Summer Reading

Summer officially kicks off this weekend and with summer, comes lots of extra time at the Harrison house.  Besides some extra time in the evenings, we also have a few beach trips planned (one sans kiddos) and lots of pool days in store.  So I am really looking forwards to knocking out a few highly anticipated books on my reading list in the coming months!

Here are the ones topping my list for now but I am always on the lookout for the next best read…

All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

Educated by Tara Westover

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Parenting by Paul David Tripp

The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett

Arcadia by Lauren Goff

The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers

The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy

The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews

I Don’t Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson

I am also trying to encourage the girls to mix in a little more reading this summer.  Hadley can finally read on her own pretty well so she is loading up on some recommended reading, Junie B. Jones, and the Magic Treehouse series but there are a few chapter books that I hope to start reading together with both girls as well.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Littler Women by Laura Schaefer

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

Update:  After I wrote this post, my mom informed me of the Great American Read on PBS and I found this list of America’s 100 favorite books.  I have already read many of these but I am going to try and throw in a few of these along the way as well.  I will try and do another post on my progress on this list at a later date. 

What I've Been Reading

It's been a really long time since I've done a book post.  To tell the truth, my reading game has been pretty slacking the past several months.  But I picked up a book a few weeks ago that I just couldn't put down and it reminded me just how much I enjoy a good book!

When Joy Came to Stay by Karen Kingsbury

Kingsbury is one of my all time favorite authors.  Her books are faith filled stories and almost always have a good ending.  This one was about a women who seemed to have it all together and her battle with depression that led her to a mental breakdown.  The story follows her journey and her husbands attempt to find answers to what is really going on.  It also follows the journey of a little girl lost in foster care and is full of both heart ache and joy.  I really loved that this book touched on that fact that depression is a serious illness and affects all sorts of people.


A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

If you have turned on the television anytime in the past few months, I am sure you have seen lots of previews for the new A Wrinkle in Time movie starring some pretty big names.  I read the book back in middle school but didn't remember a ton about it.  I wanted to reread it in anticipation of taking my girls to see the movie.  However, after reading the book and hearing a few reviews of the movie, I think it is a little too scary and dark for them right now.  However, I did really enjoy the book and would rank it as one of the better children's novels that I can remember reading.  The story is a little strange at times but I love the characters so much and the way it really makes me stretch my imagination.  I may have to sneak off by myself sometime and catch a bit of the movie.

What I've Been Reading

So I have done a horrible job at keeping up with everything I have been reading lately.  I try to track all my lists on Goodreads but I have been falling behind on that one.  I had fallen off the reading bandwagon for a few weeks because .. well life... but I just recently signed up for Audible and it is amazing.




I have a pretty long commute back and forth each day and I get super tired of scanning the radio channels so I like to listen to audio books instead.  I also get bored with music and I lose interest with podcasts so I have really started listening to more audio books while I run.  And thanks to Audible, I can get just about any audiobook whenever I want it. 


But back to what I have read lately...




Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Reid Jenkins
I really liked this one!  This book was a fun read about a girl, Hannah, who was trying to get her life together.  In concurrent storylines, we see how Hannah's life plays out based on one decision she makes one night.. to go home with her friend or stay at a bar with her old high school boyfriend.  I loved the way each story played out and the characters in her book was so great and relatable.  The only thing I didn't like was at the end, I wanted to know which one really happened...




In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
I have had this book lying around my house for years and just never got around to reading it.  This book was so fun to read.  It was about two sisters who were polar opposites of each other and their relationship with each other as well as their estranged grandmother.  This was probably my favorite book of Weiner that I have read so far.  I loved the relationship between the sisters and the grandmother and her friends reminded me so much of my own.  It was a good light read with a good ending.






The Royal We by Heather Cocks
This was pretty much a fictional telling of William and Kate (or at least a version of their story).  I loved the whole American girl (Bex) meets British Prince (Nick) and falls in love.  It was fun to see what it was probably like from the Princess's side of the story and really made me feel a little bit sorry for them.  It's got to be tough to be in the spotlight like that.  It was a really fun story though and I enjoyed the read.










Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
I read this book with every intention of going to see the movie but that hasn't happened yet.  I love reading true stories of people.  I also really love books based back in the Civil Rights era.  And I love books about space exploration and rocket ships plus I am also a "mathematician" so this book was right up my alley!  I loved reading the stories of these women and how they overcame obstacles and discrimination to be some of the most influential people in NASA.  Their stories are inspiring and powerful.  I think this would be a great required reading for school kids!

