Happy Tuesday y’all!

 

Yes! Another blog post. And about my favorite topic of course, books.

It’s high time I give you a reading update. As always, you can follow me on Goodreads or my Reading Instagram Account too.

And as always, please share what YOU’VE been reading in the comments. I love having my very own virtual book club here, you guys rock.

Like a River from Its Course by Kelli Stuart  //  Full disclosure. Kelli is a Baylor classmate/ sorority sister of mine. That does not change the fact that her book BLEW ME AWAY. It’s not an easy subject matter. It’s about what Hitler did to the people of Ukraine during WW2. It made me sob. This book broke my heart and I can’t stop thinking about it. It was so all encompassing, I just couldn’t put it down. Easily one of my favorite historical fiction novels of all time. Kelli really did her research and you can tell the book is a labor of love. I fell in love with each character for different reasons and I have thought about them every day since I finished the book. This one is a must read. 5 stars.

 

The Feathered Bone by Jules Cantrell // This book is so so heavy and deals with so many tough topics. Suicide, depression, loss of a child, abuse, sex trafficking.  It broke my heart. I had to put the book down in one particular part and just SOB.  I don’t read Christian fiction often. I just don’t find it realistic. It was so nice to read a book that addresses real issues. Dark issues…without glossing them over. Overall this story is about HOPE.  Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.  5 stars

 

Bird Box by Josh Malerman // Creepy and suspensful and dystopian. This one gave me goosies the entire way through and had my heart pounding. It’s got a really unique premise and I can confidently say it will entertain you. 5 stars

 

What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan // This thriller kept me up late turning pages. Strangers aren’t the ones you need to worry about, it’s the people closest to you. I kind of got obsessed with this one and read it as fast as I could. I pretty much thought every single person in the book was guilty at one point or another. 4 stars

 

How to Be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman // I give this one a big fat EHHHHHH. It was pretty suspenseful throughout and the main character was really vividly written. BUT…I hated (haaaaaated) the ending. 2.5 stars

 

The Other Story by Tatiana DeRosnay // oh my Lord was this book a hot mess. HOW? Sarah’s Key was so good. And this was a disaster. It’s almost like she had a deadline to meet and just blurted out a bunch of crap so that she’d have something to publish. I did enjoy the Italian parts, but what on God’s green earth was up with the nonsensical cruise crash at the end? SO BAD // 1 star

 

On deck:

Italian for Beginners // LoveWaterMemory // Salt to the Sea //  The Perfume Collector // The Rumor // The Guest Room // The Things We Keep // Wreck and Order // Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World // My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You I’m Sorry

 

Oh- also…

I asked for recommendations on my blog Facebook page and got SO MANY good titles. You can find that list HERE.

 

Have a beautiful day!

 

xoxo

S

 

 

 

Hey y’all! Welcome to the July edition of what I’m reading!

As per usual I’m constant updating my reading only Instagram account  (@whatstephreads) and through my Goodreads page.

 

Here’s what I’ve read lately and what I’ve got coming up.

 

1. We Were Liars | by E Lockhart – This book totally surprised me. And that rarely happens these days. The writing style takes a little getting used to (and it annoyed me at times) but it’s a quick and captivating read. I have other books by this author on order because I’m now a fan.

 

2. Sweet Forgiveness | by Lori Nelson Spielman – This one was a pretty easy chick-lit type of read. But I had some serious problems with the way that the author handled certain issues…mainly abuse. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I also never really connected with the main character.

 

3. A Man Called Ove | by Fredrick Backman – I mentioned this one already in a previous post. I LOVED this one and it was my only five star this book. Try to tell me you don’t fall in love with Ove after reading this book. He’s the most lovable curmudgeon EVER. This book made me laugh and cry in equal measures and it captivated me from the very beginning.

 

4. That Night | by Chevy Stevens- I thought this was a really interesting premise for a book but by the end I had lost interest. Not sure why, it just happens sometimes.

 

5. The Animals | by Christian Kiefer – This was definitely not an easy-breezy summer read and it’s probably not for everyone but I thought this book was so freaking interesting. A man (who’s made serious mistakes in his past) moves to the middle of nowhere to run a wildlife rescue. I loved the parts from his past and from his present equally and I loved his relationship with the animals. This book is pretty violent and raw so if you don’t like that then you won’t like this book. One of the strangest books I’ve read in a while but I mean that in a really good way.

