Holiday Book Buying Guide – Non-Fiction

Holiday Book Buying Guide – Non-Fiction

Time to wrap up this series! I’m not traditionally a big non-fiction reader, but thanks to listening to a lot of audiobooks as I exercise, I’ve broadened my horizons quite a bit in the last year. 😀 And since we all know those people who only read non-fiction–or just those who enjoy it in addition to fiction–of course we need some ideas on books to buy for them too!

Love Does and Everybody Always
by Bob Goff
and
Love Lives Here
by Maria Goff

I’m listing all three of these together because I love the full picture they give you together. I read the first two of these last year, but I didn’t get around to listening to Love Lives Here until this year. All three are high on my list of recommended reading! The Goffs have done some amazing work, and more, they have an amazing outlook on what it really means to walk in Christ’s love. I’d call them life-changing for sure. They’re all written with wit and humor, but they convey some of the most series messages we’ll ever hear–that loving others as Christ loves us isn’t optional, and when we do it, we change the world…one life at a time. READ THESE BOOKS. And they make fabulous gifts!
Love Does
Everybody Always
 Big Magic
by Elizabeth Gilbert

This is not a Christian book. Just stating that upfront. There’s some language in it, and some of the ideas are decided not Christian. That said–it’s an amazing look at creativity, and one I’d recommend for artists of any sort. The title comes from the idea that there’s something she calls literally-magical about ideas–the way they move from person to person, insisting on finding an outlet at a given time. Ever notice how people have similar book ideas, even though they’ve never talked? Or movies? Yeah, that’s the “big magic” she’s talking about. I left this book with some new takes on the creative process and its place in the world that I know are going to stick with me. Really great read (or listen).

All these^ non-fiction books by C. S. Lewis

How’s that for a title? LOL. Seriously, we bought this box set of C. S. Lewis’s non-fiction that includes The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, A Grief Observed, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, Abolition of Man, and The Four Loves. I’ve read about half of them thus far and am fully convinced that Lewis was one of the most brilliant thinkers of the last century (not that this is news to anyone, of course…). This box set, available from various retailers in the $25-40 range, would make a fabulous gift for anyone who enjoys theology/philosophy books in general, but they’re also super approachable for people like me who usually prefer fiction! Lewis has a very accessible writing style and is clearly talking to everyday people, not seminary students. Highly, highly, highly recommended.


A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War
by Joseph Loconte

Fans of J. R. R. Tolkein, C. S. Lewis, and history in general will enjoy this look at how these two men were not only shaped by their experiences in World War One, but how they, unlike most of their contemporaries, took those experiences and let God use them to draw them closer to Him and end up shaping generations of people through their books. I loved learning more about how these two became friends and encouraged one another, and also to see how faith played a role in their lives. I’d never really examined the backdrop of their writing–a world that had gone cold to religion after the horrors of the Great War–but this book painted it for me in vivid light. I read it primarily as research for the world in which my books are set, and also because I admire both men as writers. It was a fascinating read.

Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science 
of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life
by Rory Sutherland 


My husband had heard about this book as a great one for studying marketing, and he enjoyed it so much that I listened to our audio version too–and loved it. If you’re involved in any sort of business, this is a fantastic read about thinking outside the box when it comes to marketing and promotion. It’s full of practical advice and tons of real-world examples and, best of all, filled me with ideas as I was listening to it. And that’s the sure sign of a good book on this subject! I really enjoyed listening to the audio version, read by the author, as his personality and dry English humor come shining through. I am SO a fan of that, LOL. Definitely a fun one for anyone looking for some fresh ways to bridge the gap between consumer and seller!


How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie

This is my most recent read (or listen, as the case may be) in non-fiction, and I find myself thinking of its precepts ALL THE TIME. The idea of this book is to revolutionize the way we interact–specifically in the workplace, but it applies to family life, church life, and pretty much every other place we find ourselves dealing with other people too. This is an old book, originally published in the 1920s, but it’s been updated a bit here and there with some added modern examples. I absolutely loved every minute of it and plan to read it out loud to my kids in the next year, because it’s full of life-lessons that just can’t be beat. I find myself thinking constantly now about how I can change my approach to people to better communicate with them. This is really a must-read for everyone!
Amazon


Rachel’s Picks


The Brave Art of Motherhood: Fight Fear, Gain Confidence, and Find Yourself Again

by Rachel Marie Martin


I am not a huge fan of nonfiction typically. But this book really got me. SO many important and incredible insights, encouragement, and truths. Definitely recommend it to all moms!


