What’s one book you’ve read lately that you just couldn’t put down – or still has you mulling parts of it? 

It’s been about two months since I shared what I was reading and now that we’re back in the swing of school (sort of), sharing what the kids are reading as well is part of the list. 

One of my goals this school year is not only reading aloud with the boys at least 4 days a week, but making sure that I personally set aside 20 minutes of reading time for myself 4 days a week (no interruptions). This doesn’t include my “fall asleep holding the Kindle” reading time – this is reading something with a little more depth, or at least taking time to rest and regroup.

My 2018 Reading List  is slowly decreasing, just maybe not as fast as I’d like, since I keep finding great books to read and I have a hard time NOT adding a new book to my pile. I’m guessing I’m not the only one with this problem? 

Feed readers can click here to see my books for September. 

*all links are referral links

• Free of Me by Sharon Miller
• Love Unending: Rediscovering Your Marriage in the Midst of Motherhood by Becky Thompson
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
• An Hour Unspent by Roseanna White
• The German Girl by Armando Correa
• The Beekeeper’s Daughter by Santa Montefiore

So far, I am LOVING Love Unending and the quick “talking points” each chapter provides.  There are also so many great fiction books to read right now – I really need to stop adding things to my pile!

What the Kids are Reading

I have to tell you all, our current read-aloud is cracking me up and also almost made me cry this week. IT’S FICTION YOU ALL! 

The boys are rolling their eyes, but I’m absolutely loving this author’s writing style and having so much fun reading it with the boys. 

• Read-aloud: The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt and The House With a Clock in Its Walls by Bellairs
• Laurianna – Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
• McKenna – Beowulf
• Zachary – Tuck Everlasting
• Kaleb – The Yellow House Mystery (Boxcar Children #3)

What I Read the Last Two Months (and Quick Thoughts)

A Family Shaped by Grace by Gary Morland – This was one that came up on Amazon and grabbed my attention. I had no idea it was written by the dad of someone I know personally, which made it so much better once I realized that. 

The beginning years of this family’s life was truly rough. The dad grew up in a very dysfunctional family and their family legacy was only changed by the grace of God. This isn’t a step-by-step solution to a peaceful home, but gentle leading/nudging and encouragement that is well-worth re-reading and keeping on hand. (5/5 rating)

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate – Oh my heart, you all. This book was both heartbreaking and engrossing. Having never heard of Georgia Tann and the scandal with the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, this was so saddening to read at times.

The overall story is fictional but based on real-life happening of children that are essentially stolen from their families and then adopted/sold to other families in the late 1930s-1940s. It is unbelievable to realize how many lives were impacted by one woman and her reach, and even more that it went undetected for so long. (5/5 rating)

Amy Snow by Tracy Rees – Another book that swept me up last month. A young baby is found in the snowy woods and brought home by a young girl. The family is very wealthy, but the girl is not embraced by the parents and has difficulty fitting in with the staff and other members of the household. Her only friend is the young heiress who rescued her.

Years later, when the heiress dies young, Amy is left out in the cold again, but sent on a treasure hunt with a single clue left to her by her recently deceased friend.  (5/5 rating)

Also read the following (July/August): 

• Prison Letters by Corrie ten Boom
• The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
• The Austen Escape by Katherine Ray
• I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
• Death in St. Petersburg by Tasha Alexander
• The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
• Secrets of the Lighthouse by Sant Montefiore
• The Dry by Jane Harper
• Garden Spells and First Frost by Sarah Allen
• Comfort Detox by Straza
• Still Me by Jojo Moyes
• Cherish By Gary Thomas

You can follow along with me via the Goodreads app where I share my reviews and additional thoughts. What have YOU been reading this month? 

What have YOU been reading this month? 

I’ve been trying to branch out some in my reading genre (i.e. I’m a huge historical fiction fan and tend to get stuck in an era or genre). There are some books coming to movies and also a few that people have been raving about, so I added a few of those to my February reading list. 

One of those, The Girl on the Train, is a title I read incorrectly, and consequently read The Girl  FROM the Train first – and the two are very, very different. The second title was a translation and I believe there were some things a little lost in translation. Overall it wasn’t bad (and honestly I enjoyed it more than the one all the fuss is about), but when I realized I’d read the wrong book – oy. 

I honestly don’t feel like I read a lot during February (in comparison to my normal book intake), but overall finished six books – five fiction and one non-fiction and started a few others.  While my Kindle is my “go-to” at bedtime, I’ve literally been falling asleep almost as soon as I’m in bed, so reading is a moot point. For this upcoming month, I’ve picked one additional book from my 2018 Reading List to focus on along with finishing one I started last month, and have at least two non-fiction books I’d like to read as well. 

