Amy Scott's Thoughts

Bookish Thoughts for November

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… in all the bookish things! This time of year, I try to get my hands on as much Christmas content as I can. I’ve re-read Christmas books that I own. I snagged a couple Christmas novellas on sale. I’ve used the Libby app and our local library. I also got a Black Friday deal and re-subscribed to Kindle Unlimited. Give me all the Christmas books! While my fiction reading list looks long, about half are novellas, so I fly through those in a blink. I plan to keep all the Christmas cheer coming in December as well! It’s the happiest reading time of the year!

When I re-read The Hunger Games this summer, I mentioned waiting to re-read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes until November. It was my least favorite of the series and the snake content gave me the heebie-jeebies. While I found the history of Panem and Snow’s backstory interesting, I don’t love stories that don’t have a happily ever after. Snow is the villain of the series, but I couldn’t help rooting for him in Ballad, only to watch him fall. Not my favorite, but definitely informative for the series as a whole. I had a greater appreciation for the book after a second reading. I enjoyed reading it again before seeing the movie. No surprise, I liked the book better, but it was super fun to watch the movie with my forever friend and book buddy, Christa.

I’m making book lists and checking them twice. Between Christmas and my January birthday, this is the best season for adding to my home library. All I want for Christmas is books… you can substitute Christmas for my birthday, Groundhog’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, etc. You get the idea. All the books, all the time. After the holidays, I hope to pour over my 2023 book list and add some favorites from the year to my bookshelves. Because I’m an avid reader, I sometimes forget a good book I read in February by the end of the year. Thankfully, keeping track of my reading on Goodreads and on my phone gives me a great snapshot of what I’ve enjoyed most this last year.

Top Picks for November

Non Fiction: Honey for a Child’s Heart Updated and Expanded: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life by Gladys Hunt and Mark Hunt. I read an older copy of this book a few years ago. While I enjoyed it the first time, I really appreciated this updated edition. I found myself stuck wondering what my oldest son should read next and a book about good books for kids was the perfect place for inspiration. Not only is this book packed full of recommendations, but the message is convicting! Good books offer kids so much. As parents, we get the great honor of sharing a world beyond our homes with our children. There are so many good books that will not only spark imagination, but help children gain wisdom, understanding, courage, and many more admirable attributes. Books are one of the greatest tools for shaping the next generation.
Non-Fiction: The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer. This book was recommended by multiple sources, so I decided to give it a go. It had been a while since I’d read WWII historical fiction and I think that made the experience extra emotional for me. I was a blubbering mess by the end! I enjoyed the dual timeline between the grandmother as a teen in Poland during the WWII and her granddaughter in present times. The story is a mystery that unfolds and the title was so fitting. So many things go unsaid, for so many reasons. You see layer after layer throughout the whole story. It was well done and very moving (thus the puddle of tears I created)!

The Book List for November
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:

• At Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor by Carey Nieuwhof – 5 Stars
• Honey for a Child’s Heart Updated and Expanded: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life by Gladys Hunt and Mark Hunt – 4 stars

Fiction:

• The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer – 4 stars
• The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins – 4 stars
• The Other Side of Darkness by Melody Carlson – 2 stars
• Christmas at Harrington’s (novella) by Melody Carlson – 3 stars
• The Christmas Bus (novella) by Melody Carlson – 3 stars
• The Gift of Christmas Present (novella) by Melody Carlson – 3 stars
• Angels in the Snow (novella) by Melody Carlson – 3 stars
• Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel – 4 stars
• A Christmas Spark (novella) by Cindy Steel – 4 stars
• Christmas Baggage by Deborah M. Hathaway – 4 stars
• Host for the Holidays by Martha Keyes – 4 stars
• Solo for the Season (novella) by Martha Keyes – 3 stars
• A Newport Christmess by Jess Heileman – 4 stars
• Later On We’ll Conspire by Kortney Keisel – 4 stars
• The Holiday Stand-In By Kortney Keisel – 4 stars
• Cotswold Holiday by Kasey Stockton – 4 stars
• Cabin Crush (novella) by Kasey Stockton – 3 stars
• Christmas Like This (novella) by Carina Taylor – 3 stars
• Cocoa Kisses (novella) by Melanie Jacobson – 3 stars
• Christmas Ella (novella) by Angela Ruth Strong – 3 stars

Bookish Thoughts for October

I have so many bookish thoughts for October! It was a month full of fun and interesting reading!

