Ricki Jill

Showing posts with label What I'm Reading Wednesday. Show all posts

Happy Wednesday, My Lovelies! On today's What I'm Reading Wednesday post I'm sharing The Happiness Crisis by Jonathan Eckert. Although this book is written with the younger generation in mind (a super read for parents and grandparents), I think it would pair nicely with the book I featured this past Monday entitled Emotional Endurance.

About The Happiness Crisis: How Adversity Can Build a Resilient and Joyful Next Generation

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication date: August 4, 2026

Chasing what feels easy is a human instinct—but it’s only when young people embrace challenges that they become stronger versions of themselves and lead more joyful, meaningful lives.

In our happiness-obsessed society, we can become isolated in comfort zones and overly focused on temporary pleasures. Kids naturally do the same. In our effort to protect and help them, we often shield them from discomfort. But are we unwittingly denying them experiences that will form them into strong, capable adults? Could it be that we’re training them to believe that challenges ought to be avoided, and that if they’re struggling, they’re not well?

In The Happiness Crisis, global educational leader Jon Eckert speaks from decades of experience, explaining how he has seen parents, teachers, and coaches nurture transformation in kids ages 9 to 22. With practical wisdom, humor, and real-world evidence, he’ll show you how to

invite young people into challenges, risks, and adventures;
prioritize real-life connections that show others they matter;
resist living in echo chambers and chasing fleeting success; and
welcome kids into lives that move beyond circumstantial happiness to lasting joy.

Decades from now, the most resilient adults will be the most joyful. They’ll know that joy isn’t freedom from struggle; it’s the fuel that allows them to struggle well.

Young people can begin living that way now—if we invite them to.

My Thoughts

I agree: children should be challenged and taught how to deal with life's difficulties and failures. Not everyone wins in spite of participation trophies. And our victimhood culture does not help children grow and flourish. From what I have read in this book, Jonathan Eckert does have some very good practical advice and strategies that have served young people well. He shares these strategies along with his experiences implementing them. My two favorite chapters are "Kids Grow Up by Doing Hard Thing" and "Stop Pushing Self-Care Culture on Kids." As a Christian, I do believe that joy should be prioritized over happiness (one of his biggest points in the book). I'm not sure that I agree with Eckert's belief on how "true joy" emerges.

Overall, this is an interesting book from a well-renowned educator. If you are interested in how to help children and young adults better cope with our complicated world, you will find helpful information in this book.

About the Author

Jonathan Eckert has spent his career helping students become more of who they are meant to be. Now the Copple Professor of Educational Leadership at Baylor University and executive director of the Baylor Center for School Leadership, he first taught and coached intermediate and middle grade students outside of Chicago and Nashville. After earning a doctorate at Vanderbilt University, he served in the U.S. Department of Education under both the Bush and Obama administrations and later prepared teachers at Wheaton College. Jon and his wife, Carolyn, raised three kids and are about to be empty nesters. They are embracing Texas even if Jon still hasn’t bought boots or a cowboy hat.

Disclosure: I received a softcover copy of The Happiness Crisis from the publisher via TLC Book Reviews in exchange for a fair and honest review.

TLC review tour schedule:

Wednesday, August 5th: @spaceonthebookcase (feature)
Friday, August 7th: @charitys.book.escapes (feature)
Monday, August 17th: @stumblingintobooks
Wednesday, August 19th: @fullybookedinkentucky
Friday, August 21st: @Mama_Coffee_Books_Cardigans
Saturday, August 22nd: @spaceonthebookcase
Monday, August 24th: @teaandbookstoo and Reading, Writing, and Pondering
Wednesday, August 26th: The Bookish Dilettante
Thursday, August 27th: @beckys_bookshelves
Friday, August 28th: @charitys.book.escapes
Sunday, August 30th: @webreakforbooks
Monday, August 31st: @oilycaffeinatedmama
Wednesday, September 2nd: @danamarielovestoread
Friday, September 4th: @charitys.book.escapes
Friday, September 4th: @kristens.reading.nook

Until next time...

Happy reading!

Ricki Jill

What I'm Reading Wednesday: The Happiness Crisis

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Happy Wednesday, My Lovelies!

Today's What I'm Reading Wednesday Post is all about A Thousand Painted Hours by Barbara O'Neal. I have read several of O'Neal's novels, and she never disappoints. However, this one might be my very favorite. If you are interested in reading more of my reviews of her books, just type her name in the search engine (the magnifying glass) at the top of my page.

First of all, I love receiving book mail that is so pretty. The mailer matches the book cover!

The book came with a letter from Barbara and the pretty postcard which is so appropriate given that the novel is partly epistolary.

About A Thousand Painted Hours

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publication date: August 11, 2026

534 pages

According to Goodreads

An epic, emotionally charged novel about love, art, and survival spanning 1900s colonial India to Blitz-era London by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.

In the shadow of the London Blitz, artist Elsie Turner clings fiercely to her canvases, refusing to let war dim the colors that define her. The bombs test her nerve, but the struggle also stirs memories of her golden youth in India and of the long-lost love of her life.

