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Monday, August 30, 2021

Books I Read in August

Hi there! How was your weekend? Devin and I spent Saturday at the lake with friends while my parents watched the kids, and then came home in time to celebrate my dad's 67th birthday on Sunday. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but it was wonderful. I obviously loved spending time with our friends at the lake, but an unexpected bonus was getting to drink two cups of coffee consecutively, uninterrupted by our kids on Sunday morning. I cannot tell you the last time either of us was able to do that! 

Not to mention this was my lakeside morning coffee view. A very peaceful way to start the day!

So I came back on Sunday and pulled out my book journal to write this blog post about the books I read this month. I opened it up to find this:

and my heart just melted. Is there anything sweeter than a surprise love note from one of your kids?

Anyway, I was able to read 3 books this month and here are the notes I wrote about them in my book journal:

Send For Me-- This book was a very interesting concept: the author used her great-grandmother's letters to her grandmother after they left Europe for the US in late 1930's Germany to turn them into a novel. It had so much potential to be a deeply moving story, but it honestly fell a little flat for me. Some of the characters were pretty unlikeable, which surprised me. You'd think if you were writing a book with your family as the inspiration, you would want the book to paint them in a positive light, right? Also, I felt like a lot of storylines started but were never developed. Anyway, I had high hopes for this book but it really just never took off in the way I was hoping it would. I give it a B-.

The Road Back to You-- This is one that has been on my "To Read" list forever, but since my "To Read" list is currently 44 books long, I just hadn't gotten to it yet. After listening to Shay's podcast a few weeks ago, I decided to bump it up to the top of the list. Last year I had written that Devin and I had taken the Enneagram test, and he was a tie between a 3 and an 8, while my score was highest for 3 with 7 trailing a few points behind. They both sounded right at the time, but after reading the book there is no doubt in my mind that Devin is an 8 and I am a 7. We both were laughing out loud as we were reading each other's chapters and kept saying "that is SO you!!" We loved the sections that said "What it's like to be a 7" or "What it's like to be an 8". Here are some of mine:

- I am an optimist to a fault. (Hah! YEP! Sometimes this annoys my friends and family that I always have to find the silver lining.. no matter what)

- I suffer from FOMO- Fear of Missing Out (I totally do)

- People close to me say I can be argumentative (Devin couldn't even get through that sentence without laughing... apparently this is quite true 😬)

- It's hard for me to finish things. When I get close to the end of a project I start thinking about the next thing, and then I get so excited sometimes I just move on (laughing as I type that because yes, that is me to a tee)


 I tried to figure out my family and friends' personality types and use it as a tool to help me understand them better, and therefore be a better friend/family member to them. I really liked it and highly recommend it! Solid A.

Our Italian Summer-- This book was not my usual cup of tea, but I really liked it! Francesca, her daughter Allegra, and her mother Sophia travel to Italy for the summer and work on their relationships while seeing the sights and experiencing Italian culture. I really liked all the references to Italian culture, food, history, art, etc. If you also love Italy, I recommend adding it to your list. I give it a solid A!

Have you read anything good lately? Anything you'd recommend? Leave a comment below!

3 comments :

  1. I haven't read any of these but I've heard of them! Send For Me was one I was interested in, too bad you didn't love it.

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  2. Send For Me sounds like it had great potential! I hate when books fall flat like that.

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  3. I have Send to Me on my reading list…our Italian summer sounds like one I would enjoy :)

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