2020 hasn’t been my best reading year so far. I’ve been distracted and have had a hard time connecting with a lot of the books I’ve read. I don’t know what changed in October, but it has been the BEST reading month. I absolutely loved each and every book I read and can’t wait to share these reviews with you! I finished the month with 11 books read, all 4 and 5-star reads/listens. 

If you are looking to get out of a reading slump, here are some great books that will catapult you out of the reading slump and into happy reading mode. Let me know if you’ve read any of the books from my October reads and also if you have any book recommendations for me! I’d love to end the year reading some of your favorites. …

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Hello! I’m here today with my monthly book review update. It was a slower reading month for me, simply because one of the books I read was huge.

If you know me at all, you know it’s rare for me to have the attention span to be able to get through a large book. I really like my books to be average in size. If it’s anything bigger, the thought of getting through the book overwhelms me.

With that said, I am so very glad my friend Kelley raved about this big book because it ended up pushing itself into my top 10 favorite books. Can you guess which one it was? Keep reading to find out!…

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I love summer! If you don’t know that about me by now, you certainly will after this summer is over. I love the relaxed schedule and longer days…not to mention the increased opportunity for reading time. I always take a book with me wherever I go, but I seem to have more time to actually read it in the summer! It’s always easier to get absorbed in a great book when I go to bed and stay up later reading, knowing I don’t have to get up extra early to take the kids to school.

I’ve read some great books recently, and thought it would be a good time to share some good reads with you in case you have extra reading time too! Of course, you can always find my most up to date reads on Goodreads. Make sure to follow me over there for instant reading recs. Until then, here are 5 books I’ve read and loved a lot lately and hope you will too!…

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Since I took some time off at the end of 2012, I’m a little bit behind in sharing some of my most recently read books. This Connect Through Reading post contains so many good ones… I hope you find some books that will peak your interest!

I’m starting with a book that pushed to the top of my favorite books of 2012 list (which I’ll share soon!). Heft, by Liz Moore is a read you’ll connect with and you won’t want to let go when the book is over. Heft is about a 550 pound man, an alcoholic single mom and her son, a young house cleaner and a cast of additional characters that all weave together in a story of overcoming fear and obstacles, finding family and learning to love life. I closed the book on the final page and then immediately began scouring the internet wanting to know more about the author and not wanting to say goodbye to these characters. They had quickly become people I cared deeply about. Heft by Liz Moore is definitely a 5 star read!

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Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn is a book I normally wouldn’t probably pick up, except it was by the same author as Gone Girl, which I really liked. Sharp Objects was shocking and dark, like Gone Girl, but took on a subject that I still haven’t quite figured out if I want to read about as the mom of 3 girls… young teenage girls spiraling down the path of drug use, hatefulness and sex. The relationships in this book are so twisted and beyond unhealthy, but Flynn crafts a story that despite all the reasons it made me uncomfortable, kept me wanting to turn the page and read more. I gave Sharp Objects 3 stars on Goodreads.

Once I finished Sharp Objects, I knew I needed something less dark, so I turned to a memoir by Theresa Weir titled The Orchard. I picked this book up on a whim at Target. Memoirs are one of my favorite genres, and I can happily say The Orchard did not disappoint.

Friends, this book will change the way you look at farming and the food you eat. Not in a shocking “Supersize Me” kind of way, but in a real, eye opening, kind of light. The Orchard is an honest and open look at how farms (particularly, orchards) were run in the 60’s and 70’s, and at what price there was to pay to get the “perfect” piece of fruit. You’ll think about organic farming in a whole new light and shudder at the glimpse of coverups and lengths farmers have gone through over the years to give us the food we eat today. This is a touching, raw and sometimes sad memoir of family life on the farm and the growing dangers surrounding what we feed to our families. I gave The Orchard by Theresa Weir, 4 stars on Goodreads.

I really enjoyed this next book… Shelter Me by Juliette Fay. This was a debut by this author and I’m anxious to read more as she does a great job with storytelling.

Shelter Me is about a young woman (Janie) with two children who became suddenly widowed when her husband was killed in a bike accident. Fay takes readers along the journey of how Janie endures her first year without her husband. The cast of characters seem so real, with tormented family dynamics, complicated relationships and all. Shelter Me made me laugh, ache, long, and cry… there were times when my heart actually hurt for the main character. I gave Shelter Me, by Juliette Fay, 4 stars on Goodreads.

