31 Days to a Younger You: No Surgery, No Diets, No Kidding (Arlene Pellicane)

Why I have this book: I bought the Kindle version around 8 years ago. I don't even know why, other than I had apparently bought another book by this author, too. I wonder if I read that one...

Anyway, I wasn't really interested in reading it at this point, but as I'm still working on getting through my old Kindle books, I pulled this one to the front of the line. Honestly, it was a chore to get through it. I think you're technically supposed to read one chapter a day (31 Days...), but I read about five in each sitting just to get through it faster.

I gave it two stars on Goodreads because there were a few pieces of good advice. Overall, it wasn't anything earth-shattering, and it felt a bit outdated in how women (and their interests and purpose) are characterized.

And as I write about it now, I feel like two stars might have been too generous, but I'll leave it.

Clean.

Deliberate Motherhood: 12 Key Powers of Peace, Purpose, Order, and Joy (The Power of Moms)

Why I have this book: It's another of the "older" books on my Kindle. I can't be bothered to look up when I bought it.

Well, the first clue for me that I wasn't going to love this book was that the intro was by Linda Eyre. Okay, I read a lot of her books (written with her husband) about child-rearing back in the day. I realized later that while they did have some good ideas, it really added to my stress of trying to get motherhood just right.

This one has one or two of the Eyre's daughters as contributing authors. I read about 40-something percent of it, and decided I'd rather move on to a book I'd enjoy more. I don't have little kids anymore (and the book seemed more directed toward that time of life), and it just brought back those memories of trying to do everything I could to be a good mom. I mean, obviously we want to be good moms, but I don't know. It just brought back the yucky feeling of trying so hard... and now I realize it probably didn't matter as much as I thought it did.

I have some baggage on this subject, so I'm going to just move on. I marked it as "Did Not Finish" on Goodreads with no star rating.

Clean. This book does have a religious slant, though not overwhelmingly so (up to where I stopped reading, anyway).

The Shoemaker's Wife (Adriana Trigiani)

Why I have this book: It's a book I've had on my Kindle for a long time. I'm trying to read some of those older books in my quest to knock my To Be Read book count down. (I really need to stop borrowing/buying books to help me in this goal.)

I gave this one three stars on Goodreads, but I feel like that might have been too generous. Actually, I think I'll go change it to two stars. Hang on. 

Okay, I'm back. I changed it to two stars. It was just okay. I tried to like it, and there were moments that I did, but honestly, it was just okay. I feel like a lot happened, but it wasn't easy to connect very deeply to any of the characters.

There was probably some swearing, but I don't remember anything too harsh. No descriptive sex, although there were some sexual relationships outside of marriage. 

Educated (Tara Westover)

Why I have this book: I bought the Kindle edition in the last year or so. I've actually read it before (borrowed), but I wanted to read it again. 

Last time I read it, I gave it four stars. This time I gave it five stars. (If you read it more than once, the rating you pick on the most recent read for Goodreads is what goes for the book every time you read it. For instance, the fact that I rated it five stars makes it five stars on both times I reported reading it even though I had rated it four stars before. It's too bad they don't let you rate it each time because sometimes your opinion changes, and it would be nice to note that.)

ANYWAY... I still really loved this book. This time I actually looked up Tara's family online since they own an essential oils company, and there they were. It was interesting to see pics of them and see their company after reading the book. They even have a bio of Tara linked to their company page, so that's interesting. I'm not sure what to think about that.

Such an interesting book. It's hard to know what the entire truth is since some in her family deny her perspective. Other family members seem to support her side. Families are complicated!

I can't remember, but I think there was some swearing. There were descriptions of domestic violence and graphic descriptions of injuries. My previous review of this book might be more accurate since I'm writing this review a couple weeks after I finished it.

Across the Winding River (Aimie K. Runyan)

Why I have this book: Someone online recommended it, so I bought it when it went on sale for under $2. I think I also got the audio version for a good price, but I didn't end up actually listening at all.

I gave this four stars on Goodreads. I honestly don't know how the story falls in line with historical accuracy, but I enjoyed it. I don't feel the need to research it. 

