112) Piece of Cake by Asher Paula Fogle and Mary Holly Huddleston—Dallas debutante Claire Sommers falls from grace and strikes out on her own. She ends up working for Piece of Cake wedding magazine in Nashville. The problem is, that in spite of all of her hard efforts, the magazine is about to go under. Enter New Yorker Dom Gravino, whose social media expertise is supposed to produce a following, along with a documentary-style show bound to save the magazine. Thrown together against the odds, Claire and Dom become friends, and then possibly more than friends, until Claire's past comes back to haunt her. Both Claire and Dom learn a lot about forgiveness, love, and finding their true identity in this book, which was sweet. Sadly, some crass humor and innuendo left a sour taste in my mouth. While I can't recommend this particular piece of fiction, like the authors, I believe in redemption and would be willing to give another book a second shot.
113) Unbreakable: Go Strong. Live Long. A Woman’s Guide to Aging with Power by Vonda Wright, MD—After my stress fracture, I was looking for anything and everything to figure out how to strengthen my bones, and that is how I came to Unbreakable. What I liked about the book: Wright’s personal, no-shame approach, and how she shares about the difference mindset makes on a person’s health. What I didn’t like: her giving diet advice (she is a physician, not a dietitian), and some of the focus on longevity. I am encouraged that I can still make positive changes to my health as I age, but I am also not about to spend my one life consumed with fighting aging. What is living longer if I’ve spent the majority of my time and resources on supplements and protocols? I would rather do what I can, reasonably, and enjoy my days on earth, even if they are a bit shorter. That said, read what you wish. Skip what you wish. Some of this book might be helpful. Some might not be. It’s not an unequivocal recommendation from me.
114) Love Forms by Claire Adam—Dawn Bishop is secreted away from Trinidad to Venezuela in the dark of the night. It seems like a kidnapping, until reader realize it isn't. It is her parents sending her away, at 16, to give birth to her baby and leave it there for adoption. The rest of the book goes back and forth between Dawn's present life, her recollections of that time of her life, and her struggles to put the pieces back together. She finds four possible matches for the woman who is her daughter. She reconciles some with her family, and she doesn't. The story is quite post-modern, without exact beginning or end. It is philosophical, in that Dawn has to find and make meaning of her own story. I appreciate the depiction of love in its various forms, but his was another book I found it hard to get into. (The beginning made me afraid to read at night). While interesting, if looking for entertainment, I would recommend seeking it out in other forms. If looking for stories about adoption, I I would recommend autobiography or memoir. Props to Adam for writing a clean story about such a sensitive topic, but this depiction just was not for me.
115) The Rules of Falling for You by Mollie Rushmeyer— This book was a keeper—seriously, so cute! Zoe Dufour’s search for true love at an older age was pretty relatable, which helped me get past the cheesy Regency romance podcast subplot. Zoe’s friendship with her podcast producer and best friend Eden’s brother Harrison Lundquist was real, raw, and sweet. Themes of perfectionism and control hit home. I liked the twist at the end that tested true love and extended the story. (A romance between secondary characters budded as well.) This book was just what I needed—lightness in an otherwise full and heavy week. (It also proved to me that I can get through a book fast if it’s the right one.) This book busted through the ceiling of what I would expect from a rom-com, and I am so sad that my library does not have more from this author!
116) Start with Your People: The Daily Decision That Changes Everything by Brian Dixon [Audiobook]—This was not a bad book, but more a book about business than people (and people are my “business.”) While I appreciate Dixon's focus on serving people, some of his recommendations to serve others feel disingenuous. In sum, this (audio)book wasn't for me, but that's okay. It might be for some people.
117) When We Were Friends by Holly Bourne—This is a terrible book I started after having a terrible day, and I guess from that perspective, it did remind me that my life could be worse. The book is riddled with triggering content, however: self-harm, suicidality, drug use, and more. The explicit content (language, sex, and substance use) is abysmally high. Men use women, and women use men. The end gave me whiplash and felt almost like gaslighting. I guess this book does bring awareness to trauma and mental health, and different experiences of it, but goodness! I wish the author could have gotten to the point of the book about trust and friendship for Fern and Jessica and trying to redeem and maintain that friendship without going into so much terrible detail. The author writes in the acknowledgements that this book was a type of “purging” for her. I can see that, and I believe there is already enough awful true stuff in the world that we don’t need more detailed fiction about it. The author is talented—her past/present writing style definitely pulled me in, and she got my emotions running high. Unfortunately, strong writing skills and an emotional story does not a worthwhile book make. As I reel from finishing this novel, and continue to process, I can only say I absolutely cannot recommend it.