Memory Making Mom
by Jessica Smartt
This book is INCREDIBLE! I love LOVE traditions and making my home and family come together and make memories together. And I really appreciate that Jessica emphasizes that we don’t need to do EVERYTHING suggested…but to try 1 or 2 things and go from there. check it out! Because it’s incredible!
Holiday Book Buying Guide – Contemporary Fiction

Holiday Book Buying Guide – Contemporary Fiction

Time to get back to book recommendations! This week I want to focus on contemporary fiction, and then I’ll wrap up the series on Friday with non-fiction.

Contemporary Fiction

Hold the Light and Shine the Light
by April McGowan

The second of these books released last spring, and while you could read them independently, they’re related, with best friends for heroines. Each book tackles hard subjects, but in a way that shows how God really shines through them. In Hold the Light, Amber is an artist who learns she’s losing her eyesight. What do we do when everything we thought was important is stripped away? Paired with a beautiful love story, this one was one of my favorites–so when April said she was writing best-friend Shannon’s story too, I couldn’t wait! And was totally blown away. Shine the Light highlights the homeless problem that Portland faces in a way that shows love along with reality, and also touches on PTSD and mental health issues. Most of all, though, they’re just fabulous stories with characters so real you’ll think of them at odd times forever after!
Hold the Light
Shine the Light
Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations and Weddings, Willows, and Revised Expectations
by V. Joy Palmer

Oh. My. Gracious. If you need a good laugh, look no further than these books! Gilmore Girls meets Say Yes to the Dress in these wedding-themed, snarky-voiced contemporary romances full of coffee addicts and potato-chip-obsessed heroines, and the men lucky enough to snag their hearts. The heroines are all best friends and roommates, so it’s super fun to follow them into “their stories”–In book 1, Izzy is a bridal consultant in her aunt’s bridal salon; in book 2, we actually get two romances as twin sisters Apryl and Courtney (reluctantly) accept the challenge of reviving their beloved grandmother’s antique shop, giving it a wedding-venue focus. So. Much. Fun!

Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations
Weddings, Willows, and Revised Expectations
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | READ

The If I Run series
by Terri Blackstock

This series actually finished up in 2018, but they remain some of my absolute favorite romantic suspense novels EVER, and the fact that you can buy the whole set makes them perfect for gifting. =) The storytelling is stunning, action-packed and thrilling, and the character development just left me thoroughly impressed. It’s hard to make the “romance” element as strong as I’d like it to be in romantic suspense novels because of how much action there is, but Terri Blackstock did a stellar job, building it over three books. Love these stories!!
Mind Games
by Nancy Mehl

This has to be one of the most unique reads of my 2019. The premise is that our heroine, a young FBI profiler, is the daughter a serial killer who was caught when she was a child. Needless to say, she has a few issues–and a burning need to catch others like her father. She’s legally changed her name, but her family’s past seems to be catching up to her when a new serial killer emerges and is pointed directly at her. A serial killer who clearly knows who her father was. Definitely a must-read!! The next book in the series just came out, and it’s my January book club read. I’m so looking forward to it!

A Secret to Die For
by Lisa Harris

This was another romantic suspense that left me thoroughly impressed. Lisa Harris writes a savvy heroine who holds her own against the bad guys she kind of inherits–she’s a psychologist, and one of her patients turns up dead…and has left her in possession of what the bad dudes are after. In addition to great characters, the plot of this one seriously makes you think.

Rachel’s Pick

Bradford Sisters Series
by Becky Wade

Sisters! Each with a challenge to overcome, a charming (and swoony) hero, hidden secrets, faith, redemption, and LOVE! Becky Wade’s series swept me off my feet and I am so in love with this family! There is even an accompanying Christmas story!
Holiday Book Buying Guide – Historicals

Holiday Book Buying Guide – Historicals

Last week I shared some fun book gift-ideas for the kids in your life (or the adults who still enjoy kid books!). Next week I’ll cover contemporary fiction, the following week will be non-fiction. But for now, the genre nearest and dearest: Historical!

