I was really feeling bad about the number of books I was reading but looking back on this month I actually finished quite a few. The genres of books are all over the place since I was doing some research and also some self-help books snuck their way in there too.
I luckily didn’t have any totally horrible books and some were even really good. I may be biased as they were from some of my favorite authors.
My rating system:
Five Stars: Blew me away, made me want to stay up till 3am to finish, would read again and again.
Four Stars: Really good book, fast paced or thought provoking
Three Stars: Okay, didn’t thrill me but didn’t disappoint me either.
The Experiment: Discover a Revolutionary Way to Manage Stress and Achieve Work-Life Balance – Cover Not Available – This book blew me away. I am usually not a fan of self-help books because the author is trying to show you how life evolved they are instead of trying to actually teach you something. What I loved about this book was that it felt like you actually had a life coach and were in the sessions. He gave “homework” and really boiled it down to basics. One of the best self-help type books I’ve read.
Forbidden – A man finds a woman in the middle of a snowstorm, only to find out she is supposed to be the fiance of his dead brother. She doesn’t believe he is dead though, and wants him to help her find her brother who was overseas covering a story. The way that Suzanne Brockmann tells a story is just so amazing. I have read so many of her books, and this one didn’t disappoint. So many twists and turns and I didn’t want this one to end.
Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook: Real Food for Real Life – This book covers recipes for incorporate the Paleo diet into your life. I made the meatloaf, ketchup and mayo recipes. I was so happy with the book I ended up going out and purchasing a copy.
The Icing on the Cupcake – A mean spirited debutante from Texas gets dumped from her fiance, which is social suicide. She moves to NYC with her grandmother, she as never met this grandmother before but she needs to save face. She tries to figure out what to do with her life and baking cupcakes are her therapy. This book includes recipes and I wanted to try them all.
Touch & Go – Lisa Kackson is another of my favorite authors, so intricately woven. A family is kidnapped and as the search continues parts of their lives are exposed to where you are not sure who is telling the truth and what other secrets are being hidden. The story is pulse pounding and fast paced right to the end.
Worth the Fight – Elle is introduced to Nico by her
Bluegrass State of Mind – An attorney is hiding out after she sees a crime being committed by the partners of the law firm and her boyfriend/fiance. She moves to a small town where an ex lives in hopes he can give her a reference and hide out. The attraction is still there, but Will’s ex-wife won’t go down without a fight. The town is highly invested in the relationship and shows their small town charm.
Books, Cooks, and Crooks – I have read the first two books in this series and it is quite entertaining. A room full of competitive cookbook chefs in for an event and one ends up dead. It seems everyone has a motive for murder. Lila is a literary agent and it is all she can handle to keep the other chefs from going after each other. I was constantly changing my mind as to who I thought did it. A great read.
My De-Stress Diary: 52 Effective Tips for Less Stress and More Peace of Mind – This book was outlined as a once a week lesson and while some were too easy and some were worth a look it was unlikely that I would read a book that way. No “homework” or how to apply the lesson was given. Very short and sweet, not a lot of meat to it.
How to Start a Home-based Etsy Business – I think I have read this twice and it provided some really basic general knowledge which I found useful but I was hoping for more of the business side of things and not just the idea side of setting up an etsy business.
Nothing Changes Until You Do: A Guide to Self-Compassion and Getting Out of Your Own Way – While I liked the way the author provided real life examples I felt it got tedious after the first few chapters. It was not broad enough and didn’t really give me the sense that it could help me or relate to my life. It was also a little more for someone later in life maybe 40-50 years old. Not bad but just harder to relate or connect to like I did with The Experiment.
What books have you read this month?
Will you add any of these books to your list?
Linking up with Steph and Jana for this months reads.
Can they make The Heart of Christmas a Hallmark movie because that would be amazing!! The cupcake book has been on my list since you mentioned it before and you gave it 5 stars so I HAVE to read it now!!
I could really see it as a Christmas movie, it would be really good too. Oh I think you really should read it. I almost want to buy it so I can make all the cupcake recipes.
Bluegrass State of Mind sounds good, I just added it to my list!
It was a really cute, fun read. Hope you like it too.
i had to return all of my library books UNREAD because of work!! 🙁 now i have to wait for them again!!
That is so not cool, work! Hope you get a chance to read again now that it is slowing down, though you have 3 months of time off coming!
I really like your rating system and layout of this post!! Umm, you know Worth the Fight and Bluegrass State of Mind stood out to me! Forbidden looks interesting too! Looks like a month of interesting books!
Thank you. Worth the Fight was really good, I got the second book in the series. Bluegrass was just a fun light read. I think you’d like it. I totally recommend Forbidden, it is in your normal genre with a little mystery thrown in.
I’ve been in such a reading rut lately. I can’t seem to find any books I’m really into so it’s taking me a month to read one book 🙁 Usually I can fly through books in a few days. I might give some of these a try.
Sometimes all it takes is one book to turn it around. I go in those funks and I always tend to go back to light romances or a mystery book and I am back at it. Hope you find your reading groove again.
That is a LOT of books in one month! I’m not usually a fan of self-help books, either, because of similar reasons you mentioned. Many people keep mentioning The Four Agreements so that’s on my list.