Feed readers can click here to see my books for March. 

• Blessed Are the Misfits
• With All Due Respect
• Just Open the Door
• Eve
• Romancing Daphne
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
  
   

I’m very much enjoying Blessed Are the Misfits so far, and really can’t wait to dig into Just Open the Door by Jen Schmidt! 

What the Kids are Reading

Something has truly “clicked” with Kaleb over the last bit and reading has been less of a struggle – which is beyond thrilling (really, truly). February had us going back and forth a lot in the afternoons, so we didn’t accomplish a lot of reading aloud at all, hence the reason we are still reading Gregor together. :)

Read aloud – Gregor the Underland Chronicles

McKenna – Ivanhoe

Zachary – A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

Kaleb – All About Reading Level 4

What I Read in February (and Quick Thoughts)

Godspeed by Britt Merrick – This book still has me mulling over so many things. The overarching theme is that we are called to “mission” in our lives – and it doesn’t necessarily involve a going out all over the world, but can mean little things (mission vs. missions). It isn’t that it’s super earth shattering, but it’s practical and presents topics in a way that you really stop and re-think the why behind some of your beliefs. Honestly one of my favorite books read to date. 

For Love or Honor by Sara Eden – if you love period dramas, this was another fun book in the Jonquil brothers series by Eden. I read it in a little over a day and a sweet story. Not my favorite in the series, but still fun to read and see past characters. 

The Pearl Sister by Lucinda Riley – fourth book in the series of six adopted sisters who lost their father. Each book chronicles the life of one sister in the months following their father’s death as they search deeper into their birth heritage. This has been a really interesting series as it flips back and forth between present time and back sometimes a hundred years or more to share history (one included Beatrix Potter). This one had a little more ‘edge’ to it, but nothing explicit. 

I’m trying to balance out my reading genres a little, but bedtime is typically my “pick up a piece of fiction” time, sometimes via Kindle and other times a good ol’ paperback book. Here are links to four of the six books I read in February. 

You can follow along with me via the Goodreads app where I share my reviews and additional thoughts. What have YOU been reading this month? 

The first part of January had me curled up in the living room with a blanket rather frequently. We’ve had some rather chilly days, so a warm fire and cozy blanket seemed the perfect opportunity to squeeze some reading in. The last week though felt a bit overwhelming and I didn’t have as much time to sit down and read between dentist appointments and a few other commitments that needed my attention…and not a book. :(

All of the books from my 2018 Reading List are on the bookshelf and waiting for me, so I pulled off three fiction books to read and managed to get through all but half of one along with a few from my non-fiction list. Two were ones that I normally wouldn’t have picked up, but ended up really enjoying! 

Feed readers can click here to see my books for January. 

I’m very much enjoying Godspeed so far, but this is one that is requiring a little more focus for me as well (not just a light read). It is very good though! 

What the Kids are Reading

Laurianna has been a little busy with her schoolwork and hasn’t had as much time for fun reading the last bit, but the three others are getting in their reading time with the following books. One thing I am really enjoying is seeing Kaleb branch out a little in his reading as well, so finding books that he enjoys makes my heart happy. 

Read aloud – Gregor the Underland Chronicles

McKenna – Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Zachary – The Bronze Bow

Kaleb – AAR Level 3-4, What is the Superbowl? and Who Was Jackie Robinson? 

What I Read in January (and Quick Thoughts)

I’m trying to balance out my reading genres a little, but bedtime is typically my “pick up a piece of fiction” time, sometimes via Kindle and other times a good ol’ paperback book. Here’s a look at the eight books I read in January. 

You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life by Eleanor Roosevelt – a friend suggested this one to me, and quite honestly, it was almost as if this book could have been written recently, rather than over sixty years ago. So much of it practically applied to today, although I did find myself at times wondering how Mrs. Roosevelt would view all the busyness that we have in our society today in comparison to the timeframe from which she was writing. 

Reading People by Anne Bogel – again, another book that I wouldn’t normally have picked up, but it was rather interesting. Bogel looks at the various personality tests and how different personality types interact and may react. It does have me rather curious about a few. My hubby and I were talking about how our personality types have shifted over the twenty or so past years. I am definitely more outgoing/extroverted, but during the last ten years have really pulled closer to home and what is familiar, rather than wanting as much energy from others. I’d much rather curl up with a book and recharge quietly. An interesting read! 

