fall 2015 bookshelf.

Friends!!! I owe you a bookshelf post big time!

I’ve been mulling it over, trying to decide which books to include. I’m doing a good bit of adoption reading these days, but maybe I’ll put those titles in a separate post.

David has been after me for years to keep a reading log, and in 2015 I finally organized myself enough to do it. All my January entries are complete with a nice little synopsis of each book and a note about how I discovered it, but from February on I’ve been lucky just to remember to jot down the title of what I read.

I’ve read 45 books so far this year, a few of them rereads, because that’s just how I roll. I didn’t include my rereads in this post, and I apologize in advance that the majority of these books have feel-good endings. I know that’s not real life, but because for me, books are comfort, I gravitate toward them.

People ask me often how on earth I find time to read with four kids, so here’s the answer: 1. our kids have consistent quiet rest times in the afternoon and bedtime at night, and 2. I watch almost zero television. I’m not against TV, I’d just way rather use my free time to read books! Also: I know it’s not fair, but I’m a really fast reader (but I’d like to propose that I’m a fast reader because I read lots and lots).

Here are ten of my favorites for your fall bookshelf:

The Truth According to Us, Annie Barrows

Annie Barrows co-wrote one of my and my mom’s favorite novels, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. If you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for!? Reserve it at the library right now! Her newest novel has a darker tone to it, but the characters are every bit as lovable (and in some cases, as hate-able). Warning: once you start this one you won’t be able to put it down.

 

One Plus One, JoJo Moyes

I’ve steered clear of JoJo Moyes’ novels because of words like “heart-breaking” in the reviews, so I don’t know what made me pick up this one. Spoiler alert: it has a happy ending. This book is a fun and predictable story about family and romance and cheering for the underdogs. The characters will stick with you.

 

Leaving Before the Rains Come, Alexandra Fuller

Alexandra Fuller has long been one of my favorite writers. Her memoirs of her childhood in Africa are biting and beautiful. This latest is the story of the demise of her marriage, which is as depressing as it sounds. In true Alexandra Fuller-style, she draws you in to the drama of her larger-than-life family and African misadventures. If you’ve never read Alexandra Fuller, I recommend trying Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness; it’s my favorite.

 

We Never Asked for Wings, Vanessa Diffenbaugh

This is the second novel by the author of The Language of Flowers. I appreciate Vanessa Diffenbaugh because she tackles hard issues like foster-care and immigration in a way that lets you “walk around in someone else’s shoes,” as Atticus Finch put it. Diffenbaugh herself is a foster parent, which I think lends a unique credibility to her work. I didn’t like this novel quite as much as The Language of Flowers, but it was still worth reading.

 

Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee

Speaking of Atticus Finch, I just finished the controversial new novel by Harper Lee. Track with me, because this gets confusing: though released in 2015, this book was written prior to To Kill a Mockingbird, but the story takes place afterward, when Jean Louise Finch is in her mid-twenties. It’s believed to be the original story that gave birth to To Kill a Mockingbird.

Critics of Go Set a Watchman do not like to see Atticus Finch painted in a less-than-glowing light, but I think the book is important because it more realistically represents the small-town Southern racial climate of the day, and it makes Atticus a real person, with both good and bad in him. I was also fascinated to get a glimpse into the evolutionary process of one of the world’s best-loved novels.

 

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan

What a fun book! It’s a mystery that cleverly combines endearing characters with ancient book culture with Silicon Valley. It’s a page-turner that made me happy from start to finish.

 

The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey, Rinker Buck

This memoir was the biggest surprise of my book list, and was one I just randomly grabbed off the library shelves one day. Did anyone ever play the CD-Rom game, Oregon Trail, as a kid? Oh my goodness, I loved that game so much, and was the kind of nerd who actually typed journal entries as I navigated my pioneer family across the country (and invariably ended up dying of cholera or drowning at Sweetwater River).

Journalist Rinker Buck talked his brother Nick into traveling the Oregon Trail in a covered wagon one summer, and what follows is a story that’s part travel memoir, part history, as the two brothers make their way 2,000 miles across America with an unruly team of colts and Nick’s Jack Russell terrier, Olive Oyl. I loved it!

 

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour, Morgan Matson

This novel falls solidly into the Young Adult Fiction category. I found it on Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide (where I find a good portion of the books I read), and it caught my eye because it’s a road-trip novel. Amy and Roger are adorable and I thoroughly enjoyed traveling cross-country with them. You can find all their play lists on Spotify! I enjoy Morgan Matson’s writing style, and have since read her other novels, Since You’ve Been Gone, and Second Chance Summer.

 

Side by Side: Walking With Others in Wisdom and Love, Ed Welch

I’m cheating a little bit here because I haven’t actually finished this book. I tend to devour novels but read non-fiction at a much slower pace, in order to let it sink in. Ed Welch was one of David’s profs at Westminster Seminary, and I’ve read several of his books, but this is my favorite. It’s about Christian friendship, and about how in order to truly minister to others, we first have to be needy. This little book is full of wise counsel and is one I’ll come back to.

 

Half Broke Horses, Jeannette Walls

I decided to save the best for last. If you read just one book from today’s post, let this be it! Jeanette Walls is one of my favorite authors; I like her so much that I Google her from time to time to see if I can find any new interviews or essays. Somehow I’d never read this novel, and was thrilled when my mother-in-law chose it for our book club. It is spectacular. And if you haven’t already, you’d better go ahead and read Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle, next.