What's On Your BookShelf.....January

Welcome to my What's On Your BookShelf post. The WOYB link party is hosted by Deb, Jo and Sue....all gals I follow on a few other link parties. I love their blogs. Go check them out. #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge

I plan to make a photo for this, but don't have time this month. For now, I'll use this photo of my "bookshelf". It belonged to my mom and is an old secretary desk. 

A little about my reading life. I LOVE to read, I always have and dreamed of being a librarian or a teacher, I became neither, however I don't have a huge collection of books lining a wall (I kind of wish I did). Often times, when I'm done with a book I pass it along to someone else (or we trade books). I love reading books on my kindle, I have recently learned to love audiobooks and I use the library often. I will visit used bookstores in a heartbeat, and prefer used over new when possible. Plus new books are getting so expensive. Yikes. I like most genres. I enjoy cozy mysteries (which apparently I'm the only one in my bookclub who does). I am in a book club. It's small, but nice. 

I use Goodreads to track my books. If you want to find me there, go here. Or here's a screenshot of my profile if you can't find it. I really only started using it in the last few years. I tried doing the reading challenge in 2021 but didn't quite complete my goals. I did however complete my 2022 goal, and exceeded my 2023 goal. My 2024 goal is to read 64 books. I never seem to take the time to write reviews on the books I read. I should, but sometimes I read others and I just don't feel like mine would be adequately written. I'm not the greatest at giving out stars...I probably give too many 5 stars...haha. I need to come up with a system. 

I always have at least one audiobook, one kindle and one physical book going at once. 

I love finding ways to challenge my reading and last year I started doing the 12 books by 12 friends. In December, I asked my FB and IG friends to share a book they love, and I would take the first 12 and read them the following year. I also did the A to Z challenge. 

I almost finished the A to Z list. 

My favorites of 2023. This was a bit hard...sometimes I just can't decide. 

My 2023 books from the 12/12 challenge. I only DNF Project Hail Mary. 

My 2024 12/12 list. I've already read one, and starting on another. These challenge me to read books that maybe I wouldn't pick up. I do reserve the right to not use one recommended if it's way off of what I normally would read. 

So what's on my January bookshelf?

What I read:

A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is part of the 12 by 12 challenge and the first one I read. WOW! The book is told through the eyes of 3 Palestinian-American women. It is beautiful, it is heart breaking, it is eye opening. It is a picture of how in some cultures women can be more oppressed and not valued. How many are struggling to find their voice, to find their way. It didn't end the way I thought it would. It kind of left me hanging and wondering if I truly understood where it was leading. The author based the book off her real life experiences. At the end of the books she has an interview. 

Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss and Leaving the Amish by Irene Eash ⭐⭐⭐

I picked this book up from a little used book spot at a grocery market on Anderson Island. We were looking around and in a back room were all these books for sale....I, of course, picked up three books. 

I liked this book, but not enough to give it 5 stars. It's written in a way that just fell a little flat. Maybe it would have been better for me if I listened to it, though I also think it would be fascinating to have a conversation with them.  It was a look into the Amish life, and a husband and wifes journey through losing two of their daughters in a buggy accident which started their journey through questioning the faith they've always known, but knowing there was more. 

My father in law was raised mennonite and grew up in the Amish country of Indiana (our last name is even mentioned in the book...it's a popular last name there "Troyer") so it was another reason I picked up the book...not because our name was in there..I didn't know that. 

The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Edith Eger ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book follows Edith Eger and her journey as a young girl surviving the concentration camps, losing both her parents, but managing to stay alive with her sister. This was another powerful book for me, showing me how little I know. She shares her story, how she came out of it, how she survived life and thrived and became who she is today. She became a psychologist and speaks on finding freedom from the things that hold you back.  She is still alive, at 96. I recommend listening to this book. 

What I'm reading:

Bookish People by Susan Coll

I'm a sucker for free kindle books...or ones on sale, I don't remember what this was. I also loved the cover. I've just started this. It follows an Independent bookstore owner, a renowned poet and one of the owners bookstore employees. 

The Most Beautiful Thing I've Seen: Opening Your Eyes to Wonder by Lisa Gungor

This is another memoir style book that I've been reading fo awhile...I pick it up here and there. I'm determined to get it finished. It chronicles a womans journey of deconstructing and reconstructing her faith, of becoming her authentic self. 

A Light in the Window (Mitford Years, #2) by Jan Karon

I read the first book and loved it. My mom and my grandma loved this series so when I spotted the first one for free on kindle (I'm a sucker for free), I grabbed it. I bought this second one at a local bookstore, and I like it but I'm struggling to keep it pieced together. I think I need to be more consistent in my reading of it because I find there's a lot of stories throughout and I lose track..This is another one that keeps getting put down and not finished. 

Finding Freedom: A Cooks Story by Erin French

This is another one on my 12/12 list, and I'm listening to this on audio. Erin French hosts the show The Lost Kitchen on the Magnolia Network, and I've loved watching it. She is the owner and chef of The Lost Kitchen...where guests are picked by "lottery" sending in post cards to be chosen for reservations. It's really good and she has had a rough life, so I'm excited to listen to this. It's a long one. 

Well that wraps up this month. I'll probably be starting another one soon, as my book club will be picking it's next read (this is also why a couple of those books keep getting set down, while I read the others). 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin