December Reads

I'm here with my final 2018 monthly book post! December is busy but I was able to get into some good books! Here we go.....

1. What To Expect The First Year by Heidi Murkoff: Now this is sort of a cheater one to add to my December list because I read along with it all year as Hank turned each new month. I cracked it open while I was pumping those first few weeks and finished it up just last week. Just like What to Expect When You're Expecting, I think this book is necessary for any new parent (great gift alert!). I love how you can read along as the months go by and the super detailed index means you can look up almost anything you're wondering about. BUT.....this book can cause unnecessary anxiety. I freaked out when Hank wasn't smiling when the book said he "should be." Every pregnancy/baby/parenting book needs to be taken with a grain of salt and this is no exception. Your pediatrician, baby, and spouse are the varsity team when it comes to what's best for your little one. Nevertheless, this book was super helpful and handy, and I found myself picking it up again and again.

2. The Wondering Years by Knox McCoy: Knox McCoy is half of the talent on the podcast "The Popcast." I. Love. The. Popcast. I promise it'll make you laugh out loud and there's over 250 episodes. Give it a chance. Anyway, Knox wrote his first book which is sort of the male version of the Melanie Shankle, Sophie Hudson variety. Basically, it's humor, with a dash of memoir, and some faith lessons thrown in, all told in little vignettes. I liked this book, I really did, and found myself laughing out loud in parts. However, with all my adoration of the Popcast, I had much higher expectations for this book. I could have used more snark and less Sunday School. Does that make me a bad person? Well, anyway, if you're looking for a humorous, warm, quick read, this one might be worth it. Plus, Knox is so dang genuine and likable, that I pre-ordered this one on Amazon (I rarely buy books anymore) pretty much because I think it's so cool he made his book writing dreams come true and his thoughts deserve an audience.

3. The Mommy Group by Elizabeth Isadora Gold: I LOVED THIS BOOK! The funny thing is, I have a list of books I want to read and usually just choose straight from there, but every once in a while, I pick up one randomly at the library and it pays off. This book is written in a humorous journalistic style (a lot like "Living Danishly", "More Than Happy" and "Bringing Up Bebe") about a new mommy and the friends she makes in her artsy/yuppy Brooklyn neighborhood. It follows the author through her whole first year of motherhood and it was just a delightful read. It's funny, insightful, interesting, sweet, and so so so relatable. If you're a mom, read this one. I really enjoyed it.

4. The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center: I had never heard of Katherine Center until her book, "How to Walk Away" was one of my spring Book of the Month picks and I really liked her writing style. This books was just ok.....it's definitely chick lit in every sense of the word and plays out like a Hallmark movie. Which is fine by me, honestly. It is about a woman who suddenly becomes a single mom and then, bam, falls in love with the actual boy next door. Cute, light, fun, fluffy.

5. Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafa: I had heard that this book was a thriller like Gone Girl or Girl on The Train (I mean, it shares a title word with both of them), but this book comes nowhere close to those classics. It has very heavy, poetic writing and seems like it's trying too hard at times. The "dramatic ending" was sort of blah for me. There were a few times when I was reading this that I'd stop and look at Amazon reviews to see if I was alone in my thoughts about it. My views fit with the consensus: it tries but falls flat and the suspense of the murder mystery gets lost in slow wordiness. I'd skip it.

Sometime this next week I'll be working on my TOP TEN books of 2018. What a great year of books it has been! Grab a steamy mug of cocoa or a chilled glass of moscato, curl up under and giant blanker and get into those pages, friend! Tis the season!

Savor Your Sparkle,
Leslie