Memorial Day and My Dad

       I hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day yesterday. I know some of my family members got together and visited cemeteries. Mom was surely seated beside my dad's gravesite for a portion of the day. My husband and I had friends over for a BBQ. At times throughout the day I thought of my late father. Not because he sacrificed his life in the armed services, but because he served during wartime. My dad (pictured below) sacrificed years as well as a portion of his emotional well-being to the things he witnessed in war. I feel for our servicemen and women, and I thank them all for their sacrifices. They are our protectors and heroes.

Reading With Goodreads

If you are familiar with the Goodreads website, then you are probably aware of their annual personal reading challenge. It amazes me that some readers set their book-reading goals so high. One hundred books in a year? Wow! I suppose it is a doable goal if the pages are few or the books are read by Audible. Still, it seems quite a challenge to get through a hundred books in one year. At least for me it would be.

This year, 2024, I set my Goodreads reading goal small―a total of 10 books in all. So far, I have made it through one and a half. Most of the time I read thicker books because I like a story with substantial character and plot development. I do use Audible on occasion; however, I prefer curling up on the sofa with a tangible book in my hands. Paperback or hardcover, it does not matter so long as I can feel the texture of the pages as my fingers turn them one by one.


After finishing Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, I started Eragon again, written by Christopher Paolini. I first read Eragon about fourteen years ago and loved it. This time around I am finding it even more enjoyable as I note details missed during the first read. I plan to get through all four books in this series, hopefully before the end of 2024. I’ll let you know how it goes.


In the meantime, give Goodreads a try for yourself and make a personal reading goal. It can be as few or as many books as you like; you set the pace. Let me know if you add one of my books to your reading list; I would love that.
​Happy reading, everyone!


―Richelle E. Goodrich

Valentine's Cupid and True Love

You know Cupid. That naked, chubby, smiling cherub who shoots his magic arrows at unsuspecting men and women to make them fall in love. He is a busy little match-maker whose image appears on many Valentine's Day cards. Now, I do not believe in an actual Cupid any more than I believe in the reality of Greek gods, but I do believe in the genuineness of love. True love. Love that equates with service and sacrifices made over time. What is this kind of love? I'll let Derian answer that question for you as he answered it for Eena in the book, Eena, The Return of a Queen. I think he got it spot on.

“Love is so much more than an emotion. True love, Eena, is something that develops over time. It’s not the initial infatuation nor the shivers and butterflies that take your breath away when you’re first attracted to someone. Those things are nice, but they are barely the beginning of what could become true love."

She shook her head. “I don’t quite follow.”

The captain inched closer, fixing her with the sincerest of gazes. His hands cupped as if he were holding his very heart in them.

“True love is a developed and intense appreciation for someone. It’s that perfect awareness you’re finally whole when she’s with you, and that hollow incompleteness you suffer when she’s gone. True love takes time. It’s an earned comfort that tells you she’ll be right there beside you no matter what you do, not necessarily happy with your every action, but faithful to you just the same. Love is knowing someone so deeply, understanding her so completely, you can finish her thoughts without hesitation, confident in reading her face, her body, even her slightest gesture means something to you. Love is years of devotion, sacrifice, commitment, loyalty, trust, faith, and friendship all wrapped up as one. True love does more than cause your heart to flutter. It upholds your heart when the infatuation no longer makes it flutter.”