Who Are We?

Staff Reviewers:

5 Minutes for Books Managing Editor Jennifer Donovan grew up reading. She took books with her to sporting events, in the car, and when she went out to eat with her parents. In college she read and wrote her way to earning a degree in English.A few years ago, she realized that she had strayed from her love of books. Her hobby welcomed her back with open arms. Recently she’s explored different types of non-fiction and especially enjoys memoir, along with a steady steam of fiction.Jennifer lives in Connecticut with her husband, eleven-year-old daughter (who takes books with her to sporting events, in the car, and out to eat), and six-year-old son (who learned to read apparently by absorption as a preschooler).She is a contributing editor at 5 Minutes for Mom, authoring the 5 Minutes for Books column and occasionally covering other events. She has been blogging at Snapshot for over four years. Lisa is a stay at home mom of four sons, ages 14, 12, 10, and 8. She resides in Alabama with her husband and children where she spends her days doing laundry and getting in and out of the van. Lisa loves the Lord Jesus and finds great delight in studying and teaching His Word. A few of her favorite things include coffee, books, dark chocolate, or a combination thereof. She is sometimes on her back porch enjoying all three.As a young girl, Lisa would more often than not have her nose in a book, and all these decades later, not much has changed. Though she most enjoys a good Southern story, Lisa likes books of all kinds. Her favorite novel is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a literary delight which Lisa believes ought to be indulged in at least once or twice a year. Wife and mother, Bible teacher and blogger, Lisa loves Jesus, coffee, dark chocolate and, of course, books. Read more of her reflections at Lisa writes…. Lauren is a wife and mother from Tennessee. She has been married almost 14 years, and she has an eight-year-old son and five-year-old daughter. Before having children, Lauren worked as an elementary school teacher and reading specialist. She now spends her time caring for her family; but she also enjoys volunteering at her son’s school and teaching Bible classes.For as long as she can remember, Lauren has loved to read. She especially enjoys historical fiction and children’s books.In addition to reviewing books, Lauren blogs about her daily life at Baseballs and Bows. Dawn is that kid you saw sitting by herself under a tree with a book at summer camp. Yes, there were thick glasses involved, but thankfully no braces. Now, a few decades later, the glasses have been kicked to the curb by contacts, and the relative loner status has been replaced by Wife to one very cute hubby and Mother to the three kids running amok. The book in her hands, though, is still a constant theme.

She is a former preschool teacher, currently trying to master this whole stay-at-home-mom thing in the Maryland suburbs, and she counts among her hobbies (beyond reading, of course!): blogging, consuming chocolate, making lists, vacuuming, and changing diapers. Her reading tastes run the gamut, from best seller fiction to memoirs to parenting resources, with a ton of picture books thrown in for good measure.

Dawn blathers on about her wacky life, things that make her laugh, and other general nonsense at My Thoughts Exactly.

Nancy moved her husband and 2 boys, ages 7 and 3, to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains a year ago and considers it one of the best decisions of her life. She grew up surrounded by books, maxing out her library’s summer reading program within the first few weeks and challenging the librarians to find her new books to read. As a teen she read Judy Blume books until the covers fell off and went through a brief Danielle Steel period before discovering there are so many books and so little time.

She is a baseball and soccer mom, works full-time testing software, is newly elected to the PTO board at her son’s school and is on the committee of his Cub Scout pack. She considers herself proof that you can work outside the home, be active in your kids’ schooling and activities and still make time to read if it’s something you really love.

She enjoys popular fiction, historical fiction, children’s books and a smattering of other genres.

Nancy can be found rambling about her kids and busy life at Life With My Boys and her explorations and discoveries in her new city at Family Fun in Fort Collins.

Previous staff reviewers:

Melissa blogs at Breath of Life.
Carrie blogs at Reading to Know.