Beaches

Can we just take a moment or two to discuss Beaches?  A few months ago when I heard that Lifetime was making a remake of the movie, I got so excited!  I had seen the older version several times and it was one of my favorites.  I loved the characters and their friendship over all the years.  They were so different from each other but so connected.  I had never read the book that the movie was adapted from so I ordered a fancy $3 used copy for myself and read it over the Christmas holidays.  As much as I loved the movie, the book was 10 times better.  There were several contrasts between the book and the movie but overall, the story stayed the same.

I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t read or watched it before but if you can finish the whole thing without shedding a tear, you are one tough cookie!  So this past weekend after the kids went to sleep, I parked myself in front of the TV to bask in the splendor of a little uninterrupted Lifetime movie night.  The remake was just as good as the first one.  They did have a few changes but it was pretty much on point with the first version of the movie…. especially with the music. Idena Menzel could belt those big tunes just as powerful as Bette Midler did which I must say I LOVED both.  But for some reason, I thought I could sit there and watch the end without sobbing uncontrollably like I did with all the other times I read/watched the book/movie and I was very wrong. I mean I literally sobbed.  

Even though I looked like a puffy eyed snotty faced crazy woman when it was over, it was still a great movie.  Their friendship reminds me so much of so many of my friends who though we come from completely different backgrounds and live totally separate lives,  I know they would drop whatever they were doing for me if I needed them.  I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a great chick flick!   

2017 Reading List

If you know me at all, you know that I love to read.  I almost always keep a book beside my bed, in my car, in my purse, on my desk, on my phone, or really just anywhere that I can pick up and read when I have a moment.  I am really trying to be more intentional with the my time and while yes being lost in a book, may not always be considered productive, I do feel like it is better than scrolling mindlessly through my social media feeds.  I have decided that I don't really care too much for a numerical reading goal because it makes me feel forced and pressured to read and I can't enjoy it as much but I do want a little more variety in my reading this year.

I always have the hardest time picking out what I want to read.  I tend to find a reading list or some recommendations and then buy a bunch of books but never get around to reading them.  Or I get stuck on one author or genre.  My mom sent me a reading challenge a few weeks ago so I did a little editing to it based on some other reading challenges I had seen and came up with this to make my reading list a little easier and more organized this year...

I have a few of the books already planned but I would love to get some recommendations for some of them as well.  So if you know of any good books, please send them my way! What are you planning to read this year?  

What I've Been Reading..

Between a little traveling, some extra down time, lots of audiobook time in the car, and some really good books that I couldn’t put down, I have read a lots of books over the last two months.  I reviewed a few of them here and here already but I have a lot of catching up to do today.

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
I received this book from the Book of the Month Club in September.  This was one of their top picked books for the month and I had heard lots of people talking about it so I was excited to get to read it.  This story was a great thriller mystery.  A couple of new parents, Anne and Marco, were at a dinner party next door when their baby was taken from their home.  Of course, everyone automatically points to the parents.  However, the story reveals lots of secrets and deception in what we think is a perfect loving (and rich) little family.  Definitely kept me turning the pages until the very end.  I highly recommend!


If I Stay by Gayle Forman
I so loved this book.  It may have been one of my favorites for the year.  I guess this would actually be considered a young adult genre but it still sucked me in.  When Mia and her family have a terrible car accident, Mia finds herself in an out of body experience with an extremely tough decision to make.  I loved the characters in this book and the young love between Mia and her boyfriend Adam.  It was a sweet story with lots of both heartache and happiness.  I didn’t realize it was a movie until after I read it but I hope to get to watch it soon!

Where She Went by Gayle Forman
This book is the sequel to If I Stay and I loved it just as much.  This story takes place three years later and is narrated by Adam as he and Mia try to navigate their new lives.  I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to ruin it for either one of the books in this series but this one really tugs on your heartstrings as well.  I highly recommend them both!

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
I am not real sure how I feel about this book.  I listened to the audio version so I may have missed out a little bit due to that but I just did not love this book as much as I had hoped.  The story follows Mac, a normal every day dad, whose young daughter gets abducted.  Several years later, he received a letter from God inviting him back to the shack where his daughter was murdered.  While the book had some great points and truths about how God never leaves us in our dark times, I wasn’t so sure about how the characters were depicted. This book is also coming to movie next year and I am interested in seeing how they move this book to film.

