It’s time for a review of what I’ve been reading lately! I set a goal to read 36 books this year, I’ve currently finished 21 books and couldn’t be more excited at the possibility of shattering my goal 🙂 I’ve started listening to audiobooks recently which has been key in increasing the number of books I read – I listen while I drive, clean, cook, work in the yard – just everywhere! See my previous book review posts here.
This was one of my audio books at the end of April and honestly it was tough. Small Great Things is about Ruth Jefferson, an African American labor & delivery nurse with 20+ years of experience. She checks on an infant doing what she does normally any other time, except this baby’s parents are white supremacists. Tragedy strikes a day later and Ruth is left with the blame. The story follows Ruth, the white supremacist father of the baby, Turk Bauer, and Ruth’s lawyer Kennedy McQuarrie. In the Author’s Note Picoult shares that this book was actually inspired by true events that took place in Flint, MI – a city I spent 4.5 years in for college, a city I still very much love.
 
This one was an incredibly difficult book, yet at the same time I loved it so much. The topic is heavy and truthfully at first I considered stopping all together because it made me angry and hurt and sad. The audiobook also had 3 different narrators, one for each character and I thought that brought so much to the story! This is a book that will stick with you LONG after finishing it and I can not recommend it enough!
I read Hands Free Life, also by Stafford, in March and quickly added this one to my list. A friend recommended her books to me and I have loved getting to know Rachel through her blog, books, and Instagram! Only Love Today is based around the 4 seasons and is formatted in short,1-2 page, chapters to bring just a little bit of encouragement to you daily. I loved the topics, the meaning, and the thought that went in to it all. I think everyone can get a little something for this one, I even shared some of it with my husband as I read!
 
This was another audiobook for me this month and another heart-wrenching one at that! Inspired by the real events of kidnappings and illegal adoptions of children by the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The chapters toggle between present day with Avery Stafford of an affluent political family and past with May’s life with her family living on a shanty-boat on the Mississippi River. As sad as the story was about kids who were ripped from their poor and needy families to be adopted by wealthy couples, it was also heartwarming to see the connection and how everything came together – the heart always knows where it belongs. Add this one to your MUST READ list!
 
I finally got hold of this one from my library in digital format, I’m sure you’ve seen everyone everywhere reading it recently. It is EXCELLENT and I agree, another MUST READ! I do have to say it wasn’t earth shattering for me and I had many moments where I was like YES, this is exactly what I have been saying and telling other people too. Even in the intro she said this: which is very similar to what I said in my post here and I hadn’t even read the book yet. Anyway, that didn’t take away from the point of the book for me any bit! If you are looking for a superb inspirational, motivational, self care type book THIS IS IT – heck even if you’re not looking for one, you still need to read this one! I loved Rachel, her stories, and her beliefs – I think our world really would change if everyone took a few (or all) pages from this book. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll just feel really good. Like really, really good.
 
This was yet another audiobook for me and it was EXCELLENT, I’ve been averaging one audiobook a week! I was actually waiting for Before We Were Yours (my library app had shown I would be getting it soon) when I just chose this one in the meantime. This story was about 7, almost 8, year old Elsa and her crazy eccentric grandmother! It was about life & death and that it is OK to be different. The story focuses on fairytales and storytelling and honestly I felt like it was an adult fairytale & I LOVED that aspect. I think the audiobook version really allowed the story to come alive for me too, the narrator did such a fantastic job. I found myself laughing often, relating to the story even more, and just feeling good inside through the entire time!
 
This was a quick audiobook (~3 hours) for me at the end of last week beginning of this week, while I’m waiting for a different book from my library. It was good and I think the message is really powerful! Not my favorite book but certainly did not hate it, I just might recommend other titles before this one. However, what I really LOVED and what was my absolute favorite in this book was on the topic of how we treat & talk to ourselves. Some of the things I hadn’t even realized I do, so it was a good eye opener for sure. I say if you’ve got a couple hours, read this one, you’ll be better for it!
 
Don’t forget you can always friend me on Goodreads and keep up with what I’m reading! What are you reading this month?
Awesome suggestions- thank you for sharing!
I love reading others book reviews, so I’m always happy to share 😊
You definitely read a lot! I have read small great things and really enjoyed it. I can’t quite do audio books because my attention tends to wander!
Yes, audiobooks can be tricky to stay focused! I’ve had to learn to train myself and somedays I just accept that it doesn’t work lol
Happy Wednesday Rechelle… hope things are well with you. I FINALLY got back to reading “real” books… I love a cozy mystery – those small town/small business owners who have time to solve murder mysteries and everything else. I think that would be my fantasy life… The only thing with mysteries is you can’t just read 1-2 pages and easily pick up where you left off… it has to be a chapter so you don’t miss/confuse all the clues/hints! The Rachel Stafford books look interesting… will investigate.