March 2017 Book List

Time for March books!  Okay, it is technically April now.  Can I use that as my April fool's joke? Yeah... pretty terrible.  But missing out on a month of reading would be even worse.  (Too nerdy?  That one was too nerdy.)  Let's just get to it. (As always, this post contains affiliate links.  That doesn't mean you pay more, just that it helps me out if you purchase through these links.  All opinions are mine.)

This month I have a nonfiction behind the scenes of Miss America, a story of two sisters separated sadly and how that shapes them, a drama with a turn I did not see coming, and a space story that is more of a personal rebuilding.


Being Miss America: Behind the Rhinestone Curtain by Kate Shindle.  This is written by Miss America 1998.  It goes back and forth between the history of the pagent and her experiences with it.  The history parts were pretty interesting.  The pageant started as basically a publicity stunt to keep people vacationing in Atlantic City one more week at the end of summer.  But it has grown into so much more.  This book focuses mainly on the times that Miss America has changed over the years.  It may have started as a stunt, but it is part of Americana now.  Shindle discusses several Miss Americas who didn't fit the mold and changed the way the pageant was run.  I enjoyed learning more about it.  The chapters about the author's experiences were interesting too.  It is easy to think of Miss America being a bit flighty, or perhaps too conservative, but there is a lot that goes into the job.  Way more than just a nice body.  It's always interesting to get the behind the scenes story on what life is like for big name people.  And Miss America has a lot going on after she wins the crown.  I would recommend this book if you like learning about the history of American culture, and honestly about feminism.  It gives a different perspective, and I always like that.

The Sisters by Nancy Jensen.  We meet two sisters in the 1920s in the beginning of this one.  They live with their stepfather, who, well, doesn't behave well to the older daughter.  She devises a plan with her little sister's beau to get away and take the little sister.  Messages get crossed and the little sister never follows or even learns of the plan.  The rest of the book is about the next two generations of this split family.  I did enjoy this book in that I like reading generational books.  What I didn't like was that it was basically a bummer.  Yes, bad things happen to the women in this book.  Most of them don't seem to take a ton of responsibility for their own choices or action.  That always frustrates me.  Sometimes life throws you a lemon, you just have to make do.  It did encourage me to remember that we don't always have the full story in life.  We don't always know why someone said something or acted the way they did.  If we can get past our own hurt we might be able to make amends and gain back a relationship we would have otherwise lost.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll.  I loved this one.  It actually got me.  I won't give away the twist, but I was sitting there reading and really felt a bam! What just happened?  I had to go back and reread it!  That rarely happens, so I loved it.  This book is about a woman named Ani.  She was bullied in high school after falling into and then getting ostracized from the cool crowd.  As an adult she still seems to be fighting to prove herself to these people from her past.  She has an old money fiance, a fancy job, and seems to have it all, as we think we should want.  Of course we all know we can't erase our past, no matter how much we want to.  It is a part of us, and those who love us need to be able to accept that.  I loved this book.  It would be a great one for a summer vacation- I didn't want to put it down.

Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey.  I picked up this one because the author wrote the book Wool.  Pat got me that for our last anniversary (traditional gift was wool) based solely on the title.  Fortunately it was really good, and this one was too.  It takes place in the future, where people travel through space a lot.  Because of this they have beacons set up at various locations to warn travelers of asteroid belts and the like.  These beacons are run by single operators, kind of like lighthouses in the past.  Our operator was a war hero from on ongoing war with an alien species.  What I liked about the book is that in large parts you have to decide if what is happening is real, or is it just some sort of hallucination or fantasy from a lonely man.  We get to go along with the operator as he tries to piece himself back together.  The comparison to keeping his beacon running really illustrates how we work through traumas.  It also touches on the questions of how does one specific life weigh against all of humanity?  Howey is a wonderful author, and I love his works.

These were some good ones!  I'd love to hear from other people who have read them!  What did you think?  And please don't think you have to agree with me- some of the best discussions are when we don't like the books!  Any suggestions for what to read next?  Comment and let me know!
-Kim

February 2017 Book List

Short month, but plenty of reading was done.  This month I have three non-fictions to review.  Two of them I really enjoyed.  One was just okay to me, but I net it would really appeal to a different audience.  Let's dive in!