Deliver Her by Patricia Perry Donovan
I mentioned this one back in the Blogtember post but I wanted to do a review since I have finished it.  As I mentioned before, this book is a about a teenage girl named Alex whose life starts spiraling out of control after she loses her best friend in a car accident.  Her mother is desperate to help her so decides to use a secret transport service to send her to a private boarding school where she can get help.  However, the transport goes wrong and Alex escapes.  Once Alex goes missing, we find out all sorts of secrets and lots of twists and turns from not only Alex, but also her family as well.  IT was a pretty good book that really shows some of the struggles not only teenagers face, but also reveals some of the secrets so many people try to hide away from the outside world.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
I took me a little while to get into the book and I honestly considered quitting it at one point but I am so glad I stuck with it. I wanted to pick sides in this story but I felt my heart being pulled in so many directions. I am not sure there was a way for their to be a happy ending for everyone in this story but I really loved the emotional journey it took me on between a mother's love for her child, a husband's love for his wife, and the desire to be a good person and do the right thing.  A great read but make sure to keep your tissues handy!


Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
To be honest, I was a little disappointed with this one. I have very much loved all of Moriarty's book so I may have set my expectations a little too high for this one. As always, I loved the characters. They are all so real and just like so many of my friends and families in my life. But I did not feel like this story sucked me in as much as some of her other ones have. Once the big "mystery" of what really happened at the BBQ was revealed, I had a hard time hanging in there with the rest of the story. It was still a decent book but I just did not love it as much as the others of hers I have read.


This is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
This was library book club read through the Alabama Digital Library that I check out ebooks from all the time so of course, I jumped on board.  This book is about a school shooting in a small community.  The story is told from several different perspectives as they try to survive this horrible event.  The book was intense and kept me sucked into it and was a quick read but I felt like it was just okay.  I wasn’t a big fan of some of the characters and found myself a little confused about some of the events and connections that the story jumped around to.  The story was good but I just felt like it was missing some parts that could have made it really great.  

Book Review - Love Your Life, Not Theirs

A few weeks ago, I was chosen to be a part of the launch team for Rachel Cruze's new book, Love Your Life, Not Theirs. I have been a huge Rachel Cruze fan for awhile so I was so thrilled to get to join this team. I was given a copy of her book to read and review. (As always, all opinions are my own).

This book is so great! It really talks about how much everyone these days seems to fall into the trap of comparison. We compare every aspect of our lives and weigh them against others and it can really become a struggle both financially and emotionally to keep up. Rachel gives some really great advice in her book on how to overcome the comparison trap. She follows many of Dave Ramsey's (aka her dad) baby steps and advice on becoming debt free and living of life filled with contentment. 

The book has lots of great advice mixed in with her own personal stories and struggles. It is very real and relatable and I highly recommend to anyone!

Blog-tember - Book Reviews

Today's challenge is to review something so I am reviewing a few books I have been reading lately.  (Sorry for another book posts-- well not really sorry -- I love books).

Sum It Up - Pat Summitt
This book is Pat Summitt's memoir that she wrote shortly after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago.  Coach Summitt lost her battle with Alzheimer's this summer but I am so glad she left us this memoir.  Her book is so great.  She talks all about growing up on a country farm in Tennessee, facing the struggles of playing women's sports in the early 70's, and her outstanding career as a coach at the University of Tennessee.  She had such a passion for the game and cared so much for her players.  Growing up, Pat Summitt was definitely an idol of mine.  I was lucky enough to meet her a few times and loved watching her coach and attending her camp.  She is a true lady of courage and strength and will greatly be missed in this world but her influence will live on for a very very long time.  This is an inspiring and motivational book about a super tough woman who juggles both being a superior coach also while raising her son and caring for her family.  It is a great read whether you care anything about basketball or not!


Heart of the Matter -   Emily Giffin
I have had this book lying around all summer.  I loaned it from my mom a few months back but just now got around to reading it.  I have read several of Giffin's novels and enjoyed them all (even though almost all of them have included some type of cheating/sneaking around).  This is a story told from two women's perspectives.  Valerie is a lawyer who is a single mom and Tessa is a new stay at home mom and housewife trying to adjust after leaving her career.  The author did a really great job pulling me into the story and I had a hard time putting it down but overall, it wasn't my favorite.  I didn't really care for some of the characters.. *spoiler alert* especially the husband who I wanted to punch in the face... and I felt like they all were a bit whiny and poor pitiful me at times.   However, if you like these kind of stories, it is a pretty good read.  The characters are very real and relatable.

