, a 3, OR just found the book ok, even if well written, also a 3. In other words, if I only come across one 5 star a year, heavens I'll just have to find another hobby. Take care with your ratings, and, PLEASE, go ahead and give a 5 if it meets all your standards. It's ok to love that book, even if it is not the very very very best book ever! Then again, if you have a negative reaction to it, share your opinion, you are entitled. And that's all I have to say about that.

Notable Local Authors

Sydney's notable-local-authors book montage

Sydney's favorite books »

Books on the Nightstand

Menjembatani Literasi: Strategi Penerbit Indonesia di Panggung Internasional - Industri penerbitan Indonesia tidak lagi sekadar menjadi penonton di pasar global. Selama satu dekade terakhir, buku-buku karya penulis lokal mulai mengh...
7 months ago
Burnable BooksBurnable Books

How to bring the past to life in relevant and inspiring ways - Some of the things we go through in life have a way of either teaching us a lesson or just humble us to look at life from a different perspective. This is ...
8 years ago
Hall Ways

Hope Verdad Presents Short Stories About Love ~ Book Review - *HOPE VERDAD PRESENTS* *SHORT STORIES ABOUT LOVE* *By Francesca Flood* *Short Stories / Inspirational /* *Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hope Verdad LLC* *Publication...
1 month ago
Mary Clark, Traveler

Tea in a Moroccan Berber Tent - Mary Clark, Tina Smith, Betty Swasko, and Mary Grace West with two Berber children inside tent Being asked to tea in Northern Africa and the Middle East ...
6 years ago
Reading the Past

Ghosts of the Old and New West in Téa Obreht's novel Sunrise - Obreht’s electrifying novel opens in summer 2024, in the aftermath of a plane crash. Nina, a New York-based grad student and nanny, was on vacation with he...
5 days ago
TEXAS BOOK LOVER

The Last Post - This is my last post to the blog. I began writing about books here in 2010, and it's been a good ride. I want to thank all of you who shared these books ...
4 years ago
The Barbee Housewife

Spring Cobb Salad #BrunchWeek - *This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BrunchWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #Brunchweek reci...
8 years ago