October was a great reading month for me, I read more books than I had any other month this year, in part because I purposely picked some shorter books to help me just gain some reading momentum. We also had a few days in Texas over fall break where I was able to get in A LOT of reading and that really helped too!
I'm very active on Goodreads here, somewhat active on Instagram here, and linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy on the 15th!
Only semi-book related post in the past month:
Smells Like Tween Spirit by Laurie Gelman
This is book 3 or 4 in this series which is a slightly irreverent mom of a middle school boy and also 2 older daughters. This one was about her experiences of being a mom with a kid in sport which is a life we are getting sucked into soon. So I appreciated reading a humorous take on it because I'm sure there'll be plenty of days I don't find it humorous. Also, under 300 pages so a quick, satisfying read. 3.25 Stars
Key Player by Kelly Yang
This is the 4th in the Front Desk series, a series that is in the book orders Luke brings home from school but that I've read entirely to myself. These kids are precocious in a way that I haven't experienced in pre-teens I've known in real life. Also, they run hotels and restaurants like they aren't 12 years old. But, the immigrant story is interesting and not one I've experienced so I'll keep reading them. 3.25 Stars
Project 333: The Minimalist Fashion Challenge that Proves Less Really is So Much More by Courtney Carver
This book made me think A LOT about the clothes I have and what I wear and what I could wear if I did this challenge. Which I fully intended to do an appreviated version of for mid-October - mid-December but then we had 2 crazy weeks in October followed by Texas and all of a sudden it's mid-November. SO. But I am still interested in trying it, not because I spend a lot of time thinking about my clothes but because it says narrowing down your clothes options makes a lot of other decision making easier and you want to get rid of other stuff in your life. Which I am ALWAYS interested in, except concerning Christmas decor. This was a motivating read (I've gotten another 15 things out of my closet in the past week!). 4 Stars
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
I read this solely because of Maine, I've read many books set there since our visit this summer even though I don't think any of them have covered the small bit of Maine we visited (Bar Harbor & Acadia). This was a multi-generational story where I have forgotten every.single.one. of the details of the book, other than MAINE. Also, it might be blurring with other books I've read set there. So, suffice it to say...not memorable. 2.75 Stars
On Earth as It Is In Heaven: Restoring God's Vision of Race and Discipleship by Fr. Josh Johnson
I've been listening to Fr. Josh's podcast, Ask Father Josh, for over a year now and really appreciate his priestly insights on various spiritual and Catholic issues as well as just his joy at being a priest. His latest book came out earlier this year and I finally read it. I learned a lot about the history of the church in terms of race and how things used to be. It was interesting, informative, and eye-opening, from a voice I trust on this issue (Fr. Josh is mixed race himself) and who has love for the church. 4 Stars
The Beach Trap by Ali Brady
My sisters and I picked a book further down for our October read but then we all accidentally got this one on library hold around the same time so it became a secondary buddy read and one I think we all enjoyed more! Estranged half-sisters each inherit half of a beach house that is in desperate need of repair. One wants to relive her beloved childhood there, one wants to fix it up to sell and use the proceeds to pay for her grandfather's (? I think) care facility. There are also two attractive men who are helping them. It was fun but still had some weightier elements to it. 3.75 Stars
In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers: The Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, and Years After the 9/11 Attacks by Don Brown
This is a YA graphic novel that I picked up to pre-screen it for Luke. He's been very interested in 9/11 lately and I figured he would appreciate reading it. It felt appropriate enough that I did let him read it after me. It doesn't get into anything really grusome but does explain a lot about that day. I was 18 on 9/11 so I very much remember living (although, safely in Ohio). I don't know how kids that were too young or not alive yet perceive it. But this was helpful, I think. 3.75 Stars
Reveal the Gift: Living the Feminine Genius by Lisa Cotter
This is another one I read because of the Fr. Josh podcast, this author was on as a guest earlier this year and I really enjoyed her book about the different feminine gifts and how we are biologically wired in different ways. This is very much from a Catholic perspective and brought in the stories of many female saints as well. There was also a part about how women's brains are made to hold so many more details and items at once...a point that has been proven again and again in my marriage. I laughed telling Matt about that part. 4.75 Stars
Great or Nothing by Joy McCullough
