October, I love you so much. Thank you for bringing fall leaves and fall weather (FINALLY) and the end of spooky season. Thanks for all the books and for new mystery series and for really good YA reads. You’re my favorite.

Here’s what I read this October!

ps— affiliate links are included!

my top rec:

Miracles and Other Reasonable Things: A Story of Unlearning and Relearning God by Sarah Bessey

my 2019 goal progress:

18 books this month

154/175 total (I bumped my goal up from 150 to 175!!!)

Still Life by Louise Penny

rating: ★★★★☆

review: Devoured this one on my Kindle on the flight the Denver last week and loved it like my friends said I would. It’s such a cozy murder mystery — not gory or overly twisted, but nuanced and layered and expertly crafted. I love Inspector Gamache already and can’t wait to keep cruising through this series! (I’m putting holds on alllll of them at my library so I don’t have to wait in between!)

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

rating: ★★★★☆

review: I downloaded a few breezy YA books for my recent Denver trip, knowing the conference would be info overload and I would need a brain break. This one was delightful — the best meet-cute moment in a lost office, the most romantic gestures involving missed connections and posters in NYC and coffee shops, great family and friend supporting characters, and at the heart, a story of two teenage guys and their love. I am not here to debate your stance on this, but simply to tell you that diverse and inclusive love stories (especially for a YA audience) are wonderful and necessary and lovely, and I am 100% here for it.

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

rating: ★★★★☆

review: Another fun YA read that had more depth to it than I expected — evolving family dynamics, a journal full of secrets handed down from a mom who passed away, set in beautiful Italy, love interests and best friendships, lots of talk of gelato and other yummy things... it was a fun one!

Miracles and Other Reasonable Things: A Story of Unlearning and Relearning God by Sarah Bessey

rating: ★★★★★

review: This book was beautiful. Heartfelt. Tender. Lovely. I’m so grateful @sarahbessey gave us this gift — more a memoir than her other books, a treasure to read, and a story that bolstered my own faith and belief in a God of miracles. I’m so excited to share a copy of this one with one of you. I highlighted so many stunning lines in this one and found it so encouraging and moving, and hope you will too. All the praise hands.

You Are the Girl for the Job: Daring to Believe the God Who Calls You by Jess Connolly

rating: ★★☆☆☆

review: I wanted to love this one, I really did, but I just think it wasn’t the right time for this one and me to meet. It didn’t resonate with me, but then again, I often struggle with books by Christian women for Christian women... I really think this one will be incredibly encouraging, empowering, and motivating for many women, but it just wasn’t what I needed to read in this season.

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

rating: ★★★★☆

review: Are you all ready to hear about how much I’m loving and enjoying these Three Pines murder mysteries from now until kingdom come? Because there are 15 in the series and I am JUST GETTING STARTED. I really thought i had this one figured out, then it took a totally different turn, but then it ended up close to my prediction... and I loved every minute of it. Big fan of these and don’t see that changing any time soon!

Big Dreams, Daily Joys by Elisa Blaha Cripe

rating: ★★★★★

review: I absolutely LOVE @elisejoy and her latest project, #bigdreamsdailyjoys, was the perfect example of why — she’s not just creative and talented and committed to making, but she has a way of inviting others in to the process, the planning, and the producing that feels so doable and possible and just plain FUN. I’ve loved following along in all of her creative endeavors since discovering her during a round of #the100dayproject a few years back — I’m constantly inspired by what she makes, and even more, I’m inspired to make things MYSELF as a result. (The real win!) She is a goal setting guru (I loooove @gettoworkbook and use mine at work!) and she breaks goals down in such an attainable and approachable way that even as someone who regularly sets goals, i found her tips motivating, encouraging, and fresh. She’s so good! Plus, the book is beautifully and boldly designed and it’s worth a buy just for the aesthetics alone. I kept having to put this book down to jot down new goal ideas of my own, new thoughts about projects I want to try, and new ideas for things i want to create — and that’s the whole point. Such a great read, and one I’ll keep coming back to when I need a pep talk and a nudge to get back on track with my goals and my creative endeavors! Highly recommend this one, friends!

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

rating: ★★★★☆

review: I really enjoyed this one — young love that comes back around, second chances, misunderstandings, father/daughter dynamics, the effects of fame and celebrity, surprises and poignant moments, etc. It had me captivated and rooting for the characters and eager to have a hopeful happy ending, and I was not disappointed!

thanks to: BookSparks for sending me this one as part of #FRC2019!

America is Immigrants by Sara Novic

rating: ★★★★★

review: This one felt perfectly appropriate to read today as my own little act of rebellion against this “holiday”... I’m not down for celebrating men who pillage and plunder people and land... but I am ALWAYS down for celebrating the beautiful, creative, world-changing, brilliant immigrants and refugees and humans who make up America and make it better. SO ANYWAY. 🙃 The heart of this one is spot on. It starts with who is in the book, where they are from, and then who isn’t in the book, and I so deeply appreciated the author’s notes explaining the choice not to include both Native Americans and enslaved people, as neither truly were immigrants and should not be falsely labeled or grouped in as such. 🙌🏼 for that! (And also would love to see books highlighting those people groups too!) The mini bios included in this collection were eloquently written (a feat since they’re so brief!) and wonderfully illustrated, and I learned so much about people who have impacted our country and culture in such diverse ways. This is the kind of history I want to learn more of. These are the people I want to know more about. This is what I do love about America still— its people. This book is a beaut.

thanks to: Random House for the free book!