Wings Like a Dove
by Camille Eide

I have to list this one first because (a) I just re-read it, (b) it’s one of the best books I’ve read all year, and (c) it releases on Dec 1 from the WhiteFire Group, so I’m really excited about it. This one comes with endorsements from people way more popular than I (like Jane Kirkpatrick, Publisher’s Weekly, and Brian Bird, co-creator and producer of When Calls the Heart), but hey, you’re reading my post right now, not theirs, so you have to listen to my opinion, mwa ha ha ha. 😉 This story–a beautiful love story about a Jewish immigrant who faces down prejudice and malice from the KKK in a small Indiana town in the 1930s, where she ends up meeting the real, unconditional love of our Lord–is AMAZING. It tackles hard things, timely things, but in such a gorgeous, skillful way that you’ll find yourself thinking of it for months after you’ve finished. I deem this one a must-read!!

The Cities of Refuge Series
by Connilyn Cossette

At the moment of writing this, I’m reading Until the Mountains Fall, book three in the series. And, as I’ve come to expect from anything with Conni’s name on the cover, it’s PHENOMENAL. I adore this whole series (which is a spin-off of the Out from Egypt series, though you’ll be fine to pick up these without having read those). If the historical lover on your list likes–or even just wants to try–biblical fiction, these are so great!

The Haven Manor Series
by Kristi Ann Hunter

I love both the concept and execution of these Regencies! They have everything you want from the era-genre, but some extra stuff too, delving into the less known side of things…with a bit of imagination that adds a slice of danger and adventure. Which, of course, equals LOVE. And of course, it’s worth noting that if your or your gift-recipients read book 3 in good time, you could join me and Kristi for a tea party in January! (How cool would it be to get both a book and a tea party book club seat? Just sayin’…)

Before We Were Yours
by Lisa Wingate

I don’t say this lightly–this book is FLAWLESS. Lisa is a Christian author, but this book was published in the general market, and it immediately scorched its way onto all the bestseller lists–for good reason. I’d been hearing about it for a while and finally got the audio version, which was SO well done. One of the few books that made me look for excuses to go exercise or take a drive or do the dishes so I could listen to more. 😉 I have several friends who also listened but then requested the paper version for Christmas this year–which I totally get. This story, about a family of children sucked into the horrors of Georgia Tan’s “orphanages,” is a time-slip between the 1930s kids and a modern day woman determined to figure out what really happened…and what it has to do with her family. SO. GOOD.

Memories of Glass
by Melanie Dobson

I had the honor of reading this one for endorsement, and oh my gracious. I could endorse it heartily! I love Melanie’s time-slip novels, and this one yet again sucked me right into both the modern timeline where I followed a young woman as she tried to unravel the mysteries of her family while also approving funding for a deserving mission school in Africa (which might be run by a handsome guy…) and the WW2 timeline that fictionalizes real events–how those charged with registering the Jews in Holland actually managed to save hundreds of children from being sent to the camps. Perfect for any lover of WW2 or time-slip in general!

A Bound Heart
by Laura Frantz

I love Laura’s books, so when I saw this one coming out this year, I quickly gobbled it up and chose it for my book club, too. We all thoroughly enjoyed it! It combines the drama of Scotland during the Jacobite rebellion with the early colonial-American charm I usually think of when I think of Laura Frantz’s books. Definitely a winner!!

The King’s Mercy
by Lori Benton

All of Lori’s books also make my must-read list. I read this one and Laura’s above back to back, so I was a bit amused at the similar themes of Scottish rebels sentenced to indentured servitude in America as their punishment…but that’s where the similarities end. The King’s Mercy also includes the Native American aspect I always look for in Lori’s books, as well as a love story to make you sigh and some danger to keep you on the edge of your seat. Loved it!

My Dearest Dietrich
by Amanda Barratt

I love Amanda Barratt. And I’m so inspired by the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. So the fact that she wrote a novelization of his bittersweet love story–SO COOL. This one is definitely a hurry-and-buy for any lover of WW2 fiction!

And that’s probably enough for one list, LOL. Though of course, always remember that if you’re looking for SIGNED book options for those historical-fiction lovers, I’m your girl. 😉 Just check out www.RoseannaMWhite.com/shop

Holiday Book Buying Guide – For the Kids

Holiday Book Buying Guide – For the Kids

I’m departing from my usual thoughtful post this week to share some books I’m excited about that I think would make fabulous gifts this year. Some of these are from my company (there will be a coupon code coming on Black Friday for those!), some are just ones I’ve read this year.

This week we’re going to focus on those…

FOR THE KIDS

Picture Books

When God Made Color


This is a really interesting perspective on the creation story, focusing on the colors that came into existence as God went through each day–and ending with the variety of hues He used when He made us. The artwork is GORGEOUS (done by a professional fine artist), the message is fabulous, and I really loved looking at creation through a new lens. This is a great book to read aloud with the little ones in your life!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | READ

Isaac’s Ice Cream Tree


This one is pure fun. 😀 There’s no overt spiritual thread, just a really cute story that enforces how important it is to give rather than receive, and the value of believing in the impossible. In this case, “the impossible” is a sugar maple that, when it snows, turns a little boy’s gift of treats to the tree into giant balls of ice cream. Reinforces colors and days of the week and is sure to delight one and all!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | READ

Middle Grade

Benjy and the Belsnickel


I know I mentioned this one last year, since my daughter did the illustrations. 😀 It’s a really fun story (boys will enjoy it!) that’s great for the holidays especially, about the Pennsylvania-Dutch tradition of the Belsnickel (think Santa, but who punishes wrongdoing instead of rewarding good behavior). Book 2 will be coming out next spring!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | READ

Being Zoey series (for girls)

Melody Carlson is an expert, no question. And this series for middle school girls is fabulous. Written in a fun voice, these stories are relevant and timely while still being entirely entertaining for girls aged 8-12.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | READ

Keeper of the Lost Cities series

My friend Stephanie recommended these, and I got the first few for my niece for Christmas last year–and she LOVED them. I haven’t read them myself, but I love it when a series is a big hit!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Young Adult

Heart of a Royal


PRINCESS BOOK!!!! Need I say more? 😉 This one is from our company and is SO much fun. A great story, fabulous characters, and the voice is amazing.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | READ

Within These Lines


Yes, okay, it’s by my best friend. But it’s also AMAZING. Every teen (and adult) should read it! It’s set during WWII, focusing on the internment camps in California where Japanese-Americans were sent.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Signed from Stephanie


The Thing with Feathers and Meet the Sky


McCall Hoyle’s books leaped to the top of my daughter’s loved-it list this year. She read them at the beginning of the year, but she still talks about them–and when she spotted a hardback of Meet the Sky on sale the other day, she grabbed it, even though she already had an advance reader copy.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Amazon | Barnes and Noble


The Charmed Life Series

    

Jenny B. Jones is another sure-win author with my daughter. 😀 Can’t go wrong with any of them, but this omnibus collection has kept her busy for quite a while, and happily so!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

The Lunar Chronicles

I listened to these on audio at the same time that Xoe was reading them in paper, and they were so fun! They’re not inspirational, but they’re clean, and thoroughly engrossing. I thoroughly enjoyed me, so did she, and we loved chatting about them together too.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

What We’ve Been Reading – October

What We’ve Been Reading – October

 

Roseanna’s Reads

October is hands-down one of my busiest months of the year, so I don’t often have time to do much reading beyond the necessary…which for me, means book club, school with the kids, and not much else. 😉 So my list is rather short this month…but I have big plans for November.

For My Bookclub

Vow of Justice
by Lynette Eason

My book club has been reading this entire series by Lynette Eason, so number 4 was on the slate for October. I really enjoyed this riveting conclusion to the tales of this law enforcement family–and had been eagerly awaiting Linc’s story. 😉 For good reason! Vow of Justice is fast-paced and never lets up, delivering a quick and exciting read. I loved the inclusion of another teen character–and Daria is every bit as brilliant as the FBI agents, which was fun.
 

For the Edit

Wings Like a Dove
by Camille Eide

You know how sometimes you read a book, and it totally consumes you? Every conversation seems to lead back to it? All your deep thought circle around to something the author or characters thought or said? Yeah–that’s me with Wings Like a Dove. In this depression-era historical, Camille Eide takes a Jewish immigrant from Poland into the heart of America…to a town where bigotry and racism is alive and festering, the Klan is operating in full force, and love seems like an illusion. Heroine Anna ends up tutoring a passel of orphan boys who are under the care of a pastor-turned-carpenter, bringing some much-needed woman’s touches into their lives. But when her new neighbors discover that she’s Jewish–and covering up a shameful secret–the whole family is soon in danger. To protect them, she’ll have to leave…even if it breaks what’s left of her heart. This story, y’all…this story. You won’t be able to put it down and won’t be able to stop thinking about it when you do. Camille Eide has outdone herself with this one!! It releases December 1, so GO PRE-ORDER IT NOW!! Seriously. This is hands-down one of my top 3 books of the year.
 

