January 2018 Reading Round-Up

I did snippets of monthly round-ups when I first started mentioning books on my blog but then lost the habit. But I decided that it’s a fun way to remember what I read and maybe add more things than what I put on Goodreads. 

It took me forever to finally finish a book because of the holiday. Usually that’s when people get the most reading in but I find the opposite happens. Not sure why. This one I read mostly on the plane ride back to Oregon. I liked it well enough. It was like the super mild/middle grade version of the The Hate U Give but I don’t see it being as impactful as that one. What I did like was the setting took place in Portland, Oregon so it was fun to read about the places that I grew up visiting. 

I kind of cheated and read some of this in 2017 but finished it up this year. I loved how he went through each chapter with a characteristic of Christ and how He exemplifies that in our life. It helped me to feel more personally connected with Christ and want to spend more time learning about Him. 

I guess this is a Christmas novella but it doesn’t reference Christmas all that much. It only takes 48 minutes to listen to (I love that Santino Fontana did it) but I actually thought the whole story was really depressing. I think there was supposed to be this great philosophy lesson in it but I just didn’t get it. Maybe not one that will cheer me up in the holidays. 

Like everyone had said, this one was really moving. It was a little queasy listening to his surgery experiences, especially the ones about labor and delivery. I was really touched by him and his wife attitudes towards life and how they would approach this trial together. I also came away from wanting to think deeper and write more. I love that we have this legacy of Paul because he decided to keep writing. It makes me want to continue to write despite my flaws with it. I know I never regret writing down experiences and my thoughts. 

So timely. Read full review here.

After being in Pearl Harbor, I really wanted to read more about this part in history. I found this on another blog and eagerly got it from my local library. It's a really short, quick read but very powerful. He goes into a lot of detail that you wouldn't get unless it was a firsthand experience, like how he escaped the ship, his thoughts and emotions towards war, his leaders, military of Japan, and how it effects him today. The wording in the book was interesting because it felt like I was reading an interview or sitting in his living room listening to his stories. They put a lot of "you're probably wondering why I'm mentioning so much about my shoes, so let me tell you why." I don't know, it was just a lot different than other memoirs I've read. It felt personal and honest which I really liked. 

Okay I'm just about finish this one but I'll put it in this month's read. It's part of my 2018 reading challenge. But I'm in the minority here that I just didn't really like it all that much. I guess I'm more indifferent to the story than having a strong dislike for it. I guess I'm just not that interested in a rabbit adventure story. I'm really curious why people love it so much so if you read and really liked, let me know your thoughts. I don't have anything against it, I just wasn't that interested.