Minghua's Reading List 2015

A man of honor always protects the woman he loves

Cord Greer was one such man. Tessa Draper had been his brother's woman, but no matter how it broke his heart, Cord would do whatever it took to keep her safe. Even marry her in name only.

Tessa was pregnant and alone, and her life—as well as Cord's—was threatened. Marriage provided them temporary security—and the ultimate temptation. As danger closed in, was it fear that drove Tessa into Cord's arms—or something more than Cord had dared to hope for?

A Crookseye Canyon Story: A small town full of strong men and women—and love as everlasting as the wide Texas sky.

Everyone has an opinion, anecdote, or horror story about women and work. Now the acclaimed author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast shows how real working women with families are actually making the most of their time.

“Having it all” has become the subject of countless books, articles, debates, and social media commentary, with passions running high in all directions. Many now believe this to be gospel truth: Any woman who wants to advance in a challenging career has to make huge sacrifices. She's unlikely to have a happy marriage, quality time with her kids (assuming she can have kids at all), a social life, hobbies, or even a decent night's sleep.

But what if balancing work and family is actually not as hard as it's made out to be? What if all those tragic anecdotes ignore the women who quietly but consistently do just fine with the juggle?

Instead of relying on scattered stories, time management expert Laura Vanderkam set out to add hard data to the debate. She collected hour-by-hour time logs from 1,001 days in the lives of women who make at least $100,000 a year. And she found some surprising patterns in how these women spend the 168 hours that every one of us has each week.

Overall, these women worked less and slept more than they assumed they did before they started
tracking their time. They went jogging or to the gym, played with their children, scheduled date nights with their significant others, and had lunches with friends. They made time for the things that gave them pleasure and meaning, fitting the pieces together like tiles in a mosaic—without adhering to overly rigid schedules that would eliminate flexibility and spontaneity.

Vanderkam shares specific strategies that her subjects use to make time for the things that really matter to them. For instance, they . . .
* Work split shifts (such as seven hours at work, four off, then another two at night from home). This allows them to see their kids without falling behind professionally.
* Get creative about what counts as quality family time. Breakfasts together and morning story time count as much as daily family dinners, and they're often easier to manage.
* Take it easy on the housework. You can free up a lot of time by embracing the philosophy of “good enough” and getting help from other members of your household (or a cleaning service).
* Guard their leisure time. Full weekend getaways may be rare, but many satisfying hobbies can be done in small bursts of time. An hour of crafting feels better than an hour of reality TV.

With examples from hundreds of real women, Vanderkam proves that you don't have to give up on the things you really want. I Know How She Does It will inspire you to build a life that works, one hour at a time.

A child's only hope

Little Penny Drake had witnessed a murder and would no longer speak. Only Dr. Steve Sherman could help bring the child out her shell. Seeing her daughter respond to the psychologist brought tears to Deanna Drake's eyes—and warmth to a place in her heart that had been cold for a long, long time.

Steve never mixed business with pleasure, but the beautiful, elusive Deanna breached his defenses and roused the man behind the professional mask. Somewhere out there, a killer watched mother and child—and Steve vowed that to get to them, the killer would have to go through him first!

Callie Walters stirred Sam Landry's senses in every way—and she might be the mother of the little boy he loved as his own. Callie's baby had been kidnapped at birth—now, Sam had to discover the truth. A truth someone was determined Callie would never know….

Sam was the oldest Landry brother, the solid one, the protector. He knew his ranch was the one place he could guard Callie from whoever wanted to keep her from her child. But by reuniting mother and son, would he lose the boy he loved—or gain the family he'd always wanted?

The LANDRY BROTHERS

Ranchers at heart, protectors by instinct—lovers for keeps.