Thanks to the book club my sister started, my 2018 goal of reading at least 2 books per month from the library (instead of buying them), and the fact that we cut the cable — I read lots of books this year. My top 10 favorites of the 44 I read, in no particular order, are below.
A Strange Scottish Shore by Juliana Gray
It took me a chapter or two to get into this book, but then I was hooked.
Time travel. Scottish castles. True love. It did not disappoint.
I wrote about this in more detail here.
The End We Start From by Megan Hunter
Written in a unique poetic/lyrical writing style. London floods. A new mother copes. It was a nice reminder that while parents want the world to be perfect for their children, we live in an imperfect place. Children can thrive in spite of the world and the parents who care for them.
I read it back in January, but if I’m remembering correctly, it is a little bizarre and graphic at times so be forewarned.
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Page turner!
A 29 year old newlywed pregnant with her first child wakes up from an accident at the gym to discover she’s 39 with 3 kids, heading for divorce.
I could not put this down. By far the best Liane Moriarty book I’ve read.
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
This was recommended to me by my sister-in-law.
Vance describes his family’s experience being part of the poor white working class culture in Kentucky’s Appalachian Mountain region. His family eventually moves to a middle class Ohio neighborhood, but many of them never let go of the culture they left. (Now I’m reading It Didn’t Start With You about family trauma and I wish I had read that before this book.)
Delay, Don’t Deny by Gin Stephens
I heard about this book on Jen Fulwiler’s Instagram feed. It’s about Intermittent fasting and how skipping meals can be healthy.
I implemented her clean fasting approach and have lost weight and experienced a lot less inflammation so far. Highly recommend this or if you’re a more science-minded individual, The Obesity Code.
Great At Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More by Morten Hansen
After reading this book, I made a giant list of all the things I do at work and to what degree they benefited the company I work for, how much I enjoyed them, and whether or not I was the best resource to do them. It was eye opening! It was one of the driving factors behind me talking to my boss about wanting to change roles.
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
If you’re easily grossed out or have a weak stomach, skip this one. There were parts that were hard to read.
All that being said, nothing has made me think more about the way I’d like my physical body to be handled after my soul leaves this earth. I learned so much about cremation and embalming/burial and it all sounds so unnatural, as if our culture is in denial the dead are in fact dead.
The Grace of Enough by Haley Stewart
The author writes about her experience living on a farm and learning what “enough” means for her family. Funny and relatable stories, mixed with a dash of scripture and Church teachings. I used a large portion of a highlighter, noting the bits of wisdom and practical advice I wanted to take away from it.
Conversely, the ladies in my book club felt it was kind of preachy.
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Whew. This one was hard to read, but well written and I couldn’t put it down. It’s about a group of siblings who were victims of an adoption scam (stealing children from poor people to literally sell to wealthy childless couples) in the 1930s & 1940s.
Heartbreaking and eye opening. Definitely pushing me to look even deeper into the agencies we’re considering for adoption.
Instant Mom by Nia Vardalos
This book was recommended to me by an adoptive mom.
Nia shares her story honestly and it doesn’t hurt that she’s a writer/actor/comedian. I laughed throughout the book and learned a lot about adopting a child from foster care.
Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? What’s on your must read list for 2019?