Books:
- Dreams of Ada by Robert Mayer- This was our book club pick for the month of January. I like that we now pick books further out so I can get ahead of the reading and don't have to stress waiting for the book to come in at the library. I started slowly with this book, having a hard time getting into it. Then by the end, I couldn't stop reading. It was a nonfiction story about 2 men who were convicted of murder in the 80's. It was stressful for me as the end of the trial neared and I was so sure they were innocent but also so sure they would be convicted. Their trial is also included in John Grisham's book Innocent Man which is now a Netflix series which I will have to check out.
- Already Ready: Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten by Katie Wood Ray and Matt Glover- After reading In Pictures and In Words I saw Katie Wood Ray had also written this book. It seemed like it would be perfect for me since I'm teaching 3 year old preschool, Elise is in preschool, and Elise will be in kindergarten next year. I didn't like this one nearly as much as the other one and there were some points in the book that I felt like were incorrect or misguided opinions on the part of the authors. But like I always say, you can learn from anything or anyone. If you don't learn something you weren't paying attention. So I learned some things and also started to think about writing in a different and new way.
- Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella- I was so excited when I saw this was coming out and put it on hold right away. I got it in time to read it before Christmas which was really exciting! I knew I was behind in the Shopaholic series and, just now when I checked, I've missed the 3 most recent books before this one. I knew it wouldn't matter and it didn't, I really enjoyed this one. As always it was cute and had me laughing at multiple different times.
- A Christmas Memory, One Christmas, and The Thanksgiving Visitor by Truman Capote- I've wanted to read more of Capote's work after reading In Cold Blood because his writing was so phenomenal in that book. When I saw this one listed on a Christmas list, I was really excited to read it. It was 3 short stories together in one book and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
- The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser- I saw this on a list of Christmas books somewhere. It was cute and I enjoyed it. It was also a really quick and easy read.
- Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber- I listened to an audiobook of one of Macomber's Christmas books and liked it so much I decided to find more of her books to read or listen to. This one was available as an ebook and I loved it. Her books are the perfect amount of sweet and cheesy. I'm excited to read more of her Christmas books either this season or next year!
- Starry Night by Debbie Macomber- Macomber was the big highlight of my Christmas reading this year. I couldn't get enough of her books. I loved this one too. I was cheesy and sweet. I didn't like it quite as much as Twelve Days of Christmas or Merry and Bright but it was sweet and enjoyable as well. Actually it was probably my least favorite of her books I read or listened to this year. It seemed a little hokier and ridiculous than the other ones but it may have just been that I'd been reading the cheesy Christmas romances all month and was getting a little tired of them at this point.
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King- I've never read any of Stephen King's books because I don't like to get scared. I mean, I did have nightmares while reading Hazel Wood which was a young adult book! But I was instantly interested when I heard my mom talking to Ty about this book because it's title was the day of JFK's assassination. This was a doozy at 30 hours of audio, but it was so good, I made it through it without ever taking a break to listen to a shorter audiobook. I was interested to see what King's thoughts were on what would happen if JFK wasn't assassinated because I have come to believe that the Civil Rights Movement would not have had the victories it did. Not because JFK wouldn't have fought for them, but because there wouldn't be the sympathy of citizens and legislators over JFK's death that led them to accept JFK's policies in his memory. One of my favorite parts of the book was at the end when King himself read an afterward where he discussed the book and revealed that he had come up with the idea of this book in the 70's but didn't have time to write it at the time. I think the book would have been far less accepted and successful if it had been written closer to Kennedy's death.
- The Chirstmas Letters- After finishing the lengthy and intense 11/22/63 I was super excited to dive into some Christmas books. I was definitely ready for some light and fun to be injected into my reading life! All the Christmas books I found as downloadable audiobooks I had to put on hold and wait. Eventually I just went into my app and searched Christmas in the keyword box and came across this one. It sounded cute and I enjoyed it but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. It was more of a novella and left me wanting to know more about the family when it ended. I also felt like it was an abrupt ending with only one letter written by the granddaughter but it was a good ending all said and done.
- The Christmas Star by Donna VanLiere- This was another one I found just by searching Christmas. It was exactly the kind of book I was looking for! It was super predictable, as in I had the ending figured out within the first 30 minutes of the story, but it was sweet and I loved it! Not the best writing, but fun. I felt like she struggled writing dialog for men, just injecting some "dudes" to make it seem more manly, but I didn't let that distract me from the story too much, haha!
- Twelve Days of Christmas by Debbie Macomber- This book was everything I was looking for. It was sweet and lovely and full of Christmas. The storyline reminded me a bit of a Christmas version of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. When I finished it I was full of happiness and just wanted to give out hugs. That's all you can ask for with a Christmas book, right? This was my favorite Christmas book I read this month. I loved it so much I decided I must read more of Macomber's Christmas books!
- A Jane Austen Christmas: Regency Christmas Traditions by Maria Grace- I searched Christmas in my app and when I saw Jane Austen Christmas I was so excited. When I opened it I realized it was a nonfiction book about Christmas traditions during Austen's time. I thought it would be interesting so decided to go ahead and listen to it. It was interesting but the last chapter was all recipes. As a regular book I would have skimmed them but as an audiobook I was stuck listening to them read aloud. That was pretty boring.
- Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand- Last year I listened to Winter Solstice, not realizing until I was a bit into it that it was the last book in a series. I decided to pick up with the series and listen to the first book in the series this year. I look forward to eventually catching up with the series over the years in December. My favorite part was when he says, "I saw Mitzy kissing Santa Claus." I feel like Hilderbrand must have planned out that whole portion of the storyline just so she could say that!
- Noel Street by Richard Paul Evans- I put this one on hold at the very beginning of December and didn't get it in until toward the end. I was pretty much over the sappy Christmas books by the time I started this and I probably should have just returned it but I powered through it and didn't enjoy it very much. I was so over the cheesy Christmas stuff.
- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid- I saw this one on multiple book lists and when I saw it was a Reese's Book Club pick, I wanted to read it. I saw it as an available audiobook when I was looking on my app. I looked into it and saw there were multiple narrators. My favorite audiobooks are when each character has their own voice so I knew I'd like this one. I thought it was an odd concept, a fictional story about a rock band's rise to fame, but it was good! I liked how at the beginning there was a disclaimer that different perspectives may not line up and it was so funny how she spliced together people's interviews and how they at times were so comedic in their differences. I'm not sure how this would read as a regular book, but as an audiobook, it was gold. It had me laughing a few times during runs.
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