When I found out I was pregnant, my reading pace slowed down drastically. I read 15 books in the first five months of the year and then pretty much stopped. (My reading lists from the beginning of the year are linked at the bottom of this post.) Napping was preferable to reading for a while there!

Todd and I are flying out of town next week, and I am seriously looking forward to being able to quiet my mind and read on the plane. Or maybe I’ll take a nap there, too!

But I have read a few more books and thought I’d share them with you.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

This was by far my favorite of all the fiction I’ve read recently. I loved the little bit of mystery. I loved that it was about moms of kindergarteners. It was a lot of fun to compare their school situation with my kids’ school situation. Obviously our school situation is nothing like the one in the book. I read What Alice Forgot earlier this year and it was one of my favorites all year. I also enjoyed The Husband’s Secret. I highly recommend Big Little Lies.

In This House, We Will Giggle by Courtney DeFeo

My precious friend Courtney is one of the best moms I know. She is all about having fun with your kids and teaching them about the Lord and about virtues and loving people well. Her new book is one of my favorite parenting books because it’s all about teaching our kids through laughter and not lectures. She’s a super fun mom and I have learned so much from her. This book is fantastic!

Let’s All Be Brave by Annie Downs

The incredible Annie Downs wrote this fantastic book that encourages you to life your bravest life and to live life with everything you have. Gosh, I love that! I don’t want fear to hold me back from anything- especially the things that I know God is nudging me toward. I highly recommend it!

The One & Only by Emily Giffin

Despite lots of mixed reviews, I liked this book. It was a little different and it had a relationship that was a little more non-traditional than we’re probably used to from Emily Giffin. But I think all of her books have a little bit of a non-traditional twist to it. I couldn’t put this book down. I read it in 24 hours at the beach. I recommend it, but I also know that some will love it and some will hate it. But you won’t be able to put it down!

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling)

This book was interesting. It was written by JK Rowling under the Robert Galbraith pseudonym. It’s about an investigator who is looking into the case of a model’s suicide when her family members suspect that it was murder. I loved the story and loved the characters. I just have a hard time with the way JK Rowling writes. It’s not easy for me to read. But I did like this book.

Panic by Lauren Oliver

Panic is a young adult novel, and it was fast paced and a really quick read. It’s about high school seniors in a very poor, very small town, who compete in a game called panic where players fight to the death. It’s not my favorite young adult novel, or even in my top 10 favorite books all year, but it was an easy read.

I’d love to know what y’all have been reading! Check out my reading lists from earlier in the year if you want some great suggestions.

Books I Read in February

Books I Read in March

Books I Read in April

Books I Read in May

I wasn’t completely sure that I would finish three books this month. I got off to kind of a slow start, and spent more time watching TV at night. Specifically Dancing With the Stars and The Voice.  (I was fully on Team Meryl and Maks, so I’m super excited.)

Anyway… I did finish three books! The long weekend helped and then the lack of decent summer TV also helped. I spent a lot of nights on our porch under the ceiling fan devouring these books. My reviews this month are a little mixed, so read ahead!

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

This is the book that made me feel most conflicted. I liked it. I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to see the movie. But I also didn’t like any of the characters. But they’re flawed and they’re real. There were a lot of laugh out loud moments in this book, and quite a few times I gave the book to Todd to read a few paragraphs that had me in stitches. I love that this book gave me a strong reaction to the characters and it would be impossible not to recommend someone read it just because it was so wildly entertaining. This is not a story of a lovey dovey family. This family is full of secrets and eyebrow-raising moments. But I just couldn’t stand the characters. I’m not really even sure what to say about that. Did I like it or not? I guess I should had a strong reaction to it, and that’s a good thing.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Oh my goodness. This book stirred some emotions in me, too. I didn’t cry, but I felt so sad for both of the characters. I loved them and how well-developed they are. This book tells the story of two teenage misfits who develop an unlikely relationship. It’s set in the 80s, so there are some fun references there. I highly recommend this one just because of the great character development. I’m hoping for a sequel, and I saw that DreamWorks picked up the rights to the movie.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

This was my favorite book I read all month. Goodness, this book tells a tragic story of love, of loss, of disease, and jealousy. But it’s also a great coming-of-age book, and it had some really beautiful moments of healing and forgiveness and friendship. I really enjoyed it!

*Some people have asked what my top reading recommendations are for beach reads for the summer. You can look back at what I’ve read so far this year, but my top 3 beach reads so far are What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and now Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt. (If you haven’t read these, go ahead and do it!)

 Books I Read in February

Books I Read in March

Books I Read in April

In June, I plan to read The One and Only by Emily Giffin, The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith, and something nonfiction. Any nonfiction recommendations?

Okay, so it’s the end of another month (how did that happen?) and I’m going to share the three books I read this month. I was on a roll early this month because I flew to Louisiana and back and finished two books on that trip. I thought I might actually read more than three books this month, but I didn’t read at all while my mom was visiting and just finished my third book for the month tonight.

It’s great because I’m reading a lot faster now than I was just a few months ago. I’ll read instead of watching TV at night or while we watch TV at night. And I read every night before bed. And I am getting the best sleep of my life!

I read three fantastic books in April and I would recommend all of them.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

I found myself smiling all the way through this book. I know it was very different and oftentimes downright strange, but it was quirky and fun. And I think I liked it because it was unlike anything I’ve ever read. I just found Bernadette to be so charming and, although strange, I loved her transparency and honesty. And I felt awful for her. I felt like I was watching episodes of Arrested Development, which totally makes sense because the author wrote for the show. I highly recommend this book, but also understand that it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

Defending Jacob by William Landay

Another fantastic book that kept me fully engaged the whole way through. This book is about a father who has to defend his son against a murder charge. It made me really stop and wonder what I would do and how far I would go to defend one of my own boys. The ending left me stunned and I still find myself thinking about it at times.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

I read The Husband’s Secret last month, so I was excited to read What Alice Forgot. I was hooked halfway into the first chapter of What Alice Forgot. With every single turn of the page I wanted to know more about what Alice forgot when she bumped her head in her spin class. She has completely lost her memory from the past ten years and it’s so interesting to read and see things unfold. I’m a fan!

What about you? Have you read any of these three books? What did you read last month? It’s almost time for beach and pool reading, so I’ve been collecting fun books specifically for the summer season, too.

To see more books, here are the post for February and March:

Books I Read in February

Books I Read in March