Books I've Read - December 2017

How to Manage your Home without Losing your Mind by Dana K. White 

This is a fantastic book! The author is so genuine and full of personality and has great ideas that have all worked for her and I can see how some will work for me as well. All Around the Town by Mary Higgins Clark  The writing was well done and the mystery was a good one, leaving me unsure until nearly the reveal. The ending wasn't my favorite, it was a little too "too good to be true" for me, not feeling like it had a realistic ending and was predictable. The story kept me engaged the entire time, though, and the pacing was well done. His Needs, Her Needs for Parents by William F. Harley Jr.  This was a great marriage book. I loved how the author focused on working together and how he gives specific things you can do to keep the love and romance alive. I also liked looking at strengthening my marriage through the lens of parenthood, because it is a lot harder once the kids come. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson  Oathbringer did not disappoint. I am not a huge epic fantasy person, though I love fantasy, but I love the way Brandon Sanderson writes the Stormlight archive. I love the main characters and their character arcs and I love the way Sanderson leads up to a moral lesson that he delivers powerfully at the end. I also love how unbiased he is as he explores political ideas and how diverse his characters are. Hygge by Charlotte Abrams  I like the concept behind this book, for the most part. Hygge is basically feeling comfortable, which is good. The most interesting parts were when the author talked about happiness and the research on that rather than just Hygge. I also think that there may be too much emphasis on comfort for happiness (for example, Hygge says that if you want a piece of cake, to eat a piece of cake; having a treat sometimes is fine, but I also believe that to be happy, you should take care of your body and be healthy). I definitely got me thinking and gave me ideas for when I do want that feeling of safety and comfort. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg  Going into this book, I had no idea what to expect. It was fantastic! I read it in one day. It's the story of a girl who takes her brother and runs away, but doesn't want to have to sleep in the woods or something, so they sneak into a museum. There, the girl is drawn to a mystery that she has to solve before she can go home. It was such an original concept and so interesting to read about. It was also a more philosophical book. looking at life and the meaning of life. I would definitely be interested in reading more by this author.  Simplify by Joshua Becker  I really like Joshua Becker (he has other books and a blog that I have read). He calls himself a "practical minimalist", as opposed to minimalists who only own 100 items or who sell everything and live in a trailer as they travel. Those things are fine, but for most people (Ben and I included), that's not what we want out of life. However, we do want a simple life that we can enjoy together with our family and we want to be able to focus on the most important things in life. Stuff can often get in the way of that. We're still working on finding our balance of minimalism, but this book was a great motivation/reminder of our minimalist goals.  Also, if you are new to minimalism or are simply interested in learning more about practical minimalism, this book is perfect. It's short, well organized, and explained very well.  The Rosie Project by Don Tillman  This is a book I picked up at DI. I didn't know anything about it, so I was relieved when it was pretty clean (it had some language). It's about a guy with Asperger who puts together a scientific project to find himself a wife, but things get complicated when he helps a woman (who does not qualify as a candidate in his wife project) to find her father and they begin to have feelings for each other. I loved the romance of the book, but I also loved the lessons on friendship and love that he learns along the way.     Keep the Happy in your Holidays by Cherie Lowe  I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author's voice was strong and funny and her tips were useful and insightful. It's definitely a good book to read anytime of the year (as it has tips for January, etc.) but especially as you are preparing for and thinking about how you'd like your holiday season to be.  The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz  I cannot say enough good about this book, I loved it! It's about a young girl who flees her father's farm after he destroys any chance of her educating herself and becomes a hired girl for a Jewish family. She's christian, so the author explored religion and religious tolerance a lot and a strong theme of the book is respecting each other's belief. There is some romance, but it felt very realistic as to something like that would have happened in real life. The author did a great job of staying true to what a fourteen year old girl in those situations would have been like. I learned a lot and could hardly put it down.  A Fool and his Monet by Sandra Orchard  This was such a fun, well done mystery. I loved the characters, I loved how well rounded Serena's life was (outside of her job) and I loved the romance story line. I immediately had to buy the second one in the series. Another Day, Another Dali by Sandra Orchard  The second in the series, was very good as well.  Over Maya Dead Body by Sandra Orchard  The last in the Serena Jones series, this was actually my least favorite of the three. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and I did like how it all wrapped up.  A Holiday for Murder by Agatha Christie  I picked this up while staying with my parents over Christmas. I have yet to read an Agatha Christie book I didn't love and this was no exception. I had no idea who the murderer actually was (I had suspicions, but I was totally wrong) and there were several twists throughout that I either didn't see coming or threw me for one. It was a very enjoyable murder mystery read, perfect for the holidays.