Guilty Wives - James Patterson
I listened to the audiobook version of this book on my drives to and from work.  I really enjoy Patterson's style of writing and find myself really sucked into his stories every time.  I was intrigued by this one first considering it is a story about a group of friends headed to Monte Carlo for a husband-free, kid-free weekend.  But, things go bad when someone winds up dead and the women are framed for the murder.  The women are arrested and brutally tortured over something they say they didn't do.  I figured out who did it about half way through and caught myself actually getting angry at the characters in the book for the lying and conspiring.  This was a great read if you like the murder mystery action packed type book and I would definitely recommend.

And in honor of her powerful memoir, a little throwback to my twelve year old self with Pat Summitt from the time I went to her basketball camp at Tennessee..

Blog-tember - Books

I really love to read.  If I am ever sitting still for more than a couple of minutes (which doesn't happen too often) you will probably find me a with a book in my hand.  I keep one with me just about all the time.


I am currently reading Deliver Her by Patricia Perry Donovan.  It is a about a teenage girl named Alex whose life starts spiraling out of control after she loses her best friend in a car accident.  Her mother is desperate to help her so decides to use a secret transport service to send her to a private boarding school where she can get help.  However, the transport goes wrong and Alex escapes.  That is as far as I have gotten so far but I am finding out all kinds of secrets from all the characters and am having a hard time putting it down. 

You can read about some of the books I have read lately here. I haven't always done the best job capturing all the books I read on my blog (especially if I didn't really love it) but I am really trying to do better.  I was scrolling through some of the ones I have mentioned and realized I never mentioned Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.  I have really loved all of Moriarty's books I have read but this is the one that got me hooked.  First of all, it is about a group of Kindergarten moms (woohoo I can so relate to that right now) and all the drama that surrounds them.  I love the way the book starts off with a murder and then goes back in time leading you up to what really happened and all the secrets and lies behind it.  I fell in love with the characters of this book and seriously read it in like two days.  It was that good!  Oh and they are making a TV series of it starring Reese Witherspoon coming in 2017 and I CANNOT wait! 

Next on my radar is Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty.  As I just mentioned, I have loved just about everything I have read by her.  Her characters are so funny and relatable and she really weaves real life problems that we face every single day into her stories in a funny and mysterious way.  Pretty sure this one will jump in my buggy next time I head to Target.   

I cannot wait to link up and see what everyone else is reading today!



What I've Been Reading

So I haven’t been tracking my reading as well as I would like but here are a few of the books I have read lately…

A Tapestry of Secrets by Sarah Loudin Thomas.

I received this book from Bethany House Blogger Review Program in exchange for my honest review.  When I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I would enjoy it because it is about a girl and her grandmother.  I am very close to both of my grandmothers and I could really see my relationship with them reflected in this story as well.  Perla has a stroke and her granddaughter, Ella, moves back home to her small town to take care for her.  I love the relationship you see between them as they navigate their way through their own stories and secrets.  The characters in this story are really loveable and relatable and it weaves the Gospel throughout a heartwarming, good-feeling story.  Ella learns a lot about herself through her relationships with her family, friends, and God.  I am looking forward to reading some more books from this series.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

This was a WWII story about a little blind girl and an orphaned boy.  The story jumps about over several years as the characters grow up during war times and eventually cross paths.  The imagery and descriptions of everything throughout the book were very detailed and added so much to the story.  It was a very long book, but the author kept me interested by jumping around in time so much and kept me guessing how and when the characters would actually cross paths and what it would be like when they finally did.  It wasn’t one of those books that I just couldn’t put down but I really did enjoy the 500+ page story.

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

I used to love Judy Blume books when I was younger so I was excited to finally get to read one of her adult novels.  This was a story based on true events that happened back in the 1950s.  I love stories set in that time period and I really love stories based on true events so I knew I would love this book.  The story follows fifteen year old Miri and the drama that unfolds when three airplanes crash down in their small town within just a few months of each other.  I loved all the characters and the way they all crossed paths throughout the story and the way some of their stories reveal that just because someone looks like they have it all on the outside, there may be a whole other something going on behind closed doors that will completely surprise you.

All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner

This is a sad but far too common story of what drugs can do to someone.  Allison Weiss is a woman who seems to have it all with her perfect little family in her perfect little town with a great job but a small pain pill addiction quickly turns into a big problem as she finds herself spiraling down the hole of addiction and she can’t fight her way out of on her own.  I really liked this book because it really touched on the anxiety that so many women have over looking like they have it all together and doing whatever they have to to keep up.  

