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October was the busiest month I can remember in recent history and, somehow, I managed to read more books than in any other month this year. I’m not sure how that happened, except I spent so much time packing and running errands alone, that I blazed through three audiobooks this month. I read two nonfiction, self-help-ish books — one for Bible study and another because, Whole30 — and both of those read really quickly. Add to that, many evenings piled in bed with my people, plowing through the first installment of Harry Potter and we somehow get to the number seven. What even? The good news is, almost everything I read this month gets an A+ and reading so much this month helped to relieve a ton of stress and get me through a few nail-biting days. Let’s take a look, shall we?
I’m using the following scale, courtesy of Goodreads, to rate the books I’ve read. I should probably warn you that I like almost everything I read. I love stories and being transported to a new place, so when books provide a plot I can get lost inside, I almost always like it. It’s much harder for me to love or hate something. When you see a single star or five stars, you’ll know I had a strong reaction to something one way or another.
1 star // did not like it
2 star // it was okay
3 star // liked it
4 star // really liked it
5 star // it was amazing
1. IT ENDS WITH US BY COLLEEN HOOVER // 3 OUT OF 5 STARS
I’ve mentioned several times how much I love Colleen Hoover — she is such a guilty pleasure (see here). When I realized she had a new book out that I hadn’t read yet, and I was overflowing with Audible credits, I decided to take the plunge. The premise of this one is a little darker than most of her other books (and based on her own life, according to the acknowledgments). There is a heavy thread of abuse and it brings with it, a dose of redemption unlike her previous storylines. The narrative was really strong and I love her style of writing. The characters are well-developed and I seriously loved every. single. one. I’m talking to you, onesie wearing millionaire. I won’t say too much about this one because anything I would praise or criticize is heavily wrapped up in how it ends. Let me just say that it didn’t end quite the way I’d hoped, even though I completely understand why I didn’t and ultimately couldn’t. How is that for short and sweet?
2. BEFORE THE FALL BY NOAH HAWLEY // 3 OUT OF 5 STARS
I had mixed feelings about Before the Fall, but I would recommend it for anyone who loves a good thriller. It wasn’t my favorite thriller this month (keep scrolling), but it was pretty strong and read more like a television show than a novel (you can thank the screen-writing author for that). I reviewed it for October’s Collaboreads link up, so head over here to read the full review.
3. PRESENT OVER PERFECT BY SHAUNA NIEQUIST // 3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
I read Present Over Perfect as a part of my small group this semester. Although our group won’t conclude for several more weeks, I managed to finish the book up long before it ended. The author finds herself in a place of overwhelm and over scheduling and begins seeking presence over perfection. All too often church-y books written by female authors fall flat for me. I’m not sure why that is, but it’s been awhile since I read anything of this genre that really captured my attention. I’m not sure if it was the message or its timing, but Niequist said exactly what I needed to hear. I dog eared so many pages, highlighted so many passages, and I’ve promised to pass this book off to any woman in my life who will listen. This was only my second attempt at a small group since we changed churches eighteen months ago and I felt so at home and comfortable with this group of ladies. I’m sure I got far more from this book as a part of this group than I would have gained on my own, but I would recommend it for any woman feeling stretched too thin. I’m pretty sure Josh is tired of me crawling into bed to recap what I’ve learned from this book on any given day, but I’m hoping those lessons will linger and make a big impact on our family. If I was rating this book within its genre, I would like give it 4.5 stars, but since nonfiction isn’t really my jam, I’m giving it a little less.
4. FOOD FREEDOM FOREVER BY MELISSA HARTWIG // 5 OUT OF 5 STARS
We’ve been anticipating the release of this book for many months and, it too, came at just the right time. The first half of this year was filled with healthy eating and better habits, but the end of summer and beginning of fall have been a breeding ground for meals gone wrong. Every time I almost recover, I find myself thrown into another stressful situation and if there is anything I’ve learned through a year of food evaluation, it’s that for me, stress = indulgence. Melissa — author of It Starts With Food and co-founder of The Whole30 — approaches eating from a new perspective in FFF. It’s meant to teach how to live life after Whole30 and it does a great job. She outlines practical steps for resetting your food-related habits and reminds you that a healthy relationship with food is a lifelong journey and that it will rarely ever be perfect. I’ll be implementing a few of these practices as we move into the holiday season and I’m looking forward to a round of Whole30 again in January with a heavy focus on her reintroduction schedule starting in February. I feel like this year has equipped me to be a much better eater, not only in the success I saw earlier this year, but in the utter failure of the last several months. I’m not sure I could have come to that conclusion without Melissa’s newest book. I’ll likely chat more about what I’ve learned in detail as we wrap up the year and implement new strategies for the future, so look for this one to make another appearance on the blog soon.
5. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE BY J.K. ROWLING // 5 OUT OF 5 STARS
I’m not sure what took me so long to jump on the Harry Potter bandwagon, but I am officially onboard. This is where I tell you that I’ve never read any of the books in this series, seen any of the movies, or ever had much of a desire to. One of the things I was so convicted about in Present Over Perfect was the kind of time I’m spending with the girls. I’ll probably revisit this topic in another post, but Niequist encourages you to see your children less as something to cross off your to do list and more as someone you want to cultivate relationships with. I’m not saying I ignore them completely, but I have a bad habit of ticking off their list of chores and responsibilities at night and then considering my parenting done for the day. This is more about my own schedule and level of exhaustion than anything to do with them, but as soon as I recognized it, I knew it was something I wanted to change! After talking to Jennifer last month about how they were spending time as a family reading together every day, I knew that was something I wanted to implement. Josh isn’t always able to join us and Sophie’s attention span is approximately .000001 seconds long, but they both enjoy joining us when they can. Otherwise, Ella and I attempt to carve out time every day to read a chapter or two from this book. Some mornings, we have exactly six minutes to read before heading to carpool and some evenings, we read for an hour before bed. I think if we hadn’t been packing and moving this month, we probably would have moved through this much quicker, so I’m excited to dive into the second (and maybe third!) in this series this month. Okay, okay… on to the review!
This book was so well written. I know you’re thinking I must have been living under a rock and I don’t know a single person who’s read this series and didn’t love it, but I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I have. Despite its obvious middle-grade audience, the characters are so well developed and the storyline complex enough to keep even the most voracious reader engaged. We have laughed a lot and only had to explain things in detail to Sophie a few times. Mostly, she follows along well enough and enjoys whatever sections of the book she happens to hear. I’m sure we’ll read these again when she’s older, so I’m trying not to worry about how often she exits and reenters the room. I can’t give this one any less than five stars — that’s mostly due to how much we loved the book, but it doesn’t hurt that it’s fostered some really sweet quality time with my two favorite girls.
6. PASSENGER BY ALEXANDRA BRACKEN // 3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
I saw this book on Bailey’s blog several months ago and the cover of the book was enough to intrigue me. Set in the present time (whatever that means), violin prodigy Etta Spencer is somehow transported back in time to a pirate ship somewhere in the Caribbean. She possesses the ability to time travel (a skill passed down from her family) and inherits a legacy she’s been told nothing about. Etta finds herself in the company of Nicholas Carter, a sailor content with his life at sea, who formerly lived a life of servitude at the hands of the novel’s villain. Nicholas and Etta set out on a dangerous journey together that threatens to tear them apart and keep Etta from the life she’s always known. This book is what I would call an adult fairy tale. It feels so much like the Selection Series to me and I loved it much more than I expected. It isn’t anything revolutionary and it isn’t going to be my favorite book of the year, but I loved the adventure of the story so much. Who doesn’t love a swashbuckling pirate rescuing his damsel in distress? The second (and final?) installment of this series, Wayfarer, is due out in January and I’ve already added it to my wishlist!
7. GOOD AS GONE BY AMY GENTRY // 4 OUT OF 5 STARS
Good as Gone was my latest Book of the Month Club selection and it did not disappoint. This was another of those months where I couldn’t make a decision between several of their recommendations, so I gave myself permission not to choose, and ordered a few extras! It was a happy accident given that my box of unread books got stacked somewhere in the back of the pod where I can’t get to it. I’m happy to have this stack to choose from over the next several weeks instead. I’ll admit to choosing this one for it’s comparison to Gone Girl, but I was skeptical given I didn’t love Girl on a Train (another comparison on the book jacket). Good as Gone centers around the apparent abduction of 13 year old Julie from her childhood bedroom and her subsequent return, eight years later. At 21, Julie rings the doorbell of her parents suburban home and their life is, once again, turned on its head. Her sister and parents adapt to having her back home after they had lost all hope, but a private investigator and a couple of other weird occurrences, have Julie’s mother questioning the validity of her story. The book’s chapters alternate between the present story (narrated by Julie’s mother, Anna) and subsequent chapters in the past (narrated by a series of girls). I suspected from the beginning how this storytelling device would work out, but it was still so much fun watching it all come together. I might not have given this one 5 stars, but it is the best thriller I’ve read all year. The characters are captivating, the story moves quickly, and you won’t be able to put it down. I managed to read this book in a single four hour stint!
I’m still a little shocked that I managed to read so many books this month and not a single one was a disappointment. I’m well into my November selections already and I’m hoping a commitment to a lazy, under scheduled fall, means I tick as many books off my list in November as I did in October. Talk to me about what you’re reading this month — almost all of my books are packed up in storage, so I’ll be adding a few new ones to my list this month.
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