A few other book posts I've written in the past month:
And now the rest!
Stretched Too Thing: How Working Moms Can Lose the Guilt, Work Smarter, and Thrive by Jessica N. Turner
I really enjoyed Jessica Turner's first book and listened to a couple podcast interviews she did before I actually read this one. In one she mentioned that this book is for any Mom who earns money, from working full time to even just five hours a week. I work three hours a week, didn't even get in her low point BUT I still found some useful information here. I think this could be worthwhile reading for working Moms (who work more than I do) to help achieve that elusive balance. It's never possible but this book had some good strategies for getting closer. 4 Stars
The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson
"The" Royal Wedding can be rather misleading, my initial thought is always Wills & Kate's but Harry & Meghan's was more recent. This one is about the now Queen Elizabeth's wedding, particularly about the women who made her wedding gown. It made me think of a British version of The Pink Suit, but with an even more famous woman wearing the finished product. I've read a decent amount of World War II fiction (haven't we all??) but not many that take place after the war, as this one did. It was a fun, mostly fictional but based on facts, look at what goes into making this sort of garment, that will be seen by millions but was made my very real women who had their own problems happening too. 3.5 Stars
Loving my Actual Life: An Experiment in Relishing What's Right in Front of Me by Alexandra Kuykendall
This was a reread and a fantastic one to read at the start of a year, even though her experiment doesn't start with January. It's a fairly short book, just over 200 pages, but helped me adjust my perspective on our lives right now. I wrote a whole post on it the last time I read it, when we were struggling through the adoption wait and while life is certainly different now (those waiting years were HARD), it's never perfect and there was still plenty of ways I could apply this to my life now. 3.75 Stars
The Wondering Years: How Pop Culture Helped me Answer Life's Biggest Questions by Knox McCoy
I've been listening to The Popcast with Knox & Jamie for almost three years (including while I was pulling pictures for this post this morning) and asked for this book for Christmas. Knox and I are about the same age so we should have a lot of the same references but we didn't watch a lot of tv (unless it was on PBS) or movies (unless it was animated) when I was a kid so while I was slightly familiar with most of the 80s pop culture he mentioned, I didn't really know most of them. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book, how some times pop culture can help inform your faith life. But you'd probably mostly be interested if you are a Popcast listener. 3.75 Stars
Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand
A reread, I mostly try to read seasonally - reading summer set books in the summer, but there is something about the dead of winter that feels right for being reminded that it WILL be warm again some day. Follows a group of 4 teens and their families, one of them dies in a car accident that the other 3 teens are all in the car for. How does that affect their families and the small Nantucket community? I've read every one of her books, reading many of them more than once. Always enjoyable, even though this dealt with a heavier topic than most. 3.5 Stars
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson
I initially added this book to my TBR because I was intrigued by the title: I am interested in every book that tells me I need less stuff and to get rid of it. I then read it in January once I saw it was barely 100 pages and I knew I could knock it out fast. It's a funny sort of book - written by a Swedish woman who, in her words, between the ages of eighty and one hundred. The basic premise is: sort through your stuff now so your loved ones don't have to do it when you die and then resent you for the mess you've left them. It wasn't hugely inspiring but I did glean some worthwhile bits, and again, barely 100 pages so it didn't take much time. 3 Stars
This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps
I've mentioned a few times that I watched the 6th and final season of Cougar Town in January and I had heard good things about her book. Seeing as she's on Cougar Town, it seemed like a perfect time to pick this up. She is very honest and flat out mentioned by names many celebs that were rude to her. We probably don't agree on much but her honesty and openness about many of her stories made it worth the read. 3 Stars
Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. PierceThis book was very charming. It takes place in London during the Blitz of World War II. Emmaline got a new job at a magazine and also volunteers at the fire station, taking calls for all the fires that come from bombs being dropped on London regularly. The magazine has an advice column written by her boss, the Mrs. Bird in the title, but Mrs. Bird doesn't want disagreeable letters to make it to the magazine so Emmy takes it upon herself to answer this letters, women with real problems looking for advice. The horrors of the Blitz are very evident but Emmy keeps her spirits up and it made for a mostly fun read. 3.75 Stars
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl
This is the memoir of a woman who was, at one time, the food critic for the New York Times. And when you have that job, restaurants are on the lookout for you. This is about the disguises she came up with to get a real picture of how these restaurants were as well as LOTS of food. It was a fun read, I am always up for reading about NYC and I generally like food stories too. 3.75 Stars
Chapter Books I Read With Luke:
A True Home and The Greatest Gift by Kallie GeorgeOne of my 19 in 2019 project/goals was to read 6 chapter books outloud to Luke. We are 6 weeks into the year and we've finished 3. After I only finished 5½ of my 18 in 2018 goals, it feels good that we're kinda killing this one so far. These are the first two books in a four book series, each taking place in a different season. It's about a group of animals who live and work at a forest hotel called The Heartwood Hotel. They interact with guests, have celebrations, and prepare for skunk guests. Luke really enjoyed these and I found them charming. These are the fall and winter books; I told him we have to wait for spring to read the next one. Fantastic starting point for reading chapter books aloud to him. 4 Stars
Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Something Called Plastic by Emily Jenkins
I was first introduced to this trio in their standalone picture book (here) and thought that would be a good way to segue into this chapter book series. It's mainly about three toys who live in a little girl's room and have adventures when she's gone at school or wherever. I thought they were clever but Luke didn't seem to enjoy it as much as he did the Heartwood books. I still plan to finish the three book series though. 3.5 Stars
What have YOU been reading lately?
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