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Welcome! Here’s where I’m sharing the books I read throughout the year along with really short reviews. Since the books I read rarely have anything to do with frugality, I’m just making a separate page for them.
Each book title is clickable.
October Reads
All Things New
This novel was self-published by a reader of mine, and she sent me a copy.
I’ve read some self-published books before that could REALLY have used an editor (they were rife with spelling errors!) but Britt’s book was impressive.
It reminded me a little of Whose Waves These Are, not so much in story line, but in style; sort of a gentle, calm narrative.
So, if you liked the style of Whose Waves These Are (see my review further down the page), you would probably enjoy this novel too.
Snobs
This is another Julian Fellowes book, and I didn’t like it as much as Belgravia. Definitely more crass, and I feel like it could have used a little more editing to remove extra descriptions. But that could be because I get bored with a lot of scene-setting!
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
I got a free copy of this book at Fincon, where Ramit was a keynote speaker. I don’t agree with everything Ramit says, and I think he’s too early on in life stages to be super helpful to people who are married with children (he just got married recently and has no children.)
BUT.
I do think he has a lot of valuable insight to offer to younger people, and the breezy, irreverent tone of his writing would definitely make personal finance more palatable to young people.
Fair warning: the book does have a little bit of language.
September Reads
Deep Work & Digital Minimalism
I’m lumping these two together because they’re by the same author and are pretty similar.
Deep Work is slightly less practical and more theoretical. But even though Digital Minimalism is not quite as deep, I think it could stand on its own if you want to read just one of these two.
There are a lot of good ideas here, but my big beef with Deep Work is that Newport profiled almost no one but men (and not stay at home dads.)
I’m sure this was not intentional, but it was a huge oversight because I was left wondering how his work applies to people who are mothers or to people who are primary caregivers for children.
Digital Minimalism was definitely more well-rounded in that regard.
Belgravia
Sonia and I picked this book up at the library because it’s by Julian Fellowes, of Downton Abbey. It was a very entertaining read, if you like interpersonal dramas. My one complain is the Fellowes does a little too much telling vs. showing, and I imagine this may be due to his being a screenwriter.
August Reads
Whose Waves These Are
This is a debut novel which has been super popular. It’s kind of a feel-good read, with nothing super dramatic happening, and Sonia enjoyed reading it after I was finished.
A Fall of Marigolds
An easy read, nothing too deep, mostly just small interpersonal dramas, which are my favorite kind of fiction to read.
Raising Humans in a Digital World
After reading this book:
- I felt grateful that ipads/phones were never around when my kids were really little.
- I felt like our policy of limiting Sonia and Zoe’s screen time and by not giving them data on their phones yet was backed up.
- Mr. FG and I both felt inspired to spend less time on the phone ourselves.
I thought this book was a non-reactionary take on tech and kids; the author acknowledges that there’s plenty of good that comes from kids using tech.
As with most non-fiction books, I thought parts of the book felt like filler, and some parts were not relevant to me as a parent of older kids. Still, a worthwhile read overall, even if you need to skim some parts.
July Reads
Building a Story Brand
This was a really interesting look at marketing, and it’s made me realize that a lot of advertising campaigns could be doing a much better job of positioning their product/service.
Some friends in my mastermind group recommended it, but I’m a little bit stuck on applying this to a business like my blog. I think I’ll ask for help from my mastermind next time I’m in the hot seat.
Homegoing
This was a book club pick, and it was pretty heavy. It follows two African family lines from the years of the slave trade to the present day, so you cover LOTS of characters.
I found myself wishing I could know more about each individual, but the pace had to move fast to cover so much ground.
I wouldn’t say it was a fun book, but it felt like an important one.
Pressure Cooker
I picked this up off the library shelf as I was walking through, and I have a lot of thoughts about it. Probably enough for a dedicated post, so that’s all I’ll say for now!
June Reads
I only read two books this month!
Becoming
I loved this memoir by Michelle Obama. I knew very little about the Obama’s lives before they got in office, and I was impressed with how they used their prestigious educations to serve the community in Chicago.
And it was fun to get a peek into life in the White House!
A Woman After God’s Own Heart
This was a re-read of a book I read when I was a new wife, and I give it a pretty big thumbs down on re-reading it.