This was the book two of my sisters and I picked for our October buddy read. It's Little Women but set during World War II which sounds interesting but it really kinda fell flat. It picked up partway through the Little Woman story when Beth is already dead (but writing poetry from the grave) which threw me for a bit. I really found Amy's story the most interesting, working for an army relief organization in England during the war, and I usually don't like Amy! 2.75 Stars
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
This was the first book I started on our Texas trip, on the plane!, one I picked solely because it starts in Texas. This is the 3rd of this author's books that I've read and have enjoyed them all. Starts with a kick-butt female firefighter who takes some public revenge on a man who assaulted her when they were both in high school or college. Which leads to a leave of absence in Boston (where we had previous gone for one of Matt's conferences!) to take care of her ailing mother, Diana (I really just realized I read two books about Dianas in Texas). Romance follows, of course, but it was so charming and I was flipping pages FAST at the end to see how it would all turn out. Probably let the boys have some extra Dude Perfect to do so. 4 Stars
The Lady Di Look Book: What Diana Was Trying to Tell Us Through Her Clothes by Eloise Moran
I started this one by the pool in San Antonio (when Matt was also there to help keep an eye on kids) and finished it at 8am the next day when Matt was at his conference and the boys were still asleep. (I did A LOT of reading while the boys were sleeping in the same room). There were quite a few outfits in here of Diana's that I had never seen before so that was interesting. But I didn't need all the anger it felt like the author was projecting onto Diana. 3 Stars
The Vanderbeekers on the Road by Karina Yan Glaser
This was a bit of a let down after many of the previous books in this series. The family is on a road trip from Manhattan all the way to California, with a stop in Indiana on the way. I do not believe that 9 people could fit in a van with all the stuff and pets that were described. Also, if my kid snuck a chicken on a road trip...that chicken would be disposed of quickly. It just felt like a lot of "this person was doing this and this person was doing this" etc. every time they got in the van but with 9 people. Which got old. 3 Stars
Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton
This was the 4th and final book I started on our San Antonio trip (and the last one I took! I came home with about 150 pages left in this one and it is THE BEST I maybe have ever come in estimating how many books I needed for a trip). I've read 3 of the 5 in this loose series now and while I still don't quite understand all the connections (even with a family tree in the back...which had siblings out of order with information in this book!), it was still an adventure about brave women doing what they needed to do to survive. Also, family secrets and such. I liked it 2nd best of the 3 I've read! 3.5 Stars
Endless Summer by Elin Hilderbrand
A collection of a bunch of her short stories that are prequels or sequels to her books. I've read every single one of her books but many once once (although there are FIVE I reread, every single year) so I could only really remember the characters in two of these stories. But, still, taken as just short stories with no context, I still enjoyed them. 3.5 Stars
When Striving Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace by Ruth Chou Simons
I'll admit...I read this book too fast, I wasn't able to pickup at the library until October 28th and I wanted to finish it by end of day on the 31st...as well as like 3 other books. I should have slowed down. BUT...there was enough I got out of it about not always achieving and checking things off the list and so on and just resting in God's grace. 3.25 Stars
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks
This is an annual Halloween read for me and a delightful one at that. Graphic novel, two high school seniors working their last October at an extensive pumpkin patch, on an adventure on their final night. Just festive and fun to read on Halloween. 3.75 Stars
Read with Luke
Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger by Louis Sachar
These stories are definitely a little absurd but Luke also has really enjoyed them. I'd say they are definitely aimed more at a grade school sense of humor than an adult (I remember enjoying the one book I read as a kid when I was a kid.) 3 Stars
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
Luke's class read this at the beginning of the year and we worked on a few chapter study guides with him so had to check this out at the library BUT each of us only read sporadic chapters so before we returned it, I read the whole things aloud to Luke. I think he could really relate to being a 4th grader with a slightly chaotic younger brother, even if Sam is a little older and not quite as crazy as Fudge. We plan to continue the series! 3.5 Stars
The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson
This is the FOURTH October we've read this one and I think I actually have found it funnier every year. There are a few moments that never fail to make my chuckle, year after year. 4 Stars
NINETEEN BOOKS! It doesn't seem like I'll be repeating that in November but it still felt good to get so many in in October! What have YOU been reading lately?
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