118) Rhythms of Prayer Edited by Sarah Bessey [Audiobook]—This is definitely a more progressive book, from the Evolving Faith community. It contains some language I would rather not hear in prayer, and definitely exposes some political biases. This collection of prayers from women across the spectrum of life (race, creed, color, denomination, etc.), however, is real. It reveals God as accessible through prayer (which He is, because of Jesus). While I would not base my theology of prayer on this book, I did find it a helpful, orientating listen during a very stressful season of life. Prayer is for all seasons. I just have to fit my life into the rhythm of it.
119) Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic by Paul Conti, MD [Audiobook]—Psychiatrist Paul Conti knows trauma, personally, and professionally. He clearly has a passion to help people, and society overcome trauma and its adverse effects. That being said, this book felt more like a memoir than a treatise on therapy and how to treat it. Conti shares more stories than directive explanations. I personally found books like The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van Der Kolk and What Happened to You? by Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey more helpful.
120) Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton [Audiobook]—I watched the Soul Surfer movie in theaters with my cousin way back in 2011. This is the book that inspired it (with additions made about the movie process). It was not too graphic, and more about Hamilton's upbringing, family, faith, and return to surfing that the actual shark attack. It was a fun and easy listen, but also an inspiring one!
121) This Book Won’t Make You Happy: Eight Keys to Finding True Contentment by Niro Feliciano, LCSW—This was really a great book. Licensed social worker Niro Feliciano weaves in her Christian faith beautifully, without being preachy. She provides real, solid tips for finding contentment—not flashy or sensational, just practical and real life. Her storytelling style makes the book relatable and easy to read. I came away with a renewed motivation to practice gratitude. It’s not that I don’t do it, but that I don’t do it enough!
122) Bare Bones by Bobby Bones [Audiobook]—I am a sucker for stories of resilience, and this book is one! In it, Country Radio Host Bobby Bones shares openly and vulnerably about his difficult upbringing, struggles with relationships, and big, big mistakes he made in his career. Honestly, in today's day and age, Bones (not his real last name) might have gotten cancelled, but somehow, he survived. Spoiler alert, he is now married with a child. Although this book did contain some crude humor and a little bit of language, I appreciate Bones' baring his soul, so to speak, so that others might feel less alone in their struggles, and more empowered to overcome them.
123) Authentically Izzy by Pepper Basham —I learned a new word, “Epistolary,” a word used to describe stories written in correspondence form, which this one is (e-mails and texts) until the middle of the book, when narration enters the scene. Small town librarian Isabelle thinks her meddling cousin Josie is impersonating someone on the Heart-to-Heart dating website, but then realizes she has been baring her soul to Brodie, a stranger on a (made-up) Scottish island. I was impressed by the author’s many references to classic literature. The story contained important truths about identity and worth. It was easy to predict parts of the plot, however, and reading all the correspondence got old. Authentically, I am just not sure what to think. I do have a few more books by this author on my reading list, so maybe I will reserve final judgement until after reading them.
124) Complement:The Surprising Beauty of Choosing Together Over Separate in Marriage by Aaron Ivey and Jamie Ivey—Aaron and Jamie Ivey fell from grace in a public scandal out of Austin Stone Church, but I didn’t know that when I started reading this book, and they wrote it before that event. When I found out, I decided to finish reading anyway. God can use people who sin to impart his truth, and He did through this book. Reading really caused me to assess me heart towards my husband. Yes, I try to serve him, but is it out of love, because Jesus loved me; or out of obligation? Unfortunately, I think it’s often the latter. I don’t really know what’s become of Aaron and Jamie Ivey and their marriage. All I can hope and pray is that they applied what they wrote in this book about seeking Jesus in marriage. Somehow, I hope they find hope and healing again, and at some point, will be able to testify, just as they did in this book, to the greatness of Jesus.
125) Fail Until You Don’t: Fight. Grind. Repeat. By Bobby Bones [Audiobook]—This was not the book for me. While I enjoyed Bones' first memoir, this one felt more like a masochist treatise based on the “No days off” motto. Sure, perseverance, resilience, and motivation are good, but not without rest, and that is basically what Bones writes about: a life of constant striving with very little to no deviances allowed. Bones does include some stories of other famous people whose failures taught them something, but all in all, I found the book more distressing than motivating. I recommend Bones' actual memoir, Bare Bones, not this motivational one.
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Readers, do you have any great books to share from your reading this month?
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