The daughter of a British civil servant in the Himalayan station of Nainital, Elsie crosses cultural divides to forge an unlikely bond with Tanveer Singh, a Sikh prince with hopes, dreams, and far-reaching ideas. What begins as shared sketchbooks and stargazing becomes first love and a secret correspondence. When Elsie’s father is summoned to England, Elsie is severed from the world she knows—and is determined to preserve it through both her art and a connection with Tanveer that endures through the most tumultuous years of their lives.

Across four decades and two continents, Elsie navigates a journey from lush colonial India to war-torn London, amid landscapes of beauty, protest, and peril. As past and present collide, the most impossible choices and sacrifices are yet to be made in the name of love, war, and survival.

About Barbara O’Neal

Barbara O’Neal is the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of twenty novels of women’s fiction, including the #1 Amazon Charts bestseller When We Believed in Mermaids, as well as The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth, Memories of the Lost, This Place of Wonder, and The Starfish Sisters. Her award-winning books have been published in more than two dozen countries. She lives on the wild Oregon Coast with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent. For more information, visit www.barbaraoneal.com.

My Review

A Thousand Painted Hours is the historical novel you’ve been looking for to complete your summer reading adventure. It’s an epic love story that survives two world wars and defies class expectations. Partly epistolary and entirely magical, Elsie and Tanveer’s story will stay with you for a very long time. My heart is full from having read it!

Barbara O'Neal paints her story with vivid imagery, exotic scents, and heart-stopping sounds. The novel is a work of art that would make Elsie and her Bohemian artist friends proud! I enjoy novels with a true sense of place, and O'Neal's descriptions of the Indian countryside in the foothills of the Himalayas; London during the height of the Blitzkrieg; and English country estates before and after the Great War are intricately and perfectly depicted. The characters, especially the two main ones, Elsie and Tanveer, are so well-drawn and complex. Their worlds and their roles in them are also complicated and seemingly at odds. And yet....

Sometimes in character-driven novels the plot can suffer. That isn't the case in A Thousand Painted Hours. There are so many unexpected plot twists, and a few characters do not behave as expected. There is plenty of family drama and secrets impacting Elsie, and the back and forth in time paired with her correspondence with (primarily) Tanveer slowly reveal a surprising and very satisfying ending.

There is so much beauty in this story, and it isn't just from the art. If you enjoy an epic historical with a love story for the ages, then this is your book. I highly recommend it!

Disclosure: I'd like to thank TLC Book Tours for sending me a copy of the novel via the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I'm honored to be a part of this tour!

TLC tour schedule:

Monday, August 10th: IG: @fullybookedinkentucky

Monday, August 10th: IG: @a_book_read_in_jersey

Monday, August 10th: TT: @copperforestbookshop

Monday, August 10th: TT: @jess4reads

Monday, August 10th: Novels Alive – review

Monday, August 10th: IG: @diveintoagoodbook – review

Tuesday, August 11th: TT: @respecka

Tuesday, August 11th: IG: @bookapotamus

Tuesday, August 11th: TT: @juliannas_booktok

Tuesday, August 11th: IG: @jacklynsbooknook

Wednesday, August 12th: IG: @dianas_books_cars_coffee

Wednesday, August 12th: IG: @reecaspiecesbooks and TT: @reecaspiecesbooks – review

Thursday, August 13th: IG: @dana.loves.books and TT: @dana.loves.books5

Thursday, August 13th: @enjoyingbooksagain – review

Thursday, August 13th: IG: @purrfectpages

Thursday, August 13th: TT: @dharashahauthor

Thursday, August 13th: IG: @thenightowlnook

Thursday, August 13th: Laura’s Reviews and IG: @laurasreviews_1 – review

Friday, August 14th: IG: @poisedpen

Friday, August 14th: IG: @andrea.c.lowry.reads

Friday, August 14th: IG: @deannaturnsthepage and TT: @deannaturnsthepage

Friday, August 14th: View from the Birdhouse – review

Monday, August 17th: IG: @welovebigbooksandwecannotlie and TT: @welovebigbooks – review

Tuesday, August 18th: IG: @readingpastdark.marcia

Tuesday, August 18th: Reading Reality – review

Wednesday, August 19th: The Bookish Dilettante – review

Wednesday, August 19th: IG: @reading.late.into.the.night

Wednesday, August 19th: IG: @bookbenderwitch

Wednesday, August 19th: IG: @webreakforbooks

Wednesday, August 19th: TT: @zaineylaney

Thursday, August 20th: IG: @angiearoundwonderland

Thursday, August 20th: TT: @readerinthestorm

Friday, August 21st: Helen’s Book Blog – review

Friday, August 21st: IG: @smashley.reads and TT: @smashley.reads

Saturday, August 22nd: IG: @booksandcoffeemx

Monday, August 24th: IG: @iambibliomane

Monday, August 24th: IG: @the.caffeinated.reader

Monday, August 24th: IG: @ifcatscouldread – review

Tuesday, August 25th: IG: @girlsinbooks

Tuesday, August 25th: IG: @lexijava

Wednesday, August 26th: IG: @meghan_readsbooks

Wednesday, August 26th: @books_old_and_new – review

Wednesday, August 26th: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World – review

