Its been a great year of reading so far for me! I’m on track to reach my goal of reading 100 books this year. I’m sharing some of my favorite books from the beginning of the year to the end of July. My rating system is the same as goodreads – 1 to 5 stars, 1 being low and 5 being high, but I allow half stars in mine. These 14 books have received a 4.5 or higher.
My Favorite Nonfiction Books
Vitamania: Our Obsessive Quest For Nutritional Perfection by Catherine Price
This was a book I heard recommended on the Gastropod Podcast. I’m a vegetarian and well meaning family members are always telling me I need to take multi-vitamins. I hoped this book would give me some insight into fulfilling those health requirements naturally. The book is more about the fascinating history of vitamins and the scientific discoveries that lead to us being able isolate and reproduce them. It was also a scary window into the lack of FDA rules about dietary supplements, how much our processed food is lacking in real nutrients, and the fact that we don’t even produce the added supplements in this country.
The Unsettlers: In Search of the Good Life in Today’s America by Mark Sundeen
You will see a strong theme of homesteading and sustainability research in my nonfiction reading this year. This book follows three couples in different areas of the United States trying to make a sustainable life for themselves. It was interesting to follow their journeys and the reasons behind these life shifts. I especially enjoyed learning about The Possibility Alliance in La Plata, Missouri.
Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cain Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream by William Powers
This book is not about how to build or how to live in a small cabin. It’s more a memoir about his time living in an friend’s off the grid cabin in North Carolina for a season after returning to the US from living in South America for years. His thoughts touch on how disconnected our society is from nature, the path our culture is on, and the sustainability of the American way of living. I loved it and how it made me question my own values.
The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball
This is a memoir of Kristin Kimball’s transition from a writer living in New York City to a farmer’s fianceé and their first year shaping and building a farm in Northern New York from a forgotten estate.
No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process by Colin Beavan
I loved this book and the way it is set up! Colin Beavan is sick of feeling guilty about our way of life and how wasteful, unsustainable, and disconnected it is. So he decides to do a year long experiment with his family in the home city of New York to live a no impact lifestyle. They take it on and make changes in stages. I enjoyed his humor to the approach, actionable solutions, exhaustive research, and the huge amount of sources and additional resources in the back now that his experiment has become a movement.
You Can Buy Happiness (and It’s Cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her Life and How You Can Too by Tammy Strobel
This book focuses more on minimalism. The author had a change of heart in pursuing the American Dream with her husband and decided to get rid of most of their belongings, get out of debt, and eventually move into their own tiny home. I enjoyed her candidness and it was pretty cool that most of their journey took place in areas where I grew up.
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
I don’t read poetry very often but after hearing so much about this book, I happened upon it in the library and checked it out. I felt it was an honest, sometimes brutally, view on femininity, love, and loss.
My Favorite Fiction Books
First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
My only 5 star of the year so far. Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorite authors and I especially loved Garden Spells, the prequel to this book. The way she weaves magic into the Waverly family, their home, and the town itself is wonderful. I loved the apple tree as a character once again! I hope she continues writing about these characters.
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
My best friend gave me this book for Christmas as it was one of her favorites the year she read it. Giving each other our favorite books from the year is our Christmas tradition. This one did not disappoint. The main character winds up taking a nature course following her divorce that puts her in way over her head on a difficult backpacking trip. The things she learns and proves to herself are priceless.
The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
I read this book with my local book club. I don’t know if I would have picked it up otherwise due to the subject matter but I’m so glad someone suggested it. The main character is literally The Child Finder. She’s a private investigator with a knack for finding children when the authorities can’t no matter the circumstances or length of time that has passed. Its told mostly from her perspective but also a bit from the lost girl’s perspective. The lost girl tells her story as though its an abstract fairy tale which was very interesting and made the tough subject matter easier to stomach. I think this will be a series and I’m very eager to check out the next one.
The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes
I read this as a buddy read. The book follows two storylines revolving around a painting, one in present day London and one during World War I in France. I’m always hesitant to read historical fiction set during the world wars. While the stories are usually powerful they can be emotionally draining for obvious reasons. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’m glad decided to pick this one up. It’s a heavy one and I shed some tears but it was wholly worth it. I’m excited to read more Jojo Moyes. She hasn’t disappointed me yet.
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
This book had been on my kindle forever and I needed a fun young adult read going into summer. Jenny Han delivered with the character of Belly, a love triangle, and a beach house for the summer. I put the next two books on hold with the library in the middle of the night, picked them up the next day, and gobbled up the rest of the trilogy in record time.
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Taylor Jenkins Reid is another new to me favorite author and this may be my favorite of hers. I just finished the last of her back list so I can’t wait for her new book. This book follows a couple after the “happily ever after” when they’re struggling in their marriage and decide to take a year apart. I love Reid’s writing style. I don’t believe she’s uses chapters in any of her books. I loved how she introduced their love story. She’s great at making me fall in love with ordinary people facing questions most of us grapple with.
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
This was another book club pick. Its a Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars mystery. Five kids enter detention and only four make it out alive. Its a fast pace young adult thriller with some surprisingly likeable characters. This was McManus’s first novel and I’m looking forward to her second as well.
Have you read any of these books? What are your favorites for the year so far?