 
With the Kids

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare


I read The Witch of Blackbird Pond for school in sixth grade…and had a vague recollection of loving it, though I couldn’t remember much about it. There was a heroine from Barbados…a puritan town in New England…an old woman…and someone put in the stocks, right? LOL. When I reread it a couple years ago with my kids, I remembered why I loved this book so much–and why it won a Newbury Award. So when it came around again with my son this fall, I was pretty excited. As was my daughter, who brought her school out to the kitchen again so she could hear it. 😉 This is a wonderful story that shows the clashing worlds at the time, the ideals that built America…and the flaws in our foundation too. Because while we claim religious freedom, the truth is that even those founders who came here seeking it weren’t always willing to extend the same to others. But for every person quick to point the finger, there are those quick to defend the weak. And that’s where these characters Shine. A book highly recommended for kids aged 10 and up!

 

Tree in the Trail
by Holling C. Holling
This is a book unlike any other I’ve ever read. It’s a story that spans centuries…all following a tree, from when it was a sapling at a watering hole before horses even arrive in America, to when it eventually got to travel the Santa Fe trail as an oxen yoke. It’s a truly fascinating snapshot of the Old West from an unlikely perspective, and while I wasn’t sure at first if I’d end up liking it, I in fact really do. There are beautiful pictures and fun little tidbits of history given on every page, which makes it a great educational tool in a really interesting package.

 

Rachel’s Reads

I’m
so excited that FALL is officially here! YAY! Time for Here are some of
the books I’ve been reading this month. You can watch for my reviews
over on my blog, Bookworm Mama.

Audio

Diamond in the Rough
by Jen Turano

This is my favorite Jen Turano book To-Date! So many laughs!!! I was reading this in bed while my husband was TRYING to sleep…oops…I kept waking him up with my snickering hehe! Beautiful setting…Beautiful characters…And a beautiful hero! Hehe!!!

 

For Fun/Review

Hereafter
by Jody Hedlund

This is the 3rd and final book in the series! Just started…but I’M SO IN LOVE!!!!


 

With the Kids

Sticks Across the Chimney
by Nora Burglon


Our next big read for school is Sticks Across the Chimney. I really have been enjoying it, but we can only read it in small chunks because Judah loses interest. But it IS fun. And a lot of cool history. We are learning about Vikings in history so it’s a pretty fun tie-in.

 

For the Book Club

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
by Alan Bradley

Oh my gosh! I love this book! An 11-year-old precocious young girl finds a dead body in the cucumber patch…And then proceeds to solve the mystery. It is a cozy mystery full of delightful (and despicable) characters and has been so much fun to read.

 

What We’ve Been Reading – September

What We’ve Been Reading – September

Roseanna’s Reads

In My Devotions

A Grief Observed
by C. S. Lewis
Yes, I’m still on my C. S. Lewis kick. 😉 This is a very short little book(let). It’s Lewis’s personal journaling after the death of his wife, with a preface by Madeline L’Engle and also a foreword by Lewis’s step-son. Both point out that this is one man’s journey through these hardest of days and not meant to represent everyone’s grief. Everyone goes on their own journey. But it was definitely interesting to read his. To see how first he questioned God and then realized that it was himself he was questioning–that he couldn’t see beyond himself in those first throes. I loved his observations later on about how holding to the sorrow didn’t keep her more present, but rather the opposite. That it was in the moments he felt more like himself again, closer to God again, that she was the clearest to him too.

 

The Great Divorce
by C. S. Lewis
Since the first book was so short, I was soon moving on to the next in the collection I’d bought. The Great Divorce is a sort of fable or allegory akin to Dante, where a character journeys through the different parts of the afterlife. A little odd, LOL, but it does allow for some really interesting reflections that worked their way into his other books too. Much of what I’ve seen in this one showed up in Narnia–and are in fact the parts of The Last Battle that stuck with me so fully decades after first reading it, so this one has been fun.

