Bookish Thoughts for January
January is a fun book month! Birthday money equals book money! I enjoyed adding lots of books to my home library this month. Some are new, some are used. Some are books I’ve already read and some are books I hope to read soon. You’ll notice in the photo below that I purchased quite a few Roseanna M. White books this month. She has become a go-to author for me and I’ve already re-read many of her works. Her British historical fiction is a favorite of mine. Her January release, Yesterday’s Tides, is my top fiction pick of the month! Other January books of note, I picked up Spare by Prince Harry. The library had over 300 holds on it and I didn’t want to wait that long. I was super excited to find a used copy of Garden City by John Mark Comer at Powell’s for a great price. It’s been on my “To Be Read” list for a while. I ordered A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare to read along with the older students at our homeschool co-op. I haven’t read Shakespeare since high school so this is certainly a stretch for me. Holy Hygee was a book club influence. At least four of us in the group now own copies! Book club often influences my book purchases. I’m also quick to buy books from trusted authors. I went back through my Goodreads account to see what books I’ve given high ratings. This helps refresh my memory on books I might like to own. While I do make good use of my local library and Kindle Unlimited, it’s also nice to own books. It’s like inviting friends to move in and stay a while!
Top Picks for January
Non-Fiction: More Than Your Number: A Christ-Centered Enneagram Approach to Becoming AWARE of Your Internal World by Beth & Jeff McCord – If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you are know I love the Enneagram. It’s such a powerful tool for understanding myself and others. I appreciated the unique take on the Enneagram in this book. Instead of focusing on just your one type, the McCords dial into the fact that many types influence our thinking. This is often why we can feel at odds with ourselves. The second half of the book is very nuts and bolts – super practical. As a Type One, it was interesting to lean into how the Type Two, Four, Seven, and Nine all influence my thinking. I am more than my number!
Fiction: Yesterday’s Day by Roseanna M. White – I briefly touched on this book in my birthday post. Not only did my signed copy arrive before it’s release day, I finished it on my birthday and it was such a perfect way to wrap up my special day. I don’t often give 5 stars so this book is something special. I enjoyed the dual timeline (WWI and WWII) set in the same location. You can tell some of the characters overlap, but it’s puzzle figuring out who and how. I also mentioned before that White wrote in cameo appearances from quite a few of her other WWI characters. “Bumping” into them was a delight. I also appreciate how White touched on racial injustice while highlighting strong female characters. This book was so good! I loved it!!!
Book List of January
1 Star = I did not like it. 2 stars = It was okay. 3 stars = I liked it. 4 stars = I really liked it. 5 stars = It was amazing.
Non-Fiction:
- More Than Your Number: A Christ-Centered Enneagram Approach to Becoming AWARE of Your Internal World by Beth & Jeff McCord – 4 stars
- A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson, Translator of The Message by Winn Collier – 4 stars
- Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex – 3 stars
- Holy Hygge: Creating a Place for People to Gather and the Gospel to Grow by Jamie Erickson – 4 starts
Fiction:
- Check Mate by Leah Brunner – 4 stars
- Cabin Mate by Leach Brunner – 3 stars
- House Rules by Jodi Picoult – 3 stars
- Compared by Kortney Keisel – 4 stars
- Complex by Kortney Keisel – 4 stars
- Complete by Kortney Keisel – 4 stars
- Commit by Kortney Keisel (novella) – 4 stars
- Yesterday’s Tides by Roseanna M. White – 5 stars
- The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman – 2 stars
- One Day in December by Josie Silver – 2 stars
- No More Bad Dates by Kate O’Keeffe – 3 stars
- Friend(shipped) by Savannah Scott – 3 stars
- Battle(shipped) by Savannah Scott – 3 stars
- Town(shipped) by Savannah Scott – 4 stars
- The Borrowers Afield by Mary Norton – 3 stars
- The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery – 5 stars
Amy Scott's Thoughts 