Spit That Out by Paige Wolf

The title of this one caught my attention more than anything.  I love reading about kids and raising kids, plus the title made me hope it would be funny.  It turns out it is about raising kids in an environmentally aware manner.  I am all for saving the planet, but sometimes this sort of thing is too much for me.  I feel like it creates guilt if you don't ascribe to every crunchy method out there.  I'm sorry, cloth diapering isn't for us.  I really don't need to feel bad about that.  I try to be green and be aware of the health and environmental impact of the cleansers and toys I use in my house.  But I'm don't go overboard with it.  I don't see the fear from some of it.  I think  as a former chemist I just don't have that fear of chemicals.  Perhaps I should, since I actually know what dangerous ones can do.  But I don't.  I don't like the push for all organic food.  That can be very cost prohibitive for some families.  I did get a couple of good suggestions out of the book.  And I am happy I read it as a reminder to be looking for ways to help the planet and keep my family healthy.  It is a fast read, so I would recommend it for someone looking for ways to be greener in their daily life.  

Hungry Heart by Jennifer Weiner

I grabbed this one because I love this author!  Her book takes us back to her childhood, the good and bad, and takes up through her writing today.  I like her honest style.  I also really like how she stays true to herself in terms of her writing.  Chick lit can get a bad rep as not being as important, or as valid a genre to read or write.  I don't like that.  I think there are books for all sorts of reasons.  Some are meant to really challenge you to think or feel something deep.  Some remind of us of times gone by, human history we all need to remember.  Some are just there to make us feel like we are not alone in what we go through in daily life.  And yes, some are there just to be fun.  There is nothing wrong with that!  She also doesn't shy away from the hard work that goes into becoming a writer.  Her family comes alive in this book, and I laughed out loud at some of her stories.  This book isn't a life changer, but it was an enjoyable read.  If you like chick lit I say go for it.  (Trigger warning, there is a chapter about miscarriage.)

The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz

This book is about a period of time in the life of David Lebovitz.  Apparently he is a famous chef, but I honestly had never heard about him.  Even not knowing who he was I loved this book.  It is all about his time living in Paris.  He is American, so he points out all sorts of cultural differences.  To be perfectly honest he made me never want to live in Paris.  But really I never wanted to spend much time there anyway.  (I know, I don't think you are supposed to admit that!)  I couldn't put the book down though!  It was like you were right there walking the streets with him.  It helps that I adore reading about food and cooking.  He made the tastes come alive.  Each chapter comes with recipes to try.  Now, he claims these are easy to do for any home cook.  I didn't see one I thought I would actually attempt.  Maybe some day, when I'm not prepping food for three little ones on a budget and with time constraints.  But it was enough to just read them all.  He does give resources for where to find the less common ingredients and tools if you want to give them a go.  I felt like I learned a lot about the Parisian culture that real people live in, not a romanticized version.  A great read to feel like you took a trip without actually going anywhere.

 I love getting to learn new things and gain new perspectives on the world.  Any suggestions for next month?  Happy reading!

-Kim

January 2017 Book List

New year, new books! I'm taking a little break from the twin posts to share a few books I've been reading lately. (This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.)

I'm Judging You by Luvvie Ajayi

I grabbed this book off the library shelf because I liked the title. And I loved this book!  It's a collection of essays by a blogger.  She touches on all sorts of topics- internet etiquette, real life etiquette, social norms, racism, sexism, friendship- the whole gamut.  And it is funny!  It can be a tough read, I didn't agree with everything she said.  And she touches on some uncomfortable topics, especially the racism and sexism.  But that is good!  I read to enjoy myself but I also like to read to grow.  This book made me think and evaluate how I feel and how I impact those around me.  As I said, I didn't always agree with everything she said.  But I didn't feel attacked by her opinion.  The title is "I'm Judging You," but I didn't leave reading this book feeling like a bad person.  It challenged me to think more and aim to be a better person, but didn't leave me feeling angry at the author for ferreting out my flaws.  I recommend this one to anyone.  It also gave me some great ideas for topics to discuss with the kids as they get older.

The Girls by Emma Cline

This is sort of a fictionalized version of what happened with Charles Manson in the sixties.  It is the story of a young girl who is kind of ignored by her divorcing parents and falls in with a group of girls who seem exciting.  They live on a ranch with a charismatic man and they all do a bunch of drugs.  The story is interspersed with narration from the girl as an adult, telling her story to a teen.  I think some of the commentary on what it feels like to be a teenage girl was spot on.  Feeling like your worth is solely in the judgment of others, wanting boys to notice you, trying to fit into a group- all things I think almost every teen has gone through.  I think the writing was a bit overly descriptive, I felt bogged down and annoyed by all the clutter.  But then again that is what I imagine life on the ranch was like, so maybe it was by design.  I wish we knew more about the narrator as an adult, but overall I enjoyed the read.

