What I'm Reading

Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon

Would I read it again: yes! 

Recap and my thoughts: All the heart eyes for this beautiful book! It is by far my favorite purchase I've made in a while. It makes a perfect coffee table book. The pictures are gorgeous. Some of my favorite chapters included If It Isn't Moving Monogram It, My Did Do Language and Notes on Southern Conversation and Hot Rollers, Red Lipstick and Steel Magnolias. This is a great southern lifestyle book with gorgeous pictures! 

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty 

Would I read it again: yes! 

Recap and my thoughts: I haven't read any of Liane Moriarty books that I did not like and this one was no different. This book follows the lives of three triplets as they navigate marriage, miscarriage, babies, divorce and sisterhood. I stayed up way too late reading this book because of some of the surprising drama and found myself literally laughing out loud. I finished the book smiling so it gets a thumbs up from me! 

Something In the Water by Catherine Steadman

Would I read it again? YES! 

Recap and my thoughts: This is a thriller that had me hooked from literally the first sentence. This book follows a newlywed couple who make a dangerous decision on their honeymoon that will change their lives forever. This book keeps you hooked and ends with a twist. I loved it and read the whole thing in one weekend (which is not easy with an infant but it was just that good..) 

What I'm Reading

I'm always looking for book recommendations and have about a million books on my "to read" list. Here are some of my more recent reads and what I thought about them in case you are looking for a book to add to your own "to read" list!

Would I read it again? Yes

Recap and my thoughts: I thought this book was really funny and addicting. A thriller about a young woman seeking money and the perfect lifestyle and another woman who seems to have it all. Their lives cross in the craziest way and hidden secrets are revealed. I'll just say .. you never know what someone else is going through! I loved this book and the twist at the end.

Would I read it again? Yes!

Recap and my thoughts: A historical fiction novel set in Cuba in the 1950's. This is not the normal type of book I gravitate towards but I loved it so much. I learned a lot about Cuban political history with this book. The whole time I couldn't wait to find out how the main character's love story would play out. This is a great book! 

Would I read it again? YES! In fact, I think I'm going to. 

Recap and my thoughts: Jen Hatmaker is hilarious and often had me laughing out loud. She lays it all out and reminds us of Jesus' grace and how that relates to our everyday struggles as a wife, mom, church member and just a normal person living in this crazy world. I really enjoyed this book!

Would I read it again? Yes!

Recap and my thoughts: A book about young love and hard choices for an immigrant family. I really enjoyed this book and found myself rooting for each of the characters. I would read this again in a heartbeat. 

Would I read it again? Yes

Recap and my thoughts: This is the second book in her Peachtree Bluff series. A southern fiction book that touches on sisterhood and family. I love all of her books and this one was no different! I'm already counting down until book three is released! If you like southern fiction then you need to look up her other books! 

Would I read it again? No

Recap and my thoughts: A self help book if you will where Rachel Hollis tells her stories to motivate you to live your best life. I guess I'm glad I read this to see what all the hype was about but this was honestly not my favorite. I had to force myself to finish it. I felt like she talked about herself a lotttttt and at the risk of sounding rude, I just didn't care. This book was advertised in the Christian section but I found that she missed so many opportunities to point people to Jesus. Instead she had a very "me" attitude. Not my favorite and I would not recommend. 

Would I read it again? Yes, but I wouldn't plow through it. Instead I would just leave it on my bedside table or in Anna Claire's nursery to read a chapter here and there. 

Recap and my thoughts: A collection of essays about all things motherhood. There are a lot of really beautiful thoughts that made me think YES YES and YES.. that is exactly how I feel. It's a sweet book and would make a great gift to a new mommy! 

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That was a lot. It's been way too long since I've done a post like this. I'll have to work on that. Maybe monthly would be better -- Note to self! Also, I wanted to mention that I check out as many books as I can from the library. Buying books can get expensive y'all! Of course there are some books I order off Amazon if my library doesn't carry them but if I can read it for free then why not?! It seems like my generation has completely forgotten libraries exist so I just wanted to throw that out there... Happy reading friends! (: 

Recent Reads

I love to read and am always on the lookout for book recommendations from others. Today I'm sharing some of my recent reads and what I thought about them. I'll start with my absolute FAVORITE...

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

This may be my favorite book I have ever read. Seriously, it is SO good. It is about two sisters living in France during World War II. I am normally not into historical fiction but this had been recommended to me by my mom and on my "to read list" for a while so I finally picked it up and I am SO glad I did. It is a very real and emotional read that was so eye opening to me about what life was like during that time. I actually listened to this book on Audible which I think I may have enjoyed even more than reading because of all the French accents. A book I cannot recommend enough! 

One True Love by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

A story about a girl who marries her high school sweetheart. They have the perfect marriage until suddenly he goes missing after a tragic helicopter crash. Years later she runs into an old friend and ends up falling in love again. She gets her second chance at love- until her husband is found, alive. He had been alive and trying to get to her the entire time. Now she must choose between her first love and husband and her now new fiancee. I couldn't stop reading this story and definitely shed a few tears at the end. It was an excellent read! 

When Breath Becomes Air 

This was a quick read and another emotional story. It is a memoir about a young neurosurgeon finishing his residency at Stanford when he is diagnosed with Stage lV lung cancer at the age of 36. Again, not the type of book I normally pick up but it came to me recommended and I am glad I read it. It wasn't my favorite out of all of the books listed here but I did still really like it! 