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

After some of the negative reviews, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this or not but I am very glad I chose to. I needed something to read one day on the go so downloaded the ebook from the public library.  I thought this was a really great book I couldn't put down. It was a love story told from both main characters point of views and the secrets they kept revealing throughout kept me engrossed in the story. It may not be for everyone but I personally thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I will admit that it was a little bit more risque than my usual liking.          

What I've Been Reading

So I haven't done any book reviews in a very long time but I figured it was time to do some catching up considering I have read some really great books this summer! I have started keeping up with my reading lists in my Good Reads account. You can create "bookshelves" for the books you want to read or have read.  It is a really great way to keep up with everything, plus, you get to rate the books and see what everyone else thinks about the books as well.  I am ALWAYS looking for great books to read and love to hear what everyone else is reading and what they recommend.  I would love to hear what's on your reading lists for this summer!

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

I have loved every single book I have read by Moriarty.  Although this one was probably not my most favorite one of her's, I still found myself laughing out loud and not being able to put it down.

Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.
So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes.
Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over.

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

I was very drawn to this book by the pretty cover but the book really wasn't what I was expecting it to be.  It was a good read but a bit long and drawn out and I did not like the ending at all!  It's a good one if you really love to read about the uppity Manhattan life style.  It has some really great characters but overall, not my favorite.

A warm, funny and acutely perceptive debut novel about four adult siblings and the fate of the shared inheritance that has shaped their choices and their lives.
Every family has its problems. But even among the most troubled, the Plumb family stands out as spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of simmering tensions finally reach a breaking point on an unseasonably cold afternoon in New York City as Melody, Beatrice, and Jack Plumb gather to confront their charismatic and reckless older brother, Leo, freshly released from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got behind the wheel of a car with a nineteen-year-old waitress as his passenger. The ensuing accident has endangered the Plumbs joint trust fund, “The Nest,” which they are months away from finally receiving. Meant by their deceased father to be a modest mid-life supplement, the Plumb siblings have watched The Nest’s value soar along with the stock market and have been counting on the money to solve a number of self-inflicted problems.
Melody, a wife and mother in an upscale suburb, has an unwieldy mortgage and looming college tuition for her twin teenage daughters. Jack, an antiques dealer, has secretly borrowed against the beach cottage he shares with his husband, Walker, to keep his store open. And Bea, a once-promising short-story writer, just can’t seem to finish her overdue novel. Can Leo rescue his siblings and, by extension, the people they love? Or will everyone need to reimagine the future they’ve envisioned? Brought together as never before, Leo, Melody, Jack, and Beatrice must grapple with old resentments, present-day truths, and the significant emotional and financial toll of the accident, as well as finally acknowledge the choices they have made in their own lives.
This is a story about the power of family, the possibilities of friendship, the ways we depend upon one another and the ways we let one another down. In this tender, entertaining, and deftly written debut, Sweeney brings a remarkable cast of characters to life to illuminate what money does to relationships, what happens to our ambitions over the course of time, and the fraught yet unbreakable ties we share with those we love.   

Chasing Sunsets by Karen Kingsbury

This is the second book in Kingsbury's Angels Walking series.  I loved the first one and so I was excited to read this one.  I love all of Kingsbury's books.  She really makes you fall in love with the characters.  This is a great light read with an overall happy ending but leaves you hanging.  I am currently reading the final book in the series and it is just as good so far.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes the second novel in the Angels Walking series about divine intervention and the trials and triumphs of life: the dramatic story of a woman desperate to find deeper meaning in her life.
Growing up in a comfortable home, Mary Catherine wanted for nothing. Though she loves her wealthy parents, their lifestyle never appealed to her. Instead, Mary Catherine pursues meaning through charity work, giving away a part of herself but never giving away her heart.
Now Mary Catherine lives in Los Angeles with her roommate, Sami, and volunteers at a local youth center with baseball coach Tyler Ames and LA Dodgers pitcher Marcus Dillinger. Despite Mary Catherine's intention to stay single, she finds herself drawing close to Marcus, and their budding romance offers an exciting life she never dreamed of. That is, until she receives devastating news from her doctor. News that alters her future and forces her to make a rash decision.
Inspirational and moving, Chasing Sunsets is the story of one woman's deep longings of the soul, and the sacrifices she's willing to make in search of healing.

Miracles from Heaven: A Little Girl, Her Journey to Heaven, and Her Amazing Story of Healing  by Christy Beam

I remember seeing all the attention this book got a few months ago when the movie was being released but I never got a chance to read it until now.  I loved this book and this family.  It is a true story of a little girl's unbelievable story and her family's unshakable faith.  A quick and enjoyable read.  I hope to get a chance to watch this movie.