I had Kindle Unlimited for part of the month, so I focused my reading heavily that direction at the start of the month. I finished the Sweater Weather series and then jumped into bingeing Kortney Keisel’s books. Her new release, How Jenna Became My Dilemma, featured the main characters as actors making Keisel’s YA dystopian series into a television show. Keisel made her Desolate World series available on KU as a result and I was curious. It had been a while since I read anything dystopian. It was fun to add some diversity to my reading (but I will say the books are super light on the dystopian vibes).

It was a big month for series reading. I finished The Chronicles of Narnia, which I had started in September. It’s always a joy revisiting these favorite books of mine. It was a special treat to share them with Owen this fall as well. I will fondly remember introducing Owen to Narnia and then camping out there for a while myself.

I had a surprise book discovery this month – Hero Debut. I don’t always keep on top of new releases for my favorite authors – it could be a full time job if I let it. I was surprised to see that Angela Ruth Strong’s August new release was a follow-up to her book Husband Auditions. I love it when a novel turns into a series. This series – Love Off Script – takes place in the PNW so I enjoy the familiar setting. I’m now very excited that there will be a third book in the series at some point!

To wrap up my bookish thoughts for October… A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber. So much to say about this one! This book follows The Ballad of Never After which ended with quite the cliff hanger. I’ve been waiting in suspense and anticipation for over a year to see how this story concludes. I devoured this book because I just had to know how it ended. Unfortunately, anything that is highly anticipated rarely meets up to the hype and I felt that way about this book. I like how it ended… but I felt like a lot of questions from the overall series went unanswered. It’s killing me to have so many questions at the end of a series. I ordered the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition which features an alternative ending as the bonus content. This bonus content improved the ending in my opinion. While I enjoyed this series, I’m disappointed with all the loose ends that didn’t get tied up by the finale.

Top Picks for October

Non-Fiction: The Worry-Free Parent: Living in Confidence So Your Kids Can Too by Sissy Goff. I’ve read many books by Sissy Goff and other counselors out of Daystar Counseling. Their parenting tools and wisdom are top-notch. I highly recommend them. This book was focused on “you” as a parent because who you are affects how you parent. As someone who is prone to worry and anxiety, I was drawn in by the title. I could see the same tools that Sissy Goff and David Thomas use for the kids they counsel also being useful for parents. I recognized quite a few of the tools mentioned in the book. Sissy Goff is an encourager and champion of parents (and she’s a fellow Enneagram 1). Her purpose is to help parents be healthy so they can raise healthy kids. It was an excellent read.
Fiction: The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. Opinions vary on which book in The Chronicles of Narnia is the best. Many say it’s the original story, the one that started it all – The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Many love Caspian and would say that Prince Caspian or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader are top. As an adult, I would say my top three are The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, and The Magician’s Nephew. I really can’t pick a favorite out of the bunch, but I did want to highlight The Horse and His Boy. As a child this was my least favorite of the books and now as an adult it’s one of my most favorite. It’s strange how opinions change with age. As a young reader, I didn’t feel that The Horse and His Boy moved the plot of the overall series along. As an adult, I feel it’s one of the best stories in the series. It truly is an epic adventure and C.S. Lewis is one to the best storytellers ever!

The Book List for October
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:

• Hard is Not the Same Thing as Bad: The Perspective Shift That Could Completely Change the Way You Mother by Abbie Halberstadt – 3 stars
• The Worry-Free Parent: Living in Confidence So Your Kids Can Too by Sissy Goff – 4 stars

Fiction:

• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis – 5 stars
• The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis – 5 stars
• The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis – 5 stars
• The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis – 5 stars
• The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis – 5 stars
• Easy as Pie by Carina Taylor – 3 stars
• A Not So Fictional Fall by Savannah Scott – 3 stars
• Absolutely Not in Love by Jenny Proctor – 3 stars
• How Jenna Became My Dilemma by Kortney Keisel – 3 stars
• The Rejected King by Kortney Keisel – 3 stars
• The Promised Prince by Kortney Keisel – 3 stars
• The Stolen Princess by Kortney Keisel – 3 stars
• The Forgotten Queen by Kortney Keisel – 4 stars
• The Desolate World (novella) by Kortney Keisel – 3 stars
• Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – 3 stars
• The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber – 4 stars
• A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber – 3 stars
• The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman – 3 stars
• Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne – 3 stars
• Hero Debut by Angela Ruth Strong – 4 stars