The House of Secrets by Brad Meltzer and Tod Goldberg

This is a history based thriller that flows a lot like Dan Brown novels.  A main character trying to solve a mystery about a historical figure (Benedict Arnold in this one). a secret figure operating in the background, and lots of questions.  This book focuses around Hazel, a college professor who is in a car accident with her brother and father.  Her father was the host of a reality show called House of Secrets, one of those history channel type shows where they go around trying to solve ancient mysteries.  He dies in the crash and Hazel loses her emotional connection to memories, making her forget things.  It is interesting to think about how our emotions color what we remember and how we interpret situations.  I enjoyed the fast paced style of the book and I always enjoy reading about a mystery with a historical basis.  The thing is, when the twist is revealed I didn't quite get why the secrecy was needed.  I don't want to give it away what the mystery is, but suffice to say I don't think all the fuss about it was needed.  People would have understood.  This was a fun book for a vacation read.  If you like Dan Brown style books you will like this one.

The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck

This book follows two time lines.  The first is Haley who has returned to her old hometown and has taken on the challenge of reopening the town wedding shop.  This shop has a big history in the town, which we see from the other timeline.  This is Cora's story, taking place in the 1930s.  She's a working woman in a time most woman didn't own businesses.  We follow the ladies through their romantic challenges and just general life challenges as they try to decide the direction they want to go.  This is a Christian novel.  I chose it because I was looking for a nice Christian fiction book to read, but honestly felt like the religious parts were a bit forced and felt like an add on.  They are nice if you are looking for that, but if that part doesn't interest you it is easy to gloss over them.  This is actually just one book in a three part arc, but it stands alone just fine.  I am interested in reading the other two books, but I haven't exactly run out to get them.  I think that says a lot.  This is a nice book.  I really liked the descriptions of the shop itself and all the wedding dresses.  I liked that it sparked me to remember my own engagement time and wedding.  It was slightly predictable, but one of those books that made me feel good while I read it and left me feeling happy when I was finished.  I like books like that.

As always, I'd love suggestions of other books to read!  Happy reading!

-Kim

December 2016 Book List

Last book list for this year. One thriller, one book that says it is a thriller but I'm not so sure, and two fun reads.  I am trying to put together a book list for the new year.  Please leave any suggestions in the comments.  I love to hear what other people think about books! (This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.)

Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L Rosen



This book was such a fun read!  It reminded me of movies likes Love Actually or Valentine's Day in that there are several individual stories that all connect with a common thread.  In this book that thread is a dress.  It shows all different women in different stages and places in life, all sharing major life events with a dress.  I like how it showed all different parts of life with different perspectives, but each part spoke to something I have felt as a woman.  Excitement for a big event, meeting a new guy, trying to live our best lives, all things every woman has experienced.  The stories are interesting and the characters fun.  I recommend this one.


The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke


Okay, this one struck a little close to home.  I still have plenty of time before I turn forty, but it is closer than I would sometimes like to admit.  This one starts with three women turning fifty.  They are given the chance to go back in time and relieve the year they all turned forty.  Two of the women's stories have to do with babies, one just had one and one is deciding whether or not to have one.  Being in my baby years of course I found that interesting.  The third woman also has a child, but she is given the chance to go back and build their relationship differently.  All three also have to figure out how their decisions impact their relationships with the men in their lives and their friends.  The book really spoke to figuring out what is most important to you in your life, and fighting for that.

Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman


This book centers around Lu, a lawyer who was recently elected state's attorney.  Her father held the same position years ago and was beloved in it.  She takes on a murder case, and it turns out some of the players have ties to her family.  We go back and forth between present day, where Lu is figuring out her life and the murder case, and the past, where Lu sees family situations through a child's eyes.  These events impact her case in the present, and she has to see old events with new, adult clarity.  It speaks to family relationships and how do we use new information about happenings that we thought were laid to rest.

