Here is what I’ve been reading for the past month.  I’d love to hear what books you’ve loved lately. And don’t forget to head to Modern Mrs. Darcy for more book reviews.  I always find many new titles to add to my to-do list!

Delancey:
I suppose it’s not surprising that I love food memoirs. I grew up  in a foodie household, before foodie was a thing.  I loved Molly Wizenberg’s second book just as much as I loved her first.  I also completely identified with her feelings of living with a project-loving husband. 😉

Eleanor and Park:
After all the hype I really, really wanted to love this book.  In the end, despite connecting with the characters and enjoying the light writing style, I was disappointed.  When it comes down to it, I am (prudishly?) turned off by excessive foul language.  If you are of the same opinion, don’t bother with this one.  I would have highly recommended it otherwise, though.

Persuasion:
I have been meaning to read this Austen novel for years and finally did because it’s one of my goals this year. It’s not my favorite of her books, but I still really liked it.  Humorous, relateable characters, a long-lasting love, and a happy ending.  What more could you ask for?

I Capture the Castle:
Completely enchanting.  I just adored everything about this book: the writing style, the flawed but loveable characters, the honesty and vulnerablilty of not-perfect family life.  A beautiful read!

Number the Stars:
Ellie and I read this for our Mother-Daughter book club.  I loved it as a child and loved it even more this time around.  It’s a very gentle introduction to World War II and the difficult topics surrounding it.

What Alice Forgot:
Oh, I loved this book!  It’s a sweet love story mixed with a mystery, mixed with an inspiration to slow down and nurture our relationships rather than focusing on material possessions and social status.

The Nesting Place:
Reading this book was mostly like what has inspiring my latest desire to paint all the things.  The book is full of beautiful and inspiring photos that made me want to jump right in and make our home fit us just right.

May B:
I started off thinking this would be a somewhat Laura Ingalls Wilder-type book. It turned out quite a bit differently than I expected. It’s children’s fiction, written in (un-rhymed) verse and is a very quick read. The protagonist is brave, but also real.  She faces a terrifying and dangerous problem and at first she is unable to meet the challenge.  She responds to it an a way I could see myself responding.   I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.  I read it in a day and then demanded that Ellie read it. 🙂

My Story (Elizabeth Smart):
Ugh. My feelings about this book are hard to describe.  The writing was very poorly done. Distractingly so.  And while I feel terrible that Elizabeth endured such a horrific experience, I found myself become really upset with her as I read her story.  I’m shaking my head thinking about how many chances she had to get away and yet she didn’t take them.

 In so many instances, she would have been able to escape if only she did SOMETHING. But she didn’t.  She waited to be rescued, without having to do anything herself, even when a police officer was there questioning her.  If she had spoken even one word she would have been saved from months of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.  But she didn’t. The whole story makes me sick, but I was shocked by how naive and passive Elizabeth was.

On the bright side, it sparked a fantastic conversation between Jason, myself  and our kids.  We’ve talked about what to do in the unlikely event one of them is in danger of this sort, but now I had a concrete example I could use.  “You don’t just go with them!  You fight, you scream, you kick and bite and do all those things we won’t let you do to each other.  The bad guy would not have followed through on the threats he made to Elizabeth (he threatened to kill her family if she made any noise, so she quietly left the house with him).  If she screamed, he would have been scared and he would have run away.  Guaranteed.”  *end rant*