books on tap: all over the place

As I buckle down on my to-read list, my reading material is as varied as ever. At one point I might have tried to cultivate a certain type of books to read for each blog post, but I think genre-jumping is way more interesting. Best of all, each of these books was wonderful in its own way. So here's this month's installment of crazy. Enjoy!
 
xoxo,
E

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1 //Loving My Actual Life, by Alexandra Kuykendall. A mother of four teetering dangerously on the verge of losing it, Kuykendall begins a 9-month experiment where she changes something each month to see what gives her more peace and joy with her life, just as it is. I loved the re-framing of priorities to better honor God, such as taking a little extra time for meal planning so that you feel more healthy and energetic to serve others. I got some great takeaways, and highly recommend this. 4/5 stars.

2 // The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson. This book is my second of Jonasson's, and I. am. obsessed. His quirky characters and what-just-happened plot twists have me turning the pages so fast I get a nice breeze. This book alternated between the present, in which, as the title suggests, a 100-year-old man climbs out the window and disappears, and the aforementioned man's past. 4/5 stars.

3 // Dead Wake*, by Eric Larson. Dead Wake is a detailed account of the factors that combined to culminate in the sinking of the Lusitania. Most school texts and children's fiction tend to focus on WWII, so I don't know much about WWI. This book provides unbelievable detail without being dull, giving a great view of the time period. Larson uses quotes from original sources, making it almost read like a novel. Dad and Wes, you'll love this.  4/5 stars.

4 // The Sweet Life in Paris, by David Lebovitz. This book is written as a short series of essays about Lebovitz's life in Paris, and heavens. I. Can. Relate. Nearly everything he said rang a bell - and we didn't even live in Paris. Interspersed with his commentary are recipes, many of them for delicious-sounding sweet goodies. I may need to obtain my own copy soon. This is a man after my own heart. Paris + dessert? 5/5 stars.

5 // Looking for Lovely, by Annie F. Downs. Downs goes into deep personal detail as she talk about how to look for the beautiful moments even in the midst of life's tragedies. Backed by Biblical scripture, she explains how difficulties are necessary to grow and to eventually experience even greater joy. This is a phenomenal book, but I will say she (and/or her editor) doesn't know the difference between "its" and "it's" and when to use each. Sigh. 4/5 stars.

6 // The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, by Phaedra Patrick. This is such a sweet novel about a 69-year-old man struggling to come to terms with his life after his wife's death. In clearing out her belongings he finds a charm bracelet of hers that he's never seen before, and he then sets about tracking down the origin and reason behind each charm, learning about his wife - and himself - along the way. I just want to hug him. 4/5 stars.

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*Disclaimer: I received Dead Wake for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

**Also - the books linked in this post are affiliate links, meaning that if you click on any of the book covers or links and order one (or any) of them through Amazon, I may earn a small commission. B thanks you in advance for helping to support my psychotic book-buying habits.