December was a big month! I was a little nervous I wouldn’t be able to make my 100 goal, but then once school got out and we had a couple lazy days I was able to really just sit and enjoy reading…and catching up! 13 books! I finished the year with 105 books and I finished with some really great books too! I am going to share just 4 of those 13 books today, some of my very favorite from the month.
I’ve been spending some time studying and reading about covenants lately. All through December and into January…How we can live them every day, how we can have joy, what that looks like in my life….etc. I’ve found two really good books in my reading, Joy in the Covenant, by Julie B. Beck, and Living Your Covenants Every Day by Jennifer Brinkerhoff Platt.
Honestly, Sister Beck has always been one of my favorite sisters to follow, I love all her talks and always find them so useful, so as soon as I knew she had a new book I would want to read it. This new book shares many real life experiences that Julie has had, from growing up to early years in her adult life, and are a handful of previous talks from campuses, or even a funeral, but not previously published. Due to the talk format you can easily pick up this book or put it down and study it when you have time. I love that. I read it through the first time and then have referred back to it many other times and just reading certain chapters.
The other book, Living Your Covenants Every Day has been just as interesting to study and read, but a different format, that is set up more in ways we can make changes in our life and little things that add up to bigger differences. I felt that this book was helpful and encouraging but didn’t seem to make me feel bad about myself if I fail – it made me feel the opposite – that I can keep trying! I highly recommend it!
I can’t even remember where I heard about Hidden Among the Stars by Melanie Dobson, maybe on instagram or amazon suggested it? I’m really not sure, but I am SO glad I found it and read it. What an interesting book! From Amazon:
Austrian Max Dornbach promises to help his Jewish friends hide their most valuable possessions from the Nazis, smuggling them to his family’s summer estate near the picturesque village of Hallstatt. He enlists the help of Annika Knopf, his childhood friend and the caretaker’s daughter, who is eager to help the man she’s loved her entire life. But when Max also brings Luzia Weiss, a young Jewish woman, to hide at the castle, it complicates Annika’s feelings and puts their entire plan—even their very lives—in jeopardy. Especially when the Nazis come to scour the estate and find both Luzia and the treasure gone.
Eighty years later, Callie Randall is mostly content with her quiet life, running a bookstore with her sister and reaching out into the world through her blog. Then she finds a cryptic list in an old edition of Bambithat connects her to Annika’s story . . . and maybe to the long-buried story of a dear friend. As she digs into the past, Callie must risk venturing outside the safe world she’s built for a chance at answers, adventure, and maybe even new love.
Well, you know they had me when they said the book took place during WWII, right? I love historical fiction. This book had a sweet little romance mixed in as well. I felt the ending wasn’t what I wanted, but was still okay with me at the same time too. I haven’t read any other novels by Dobson, and now I am super tempted to put all my other TBR pile aside and read more of her books! It would make a fantastic book club book if you are looking for one!
I’m going to share one more of the 13 books from December, and it was one I still can’t quite put my finger on my feelings for. love, hate, happy, sad, hope, I’m really not sure where to start. Educated, by Tara Westover is a memoir about a girl raised by survivalists in the mountains of Idaho and was 17, and at BYU before she ever stepped foot in a classroom. This book was like a car crash that I just didn’t’ want to look at, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off of. I wanted it to end SO differently than it did, and since it’s a memoir I even spent sometime researching the real people and seeing if amends had been made since the publishing. No such luck. The book makes me sad, sad she had to lose her family over this, and happy, happy she was able to make it out of her family at the same time. I hope that every reader would pay attention to the note in the back that this is NOT an attack on Mormonism and I would hope that Westover herself knows that most Mormon families, bishops, congregations, roommates are completely normal and not like hers at all. I felt it was eye opening though to those who might experience abuse and suffering like her, and made me feel like I should have a conscious to look beyond my normal circle and really look at those around me. I was glad that she was able to break out of this horrible cycle and situation. This book is highly popular right now and I know a lot of book groups are already reading it, it’s one that would make great conversations, but is not for the faint of heart. It’s full of deep issues and subjects. It’s a story of hope and overcoming and hopefully healing.
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And there you have it! My final “What I’ve Been Reading” post for 2018. Out of 105 books I had some really great books, and some books that really made me think and question things too. Next up I’ll be posting some of my favorite fiction and non fiction picks from 2018.