We Could Be Beautiful by Swan Huntley


This book claims to be a psychological thriller on the back, but I didn't really think it was.  I have to say I read the whole thing and it did keep my interest.  That doesn't mean I would say I liked it per se though.  The main character is a 43 year old woman who lives off of an $80,000 a month trust fund in New York.  She is rich and spoiled and basically out of touch with life.  She owns a shop, but really has no head for business or really any interest in it.  She is looking for love, and finds it in an old family friend who returns to town.  I don't want to spoil what happens, but I found the love interest off putting.  It was pretty clear from the start something wasn't right with him, and honestly it was pretty easy to figure out the twist.  I have some unanswered questions related to that, but the characters don't seem to mind.  Overall it was frustrating to read about a woman who seems more like a child in her emotional dealings with the world and practical knowledge.  But again, I kept reading and liked the style and cadence.  I suppose it is possible to like a book and dislike the story at the same time.

Happy reading!!
-Kim

November 2016 Book List

November books!  This month I have one kind of mystery, one meaty good one, and two fun feel-good books for you to check out! (This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.)



First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen


First Frost was a book about the women in a family.  It focused mainly on two sisters and one of their teenage daughters.  Each woman has her own issue she is grappling with, one wants a child and the other is unsure about her new business, and a gentleman comes into town trying to shake up the sisters a bit.  They are able to work through their issues, which of course would have been easier if they had turned to each other sooner.  The book felt comfortable, and the author really uses good sensory description that made me feel like I was wrapped up in a wonderful crisp fall day.  This was hard to do because it had not been very cool around here while I was reading it!  This is actually a sequel to one of Allen's earlier books, but I didn't realize it when I picked it up.  I feel like it stood up on its own just fine.  I love books like that, where you can read a book out of order and it is still a good story.  Eventually I will find the first book and read that and it will feel like a prequel.  Overall I would recommend it.  It isn't earth shaking or anything, but it is nice to read about normal people who really have just regular problems.  It was a comforting book I liked turning to in a free moment.

Serena by Ron Rash


I read this book because I had seen previews for the movie.  I like the stars (Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper), so I wanted to read the book.  I did watch the movie after and have to say don't even bother.  I read the book and the movie didn't make total sense to me.  The book is so much better.  Serena is an interesting character.  It is 1929 and she marries a lumber tycoon and moves with him to the mountains to help oversee the business.  Right away Serena establishes herself as not being like most 'well bred' women of the day.  Her new husband fathered a child before they met, and that girl's father confronts him when he comes back with Serena.  A knife fight ensues and Serena's husband ends up killing him.  Serena is very cold about the whole thing, which sets the stage for how she is the entire book.  She is a tough woman.  She handles the rough timber life and men, leaving them respectful of her even if they don't really like her.  Eventually Serena and her husband try to have a child, but she ends up losing it.  Even though she was determined and extremely focused on her goals, she is even more so after the death of her child.  She resents the woman who had a child with her husband and eventually goes after them.  We get to see the perspective of this young mother as she tries to keep her child safe, offering a much less cold blooded perspective to compare to.  Overall Serena is ruthless and ambitious and I loved reading how far she would go for her goals.  She does some questionable things, but they line up with her character so well you just accept them as par for the course.  I admit in the beginning of the novel I respected how strong and clear she was in her aims, but her lack of humanity shows to be too much at the end.  The book is great, skip the movie.



Wedding Girl by Stacey Ballis


I loved this book.  It was so fun!  The main character starts the book by blowing way too much money on a picture perfect wedding the groom doesn't even show up for.  It of course rocks her world.  She ends up moving in with her grandmother and working at a local bakery.  The book is set in Chicago, which I always love.  It is one of those great books full of food.  The main character is a world class pastry chef, so food and baking are their own character.  I love books with lots of food and recipe descriptions (the book even has recipes in the back!).  While I admit I didn't have a ton of sympathy for the debt portion of her story (her own fault for knowingly overspending on the wedding), I liked seeing her work through her feelings and find her footing in her career again.  Oh, and there is a love story in there as well.  It was just like a good pastry- tasty and fun to read.

Intrusion by Mary McCluskey


In this book Kat and her husband have recently lost their seventeen year old son.  Kat is not taking it well (understandable).  Her husband throws himself into work where he takes on a new client that happens to be an old school friend of Kat, Sarah.  Kat and Sarah were good friends, but had a huge falling out due basically to Sarah sleeping with Kat's boyfriend.  Kat is willing to let her back into her life all these years later, and Sarah seems to be nice enough.  Without giving away too much, Sarah seems to have a hidden vendetta.  Overall I enjoyed the book well enough.  I could understand Kat's grieving and feeling lost.  It was clear that Sarah was going to be a problem, but I felt like her reasoning could have used a bit more fleshing out.  Or maybe it was enough and Sarah was just a bit petty.  Either way it was a fun book to read.  The ending felt a bit rushed, and honestly it isn't as good as Gone Girl, which a review on the cover likened it to.  I would say it is more of a day or two read, but not really something that will stick with you for long.