 

For My Bookclub

Within These Lines
by Stephanie Morrill

Okay, so I’ve read this one before, it being by my best friend/critique partner. But I read it two years ago, so I needed a refresher before chatting about it with my book club yesterday. =) I’ve found that it’s just as brilliantly done as I remembered! Stephanie does a fabulous job of writing a story of love and loss, boldness and honor, of a great injustice met with grace by many of those who suffered it and ignored–and often forgotten–by those who watched it happen. This book tells the story of the Japanese Americans who were relocated and sent to camps during WWII here in America, capturing all the horrifying details–like the fact that the camps weren’t finished and had no working toilets, no walls in the dorms, and the paper exterior walls (literally!) did little to keep out the desert sand–through the eyes of our hero, Taichi. Meanwhile Evalina, the girl who loves him, is determined to fight against this injustice back home in San Francisco. I love how she paints one thumbnail red–leaving the other nails bare–to remind herself that life isn’t normal anymore, even though everyone else in the city goes on with life as if their neighbors hadn’t just been imprisoned simply because of their heritage. Highly recommended!!! It’s a young adult but great for any age group, from middle schoolers on up to my grandmother!
 

For the Edit

Heart of a Royal
by Hannah Currie

Okay, who doesn’t like a princess book?? I know my daughter and I are both crazy for them, and we were super excited at WhiteFire to welcome Heart of a Royal into our young adult line, WhiteSpark! Hannah Currie (an Aussie author) has done a fabulous job in this first book in her Daughter of Peverell series–a fictional kingdom in modern times. Mackenna Sparrow is a commoner by birth, but when the queen dies giving birth to a daughter the same day Mackenna is born, her mother is brought to the palace to nurse the infant princess, and the king promises Mackenna a home there as long as Princess Alina is there. So she’s grown up with the life of a princess…which is now crumbling around her. The king hates her and, now that Alina is engaged, kicks her out, forbidding her from ever speaking to his son, Prince Thoraben again. It seems the people have gotten it into their heads that she ought to marry Ben and be their next queen, and while Ben has always been her best friend, she can’t imagine why they feel this way. As her life shifts around her and a horrible storm disrupts everything in the kingdom, Mackenna finds herself having to face not only the people’s expectations, but her own heart–and the truth behind the Rebels she’s been taught are her greatest enemy.
 

 
With the Kids

The Sign of the Beaver
by Elizabeth George Speare

Our school year is in full swing, and we’ve already read quite a few books! The other day we finished The Sign of the Beaver, a great middle grade book about a boy whose father leaves him to watch the homestead in Maine one summer while he goes back to Massachusetts to fetch Matt’s mother and sister. Matt’s summer nearly ends in ruin until some local Indians step in. He ends up thrown together with a native boy a year older than him–he’s supposed to be teaching Attean to read, but more often Attean is teaching him how to survive in the wilderness. They definitely don’t strike up an instant friendship, but it was a wonderful thing to watch develop!

 
Lawn Boy
by Gary Paulsen
I love this short little book. It’s hilarious and fascinating–the most fun you’ll ever have when it comes to economics lessons. 😉 The idea is that a boy is given a lawn mower for his twelfth birthday and soon he finds himself with more jobs in the neighborhood than he can keep up with. But no worries–a local stockbroker knows some guys who’d be happy to help with the work for a portion of the pay…and does he mind if he pays him in stock? He’s a little cash-poor right now. Pretty soon, this kid is the head of an enterprise he can’t even fathom. Each chapter has very technical titles, and then the story itself is nothing but fun.

 

Rachel’s Reads

I’m so excited that FALL is officially here! YAY! Time for Here are some of the books I’ve been reading this month. You can watch for my reviews over on my blog, Bookworm Mama.

Audio

Villette
by Charolette Bronte

I’m currently listening to this as part of a Read-a-Long with author, Rachel McMillan. It is basically a virtual book club that we get to read through together section by section and discuss together. I have the version read by Mandy Weston from SCRIBD and I’m really enjoying it.

 

For Fun/Review

Foremost
by Jody Hedlund

I am so so SO in love with this series!!! Foremost is book 2 in the series and you really need to start with Always (a Novella) to get the full scope of the story.


 

Finding Lady Enderly
by Jonna Davidson Politano

You guys, Joanna is SUCH an amazing author! I was thrilled to see her book, A Rumored Fortune, was nominated for The Christy Award. This one has me so captivated it is hard to put down!

 

With the Kids

Red Sails to Capri
by Ann Weil


With school back in full swing, this is the first title we are reading this year for literature/history/all the good stuff…My 2nd grader has been loving it. A fun story with a hint of mystery.

 

For the Book Club

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
by Catherynne M. Valente


This month’s theme was fairytale/folklore etc. And this is the title we voted on. Currently, I am only about 2 pages into it…Shhhh….don’t tell them I’m behind….But I am super intrigued by it. Technically a YA book, I am curious to see what we all thought of it.

 

Happy Fall!!!