I Gave Up Men for Lent: The Story of a Jaded, Hopelessly Romantic, Health-Conscious Party Girl’s Search for Meaning by Kacie Main

rating: ★★★☆☆

review: Supporting indie and new authors and the books they’ve worked so hard on is such an honor and a joy! Reading this one by @kaciemain_writes was like sitting down with your BFF and getting the scoop on their life— the boys, the flings, the drama, the identity crises, the life changes, and the ups and downs of all of it. I’ve totally been the girl to say she’s swearing off men for a season (and also the girl to go back on that promise the second I’m bored or watching the Bachelor and feeling lonely...) so I resonated with a lot of this one! Definitely worth a read if you can relate at all — reading about someone’s else experiences (and reading their journal entries!) makes you feel a lot less crazy and alone. Thanks for sharing this one with me, @kaciemain_writes!! Glad you followed those big dreams to write this book!

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny

rating: ★★★★☆

review: Thoughts I had while reading #3 in the Three Pines series: Gamache is like a hybrid of Dr. House + Sherlock Holmes with a dash of Dumbledore. (I feel good about this.) I never can guess who did the murder or how (and I haven’t read the end to spoil it for myself either, which says a LOT). I will never go to a séance and am further solidified in my stance of creepy and scary things being THE WORST and we should get rid of them entirely, pleaseandthankyou. The dry humor of Louise Penny is amazing and so subtle but hilarious. I know so little about Canada (therefore all texting my favorite Canadian @hannahreadsmoer constantly with all my questions). I continue to be a BIG FAN of these books.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

rating: ★★☆☆☆

review: Okay so I probably read this as a kid but I don’t remember, so I read it again yesterday after grabbing it at a thrift store... and I don’t think I get the hype? There are some poignant lines and some amusing thoughts on growing up and being an adult, but overall it didn’t resonate with me. (Does this mean I’ve become the boring adult with no imagination?!??) I think part of it might be the fact that it was translated from French (I always thinks books lose some magic in translation) but it felt scattered and confusing to me overall. Oh well!

Home Again by Kristin Hannah

rating: ★★★★☆

review: I loved this one. I squealed like a baby at the end. I cried! I laughed out loud. It’s just so good! Read it in one sitting this morning and fell totally into the story from beginning to end. It’s Grey’s Anatomy-esque, with a little dash of Parenthood, and maybe slight Gilmore Girls ish too! Kristin Hannah is just the queen of books, I think.

The Bake-Off by Beth Kendrick

rating: ★★★☆☆

review: Haven’t read a book all week. Like, at all. IT HAPPENS. And then I sat on the couch by the fireplace with this one this morning and read it cover to cover (thanks to the Forest app for making me keep my phone down) and I think I’m getting back in the groove! This one was similar to The Accidental Beauty Queen but with a baking competition, complete with sisterly drama, a meet cute in an elevator, lots of yummy baking talk, and a totally predictable but still enjoyable plot!

The Rumor by Lesley Kara

rating: ★★★☆☆

review: This was a solidly okay read — not thrilling enough to really be a thriller, not quite mysterious enough to be a mystery, and not dramatic enough for a true drama. It has decent plot potential, but it didn’t ever really hook me and it felt pretty slow until all of a sudden the main character seemed to have an instantaneous realization of who the killer was... 🤷🏼‍♀️ The back cover made it seem a lot more dark and twisty than it ever was, which is a bummer. But! I finished two books today! WE BACK, BABY.

thanks to: Random House for the free book!

One Night at the Lake by Bethany Chase

rating: ★★★★☆

review: I loooooved this one. Like SOLID 4 stars. If I did half stars, it would be 4.5. It kept surprising me, it unfolded beautifully, the characters felt dynamic and relatable, it had the perfect amount of suspense and drama and back and forth between character perspectives, and it ended up being a totally different kind of storyline than I first thought (which I love). Such a sneaky surprise book!!! Read this one.

thanks to: Random House for the free book!

The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues by Patrick Lencioni

rating: ★★★★☆

review: I read this before going into my first ever interview process where I was on the other side of the table, and it was incredibly helpful. I didn’t expect it to be written so much like a fiction story, but I really appreciated it as it brought would could have been dry material to life in a really engaging and illustrative way! It was an easy read with such helpful concepts that were really great to have in mind as I began to take steps in building my team at work. Big fan!

The Wolf Wants In by Laura McHugh

rating: ★★☆☆☆

review: I was disappointed in this one. It had faint S-Town vibes at first (a backcountry town ravaged by opioids, death and drama and bodies found in the woods, trying to uncover the truth, etc) but it just felt slow and uneventful and ultimately pretty boring...

thanks to: Random House for the free book!