There are some helpful and true things in here.
However, a lot of what she wrote about wifing and mothering feels like its right out of the 1950s (vs. being right out of the Bible!), and it was tremendously unhelpful to me as a young woman. It was a basically a recipe for erasing yourself.
Yes, it’s good to serve your husband and kids, but not to the point where you essentially disappear and function is a person with no needs.
It also set up some fairly unattainable standards (And I quote, “Living in your house should be an absolute ball for everyone!” as though a woman could actually make that happen. People are going to have unhappy days no matter how great a job you are doing.)
Anyway.
I would not recommend reading this book. My copy is going into the recycling bin because I don’t want to spread it to anyone else!
May Reads
Maid
I loved this book, a memoir of a single mom’s struggle to survive. I’ve never lived in the impoverished state she was in, and her story gave me a lot of compassion for people in her shoes.
If you liked Educated, I think you would like this book.
The House on Mango Street
A collection of short essays about the author’s life, growing up in a poor neighborhood. It didn’t feel very cohesive to me. Also, I am really not a fan of poetic, obscured kind of writing and this book had a lot of it.
Vinegar Girl
This is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, which I’ve never read. So I can’t say if it’s a great retelling! Ha.
It was kind of a weird story, but I don’t know if that’s because The Taming of the Shrew is odd, or because this version is odd.
Atomic Habits
I loved this book! I read The Power of Habit a few years ago and I thought this was a huge improvement. Way less theory and a lot more practical help.
One of my favorite books of 2019.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
This was a middle-grade read for book club. This one was just ok for me, but it made good book club discussion.
Dept. of Speculation
A little book about a marriage, hilarious in places. I had a hard time sympathizing with the wife, though, because she seemed a little…unpleasant to live with.
Between the World and Me
This book about being black in America felt important and I wanted to be moved by it (and I was in places) but overall, I really hated the writing style.
I know it’s won awards and all, but to me, it felt choppy, disjointed, and not very straightforward.
April
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
This is a short book written by a man who had a stroke and lost almost all muscle movement. He wrote the whole book using a series of blinks with one eye!
I was fascinated to hear what this experience was like for him, but less fascinated by the parts of the book that covered his pre-stroke life.
The Sense of an Ending
A short novel, a little crass, definitely not for children, a good twist at the end, not exactly a feel-good book.
But I kept thinking about the characters after I finished the book, which must mean something about the quality of the story.
Bossypants
Tina Fey is as funny in person as she is on the screen, and I loved her chapters about beauty and motherhood.
The book is definitely irreverent in parts and it has some language, so you know, consider yourself warned.
The Things They Carried
A book club pick about the Vietnam war.
Not my favorite topic, and the style was confusing…is it fiction? Factual memoir? What really happened? I know that’s purposeful, but it’s not so much my thing.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Funny in parts, an easy read, but I had a hard time loving any of the characters.
Brave Love
A lot of what Lisa wrote resonated with me since my tendency, like hers, is to disappear, to make sure everyone else’s needs are met and to squash my own. I quibble a little bit theologically with some of her points, but I’m still glad I read the book.
March
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
Another Fredrik Backman book, but this one is a short story about aging and dementia.
It’s very slightly confusing to figure out at first, but I loved some of the passages in this book, and a few made me tear up.
The Glass Castle
This one kept coming up as similar to Educated, so I picked it up. I definitely see the parallels and I felt the same rage at her dad as I did at Tara’s.
And like Tara’s mom, Jeannette’s mom may have been less actively abusive, but she really failed to protect her kids.
I find it pretty amazing what kind of life Tara and Jeannette were able to make for themselves after such hard childhoods, and I felt utterly fascinated by both of these stories.
Sometimes the truth is odder than any fiction you would write.
February
Educated
This was our second book club assignment, and I think it’s the only book club book I’ve read twice. In fact, I almost never re-read books, and I REALLY never re-read them right away.
But once I finished Tara’s account of her harrowing childhood, I felt like I needed to go back over the story, now that I knew kind of how it ended.
As with Just Mercy, I seriously could not believe how contemporary this book was. I was 8 years old when Tara was born, but the life she lived just sounded like it was from the past, and not in a good way.
