I read ten books last year and I thought it might be fun to share with you my thoughts on them. I’m hoping to read more books this year, especially as I won’t be on social media for the first three months but we shall see what happens.

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The Confident Parent by Jane Scott – 4/5 Stars
My original plan was to read this before Shane was born but honestly never really felt like I needed to. I mistakingly thought I knew enough to take care of a baby with no stress. I think this would have been a great book for me to have read before he was born though because it really helps you remember to find time for yourself and your marriage and not get lost in being just parents, which is a reminder I think all new parents can use. The author is a pediatrician who has lived all over the world and has seen how different mothers are from how they are in the US, and helps you to see that maybe certain things that are normal here might not be as normal as we think.

The Breastfeeding Mother’s Guide to Making More Milk by Diana West and Lisa Marasco – 4/5 Stars
I’m pretty sure I started this book last year and finished it this year. I decided to read this because as some of you may know, I had a very hard time nursing Shane. He had a stage 4 tongue and lip tie, as well as cheek ties that weren’t caught until he was 7 weeks old (!). As you can imagine, nursing was very painful and my milk never fully came in, which was devastating for me. I picked this book up to hopefully learn some tips/tricks to help next time.

All the Little Lights by Jamie McGuire – 5/5 Stars
Oh man, this book. It was so good. Definitely my favorite of the year from this type of book. It’s about a girl from a troubled family who meets a book from out of town who ends up having to go back to his home town right when she needs him most. All of their secrets come out at the end, specifically ones about her family that leave you hanging on to the edge of your seat. Definitely a must read in my opinion.

The Story of Channon Rose (Part One (4) + Part Two (5)) by Channon Rose – 4/5 Stars
These are actually two books split between two parts. They are autobiographies by a Youtuber who used to be a porn star. This one may be a little bit surprising to see on my list but I love psychology and learning how people chose the lives that they did. Channon’s story is honestly amazing and I can’t believe the things she has gone through in her life. The first book is about her family life and the second is more about how she got into the porn industry. Both books were super interesting. I discovered her because I watch a lot of Youtube and learned of her through other Youtubers that I watch.

To Hell With the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke – 5/5 Stars
If you only take away one book from all of these, let it be this one. This book is life changing. I actually was lucky enough to be on the launch team for this book and read this book before it came out. I’m super grateful for that because Jeff’s insight on how our culture is over-connected and overworked is eye opening. I have been Jeff and Alyssa fans for a long time now but this book is by far my favorite. Jeff actually starts questioning and unpacking how our hustle culture is affecting us and let me tell you, it definitely makes you want to stop and reevaluate the priorities in your life as well.

Winter Stroll and Winter Storms by Elin Hilderbrand – 4/5 Stars
I read the first book in this series two winters ago so I decided to pick up the next two this year. I have heard so many good things about these books and I think maybe my hopes were a little too high for them. While I do really like and recommend these books, I don’t think they are quite as good as they are hyped up to be. They are about a family who lives on Nantucket and run an inn together. There are a lot of moving parts in this series, such as a cheating spouse, a son who is a POW, another who is in jail, and a wife who gets addicting to pills. It flashes back and forth between all of the characters points of view and is very interesting. My only complaint is that it is a little predictable.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman – 3.5/5 Stars
This is another book that I felt didn’t quite live up to the hype although I did think it was very good. It’s about a very socially awkward woman who has kept her distance from others, believing that her life was completely fine with her usual Friday night pizza and vodka guzzling. However everything starts to change when she meets Raymond who very much pushes her outside of her comfort zone to finally realize that things have to change in her life.

Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale – 5/5 Stars
This is also another must read. It’s about a girl who works for her parents restaurant as a chef and is engaged to her childhood sweetheart until everything flips onto its head. Her fiancé never comes home from a business trip and her parents business is a lot more unstable than she could have ever imagined. After attending his funeral though, Aimee is unsure of what exactly happened on this business trip and leads her to start uncovering truths about what actually happened to her fiancé. I really enjoyed this book and the unexpected twists and turns of it.

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Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? I’m planning on writing these types of posts every month or two so that it will be a lot easier to remember my thoughts on the books. 😉