In a remarkable true story of faith and blessings, a mother tells of her sickly young daughter, how she survived a dangerous accident, her visit to Heaven and the inexplicable disappearance of the symptoms of her chronic disease.
Annabel Beam spent most of her childhood in and out of hospitals with a rare and incurable digestive disorder that prevented her from ever living a normal, healthy life. One sunny day when she was able to go outside and play with her sisters, she fell three stories headfirst inside an old, hollowed-out tree, a fall that may well have caused death or paralysis. Implausibly, she survived without a scratch. While unconscious inside the tree, with rescue workers struggling to get to her, she visited heaven. After being released from the hospital, she defied science and was inexplicably cured of her chronic ailment. 

MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN will change how we look at the world around us and reinforce our belief in God and the afterlife.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Oh I loved this book!  I absolutely fell in love with the characters and their relationship.  I caught myself laughing and crying and even a little mad a few times.  The movies just came out and I have heard it is just as wonderful! Definitely one to add to your summer reading lists!

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.
What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.
Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.
What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

I picked this up one day when I was killing some time in Barnes and Noble.  It said it was similar to Gone Girl which I absolutely loved.  It took me awhile to get into it and I seriously considered quitting it a few times but I am soooo glad I decided to stick with it!  It turned into a book I couldn't hardly put down and kept be turning pages until the very end!  Seriously don't skip the last chapter!

"I've been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she works. I don't know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she's scared. But I will."
One night, Mia Dennett enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn't show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. At first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia's life.
When Colin decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota instead of delivering her to his employers, Mia's mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them. But no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family's world to shatter.
An addictively suspenseful and tautly written thriller, The Good Girl is a propulsive debut that reveals how even in the perfect family, nothing is as it seems.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

A friend of mine loaned me this book and warned me I would have a hard time putting it down!  She was so right! This book was not at all what I expected but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it is a great portrayal of the pressures a lot of women face on a daily basis... the desire to be accepted and prove themselves to others and doing whatever it takes to make them appear to be perfect and happy.  It touches on some sensitive subjects such as sexual assault, bullying, drinking, etc. through a pretty compelling story that I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.
But Ani has a secret.
There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.
With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that's bigger than it first appears.

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson

I have always loved reading all about the Kennedy family.  I just get very intrigued by how their parents seemed to manage their children so closely.  It wasn't until a few years ago that I first heard of Rosemary Kennedy.  I really enjoyed this book!  It is an extremely sad true story that really breaks my heart to think about really but one of my favorite Kennedy historical books I have read.

Joe and Rose Kennedy’s strikingly beautiful daughter Rosemary attended exclusive schools, was presented as a debutante to the Queen of England, and traveled the world with her high-spirited sisters. And yet, Rosemary was intellectually disabled — a secret fiercely guarded by her powerful and glamorous family.  Major new sources — Rose Kennedy’s diaries and correspondence, school and doctors' letters, and exclusive family interviews — bring Rosemary alive as a girl adored but left far behind by her competitive siblings. Kate Larson reveals both the sensitive care Rose and Joe gave to Rosemary and then — as the family’s standing reached an apex — the often desperate and duplicitous arrangements the Kennedys made to keep her away from home as she became increasingly intractable in her early twenties. Finally, Larson illuminates Joe’s decision to have Rosemary lobotomized at age twenty-three, and the family's complicity in keeping the secret. 
Rosemary delivers a profoundly moving coda: JFK visited Rosemary for the first time while campaigning in the Midwest; she had been living isolated in a Wisconsin institution for nearly twenty years. Only then did the siblings understand what had happened to Rosemary and bring her home for loving family visits. It was a reckoning that inspired them to direct attention to the plight of the disabled, transforming the lives of millions.

Living Well Spending Less

I know I mentioned a few weeks ago about how I am really working to
change some of my bad habits and stop spending so much time and money
worrying over all the stuff I think I have to have.  I am really
trying to be more content and over the last few weeks, as I have made
conscious effort to do this, I can honestly say that I feel more
content and just better about it all.

That being said, one of the books I ran across recently was Living
Well and Spending Less by Ruth Soukup.  I ran across her blog awhile
back and have really enjoyed reading many of her posts and using some
of her tools to not only reign in my spending and work on my budget,
but also to find that contentment and happiness to live better.  This
book is really great.  Not sure I would call it absolutely life
changing, but definitely very inspiring.  It really made me think
about what I bought and why I bought it.  She touches on a ton of
scripture and gives me challenges throughout the book that really make
stop and focus on the important things... not just the stuff in my
life.