A Name Unknown and A Song Unheard by Roseanna White – these are both by one of my favorite historical fiction writers and a newer series from her. I absolutely LOVED both of them. The main characters are part of a group of pickpockets that have adopted each other over the years and become a family. One by one they are approached to do specific “jobs” for a mysterious man and in the process find both love and relationships with God. Both books were well-written and I can’t wait for the next book (and sibling) in the series. 

The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley – this is a random series I picked up at the library last year to start reading and they are still in process of being released. Each book in the series follows one of six adopted sisters and their search to discover their roots after the death of their father. This one follows Star as her clues lead her on a hunt stretching back 100 years and to a different country. 

You can follow along with me via the Goodreads app where I share my reviews and additional thoughts. What have YOU been reading this month? 

The last few years I have shared my “focused” reading list with you all. I love the suggestions you all have made via Facebook and commenting (some great suggestions!) and the accountability it has given me. There’s something about putting your goals out there for everyone to see that helps you kick into overdrive when it comes to meeting those goals. 

Each year I’ve tried to push myself a little bit more in what I am reading for non-fiction, and try to cover several different topics: parenting, personal growth, marriage, spiritual, and then there are those things that just catch my eye. 

I’m a sucker for a pretty cover. And texture – how it feels when I hold it in my hand makes a difference. I know it sounds odd. Call me crazy. :) 

While I only have fifteen books listed specifically for 2018, keep in mind this doesn’t list all of the fiction that somehow manages to make it to my list. My overall goal is to finish the 15 “growth” books and leave a little wiggle-room for new books that catch my eye over the course of the year.

One of the easiest ways I’ve found to track my reading over the last few years has been via the GoodReads app.   Following friends, seeing what others are reading, and being able to quickly rate a book I’m reading – love that (because my memory isn’t what it used to be!). Join me there and let’s read along together!

The Main Reading Pile

• You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life by Eleanor Roosevelt  √
• Reading People by Anne Bogel  √
• Love Unending: Rediscovering Your Marriage in the Midst of Motherhood by Becky Thompson √
• Comfort Detox: Finding Freedom from Habits that Bind You by Erin Straza √
• I Want God: Forever Changed by the Revival of Your Soul by Lisa Whittle √
• Fiercehearted: Live Fully, Love Bravely by Holly Gerth √
• Free of Me: Why Life Is Better When It’s Not about You by Sharon Hodde Miller √
• Blessed Are the Misfits by Brant Hansen √
• Wait and See: Finding Peace in God’s Pauses and Plans by Wendy Pope √
• Cherish: The One Word That Changes Everything for Your Marriage by Gary Thomas √
• A Family Shaped by Grace by Gary Moreland √
• With All Due Respect: 40 Days to a More Fulfilling Relationship with Your Teens and Tweens by Nina Roesner and Debbie Hitchcock
• The Cry for Spiritual Mothers and Fathers by Larry Kreider
• Shine by Allison Allen
• Godspeed by Britt Merrick √

Fiction Books/Series to Look At

So, a lot of my books do tend to gravitate to historical fiction, but at times I pepper in teen lit (to stay on top of things before the kids read them) and lately more contemporary fiction. I personally have been a bit picky about much of the stuff I read, because for me too much language or other graphic stuff is a ‘trigger’ for me – so I tend to err on the side of books that aren’t raunchy or full of whatever.

Last year there were a few that I read (Lianne Moriarty, for starters) that were out of my comfort zone in some ways, but overall not bad (language mainly) – but generated conversation on topics in the books with friends for sure. All that said, I haven’t vetted all of the below series, so they may be complete busts! 

• Giver of Wonders by Roseanna White √
• A Name Unknown √  and A Song Unheard √ by Roseanna White
• The Kremlin Conspiracy by Joel Rosenberg √
• Ruby Red series by Kerstin Gier (teen lit) √
• Seven Sisters series (as released) by Lucinda Riley √
• Michael Vey series by Richard Paul Evans (young adult)
• The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson √
• Death in St. Petersburg by Tasha Alexander √

“If There is Time Pile”

• The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
• Rethinking School by Susan Wise Bauer
• Grace is Greater by Kyle Idleman
• The Read Aloud Family by Sarah MacKenzie
• Parenting Teens with Love and Logic by Foster Kline

If you’re interested, here are my 10 favorite books I read last year (a mix of fiction and non-fiction). I’d love to hear what books you have on your shelf for the 2018 year and and recommendations for me to add to my list! 

Happy reading!