Book Report | August

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Loved it!!  The story of a girl that grew up in foster care and group homes.  So good, heartbreaking, redeeming.  I loved the mother daughter relationships throughout the novel.  It was a compelling read.

Once Blind by Kay Marshall Strom
I loved reading the story of John Newton, the man who wrote the song “Amazing Grace.”  He lived a life full of sin and was heavily involved in the slave trade.  He was able to change and wrote the words to a most beloved hymn. Some parts were really hard to read.

A Sweethaven Summer by Courtney Walsh
It was such a sweet story of redemption and love.  I great summer read.

The Fourth Thousand Year by Cleon Skousen
This book gave an overview of events that took place in the bible from King Saul to right before Christ was born.  It really was a great read, full of information, and helped me to better understand the Bible.  I’m so glad to have finally gotten through this book!  It is a long one, not difficult to understand, but I wouldn’t call it light reading.  I had started it in January and have finally finished it.

Delancey:  A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, and a Marriage by Molly Wizenberg
Such a fun read.  I wrote down all the restaurants in Portland and Seattle that Molly Wizenberg mentions and that we have to try!  I loved reading her honest assessment of starting a business and her husband’s passion for business.  Being a small business owner’s wife, I could relate to some of the things she shared.  It also made me super hungry for pizza.  Steve and I went out to Ken’s Artisan Pizza here in Portland a couple weeks ago, a place I discovered from this book.

Watership Down by Richard Adams
The writing is fabulous and the story is compelling.  It was slow getting into the story, but halfway through I was hooked and so enjoyed the many lessons of friendship and kindness throughout the story.  I’m always amazed at how much an author can do with a story about animals, rabbits in this case, and how much we can relate to their struggles.  The kids listened off and on with me enjoyed it as well.  Definitely worth the read.  

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
I completely enjoyed this book.  It was a fun summer read.  Alice wakes up losing 10 years of her life, remembering her life as an almost 30 year old pregnant with her first baby and happily married.  Now she is almost 40, with three kids, and divorcing her husband.  The story made me think about life, on all different levels.  How have I changed since I was pregnant with my first baby?  Where has life taken me in how I handle and deal with the adventure of it all?  There was a bit of language, not a fan of that, but loved the story!

The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
This was such a quick and fun to listen to with the kids.  It was a sweet story of siblings working together and helping others after their father’s mysterious disappearance.  Loved the message, especially for my little ones.

Northhanger Abbey by Jane Austen
I hadn’t heard a lot about this Jane Austen novel and had never watched the movie.  The story wasn’t one of my favorites and wasn’t compelling.  I really didn’t get into the characters or the love story of it all.  Did anyone like this novel?  I hadn’t heard good or bad about it before I read it.

Surprised by Motherhood by Lisa-Jo Baker
I’m in the middle of this one.  So many happy tears as I read about motherhood and the joy and adventure of it all.  The writing is fabulous.  My mom actually picked it up while she was visiting this month and read through it in a couple days.  She loved it!

Little Britches by Ralph Moody
Oh, the kids and I have been trying to get through this one for awhile.  It is the story of Ralph Moody, growing up with his family on a ranch in Colorado.  I’m not sure why it is taking us so long, we absolutely love the story, but we just keep setting it down for other reads.  We are almost finished with it.  Moody goes on to write other books about his life, more of adult reads I have heard. 

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