The Chemist 

I actually read this book over the summer after spotting it at our local library. The title stuck out to me for some reason so I picked it up and am SO glad I did! I flew through this highly engaging book about an ex-agent who is on the run from her old employer. She used to work for the government and knows one of their darkest secrets. When they decided she was a liability she was forced to run for her life and try to clear her name. If you are into Criminal Minds and detective shows you will love this book! 

If you have any book recommendations please send them my way! 

Book Review and Some Perspective

I spent some time this summer in Orange Beach, Alabama visiting family. While there my mom and I checked out some of the local shops. One of our favorites we came across was a small Pack and Mail shop. It was just a packing/shipping store but it carried several books by a local author and had the friendliest staff. We were convinced we had to purchase a book after hearing how inspiring this author was. The owner of the store told us once we read it, he knew we would be back for another book by Andy Andrews.

I spent that day on the beach reading the book we picked up called The Noticer, by Andy Andrews. It turns out the owner of the store was right. I read the book in one day and returned the next ready for another one. If you are looking for a new book to read this summer I can't recommend this one enough!

This book is a true story but also mixes autobiography and fiction into it. One reason I think this book is so powerful is because it is so easy to read while being a true story. This book is about a town full of ordinary people who deal with everyday struggles. Finances, Divorce, Aging.. etc. An older man named Jones shows up just when the people of Orange Beach feel defeated and hopeless. With just a few words of wisdom, Jones offers people a new perspective that is able to change their life forever. 

After reading this book you will be ready to reevaluate your perspective on life! I can't tell you enough that this book is simply amazing! I'm reading another one of his now called The Heart Mender. I will be sure to share when I finish! 

High Reading Hopes

You often hear people say "my eyes were bigger than my stomach" when referring to eating. I have been sitting here trying to brainstorm how I can change that into my reading hopes are bigger than my realistic amount of free time. I couldn't think of anything catchy but you get the picture. If you go back to this blog post posted a month and a half ago you will see I had high hopes to read several books over Christmas break. Let's do a recap-

How to be a Hepburn in a Hilton World. I got this book a few weeks ago and read it cover to cover in a matter of days. I had been dying to read it after seeing it all over the blog world. It did not dissapoint! It was actually a good reality check. I think I will leave it at this for now because I want to do a seperate blog post about it!

Decision Points by George W. Bush- I have not read this yet but it is still on the "reading wish list"

The End of Molases Classes by Ron Clark- YES! Finished it, love it, recommend it to all teachers! This book is very motivational for the teacher in you. It is split into three sections- for the teacher -for parents -for the community. I found the teacher part the most intersting and only skimmed the other parts.

The Essential 55 by Ron Clark- I got it for Christmas (thanks mom!!) ..but haven't had a chance to read it yet. I will be very soon though!!
 The Friday night knitting club by Kate Jacobs- I'm half way through this book but keep stopping in the middle to read other books. (I'm telling you my hopes are bigger than reality!) I've heard great things about it so I can't wait to finish it. Maybe I will get on that tonight.

So that's the update- some have been read, some are still on the reading list. You would think I would read them all before I add even more books to the list but nope, my hopes are big! I have found more books to read!

Every Other Monday by John Kasich- My mom gave me this book for my birthday and I am just kicking myself for not reading it yet. Soon mom, soon!

The 10 Women You'll Be Before You're 35- This was suggest by a blog friend and I immediatley ordered it. I can't wait to read the first chapter about being a new college graduate!

The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson- to be honest I have no idea what this book is about but it too was suggested by my mom. She says it's great!

and even though my list is way too long my eye was drawn to two new books at Target. When I got home I was still thinking about them so needless to say, they have been ordered from Amazon and will be making their way to my hands very soon.

MWF seeking BFF: my yearlong search for a new best friend.

and

The Four Ms. Bradwells- I knew I had to get this book because 1) anything with pearls on the cover has to be a winner and 2) the back cover stated "a book you will want to share with your mother and best friend"  my sister laughed at me because I saw that and thought ..I have a mom and friends! ha, it's obviously not too difficult to convince me a book is good!

Happy Reading Friends!

Let's Read

Finding time to read during senior year of college is quite the challenge. If I'm lucky I squeeze in a few pages before bed normally falling asleep with the book still open. If it's a very good one it's a different story! Then I read until I finish and realize it's 3am and I have to wake up in a few hours. I'm hoping with Christmas break coming up I can catch up on a few books I have been wanting to read since this summer! My list is starting to grow pretty long. Let me know if you have read any of these or have any suggestions of other books to add to the list!

I've seen this book on tons of blogs and can no longer wait- it's a must read over break! There is an article about this book by The Washington Times here

This is a book I wanted to read this summer but ran out of time. Decision Points sounds so interesting to me! It's George Bush's view of what happened during the 2000 election, aboard Air Force One during the attacks of September 11, and into the Situation Room moments before the start of the war in Iraq.

I'm currently reading this book after receiving a free autographed copy from Mr. Ron Clark himself! I had the chance to hear him speak at a teaching fellow convention this summer at Elon College. As a future teacher I find him extremely inspiring. When I finish this book I plan on reading The Essential 55 as well!

This is one that has been sitting by my bed for a few weeks. I'll get to it soon! ..hopefully

Have you read any of these or have any other suggestions?

Don't forget to ask me questions here or by commenting on this post. I'll be doing a post soon with anything and everything you'd like to know(: