We are always looking for books to add to our To Be Read list. We look for books of all levels: picture books, beginner chapter books, middle-grade fiction, and books that busy moms can enjoy. Figuring I can’t possibly be the only one out there who is hunting for good reads for a variety of age levels, I put together a list each month of the books my family has been reading. Sometimes our thoughts on them will be gushy and glowy. Other times they’ll be lukewarm. Either way, we’ll let you know if we think they’re worth your time.

If what you read here is peppered with errors, know that it’s not fully my fault. I’m bleary-eyed and yawning incessantly because I stayed up far past my bedtime one too many nights this week. But that’s what happens when you find a really good book, right? You get a little lost in it.

With all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season starting up, I need to stake out some Me Time. It’s a true need. If I don’t, I might unravel completely. This week, that Me Time came in the form of getting lost in the pages of a really good family drama. But I’ll tell you more about that in a minute…

ON OUR BOOKSHELF | NOVEMBER 2017

This post contains affiliate links.

We are always looking for books to add to our To Be Read list over here. We look for books of all levels: picture books, beginner chapter books, middle-grade fiction, and books that busy moms can enjoy. Figuring I can’t possibly be the only one out there who is hunting for good reads for a variety of age levels, I’ve decided to try something new.

Once a month I’ll put together a list of all of the books we’ve been reading with some of our thoughts on them. Sometimes they’ll be gushy and glowy. Other times they’ll be lukewarm. Either way, we’ll let you know if we think they’re worth your time.

Skim through and see what looks good—for you, for your kids, for a gift. And let us know what you’ve been reading!

On Our Bookshelf | October 2017

Sometimes when I’m reading a book to one of my girls, a line will pop out at me that sort of blows my mind. It’s so honest and so to the point and something adults so desperately need to hear and to remember—and yet it’s tucked away quietly in the pages of a kid’s book, where no one is likely to go out in search of it.

But children’s books are often little treasure troves of truth. Everything is broken down so simply, which is something adults generally have a hard time doing. We think and rethink and then overthink some more. But sometimes—most of the time?—it’s much easier than that.

I collected five of my favorite quotes from children’s literature that can serve as reminders to grown-ups and kids alike. If you like them, you can sign up to have them sent directly to your inbox where you can print them out to hang around the house. Otherwise, pin them for later when you can use a pick me up. 

I’m a big fan of last month’s book club pick, A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams. It was a nice change of pace from the heavier, more psychological books we’ve been reading, but it wasn’t all lightness and fluff.

At its core, A Hundred Summers is a love story. But it’s also one about friendship and betrayal and secrets and lies. Jumping back and forth between 1931 and 1938, we watch Lily Dane fall in love while we simultaneously watch her deal with heartbreak.

A couple of twists and turns leave readers wondering what exactly happened and what is actually happening. Some of our book club girls saw what was coming. I, for one, was totally duped.

Here are some of the questions we’ll be discussing in our Facebook group (spoilers ahead!):

I won’t lie to you. I did not love Lisa Scottoline’s Every Fifteen Minutes. There were definitely points when I was completely engrossed and totally sucked in, trying to figure out what was going on. But more often than not, I was left feeling a little meh.

Just looking at the cover right now, I find myself annoyed. It doesn’t reflect the real meat of the story at all. Maybe that’s because, by the end, the meat of the story got kind of muddled by plot twists that were as unnecessary as they were unbelievable—mostly because there were just so many of them.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m grumpy. I just found myself really wanting to like this book and cheering it on to take that next step into really good territory. But it never got there for me. Also, I hated the ending.

Feel free to passionately disagree with me. I totally welcome it. In the mean time, here are some of the discussion questions we’ll be tackling in our Paperback Posse Facebook group this week:

• Were you able to guess who the sociopath was in the story before it was revealed to us? Which characters (if any) did you suspect? Why?
• What did you think about Eric’s obsession with finding out who killed Renee? Did you think it was smart of him? Did you always side with him and his points of view?
• The Tarasoff case highlights the unique position that psychiatrists are in, as they have a responsibility to protect not only their patients, but also other people from potential harm done by their patients. Eric considers whether he has a Tarasoff issue with Max, but is reluctant to act too quickly because of the repercussions. Did you agree or disagree with Eric’s decision, why or why not?
• In evaluating his deteriorating marriage, Eric decides that his wife “had fallen in love with a cardboard cutout of a man, a resume rather than a human being.” Do you understand what Eric means by this? Do you think this is a fair assessment of what happened in their marriage? Does this statement seem as if Eric is blaming his wife? Have you ever seen something similar happen?
• Other than Renée, who do you think was a true victim in this story? What responsibility did each main character have in what happened?

If you want to get in on the voting for October’s virtual book club pick, head over to our Facebook group where voting is open until Wednesday night!