I've been reading a lot of just fun books for the past few months, easy things to get through the transition times.  Anyone have any suggestions for something a bit deeper for a good read?  I like pretty much all genres.  Thanks!

-Kim

October 2016 Book List

This month I read two books from the same author, Rick Riordan.  One was the second in a series and one was the start of a new spin off series.  I love these books and this author.  This month I am going to highlight these series.  I don't want to recap too much and give a lot a way.  But trust me, these are great books for all ages.  Yes, they are technically young adult.  But I started reading them just before Ben was born and I have enjoyed them all.

These books all follow the same idea- the ancient gods exist and are still around today.  Of course ancient evil exists too and the gods alone can't keep it at bay, they need the help of teen demigods.  (Why do such powerful entities need the help of teens?  Who knows.  It does seem silly, but hey, they are good stories.)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is the first series.  It centers around Percy Jackson, a son of Poseidon and a place called Camp Half-Blood.  Camp Half-Blood is a safe place for children of the Greek gods to live and train.  A prophecy is given that sends Percy and some friends on a trek to save the world.  (There is a big theme of saving the world in all these series.  Apparently we are all in jeopardy a lot. :P )

The Heroes of Olympus carries on after Percy's initial story.  In this series we learn that not only are the Greek gods around and active, their Roman counterparts are as well.  (And yes, the series talks about how that is possible.)  We meet demigods from Camp Jupiter, Camp Half-Blood's Roman counterpart.  The new journey to save the world is even bigger than the last and has more great characters.

The Kane Chronicles is its own series, although it does allude to the Olympians briefly.  (And there are some crossover stories.)  These books are told a little differently, they are the transcripts from a brother and sister.   Their father is an egyptologist who goes missing.  While trying to find him Carter and Sadie learn that they are descendants from a long line of powerful magicians.  They have to learn to use their magic to help save the world.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is one of the newest series out right now, it is on book two.  This series centers around the ancient Norse gods.  Magnus is actually the cousin of one of the main characters from the Percy Jackson stories.  I really liked these as I did not know much about Norse mythology, besides of course what I've seen from the Thor movies.  (I'm thinking that isn't enough to say I knew much about it.)  Yes, they have to work to save the world again.  (Okay, I am simplifying it a bit.  The world isn't always in total peril in these books, but more or less things will go very very badly for the planet if the main characters don't step in and save the day.)  Spoiler alert- there are hints at the end of the second book that some of the Greek demigods are going to play a bigger part in future books!

The final book I read this month was The Trials of Apollo.  Apollo falls to earth as a human and has to find a way to redeem himself to regain his godly status.  We end up back at Camp Half-Blood.  New forces are gathering to try to cause trouble for the demigods and the world in general.  Only one book in this series is out already.  Characters from the Olympians make a comeback at the end, which I think is very exciting.

So why do I like these books so much?  The biggest thing is that they are fun.  They are exciting and full of action.  You can read them on their own, but if you read all the series you get to learn more and more about how they all fit together.  (It can get a bit confusing how all these ancient deities are still operating at the same time.) I really can't wait for Ben, Ali, and Sammy to be big enough to read these as a family.  I think these books are fun for adults, but really great for kids.  They are chock full of mythology.  This might not seem like an area kids need to know a lot about, but it does actually play in to a lot of arenas.  First of all, it is history.  Yes, it might be viewed as just a bunch of stories.  But they are the stories of cultures.  They tell what different groups of people in history have valued, how they related to each other, and how they viewed the world around them.  The gods in these books are imperfect, and this gives a good opening to discussions about character and how to handle strengths and weaknesses.  Mythology plays into a lot of literary illusions and great works, so a working knowledge of it can be very helpful.  Beyond the mythology the books have a ton of lessons on team work, sacrifice, and finding your way in life.  Important lessons that I am looking forward to sharing with my kids.  I view these books as 'keepers.'  I love to own books, but try to limit myself so as not to overrun our home with books.  These books are ones that I want to invest in to reread again, with the kids and on my own.  I really recommend them to everyone.  (And yes, these links are affiliate links.  All these opinions are completely my own.  I really do love these books this much.)


-Kim