I am not going to touch on every point here because you can find it
all on her blog but there are a few of the challenges I want to pursue
in the next few weeks that I hope to share as I go through them
(mainly for the accountability part).

One is purging the stuff that I have in my home-- my house is full of
clothes and toys and all kinds of trinkets that I have collected over
the years.  Each week during the next month, I plan to clean out and
overhaul one area of my home.  I hope to give you an update as I go.
Week 1 - Toys
Week 2 - Kitchen
Week 3 -   Clothes
Week 4 - Garage
Week 5 - Junk Room

The other challenge she suggests that I really love but I am just not
quite committed enough to follow all the way through with it is her
Living Well, Spending Zero month.. meaning spending absolutely nothing
on anything but absolute essentials and some perishable food items.
No buying anything extra or eating out!  I am going to follow this as
close as I can but due to some events planned this month and just some
circumstances in our life at the moment (aka a big girl birthday
coming up and my child's rapidly growing foot), I am going to have to
tailor this a little but still plan to keep the spending at a very
minimum.  You can join in her real challenge here if you are really
interested www.livingwellspendingless.com

I highly highly recommend this book to anyone who has gotten sucked up
into the materialism of this world or if you are just wanting to
refocus your spending habits.  Not only does she give some great tips
on ways to do this, this book also helps us to learn how to be content
with what we have and truly live a better life.

What I Read - Gone by James Patterson

First off, I apologize for two book posts in a row. But, thanks to audio books and a long commute, I have been getting a lot of "reading" done lately...

I finally read my first ever James Patterson novel.  My Dad has always been a huge James Patterson fan and his bookshelves are full of his books, but I have never picked on up to read.  I thought it would be a fun idea for us to listen to an audiobook on our long car ride a couple of weeks ago so I checked out something I thought Jarrod and I would both like.  However, he thought that was a terrible idea so I listened to it by myself!  

Gone is a story (apparently it is also part of a series) about a NYPD detective whose large family has been forced to go into hiding in the witness protection program due to a leader of the drug cartel being out to get them.  The story is pretty intense and somewhat bloody and gory with lots of guns and killing but is exciting and suspenseful as it follows Michael Bennett and his family on their search for the drug lord Perrine who has declared war on America. 

I am not usually a fan of "drug cartel" stories but this one had me roped right into the drama.  I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to stealing some of my dad's James Patterson novels to read!   

** On another note, I am so thankful that my parents have instilled their love to read in me!  Growing up, my parents ALWAYS had a book in their hands and I am so glad that has rubbed off on me!

What I Read- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I absolutely loved Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs!  I seriously finished it in like two days -- thank you audio books :)

The story is about a teenage boy, Jacob, who grew up hearing strange tales and viewing odd photos from his grandfather about very peculiar children that he grew up with.  After the tragic loss of his grandfather, Jacob goes on an adventure to learn about the world that his grandfather has always made seem so real to him.

The book is inspired by creepy vintage photos that the author collected over the years.  He based the story around these photos and even wove them throughout the book.  The story is mysterious and intriguing and very descriptive.  It was very strange but I just couldn't hardly make myself put it away until I finished!

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for something a little different to read!  I can't wait to read the other books in the trilogy and I will probably rush to the movie theater with all the teenagers to see the move when it comes out in the spring!       

What I Read - Go Set a Watchman

I finally finished reading Harper Lee's new book, Go Set a Watchmen.  I am a huge fan of To Kill a Mockingbird so I was so excited about this new book.  In Go Set a Watchmen, a grown up Scout returns to Macon to find it completely changed from what she remembers.  But I really think it is more of Scout that has been changed than the Macon we all fell in love with.  

I honestly don't really know how I feel about this book.  I thoroughly loved the flashbacks to her childhood and the fun stories that went with it but I had a hard time getting in to the "grown up Scout" parts.  I don't want to give any spoilers in case anyone plans to read it but I was pretty disappointed in some of the things she says and does (especially being rude to Atticus... I mean how can anyone be rude to the nicest man on earth?!?!).  There wasn't really a good plot and I missed some of the main characters from the first book.    

I know rumors have swirled that Harper Lee didn't actually write this book and I kind of feel that may be partially true.  I believe some parts she did, but some parts were just not the same.  However, I am glad I read it and I did love getting to go back and visit Macon but you will just have to read it and decide for yourself what you think!