How Lucky You Are, by Kristyn Kusek Lewis, was a “fluff read” compared to the other books I read this go around. Don’t get me wrong, it had depth and interesting characters, but the storyline was a fairly typical “chick lit” one surrounding three best friends and their various, completely diverse lives. You know how many times you’ve said to someone “You don’t know how lucky you are!”? Well, How Lucky You Are is about just that… three best friends who perceive each others lives to be easier and less complicated when in reality, they each have their own drama going on behind the scenes. I would recommend How Lucky You Are by Kristyn Kusek Lewis to anyone looking for a quick, easy and entertaining read. I gave How Lucky You Are 3 stars on Goodreads.

Up next for me is…

Carry the One by Carol Anshaw. I am actually almost half way through with this one and am finding it to be very interesting!

Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten

And, at the glowing recommendation of my trusted friend Kate, I’ve moved The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman up in my To Be Read pile.

Now it’s your turn! What are you reading these days? Make sure to tell me and remember, you can always keep up with what’s on my bookshelf over on Goodreads as well as see what my latest read is in my sidebar. For past Connect Through Reading Posts, check out my Book Review category. Can’t wait to hear your current recommendations!

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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The History of Love by Nicole Krauss was a big surprise to me because I really did not love it. I feel like maybe I lost something important I should have caught in this book, as so many people have raved about it.  I think the premise of the book is a beautiful one, and the writing was lovely, but I was lost the whole time and had to force myself to keep reading so I could try and figure out why this book was so loved. Maybe I’m not deep enough… or maybe I have too many distractions going on in my life to be able to focus solely on the plot of the book, but at this time I did not love it. I will say this reminds me of The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Ordinary Sadness of Lemon Cake because those were two books everyone loved and I really didn’t.

If you want a book that will make you laugh your head off, Bossypants by Tina Fey is the book for you. I actually listened to Bossypants via audio book instead of reading and highly recommend that experience as Tina Fey is the narrator, which makes the book even more fun. I’m not typically a “laugh out loud” person, but I found myself laughing uncontrollably at parts. If you are a mom, a woman, a human being… any or all of those… you will love listening to Tina tell her stories of rising to the top, impersonating Sarah Palin, being a mom, growing up, and more. I gave this one 4 Stars out of 5 on Goodreads.

I have read a few of Elin Hilderbrand’s other books and know I can always turn to her for some good “chick lit”, complex love and relationships kind of reads. The Island fits her style perfectly. The Island is a story about a mom, 2 sisters, and aunt, the men they’ve loved and lost, their support of each other, and their journey to move on with their lives – all while spending some time on a remote island off of Nantucket. I gave this one 3 stars on Goodreads. It wasn’t knock your socks off great, but it was a good, solid book definitley worth reading if you like Hilderbrand’s style.

As the mom of three girls, Dare Me by Megan Abbott, terrifies me. Dare Me is a haunting book about a group of high school cheerleaders and their twisted, tormented, crazy, messed up relationships with each other and their own bodies. Once you start reading it, you hope that the types of relationships these girls are having with their teachers as well as each other is not even close to accurate for how teens are today. Of course, it’s a fiction book, but even with that the story could not be saved for me. I gave this one 2 stars out of 5 on Goodreads.

I’ll start off by saying I love books by Diane Chamberlain. Her cover images always pull me in and her writing style just fits with what I love. Her book, The Midwife’s Confession, is no exception. When midwife, Noelle, suddenly commits suicide, her two best friends set out to uncover what they might have missed in Noelle’s life that could have indicated she was suffering. As they begin digging, they discover that Noelle has a surprising past she kept to herself, full of shocking secrets she’s held onto for many years. Little by little, the two friends discover that Noelle was not the person they knew. She was haunted deep down by a secret she was too afraid to confess. I gave The Midwife’s Confession 4 stars out of 5 on Goodreads.

That’s it for now. Up next on my list to be read are:

By the same author as Gone Girl, I’ve heard Gillian Flynn’s earlier novel Sharp Objects is even better! Since I really enjoyed Gone Girl, I can’t wait to read this book.

The Orchard: a Memoir by Theresa Weir is a book I picked up on a whim at Target. I haven’t heard anything about it, but I always love reading memoir’s so I’m excited to see what this one is all about.

That’s it for now. Make sure to tell me what books you’ve read lately as well as your opinions on any of the ones I shared above. For some of my prior Connect Through Reading posts including more recommendations, click here.

Remember, let’s follow each other on Goodreads so we can continue to share book recommendations with each other! Happy reading!

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Reading hasn’t happened as much as I had hoped this summer (in fact, my last Connect Through Reading post was in May! I’ve read three more since that post, and thought I’d take a moment to share my thoughts with you….

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