Thursday, August 27th: IG: @lifeofabookqueen

Thursday, August 27th: IG: @cmtloveswineandbooks

Thursday, August 27th: IG: @bookedbychristina – review

Friday, August 28th: IG: @booksloveandunderstanding

Friday, August 28th: IG: @oilycaffeinatedmama

Saturday, August 29th: IG: @subakka.bookstuff

Monday, August 31st: Eliot’s Eats – review

Monday, August 31st: IG: @reader_ceygo

Monday, August 31st: IG: @that.bookmom

Tuesday, September 1st: IG: @aurorabookreading

Wednesday, September 2nd: IG: @edensbookden

Wednesday, September 2nd: IG: @reading.with.mama.kenna

Wednesday, September 2nd: IG: @cam_leary – review

Thursday, September 3rd: Bibliotica

Thursday, September 3rd: IG: @just_another_mother_with_books

Thursday, September 3rd: IG: @spaceonthebookcase and TT: @spaceonthebookcase

Saturday, September 5th: Girl Who Reads – review

Sunday, September 6th: IG: @nissa_the.bookworm

Until next time...

Happy reading!
Ricki Jill

What I'm Reading Wednesday: A Thousand Painted Hours

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Hello, My Lovelies! On today's What I'm Reading Wednesday post I'm sharing Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken: Fighting for Faith When You're Falling Apart by Sydney Anne Bennett.

When asked to participate in this book tour I must admit that I was intrigued by the title. We are all familiar with the Bible verse about being "fearfully and wonderfully made," but broken?

About Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken: Fighting for Faith When You’re Falling Apart

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 28, 2026)

• Paperback: 240 pages

Are you battling chronic struggles—whether physical, mental, emotional, relational, or social? Are they eating away at your faith? Sydney Anne Bennett has been there.

She knows what it is to live in a body that is unraveling, a world that doesn’t understand, and a church that doesn’t always know what to say. With compassion, wit, and quiet strength, Sydney invites you to remember that some of life’s fiercest battles are fought flat on your back—and not one of them is wasted.

In Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken, Sydney shares her story of becoming disabled just two weeks after her honeymoon and learning to live with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)—a condition that disrupts the brain’s ability to send correct signals to the body, resulting in daily seizures, mobility loss, and chronic pain.

Learning to live with this disability, as well as the loss and pain that comes with it, has been one of her greatest struggles as well as the way in which God is building her strength. But Sydney doesn’t just talk about disability—she lives with it, coaches on it, and laughs through it, inviting her readers to join her journey. Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken aims to:

discover practical strategies for coping with chronic struggles and limitations;
make peace with questions and embrace the daily fight for faith;
uncover strength in weakness and dignity in dependence; and
receive heartfelt hope and encouragement to keep going—even when healing doesn’t come.

Sydney will be your unafraid guide through whatever valley you are walking through, normalizing doubt and the daily fight for faith, and recognizing the presence of God there.

About the author

Sydney Anne Bennett is a writer, disability advocate, and speaker who helps people struggling with chronic illness and pain find confidence and hope again—while pointing them to Jesus.

Two weeks after her honeymoon, Sydney became disabled and was later diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a condition that disrupts the brain’s ability to send correct signals to the body. She experiences daily seizures, chronic pain, and mobility loss—and often uses a wheelchair.

In 2022, Sydney began sharing her story on Instagram as a way of processing grief, faith, and the strange in-between of being both young and disabled. Today, she encourages a global audience of over 300,000 people with honesty, humor, and hope that leans hard on Jesus.

She lives in Idaho with her husband, Colton, their sweet daughters, Hadassah and Felicity.

My Thoughts

This book is primarily a memoir about Sydney's sudden onslaught of FND and how the chronic illness has affected her faith. Sydney went from perfectly healthy to having seizures and not being in control of her movements. These things happened shortly before her wedding and before she became an upperclassman in college. See does an excellent job of describing her crisis of faith, how she struggled to find the words to pray. Her practical ideas about making peace with questions and embracing the daily fight for faith are perhaps the most helpful because God doesn't always answer our questions. There are many lessons about dependence on God that we can learn from Sydney, and just because one doesn't suffer from a disability like her doesn't mean we shouldn't be as dependent on God as she is.

But what has really made an impact on me while reading the book and learning about Sydney is how, in spite of her disability, she has become an advocate for those with disabilities. Instead of dwelling on herself and wallowing in self-pity, Sydney has become an advocate, encourager, and minister to thousands of people around the world.

We can all learn from her example.

I have been encouraged and inspired by reading this book, and I think it would do the same for you, too.

Disclosure: I received a paperback copy of Fearfully and Wonderfully Broken from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.