Browsing Category: What I’ve Been Reading

What I’ve Been Reading – November 2018

I was doing REALLY good in August and then….It’s been a struggle to read these past few months. I know the holidays are just around the corner and it’s a crap-shoot as to whether I have more or less time to read. I was thinking there’s no way I’m going to read my 35 book goal for this year, but I’m at 31….so I’m hopeful!

FAVORITE FICTION BOOK

This is always so hard! I love fiction, especially historical fiction and I managed several of them this fall. I’m going to have to be completely cheesy and say that To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was my favorite. Yes, I know. I’m rolling my eyes while typing this. The rest of the fictions I’ve read were all great and I enjoyed most of them, but ATBILB was just a goofy, girly read.

My sister and I watched the movie on Netflix and both thought it was a fun, fluffy movie…and can we just say give all the heart eyes to Noah Centineo. The writing and the story were nothing spectacular, nothing surprising, but it was just a heartwarming teen romantic comedy. Something that just struck a chord in the teen girl in each of us.

Jane of Austin was right there with ATBILB, and honestly I may have loved a bit more. I’ve loved everything I’ve read my Hillary Manton Lodge. Her stories and characters are endearing and her knack for incorporating food and recipes is exquisite, not to mention very yummy. I’ve always had great success with ANY of her recipes.

 

FAVORITE NON-FICTION BOOK

By default the Clarkson Ladies have it, The Lifegiving Home. I honestly haven’t read much by any of the Clarksons that I didn’t love, but The Lifegiving Home was a different read. Month by month Sally and Sarah go through how they make a house a home, which is perfect for this time of year.

We’ve actually been going through TLH with my Raising Generations Today mom group; it’s been a great resource for discussing our homes and what we want our homes to be for our families. It’s a slow, thoughtful read (which is sometimes hard for me), but it would be a great book to take slowly over a year and really think about what you want “home” to mean to your family.

 

THE BOOK I DIDN’T LIKE

Big Little Lies. I tried, really I did. Some of it I liked. Some of it I skipped (like the last 1/4 of it). There was just way too much and it was drawn out and I just wanted to know what had happened. I listened to it on audiobook. I seriously skipped a couple of HOURS of reading, and I didn’t miss anything.

This is the first book of Moriarty’s that I read and people have raved about it for years, especially as her BEST book. I’m thinking I probably won’t pick up another book of her’s again. It’s just not my cup of tea.

 

What have you been reading?

Keep up with what I’ve been reading on GoodReads or Instagram 

(I’ve notated books I’ve read for my book club * and F for Fiction, NF for Non-Fiction, and A if it was an Audiobook).

*This post contains affiliate links. You can read my disclosure policy here.

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What I’ve Been Reading – August 2018

Well….I had hoped to accomplish more, but I managed  books….and several of them were ones that were a bit outside of my usual reading genres. With Summer I always have lofty goals of what I’m actually going to finish, but life happens.

FAVORITE FICTION BOOK

I’ve actually read a lot of really good fiction books. I’ve been making a point of reading through some of the books I’ve collected from random places, and most of them were really good. My favorite though…that’s tough. I think Beneath a Scarlet Sky was my favorite. I’m a huge fan of WW2 historical fiction, particularly when it’s based on true events.

The thing I loved about Beneath a Scarlet Sky was the youth of the main character, the way he struggled with his idealism, his own personal expectations, and what the war was throwing at him and how he dealt with it; a very human character. It also helped knowing that they’re working on a movie with Tom Holland playing the main character.

The other part of Beneath a Scarlet Sky that I liked, but was more personal for me, is that my grandfather was in Italy for part of the war. There aren’t many books written about what the war was like in Italy or for the Italian people, so I enjoy finding out more about that.

FAVORITE NON-FICTION BOOK

At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider…hands down. I’ve loved all of Tsh’s books, but this one was very much on my heart. One of my biggest laments in life is that we don’t travel enough, and when we do, I get terribly homesick for my creature comforts. So much of what Tsh had to say in this book hit me hard. From her struggle with wanting to have a place to call home, but wanting to be out and experiencing new things…finding the balance between the two.

The other part of this that I loved was the it chronicled her family…that’s right…mom, dad, and 3 young kids traveling and experiencing the world. I would love to travel with my kids and have them experience other cultures and norms, but for us it’s just not in the cards. I can hope though that some day it will happen.

THE BOOK I DIDN’T LIKE

If you follow me on IG, you already know…Bridget Jones’ Diary…I HATED IT! I read through the first chapter and quit. I couldn’t handle how shallow the character was, the obsession with the eating, the drinking, the smoking. The movie is great, the book….I threw it in the garbage. I wasn’t even going to pass this one on to the little library boxes are Salvation Army…it’s just gone (the binding was also split on it, so I told myself it was ok to throw it out).

What have you been reading?

Keep up with what I’ve been reading on GoodReads or Instagram 

(I’ve notated books I’ve read for my book club * and F for Fiction, NF for Non-Fiction, and A if it was an audiobook).

*This post contains affiliate links. You can read my disclosure policy here.

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