Some was a little confusing with the switching back and forth of dates and characters, but it wasn't too bad once I got into it. I would have liked to get to know a couple of the characters better, and I think there could have been a little more depth with some of the characters and storyline, but overall, it was a good read.

Mostly clean. Maybe some swearing. One sexual encounter outside of marriage, but not really descriptive.

What the Dog Ate (Jackie Bourchard)

Why I have this book: I enjoyed another book by the author earlier this month, and since this was an inexpensive one, I bought it on Kindle.

I gave this one four stars on Goodreads. I liked it a bit more than the first one I read. There were a few editing issues that could have been cleaned up, but overall, it was a smooth read that kept my interest.

If I remember correctly, there was profanity, inlcuding the F-word. There is sex outside of marriage (including mention of adultery), but not descriptive. This is going off of memory when I've read another book since, so... 

The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay (Kelly Harms)

Why I have this book: A friend recommended it, so I bought the Kindle version when I had some Amazon credit. I also borrowed the audio version when I was ready to read it. It was nice to go back and forth depending on what I was doing.

I liked this book and gave it three stars on Goodreads. I would have liked it more (and maybe given four stars) except there was a gross scene near the end involving the old boyfriend. I also felt like the ending didn't tie things up super well. (Did she ever get what she was owed? What happened with all that?) And I didn't like how things ended in general. I might have even dropped it to two stars except I liked the rest of the book.

The gross scene toward the end with the old boyfriend was surprising compared to the content of the rest of the book. There is unmarried sex (nothing descriptive besides the precious mentioned scene, which wasn't really that descriptive, but still gross). There was swearing, but not as much as in other books. Still, the F-word was there, I think. It's hard to remember the details when profanity has become so "acceptable" in most books these days. In all honesty, I'm kind of getting tired of being the profanity police. I might change up how I add these content sections. I'll have to think on that.

The Year of Less (Cait Flanders)

Subtitle: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store

Why I have this book: I bought the Kindle a while ago, and then borrowed the audio version to help me get through it. 

I gave this book two stars on Goodreads. The parts about what she actually did to change her life (get rid of things, stop buying, etc) were interesting. I wasn't as interested in the other things going on in her life, but maybe that's because I don't follow her blog or anything. I thought it was just going to be a book on living a minimalistic lifestyle, not a memoir. You know?

Anyway, that's it.

Clean. I don't remember any swearing, but there may have been. She talks about her experiences with drinking to excess.

The Drowning Woman (Robyn Harding)

Why I have this book: I saw it recommended online, and since I don't usually read thrillers, I thought I'd give it a chance. I bought the Kindle version.

I gave this one three stars on Goodreads. If I had the option, I'd maybe go with 3.5 or 3.7, but I couldn't quite get it to a four-star rating. While the book completely kept my attention, there were some implausibilities and a few random "wait, what?" editing moments that were a distraction. (For example, the police took a character's phone, then shortly after, her phone rings and she uses it, then shortly after, the police return her phone. Wait, what?)

Otherwise, I did enjoy the book as long as I suspend my disbelief.

There were a handful of F-bombs, as well as some other swear words. Sex happens, although not graphically described, and as the book is a thriller, you know there is murder and other death (including suicide) as part of the story.

The Last Bookshop in London (Madeline Martin)

Why I have this book: I've had it for a while on my Kindle, but borrowed the audio version so I could switch between listening and reading. (I mostly listened, and the narrator did a good job.)

I ended up giving this three stars on Goodreads. I liked the story, but felt like it got a little corny at times, especially at the end. I did appreciate the description of how WWII affected Londoners with all the bombing raids they endured. It's hard to imagine that level of destruction.

The writing was smooth, and it was easy to get sucked into the story. I just thought things were maybe a bit unrealistic toward the end. Am I too cynical about human nature? Maybe things were different back then with how people treated each other. There was a bit more praise/hero worship than I think was realistic for the situation, but I could be wrong. It was a sweet ending, though. 

Clean.