Recently Read: January 2017

Linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy to share what I've been reading lately

It's been a good reading month so far. I've finished 5 books since the new year (some on my list are from last month) and am looking forward to my audiobooks coming off the long hold lines. As always, I've quit a bunch of books in between the ones I've read. For some reason, it's always hard for me to decide to stop, but I'm so happy once I do. And when I find books I truly enjoy, like these below, I feel great.

1. Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
I LOVED this book. It is a slow, beautiful read where Hannah (the narrator) looks back on her life. She analyzes her actions and the ones of those around her and her thoughts on love and grief are profound.

2. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
Such a great novel. I loved reading about Taylor and how she left her family and all that was familiar, and in doing so was able to find a new family of sorts. It was an interesting look at relationships.

3. Pit Bull by Bronwen Dickey
It was a fascinating look into the history of hated breeds that goes back a hundred years and definitely made me reconsider the way I think about pit bulls. There are a few sad dog stories, just a warning if you're sensitive.

4. French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon
It seems like everyone I know has read this book, but this was my first time and I really enjoyed it. I liked observing my habits from an outsider's perspective and figuring out ways to make them better. James definitely can improve in the vegetables department, and I'm going to try out the recipes from the back of the book this week.

5. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
I was a teensy bit disappointed by this one because I thought it was going to be a really complicated mystery. It was an interesting read and the characters were fascinating, but at the end when the mystery was revealed I was like, "That was it?"

6. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
This book started out great but petered out a bit towards the end. It's a memoir about a specific part of his life, namely his time as a stand-up comic. Learning about Steve Martin's life was eye-opening and reading about his panic attacks in his 20s gave me one of those "He's a real person!" moments.