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Set-Watchman-A-Novel/dp/0062409859

  

 

What I Read - Fahrenheit 451

I have been trying to scratch off a few more books from my classic novels list lately.  I have wanted to read Fahrenheit 451 since like the 9th grade and I am really not sure why I have never picked it up, but I finally got around to reading it last week.  I am a big fan of the dystopian future world novels but honestly, this one took me a little bit to get in to.  I struggled a little bit at first figuring out what was going on and picturing the setting but once I finally got it all straightened out, I really enjoyed it.  It's a pretty short story about a world where books have been banned because they make people sad or feel too powerful and firemen's jobs are to burn any banned books as well as the whole home where they find them.  

Guy Montag is a fireman who begins questioning the whole book burning idea and wants out of it.  The story follows him as he decides what to do and where to go about the whole mess he gets himself in.  I don't want to say too much and give away the whole story but I will say that it's a "different" kind of book with an interesting and suspenseful story.  I don't think I could say it was the best book I ever read, but I did enjoy it for the most part and am glad to mark it off my reading list.  

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17470674-fahrenheit-451

What I Read- Hands Free Mama

I have been "reading" a lot of audio books lately on my commutes to and from work.  I am in the car over an hour each day so a good audio book really helps pass the time.

I just finished Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford. She really talks about putting away the distraction and soaking up the precious moments with our loved ones that we too often miss because we are busy on our phones and ipads or too focused on marking things off the to-do list and getting everything done instead of stopping to take in those moments with our family that we will never get back.  While there were several things she said that I wish I could've jotted down, one really stood out to me.  She recommended taking a certain time each day to put away all the distractions (especially the phone) and focus only on your kids and husband.  She reminded me just how quickly my girls will grow up and how I will never get that time back! 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with balancing their time or who often catch themselves with their eyes glued to their phone more than to their kids.  She has some great ideas on how to break free from the distractions and live a more hands free life!  Really makes you realize what all your are missing out on when we waste our time with all the unimportant and wasteful moments of our lives.. especially when those times take time away from our kids!    

What I Read - Radical

I have just recently discovered audio books and I must say that I am so glad I did!  And better yet, I can rent them from my local public library for FREE!  I can download these books on my phone and computer and listen whenever I want.  I spend over an hour in my car every day going back and forth to work and I have recently been listening to these audiobooks during this time.  So I guess instead of saying "What I Read" I should say more like "What I Listened To" but o-well!

I just finished up Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt.  This is my second book to read by Platt and it was just as challenging and moving as the other.  Platt really challenges you to think about your life and your possessions and how you spend your time and money and look at it in a way that God wants us to look at our resources.  He challenges you to think more about the world and all the lost and needy people and think about what are you doing to help them?  Or are we too busy trying to satisfy our own worldly wants and needs to take the time to even think about these people, much less sacrifice something in our own lives to further the gospel?

I could never put into words all the great things I got out of this book, but I do highly encourage everyone to read it.  You can find out more information about the book and the study that accompanies it at this website. 

http://www.radicalthebook.com/home.html

  

What I Read - Angels Walking

As I've mentioned before, Karen Kingsbury is by far my all time favorite author. I honestly have loved every single book that I have read by her. I bought the first book in her Angels Walking series a while back but have just now gotten a chance to read it. And as usual it did not disappoint! 

It's a fictional story about two angels who come down to earth to "help" some people in need. The Angels help a minor league baseball player find his way back after he suffers a career ending injury by sending an old lady in a nursing home to strike up a peculiar relationship with him. The book is full of faith and love and all the wonderful things every Karen Kingsbury book is full of! A great light read to inspire you!

What I Read - To Kill a Mockingbird

I'm back reading from my classic novels list this week in prep for what looks to be a new "classic" that was released yesterday!  

I love Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird!  It has got to be one of my all time favorite books.  I have probably read it at least 5 times or so.  I just love little Scout and fall in love with all the characters each time I read it.  As I mentioned before, I really love books based in Alabama...especially in the "olden" days.  It always amazes me how much things change in our little part of the world and I love these books to take me back in time for awhile.    

I can not even begin to do justice for this book in a little paragraph review but I can say that if you haven't read this book, you really need to!  I read this in high school -- or forced my way through it for my summer reading -- but I didn't really fall in love and appreciate it as much until I read it again when I was older.  

I can't wait to read the "sequel" soon! I previewed the first chapter so far and love the fact that Scout (or I guess I should call her Jean Louise) is about my age!