Looking for Your Next Great Read?
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I’ve just realized that in January’s throes of illness and agony, I forgot to post about my January reads. I have a large number of books to share with you this month, making up for last month’s book recommendation dearth. I have books to recommend in numerous categories, and some exceptionally great reads. This post contains affiliate links, which means if you purchase through my links I receive a small percentage at no extra cost to you. These funds help defray my blog expenses. Thank you for your support.
Picture Books
Grandma’s Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton is full of life and charm and celebrates the Grandmother/grandchild relationship beautifully. The illustrations are colorful, exuberant, and full of fun.
Wordy Birdy by Tammi Sauer and illustrated by Dave Mottram is a delight. Birdy is chatty! And energetic! And neverstopstalking. It’s possible that I love this book because (ahem) my childhood self may have born some small resemblance to Birdy. Ask any teacher who ever taught me. This book is my new favorite from Tammi, although Cowboy Camp still holds a very tender spot in my heart.
Middle Grade Historical Fiction
The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez is one of those un-put-downable stories that widens your understanding and compassion while breaking your heart. Don’t be put off by the “Middle Grade” designation. Good literature is good literature, and I will never be embarrassed to be seen reading children’s literature in public. This story is based on the real-life stories of the author’s parents and in-laws when they were forced to leave Cuba during Castro’s revolution. As children. Alone. Without their parents. What an eye-opener.
If this book whets your appetite for more books about the immigration experience, I recommend The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande.
Young Adult Fiction
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. When I’m not feeling well, I tend to gravitate toward childhood favorites. What a joy to re-read this treasure. I hope you have the pleasure of having books that feel like old friends, books where you weep for joy and sadness over the triumphs and losses of the characters.
Of course, Louisa May Alcott was a prolific author. If you love Little Women, check out some of her other books.
Non-Fiction
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. Our oldest son is finishing up his residency in Internal Medicine and preparing to begin another residency in Geriatrics. He recommended this book to me, and WOW. This book is a must read. The author, a surgeon, examines treatment of the elderly in various cultures and how this contributes to their well-being. He investigates alternative nursing/retirement home options and discusses hospice care at length. He talks at length about questions to ask yourself, your loved ones, and your doctors when broaching treatment options as one nears end of life or receives a terminal illness diagnosis. All of this is handled with the utmost respect, sensitivity, and gentle candor. Highly recommended.
The Hygge Life: Embracing the Nordic Art of Coziness Through Recipes, Entertaining, Decorating, Simple Rituals, and Family Traditions by Gunnar Karl Gislason and Jody Edy. This lovely book is full of recipes and gorgeous photographs, and is my favorite of the many books I’ve read on the topic of hygge. I especially enjoyed all the suggestions for themed movie nights with popcorn and movie-themed games for the intermission, such as Bollywood theme, Movie where protagonist saves the planet, Road trip that changed a person’s life and more. There are also suggestions for hosting game nights, holiday gatherings, and date nights.
Simple Gatherings: 50 Ways to Inspire Connection by Melissa Michaels is a lovely and inspiring book full of beautiful photographs and fun suggestions to offer hospitality. This book is a wonderful addition to your Hospitality book shelf.
Do the Work by Steven Pressfield is often recommended by and for creatives (writers, artists, etc.) I definitely found it to be motivating and encouraging, although some of it is a it whack-a-doodle for my taste. Still, I found many nuggets of wisdom and encouragement, certainly enough that I would recommend the book.
The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington is a motivating productivity book. I think it would be fascinating to attend one of their seminars.
Financial Management Books
During my January focus Cultivate Financial Security, I read three financial management books. They were each helpful in their unique way.
Debt-Free Living by Larry Burkett
Money, Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey
Fiction
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is a twisty-turny page-turner of a thriller that will keep keep you up past your bedtime! I can’t remember the last book that kept me guessing to such a degree. I thought I knew what was happening, then got confused over and over. This book does contain some language, but I passed it on to my mom and dad and they enjoyed it too.
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn is another page-turner of a thriller. The thing I particularly enjoyed about this one is that it’s a spin on Rear Window, which is one of my favorite James Stewart/Hitchcock films. Instead of being laid up with a broken leg, this main character is homebound due to agoraphobia. This is a great psychological spin on the story, with plenty of twists and turns.
The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay. This book is a much more light-hearted offering than the preceding recommendations, an improbable but entertaining storyline for the Jane Austen fan. The heroine and her on-again-off-again best friend head to England for a Regency House Party that goes awry. If you enjoy this book, you’ll enjoy the other Jane Austen-themed offerings by this author.
Christian Fiction
The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright surprised me. It is the darkest Christian book I’ve ever read, tackling a horrifying subject. The suspenseful and gritty story is a mystery that goes back and forth in time and delves into triggering topics and their impact down through generations. This is well-written Christian fiction, and I’m excited about the author’s new work coming out in July (just in time for my birthday!). You can pre-order her new work here.
Dandelion Summer by Lisa Wingate. When it’s done well, there are few things I enjoy more than a book that weaves together two stories from different places in time, solving a mystery at the end. This book does it well, bringing together a grieving and ill curmudgeon and a neglected teen to interact and probe into mysteries from their pasts.
Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate is a story about discovering what is most important, determining how you want to invest your life. It’s also the story of a grandmother and her adult granddaughter, of caring for a failing elderly woman and a medically fragile baby, of nurturing a marriage that seems to have gotten off track.
This brings us to the bottom of my book bag! You get started on your books, and I’ll get busy with my next batch so we can talk about our next great reads!
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Please share what great books you’ve read lately! You can share in the comments section below or on any of my social media posts. I’m always looking for my next great book, so let’s talk!