I felt really angry with her parents (particularly her dad) and also her brother Shawn, but I was so impressed with Tara’s ability to make a new life for herself apart from them.
Juliet’s School of Possibilities
This is Laura Vanderkam’s latest book, a time-management fable. It’s a quick read, and I think it would be really helpful for people who find non-fiction time management books dry and boring!
Laura’s Little Book of Life Hacks
This was an ebook freebie with the preorder of the previous book, and I loved it, probably even more than Juliet’s School of Possibilities! Lists of tips make my heart happy.
Beartown
I read and loved A Man Called Ove, by the same author, but I did not love Beartown. It was so much more crass than I expected, the subject matter was really weighty, and there were too many characters to keep track of.
January
Just Mercy
This was a book club assignment, and my goodness, what a read it was. I had no idea that these terrible injustices had been happening in the south, and especially that so much was still going on even in my lifetime. Some of the things in the book sounded positively medieval.
Even if you agree with the death penalty in principle, this book will probably make you change your mind about whether the justice system can possibly be trusted to apply it with any fairness.
I am so glad that Bryan and his team are doing the work to help improve the world, but the scope of these problems must often feel discouraging and overwhelming.
Anne Caverhill says
You are the first person I ever met who didn’t love BEARTOWN so I was intrigued by your commentary. I too am an avid reader so will continue to read your reviews and am constantly impressed and flabbergasted by your frugality.
Kristen says
Interesting! I guess I’m an outlier when it comes to that book.
Nan says
Loved it too! I’m a voracious reader- 159 books read last year and I journal them all. This year I vowed to be more mindful and also read more classics. I’ve read 3 Dickens and also am re-reading Harry Potter snd one of my favorite authors Willa Cather.
SJ says
Thank you for this list- I have read some and found more to add to my list. Any chance you could set it up in Goodreads too- that’s where I keep track of my stuff and would be interested in following you there as well. Thanks !
Liz Bishop says
I felt the same way about The Glass Castle, though I haven’t read Educated (yet). It just amazes me that the writer and her siblings survived all that.
You might also like Half Broke Horses, also by Jeannette Walls – it’s about her amazing grandmother, and pre-dates The Glass Castle. I read Half Broke Horses first (just by chance), then moved on to The Glass Castle, though it’s not necessary to read it first. I thoroughly enjoyed both books.
Kristen says
Yes, my library copy had a preview of that book at the back of The Glass Castle…I only glanced at it, so it’s good to hear that it’s a good one as well.
Katie says
Since you like Educated and The Glass Castle (there is a movie out about it starring Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts, too, which is very good), you should read “All the Pretty Things” by Edie Wadsworth. Very similar childhood experiences.
ellen says
Have read one of these (the glass castle) and added two to my to read list! Wonder if I will ever get threw my Must Read list! LOL
Marcia (OrganisingQueen) says
I was the only one in my book club who kind-of hated Educated (2.5*) and when I heard the Currently Reading podcast review Maid, it felt like exactly the review I’d give Educated, so it’s interesting to see those two books linked here, and also, more importantly, I will give Maid a miss
Kristen says
Yep! I think if you disliked the one, you will dislike the other!
Now I’m curious…what about Educated did you not like?
Faith says
I’m glad to hear someone else didn’t like Educated. I thought it was an easy read, but it felt almost gossip raggy to me. I read it in two days, but I didn’t feel like it profited me in learning about her circumstances. I would also give it a 2 or 2.5 out of five.
Whereas I felt that Hillbilly Eulogy helped me understand a lot of the people from poor backgrounds that I come in contact with. Maybe because he went into more of the science or trauma in the end of the book. It still only gets a 3.5 or 4 out of 5.
Just Mercy is one I would give a 5/5. I found it very helpful.
Kristen says
This is funny timing because I’ve just recently heard from two people who did not like Hillbilly Elegy at all. I guess I’ll just have to read it and find out for myself.
Faith says
It wasn’t my favorite, but the end summary on how trauma effects brain development and how most poor people go through several different kinds of trauma I found helpful. I run a nonprofit that helps a poor population and it helps me to think of all they have been through and also to help my staff help them better. I read it at the same time as the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and they meshed well together. It is about the family of Henrietta as they try to figure out the true behind medical research being done with their mothers cells. Again, maybe. 3.5 or 4 out of five. Not my absolute favorite, but mildly interesting.
Have you read When Helping Hurts or Becoming Whole? Becoming whole is probably slightly better, but they are both 5/5! The Chalmers Center produced both of them. And I have found them both extremely helpful. Some of my absolute favorite books. I give them out to my staff every year.
Kristen says
Yes, I thought When Helping Hurts was really fantastic. I haven’t read Becoming Whole, though.
And yeah, I think reading about what other people go through is so important because of what you said about it helping us understand others better. That, and listening to people who have been traumatized/are marginalized, etc. It seems we humans are very prone to explaining others’ situations to them when we should be listening to the people who actually live in these situations!
For example, men should not explain how women experience sexual harassment, middle-class people should not explain living in poverty, white people should not explain how minorities experience racism, and so on. We have to listen to the people who ACTUALLY live these things.
And I know I’m preaching to the choir by saying this to you!
Beth Hahn says
I struggled with the style of Between the World and Me, too, even though I knew what he was writing was profound. So I tried listening to it, and that made a huge difference. Wow. I’d encourage you to do the same if you have the time/wherewithal.
jenny says
Did you watch the man called ove movie? Its just like the book.
Kristen says
I have not, but I’d like to! I’ve heard a lot of good things about it.
Liz says
Your book club sounds very serious, given the selections. Sounds like you would have quite engaging conversations over these topics. Have you shared details in a longer post? I am very curious!
PATRICK says
I was really impressed with this blog UNTIL I CAME TO MICHELLE OBAMA’S BOOK It totally threw me for a loop As her husband was a 20 YEAR MEMBER OF THE REV WRIGHTS CHURCH SITTING IN THE PEWS OF THE REV WRIGHTS CHURCH WHERE THE REV MADE COMMENTS which & I (QUOTE} GOD DAM AMERICA!!!!!
NOT GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!THIS WAS THEN FOLLOWED BY THIS{QUOTE} AND NOW THE CHICKENS HAVE COME HOME TO ROOST {END QUOTE}Better do some fact checking before that happens Again Of coarse this is only MY OPINION EVEN THOUGH ITS THE TRUTH LOOK IT UP.
BUT BOTH OF THE OBAMAS ALMOST BROUGHT THIS GREAT COUNTRY TO BANKRUPTCY AS HE & HIS WIFE {REMEMBER THE SPANISH VACATION THAT COST US TAXPAYERS TENS OF MILLIONS OF TAX DOLLARS TOGETHER THEY SPENT MORE MONEY THAN EVERY SINGLE PRESIDENT BEFORE THEM{COMBINED} BY RAISING THE NATIONAL DEBIT THAT WE OWED IN 2008 FROM $7 BILLION DOLLARS TO A STAGGERING AND UNBELIEVABLE $18.000000000000 BILLION DOLLARS BY 2016 IF YOU EVEN TRY AND ADSORB THAT?? ITS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE
Regards
Patrick
Kristen says
I’m not going to address the arguments that you brought up specifically, but I do want to say that I don’t understand the horror people have when they hear you’ve read Michelle Obama’s book. I don’t see why conservatives would be afraid of reading a book by someone from the other political party. Just because you read a book doesn’t mean you agree with everything the author did.
Just because you have watched Donald Trump’s TV show doesn’t mean that you agree with everything he does either, you know?
Hearing from both sides of the aisle can be tremendously fruitful, rather than only listening to the perspectives from one side.
tricia says
More importantly, both she and he said that they would be ok with their daughter aborting their granddaughter. You know, convenience. And personal choice. And all that.
Kristen says
But I don’t think that means it’s wrong to read the book. If you only read books by people you agree with 100%, you will severely limit yourself.
And looking back in history, there are a lot of famous American leaders who had terrible ideas about slavery and racism, but that doesn’t mean that they have absolutely nothing useful/true/helpful to say in other arenas.
Connie says
Patrick’s Upper Case letters means he is shouting at you (and all of us who read these) So rude. One could shout right back at him and you didn’t. Your point is well-taken about reading perspectives by people with the lived experience AND by reading books by people different from ourselves. Everyone can benefit from this and I wish more people would do it. I admire you very much; even though the main thing we have in common is frugality and European ancestors.