Thanks for linking up!
When I looked back I was definitely shocked, sine I didn’t feel like I read a lot. Self-help is really hard to write well, it needs to be broad enough but with some life experience thrown in. The Experiment blew me away so it was hard to live up to. I haven’t heard of the Four Agreements so I’ll have to look into that one.
love how you rated them!! good to know! 🙂
Thank you. Hope you check out one or two of them.
I always enjoy Lisa Gardner’s books. I’ll have to check this one out!
She is just such a great story teller and keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Oh my goodness, you finished a lot of books in one month! Good for you girl! The paleo cookbook sounds really good…I might have to look into it, since I’ve given up gluten and am having a hard time finding really good recipes!
Some were quicker than others which helped. That cookbook is really good. The meatloaf I have made 3-4 times already. It was very much geared towards the normal person or family which I really liked. I got it from the library but then ended up purchasing it.
I always pick books by the cover and then read what it’s about. Worth the Fight is something I would pick just by the cover! I also think Forbidden sounds interesting. I kinda cracked up a little by the Cupcake book because I cannot imagine living with someone I never met because I was ashamed of a break up!
I totally judge a book by it’s cover. Worth the fight was good, so it lived up to the cover. Right?! I mean it is her Grandmother but to have never met. That would be a little weird for me.
I’ve been in the mood for a good Christmas book. I’ll have to check out The Heart of Christmas!
Hope you like it. I felt it was very light and sweet. Very relate able.
Ooh I want to read a Christmas book!!
That one was really cute and light. A little bad boy, trying to be good. Worth a read.
Wow that is alot of books to read in one month. I’m so impressed. Heck, I’m still reading Outlander! You put me to shame!! lol
Thanks! It was a good month. Haha! Hoping to try and catch up with my long to-read list.
I’d add Forbidden & Touch n Go to my Goodreads…DONE :). Glad no books made it below 3 stars :). So you want to open an Etsy shop?? Cool. What would you sell?
Hope you like them. I did have a DNF book this month but last month was a good one. Yes, I am still fleshing it out but knit goods and possibly some wood art/furniture. Still in the research stage though. Feels like such a huge undertaking.
you read so much! i am definitely checking out that stress work life balance book, and forbidden is on my list!
I really like the way it was written, so many lessons and really boils it down to basics. I think you will like Forbidden.
Book, Cooks and Crooks sounds like a fun read. Do you ever abandon books or do you read them all to the end? The Paleo book looks interesting too. So many people eat paleo. Do you still like it?
It was a good who done it book, and I have read the others in the series too. I have abandoned books. Just a few days ago I started the Miss Marple short stories and after 50-60 pages I gave up. It just want not clicking for me. It happens very infrequently though.
I do still like Paleo and it helped me shed some Thanksgiving weight easily. I am used to low-carb so it wasn’t that hard of a transition but more so for me it is less processed. The cheese and yogurt was hard to give up but I cheat here and there without any issues.
I will add some of these to my list. I’m currently reading The Last Breath by Kimberly Belle.
That is great! I don’t think I have heard about that one. Are you liking it?
You read a good number of books this month – at least in my eyes! I’m intrigued by the Paleo cookbook. Going to have to check that one out!
Thanks! I was feeling so behind too but looking back not too shabby. I really like it a lot. Very simple and easy to follow. Most ingredients I already had at home.
That is a lot of books!! I think I only read one or two in November. I am so off my game! I didn’t think two were worth linking up over since I am still in my series.
Forbidden and Worth the Fight sound interesting! I am also interested in more paleo recipes to incorporate into our rotation of foods. Self help books rarely do it for me. And I had wanted to open a store on Etsy for the longest time but sort of gave it up 🙁
A few were shorter than others so that helped, and the extra days off for Thanksgiving. Self-help books are so good, when they are good but so bad, when they are bad. Don’t give up girl!
I am adding The Experiment: Discover a Revolutionary Way to Manage Stress and Achieve Work-Life Balance. I NEED this book like right now!
I hope you like it. I really don’t connect with many self-help books but I really like how this one read.
I like Lisa Gardner.
I’ve never heard of the Books, Cooks, Crooks book or any in that series but I think I will look for them on my Nook!!
Lisa Gardner always writes a great book. It is a really fun series and lots of fun characters. The way the town is described is one I would love to live in.
I added Touch and Go to my to-read list, sounds like quite the page turner! I like books that get you hooked easily and you speed through to find out what happens. You read a lot this month!
It was a page turner for sure! Hope you like it. It was a big reading month, some were really short though.
What does it say about me that I’m most intrigued by the cookbook? lol
Haha! That sounds like you. It was a really good cookbook.
Yay! I am happy to see this post because I think we go for the same type of books and I needed some new ones for Christmas break! Thanks!
Hopefully you like them. I am hoping to get a lot of reading done on Christmas break too, my to-read list is out of control.
Touch and go sounds great and you gave it 5 stars and I trust your judgement so putting it on my list!
I really liked it but I love Lisa Gardner too. I hope you like it too.
Ok I might need to jump on the Books Cooks Crooks train. That sounds interesting.
It is a fun series and it is an older main character, so a little more real.