On My Reading List

As you have probably guessed by now, I love to read. I am constantly on the lookout for new books to add to my list and I love getting recommendations from friends and other blogs. Here is what's currently on my must-read list. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Currently Reading:

I am still reading Rules of Civility and I just can't get into it. There are parts that I like and then I lose track of the characters and how we jumped from one time to the next. I have to go back and re-listen because it's on an audiobook. I do like the time period that it's set in and the fact that it's in New York is appealing as well. This book was recommended by several people but I just haven't loved it. I am almost done, so I will finish it. Does it get better at the end??

For the Love:
Since, I can't ever just read one book at a time lol, I am also reading this book. So far it's pretty good. Here is the synopsis from Amazon:

Best-selling author Jen Hatmaker is convinced life can be lovely and fun and courageous and kind. She reveals with humor and style how Jesus’ embarrassing grace is the key to dealing with life's biggest challenge: people. The majority of our joys, struggles, thrills, and heartbreaks relate to people, beginning with ourselves and then the people we came from, married, birthed, live by, go to church with, don’t like, don’t understand, fear, compare ourselves to, and judge. Jen knows how the squeeze of this life can make us competitive and judgmental, how we can lose love for others and then for ourselves. She reveals how to:

• Break free of guilt and shame by dismantling the unattainable Pinterest life.
• Learn to engage our culture’s controversial issues with a grace-first approach.
• Be liberated to love and release the burden of always being right. 
• Identify the tools you already have to develop real-life, all-in, know-my-junk-but-love-me-anyway friendships.
• Escape our impossible standards for parenting and marriage by accepting the standard of “mostly good.”
• Laugh your butt off.

In this raucous ride to freedom for modern women, Jen Hatmaker bares the refreshing wisdom, wry humor, no-nonsense faith, liberating insight, and fearless honesty that have made her beloved by women worldwide.

On My List:

The River At Night:

This look so intriguing! I've heard that it's a page-turner, which I love. 

Here's the synopsis from Amazon:

Winifred Allen needs a vacation.

Stifled by a soul-crushing job, devastated by the death of her beloved brother, and lonely after the end of a fifteen-year marriage, Wini is feeling vulnerable. So when her three best friends insist on a high-octane getaway for their annual girls’ trip, she signs on, despite her misgivings.

What starts out as an invigorating hiking and rafting excursion in the remote Allagash Wilderness soon becomes an all-too-real nightmare: A freak accident leaves the women stranded, separating them from their raft and everything they need to survive. When night descends, a fire on the mountainside lures them to a ramshackle camp that appears to be their lifeline. But as Wini and her friends grasp the true intent of their supposed saviors, long buried secrets emerge and lifelong allegiances are put to the test. To survive, Wini must reach beyond the world she knows to harness an inner strength she never knew she possessed.

With intimately observed characters, visceral prose, and pacing as ruthless as the river itself, The River at Night is a dark exploration of creatures—both friend and foe—that you won’t soon forget.

Behind Closed Doors: 
This is another psychological thriller, shocker, I know!

The synopsis from Amazon:

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth; she has charm and elegance. He’s a dedicated attorney who has never lost a case; she is a flawless homemaker, a masterful gardener and cook, and dotes on her disabled younger sister. Though they are still newlyweds, they seem to have it all. You might not want to like them, but you do. You’re hopelessly charmed by the ease and comfort of their home, by the graciousness of the dinner parties they throw. You’d like to get to know Grace better.

But it’s difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are inseparable.

Some might call this true love. Others might wonder why Grace never answers the phone. Or why she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. Or why she never seems to take anything with her when she leaves the house, not even a pen. Or why there are such high-security metal shutters on all the downstairs windows.

Some might wonder what’s really going on once the dinner party is over, and the front door has closed.

Grace Not Perfection:

I follow Emily Ley on Instagram and I love her organization tips and tricks. Everything she posts is so calming and streamlined. My friend, Ashley, is reading this now and said that it's great. I can't wait to read it. 

The synopsis from Amazon:

 As a busy wife, new mother, business owner, and designer, Emily Ley came to a point when she suddenly realized she couldn’t do it all. She needed to simplify her life, organize her days, and prioritize the priorities. She decided to hold herself to a standard of grace rather than perfection. This mantra led to the creation of her bestselling Simplified Planner^®, a favorite among busy women everywhere—from mamas to executives and everywhere in between.

Grace, Not Perfection takes this message from a daily planner to an inspirational book that encourages women to simplify and prioritize. Designed with Emily Ley’s signature aesthetic, this book gives women tangible ways to simplify their lives to give space to what matters most. With a focus on faith, Emily reminds readers that God abundantly pours out grace on us—and that surely we can extend grace to ourselves.

Have you been told you can have it all, only to end up exhausted and occasionally out of sorts with the people you love? Are you ready for a new way of seeing your time? Learn to live a little more simply. Hold yourself and those you love to a more life-giving standard in Grace Not Perfection,and allow that grace to seep into your days, your family, and your heart.