October is over (WHAT?! Wasn’t it just July?) and with that, another month of reading is complete. October was especially exciting, as I crossed the 100 books read mark, which I didn’t think would ever be possible for me! I’ll give a quick summary or statement about each book, and at the bottom I’ll give you the books I would most suggest you read from the month!
So with that, here’s what I read in October:
First Comes Love: This book, by Emily Giffin, I rated a 3-3.5 stars on goodreads. I would be excited to sit down and read for the first half of the book, but couldn’t remember anything about the book. Nothing really stood out or made it memorable. I felt that that sort of cued me in to the connectedness I felt to the characters. Once I hit the half way point things got better.
Mockingjay: I read the final book in this trilogy again this October, and as always, felt invested in the story until the very end.
It Was Me All Along: This autobiography was not too exciting at all, and I rated it a 2.5. I listened to the audiobook, some the personable voice definitely helped. I didn’t really enjoy it though.
A Virgin River Christmas and Second Chance Pass (Virgin River Series): These are books #5 and #6 from the Robyn Carr Series that I’m currently reading. The series is enjoyable enough that I keep reading it, although by no means is it the best books or best series I’ve read.
Before The Fall: I’ve heard a lot of hype about this book, so I was pretty excited to read it. Honestly, I felt “meh” about it. The book follows the storylines of multiple characters who are involved in a plane crash, and the story is about figuring out what happened. I felt like some of the story lines just weren’t pertinent to the story, leaving me feeling bored at points.
Living With No Excuses: The Remarkable Rebirth of an American Soldier: I enjoy stories about overcoming, about facing incredibly difficult parts of our humanness and being resilient. Choosing to face our darkest moments and endure is inspiring, and this story was certainly inspirational, being a great reminder of resiliency. I really enjoyed the true story of Noah Galloway who lost an arm and leg while at war.
The Voting Booth: A new vision for Christian engagement in a post-Christian culture.
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo: This is Amy Shumer’s book, and she was very true to herself throughout. Some parts felt unnecessarily vulgar, but largely I enjoyed the book and laughed quite a bit throughout. I listened to this in audiobook form and really enjoyed it that way.
Free to Fall: I really enjoyed this book! It’s set in the future, and looks at what it’s like when technology takes completely over life, dictating our lives. In the book, an app tells people when to leave for work, what to wear, what coffee they’d like to drink, etc… but the story itself was a great read!
The Underground Railroad: I gave this book three stars, which definitely grieved me, as I wanted to give it a better rating, especially because I really liked the storyline. There were parts of the book that felt deeply difficult and painful to read, as the truly terrible things that happened to slaves was talked about There was something about the author’s style that I didn’t love. I also think this is a book I would’ve enjoyed actually reading instead of listening to the audiobook.
Surviving The Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Aushwitz. I had watched a documentary about the Mozes’ Twins in college, and found there story to be both interesting and inspiring (again, with being resilient and thriving in the face of deep evil and pain). This was a really quick read- I read it in an afternoon.
Present Over Perfect: This was not one of my favorite Shauna Niequist books, which I’m a little sad about because I was expecting great things from the book. That being said, she has a beautiful way of saying things, and I found myself doing screen shots of multiple pages of the book.
And there we have it- another month of reading complete. This brings my total for 2016 to 107 books, which I’m happy about! So what are my “must reads” from the month?
- Surviving The Angel of Death
- Free to Fall
- Living With No Excuses (if you are interested in a story related to the military)
Now it’s your turn to share! What books have you read recently? What book are you most looking forward to reading in the next month or two?
Related
Wow, I cannot believe you have read 12 books this month. I only read one and it was a 5th grade novel I am considering using in class.