December was a sad and weird month where my family went through quite a lot in a very short time. It was quite a rough ride (which is not anywhere near over yet so we'd love your prayers!) but we watched God come through for us again and again. I didn't read much at all in the first half of the month but once we got into a rental house things calmed down a little bit. Then I was too sick to do anything but make soup and read! Plus, Christmas novellas are short reads I whipped through in no time at all.
First, grown-up reads:
📖 Bible study: Genesis... Though it was tempting to turn to Job 😂 Still working through all of my Bible study very slowly and intentionally rather than hurrying to read a certain amount each day.
📖 A Carol for Christmas (Christian, Christmas fiction)... I always enjoy a more emotionally driven story but it tends to be harder to find deeper Christmas stories. Robin Lee Hatcher is one of my favorites for a reason!
📖 The Christmas Bus (Christian, Christmas fiction)... This was my buddy read with my mom this year and I finished it on Christmas day. This was not my favorite kind of deep and emotionally evocative read but it was a fun and sweet Christmas read we both enjoyed.
📖 Cosy: The British Art of Comfort (secular, nonfiction)... I'm a cozy girl at my best but I desperately needed some comfort this month. I loved this book but it did contain a curse word (the F word) at least twice. As we are replacing all our lost belongings we've been very focused on a more minimalist approach, not just collecting a bunch of stuff but seeking out the few specific items we truly need/loved. Now I'm also focusing on making sure these are cozy items that bring us comforting feelings, too.
📖 Dashing Through the Snow (Christian, Christmas fiction)... I listened to this one as an audio book on a long drive where my kids weren't present. I was glad they weren't because there was random talk of a man who claimed to have had intimate relations with an alien. The rest of the book had almost nothing to do with that and was an overall fun Christmas read but i am starting to think I only like Debbie Macomber's nonfiction writing.
📖 The Dorito Effect (secular, nonfiction, science / health)... This was such a fascinating food science read! I didn't expect to learn much about artificial flavorings and such, but I did! But I actually picked it up for the info about how produce is weaker, both nutritionally and in flavor, and learned so much about that!
📖 Mother-Daughter Murder Night (secular, fiction, mystery)... I read this one because I saw it reviewed as 'Gilmore Girls, but with murder.' I agree with the description. It was a fun one, not gruesome or scary and full of family dynamics as a mother, daughter, and granddaughter amateur sleuthed to solve a murder. This one did contain a few curse words + a few other words/phrases some will be offended by in the 2nd half of the book. I overall enjoyed it but was also reminded why I stick to Christian fiction + a select few known secular authors.
📖 Tin Can Serenade (Christian, Christmas, fiction, short story)... This is the world's shortest little epistolary novella, like a 30 minute read, but in Amanda Dykes' classic historical fiction style. Thoroughly enjoyed!
📖 Untangle Your Emotions (Christian, nonfiction)... I'm pretty decent at feeling my feelings (most of the time, anyway) but I still found this book very helpful. It's a great companion book to Get Out of Your Head, which I also enjoyed.
📖 Zen Mama (secular, nonfiction, pregnancy)... This one was fun but probably most ideal for (crunchy) first-time mamas.
And for my kids' shelves...
📖 American Murderer (secular, late middle grade, nonfiction)... This nonfiction about a southern hookworm epidemic and its treatment was so fascinating to me! One of my kids likes health/disease books almost as much as I do.
📖 Parkinson's Disease (secular, YA, nonfiction)... Helpful but sad... This book was read for informational purposes, not for the sake of feeling hope 😞
📖 Scooby-Doo and the Spooky Strike-Out (secular, chapter book, fiction)... These kind of books are of course kinda meh to me but they're always a big hit with my younger kids.
📖 SmART (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... My oldest and I found this brain/attention/art book so fascinating! I love that some of my kids will enjoy this one for the brain side and others for the art side.
📖 Who Was Winston Churchill? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction, biography)... In spite of all the many WWII fiction and nonfiction ice read over the years I know very little-- next to nothing!-- about Winston Churchill. I wanted to learn more about him after learning how inspiring he is to many Christians. I don't think this book painted the vibrant picture most people are seeing but it was still overall fine.
Library picture books we loved: The Christmas Doll // Lefty: A Story That is Not All Right // Over and Under the Snow // We Believe in Christmas
I'm so sorry to hear you are having such a hard time. I will be lifting you in prayers! <3
ReplyDeleteThe Mother-Daughter Murder Night sounds intriguing- I'll have to check it out.
I also have Untangling Your Amotions on my nightstand (for months!)- but have yet to read it.
Thank you! We will gladly take all the prayer we can get! I'll be looking forward to seeing your reviews on those if you end up reading them! 😁
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