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Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Books I Read in September

 Good morning friends! Today I am sharing the books I read in the month of September. I had big plans to "read" (i.e. listen to the audiobook version) of several books this month while we packed and moved but that didn't quite work out like I had planned! Our library stopped giving us unlimited access to audiobooks in August and we only get 6 a month. I didn't realize we were limited again and used all my downloads on audiobooks for Lily Grace-- oops! While I don't mind listening to Olaf's Frozen Adventure while we're in the car, I'm not exactly going to be listening to that while I pack up the house 😉

Last month I read 4 books, one of them being Polish Your Poise by Jennifer L Scott. I had mentioned in my August book review that while I like Polish Your Poise, it isn't my favorite of Jennifer's books. This month I took a look back at two of Jennifer's other books that I liked much more: Lessons from Madame Chic and At Home with Madame Chic. Have any of you read these?? I love Jennifer (Tanya-- if you're reading, I think you love her too?? If I remember correctly?). My favorite is definitely still At Home with Madame Chic.

Lessons From Madame Chic-- This is Jennifer's first book in her Madame Chic series. It is a memoir of sorts, written about what she learned from her 6 months studying abroad in Paris and staying with her host family. Jennifer learned a lot more than just the French language, the French culture and the art she was studying, but she learned about some aspects of the French culture she wanted to incorporate into her life back home in California. This is Jennifer's way of bridging the French and American cultures and bringing some of the things she learned to love about French culture home and making them work in the States. 

At Home with Madame Chic-- This one is my favorite-- give me all the home decor/home organization/housekeeping type books please!! I love the simple, laid back California approach but also including the finer French outlook of putting forth your best effort in all things-- including homemaking. We all have to clean the dishes (my least favorite chore by far-- why are there always so many dishes?!?), and we can either have a negative approach to it or a positive one. Why not choose positivity? Instead of grumbling about doing the dishes again (guilty!), let's just put on some good music and get it over with! If the house is a mess and I don't feel like tidying it all up-- set a timer for 10 minutes and do what I can. It may not be perfect, but it's 10 less minutes I'll have to do another time. In all honesty I usually keep going past when the timer goes off because I've gotten over that funk of just getting started! Her book is filled with little tips like these about how to have a more positive outlook towards doing things that seem mundane-- and I love it!

Pachinko-- My girlfriend Sam who used to live in China and travel all over Asia recommended this book to me and I am so happy she did! This book checks off so many boxes of things I love to read: historical fiction, takes place in another country, and I learn new things about a culture I am less familiar with. This book follows several generations of a Korean family as they go through the 20th century living in both Korea and Japan. I learned a lot about the resilience of the Korean people and have so much more respect for the Korean culture (not that I ever didn't respect Korean culture, but now I understand and appreciate it more, if that makes sense). It was interesting to read about the family's lives in Japan during WW2 and after, and their lives during the Korean War and after. What a difficult time to be alive and to never really feel "home". If you love to read about different cultures, add this one to your list! Fair warning though, it is definitely rated R for some adult content. 


So those are my books for the month! I took a look at my "To Read" list on my phone and that list is 47 books deep-- yikes! Looks like I'll have plenty to read/listen to for the remainder of this year and well into next year! That being said, I always love your recommendations. What are you reading now?? Would you recommend it?? 

Have a great day!! See you all back here tomorrow!

5 comments :

  1. I'm putting Pachinko on my list. It sounds like something I'd enjoy. Yes, I also love Jennifer Scott and her Madame Chic attitude about homemaking. Her YouTube videos are soothing and so nice to have in the background as I blog, clean etc.

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    1. I always forget about her YouTube! I’ll have to check it out again!

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  2. My to read list is always so long too! I thought I'd get a lot of time to read this past month but I didn't have nearly as much time as I thought.

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  3. That looks like a fun premise for a series. Thanks for the recommendations! I'm always looking for new good reads, although I'm the same...my list is so long! :) I'm visiting today from the Friday Favorites link up. Have a great weekend!

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