books on tap: what just happened?

Whew. Oh, hai, last day of November. We made it, y'all, we made it. Fall, you are wearing me out - but sometimes in a good way. Because election hoopla is the world's best excuse to turn off the TV and read, and two eight-hour flights (one of which stretched into a 24-hour travel day...ugh), plus a lot of lazy days in French cafes, offers a lot of time to attack the to-read list. So here's what I've got for you this month as we wrap up November. Enjoy!
 
xoxo,
E

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Stumbling on Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert. Surprisingly, this isn't a book on how to be happy. Instead, it's a book on how our brain works and why we think we'll be happy if we do certain things. It's a slow read at times - a lot of psychological terms and talk. But it's utterly fascinating to look at how horrible we are, as humans, at predicting what will make us happy. Study after study shows that honestly, the things we want maybe, actually aren't what we want after all. Who knew the brain was so screwy? 4/5 stars.

Bridget Jones' Baby, by Helen Fielding. While this book is a cute addition to Fielding's Bridget Jones series, it doesn't have quite the same impact as her first three books. I'm pretty sure this one basically came about because of the movie (which I would really only consider watching because Patrick Dempsey is in it), and you can tell. It didn't spawn the movie; the movie spawned it, and that's not a good thing. While it does answer some questions and fill in the time between Fielding's second and third BJD books, it still leaves you wanting a little bit more . 3/5 stars

A Mile Wide*, by Brandon Hatmaker. If going to church and Bible study  hasn't inspired you, but has instead left you dry, this is the book for you. Hatmaker discusses how missions, community/social groups and other "non-traditional" ways of worship can actually boost your faith and bring you closer to God. Although I dearly love our new church, I've been convicted several times while reading this. I plan to try to use some of these ideas to help me incorporate my faith into every aspect of my life, not just Sunday mornings. I especially love his focus on giving back to those who need it. 4/5 stars.

On Rue Tatin, by Susan Herrman Loomis. So this woman and her husband basically live the dream: they up and bought a house and moved to France. This book is about their experience restoring their crumbling home, which long ago used to be a convent. It very accurately details life in a French town, and also includes many local recipes (Loomis is, by trade, a cookbook author). But while it's a good book - and maybe would be better if you hadn't already read 4,921 books about living in France - it's really just okay. Not offensive, but not blowing my socks off or anything. 3/5 stars.

The Year of Living Danishly, by Helen Russell. I'm really intrigued by this whole hygge thing, this snuggly, warm, comforting cozy Danish lifestyle. But Russell's book goes deeper. She and her husband (Lego Man) move from London to rural Denmark when he takes a job at Lego. She spends each month of the year tackling a subject or two of why the Danes are the happiest people in the world. It's truly intriguing to see what makes Denmark so special, a country I'd previously never given a lot of thought to. Russell is a hysterical writer, and now I  want to go to Denmark. 4/5 stars.

Go Set A Watchman, by Harper Lee. I'd resisted reading this book because of the controversy surrounding its publication. But because To Kill a Mockingbird was my favorite book in English 2 Honors (thanks, Willard (Rhodes)!) and I found this for $2 at the RGRBRC Book Sale, I felt I had to. And it was just okay. It made a lot of interesting observations that happened to be intriguing given the current state of our nation. But as for the story itself, there didn't seem to be that much point to it. There was no compelling force, no addicting reason to keep reading. I think this one was better left unpublished. 3/5 stars

The Miniaturist, by Jessie Burton. I had high hopes for this book, and they all fell flat. The story could have been great...but there was no point. A lot happened, but we didn't really see how/why it affected Nella, the main character. And so much was left unfinished and ambiguous at the end, and a lot of things weren't explained that really needed to be. I'm all for a little bit of mystery, but this just seemed obtuse and lazily finished. I wanted to like this book so badly, but alas, I did not. I don't think I'll be reading any of Burton's other books. 3/5 stars.

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*Disclaimer: The titles notated with a star (*) above were given to me for free by either NetGalley, BookLook Bloggers, or Blogging For Books, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
**Also - the books linked in this post are affiliate links, meaning that if you click on any of the book 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.