 

6. Luckiest Girl Alive | by Jessica Knoll- There’s been a ton of buzz about this book and while it was worth the read, I have to tell you I HATED the main character. Despised her. There was nothing redeeming about her to me. That said, it’s worth a read.

 

7. You |by Caroline Kepnes- Y’all. This book FREAKED me OUT. The creepiest grossest book I’ve read in a long time. Listen. It’s graphic. I warned you. And I don’t even know what I thought about it. I still shudder thinking about it. I honestly didn’t know how to rate it. Obsession, stalking…yeah. Disturbing.

 

 

Currently Reading

1. The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared |Jonas Jonasson

 

 

1. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks | E Lockhart

2. Since You’ve Been Gone | Morgan Matson

3. The Book of Speculation | Erika Swyler

4. The Royal We | Heather Cocks

5. The Summer of Good Intentions | Wendy Francis

 

 

Whew! That’s it for this month! As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts + recommendations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whew! I haven’t done one of these in a looooong time have I? I have been doing all of my book recs and “what I’m reading” photos through my reading only Instagram account (@whatstephreads) and through my Goodreads page.

But I thought I’d do an update here, too. It’s been so long I’m not going to share alllll the books I’ve read, I’m just going to share some favorites from the past few months as well as what I’m up to now.

1. Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon –really good but also very sad. Similar to We Need to talk About Kevin but with a twist.

 

2. The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan – a couple’s love story told in an innovative way…through dictionary entries. I devoured it in one short sitting. It was nice to read something different.

 

3. Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight – Not an all-time fave but a good twisty summer read.

 

4. Whiskey & Charlie  by Annabel Smith- Lovely, touching, and so clever with the title of each chapter. Realistic portrayal of the complicated relationships we have.

 

5. Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova–  Beautiful, heartbreaking, and gut wrenching. Huntington’s disease is a cruel monster but reading about the way that this big, love filled, loud family dealt with it was a joy. Must read.

 

6. We Are Called To Riseby Laura McBride – This one sucked me in and stole my heart. The military connection is probably a big reason for that but I just thought it was wonderful.

 

Currently Reading:

1. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

2. The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christoper Scotton

3. A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable

4. The Animals by Christian Kiefer

5. Silver Girl by Elin Hildebrand

 

 

1. A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

2. The Royal We by Heather Cocks

3. Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling

4. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

5. The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett

 

 

There you go! The summer version of what I’m reading. As always, I’d love to hear what you are reading, fellow bookworms!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TGIF y’all!

Welcome to the January Edition of “What I’m Reading”. One of my personal goals for this year is to get better about tracking EVERYTHING I read on Goodreads.

I also joined the Goodreads 2015 Reading Challenge. J says I sold myself short going for only 50 books, considering I’ve read already read four so far in January. HA!

{What I’ve Read Recently}

 

1. Station Eleven // I devoured this one and it stuck with me. I still think about it often. To me- that’s the hallmark of a great book. It’s a dystopian novel and I always love those. But this one just also has a wonderfully tender side too. I read a review somewhere that said that this book makes you “miss and long for the world you are living in right now” or something like that and I agree.

 

2.The Book of Unknown Americans // This book really touched my heart. I love that it was written by a fellow papercrafter, I love that it gave me insight into the life of an immigrant in America (one that I have even MORE compassion for after living in a foreign country and realizing how scary it can be), I loved everything about it. It was beautiful.

 

 

3.Yes Please // I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved this book. Let’s put it this way. I’ve already read it twice and underlined most of it. This book will get an entire post to itself.

 

4.Everything I Never Told You // This book broke my heart. It was borderline too sad for me. But it was just so lovely I couldn’t stop reading.

 

 

 

{Up Next}

 

1. Revival // Who doesn’t love a new Stephen King novel? I got really excited when I saw this on the shelf at my library.

 

2. I Remember Nothing : and Other Reflections  and  I Feel Bad about My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman // It’s been a long time since I’ve read Nora and I need her back in my life.

 

3. Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography // I LOVE NPH. I’ve heard mixed reviews on this but I still look forward to reading it.

 

And I also have five other books on order from the library. It’s a sickness.

I LOVE this time of year because all of the “Best Book” lists have come out. I pin them here if you’d like to follow!

 

Have a beautiful weekend!

xoxo

S

 

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