September Reading List

This month, I’ve read 6 books, and I enjoyed most of them!

Let’s start with one that I did NOT read. I know that sounds strange to add something I didn’t read to my book review, but bear with me here.

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming somehow ended up on my to-read list. I finished one book and picked this one up around 10 pm at night. It looked good. I got about five pages in and I could not read it anymore. By page 2, we have already heard all about how the main character sees ghosts. By page 5, their is a ghost standing at the foot of her bed, which leads her to a murdered person in her swimming pool. I stopped right there. I couldn’t, wouldn’t, won’t. I don’t know if there is more to the plot than that, but I don’t do scary. Not at all. So if anybody has read this book, can you please tell me if it’s good or not?

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Is anybody else into the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise? It’s like a train wreck and I can’t look away. Here’s the thing…I used to watch it because it’s actually really entertaining. The last few seasons (since Sean’s, really), have been way more raunchy and don’t appeal to me at all, so I haven’t watched. BUT, as more people go through the Bachelor/Bachlorette, more people have started talking about what actually happens behind the scenes. I mean…the producers cut and edit everything so that they can sway the audience one way or another. And I cannot get enough of these behind-the-scenes glimpses. I’m loving the memoirs and biographies from the contestants who have actually been on the show.

For the Right Reasons is written by Sean Lowe, and as of the writing of this book, he is the ONLY Bachelor to actually end up marrying his pick from the show. This book was honest and real, and Sean did a pretty great job of sharing his faith and Christianity in the book. Whenever I hear people on shows like this declare they are “Christians”, I always wonder how deep that faith actually runs, but I was impressed with his honesty and maturity in the writing. There were lots of behind the scenes glimpses, too! For example, after the show is all said and done and he is already (secretly) engaged to Catherine, he is flown to LA and does “ITMs”. The producers literally have every outfit he has worn throughout the show, and he has to put on one at a time and interview like he was back in that moment. So…he dresses like it’s night one and has to answer questions about what happened on that night…even though this is 8 months later and everything is said and done. Fascinating!

Some of my favorite Bachelor things to read are Sharlene’s recaps and Shaeffer’s recaps. Enlightening and hilarious.

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The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth was such a good read! It had just a hint of romance, lots of plot twists and some timeless concepts that just made me think. What are the things that matter most in life? There was one piece of the plot that was sorely underdeveloped, and I was disappointed in that, but otherwise it was a really great read. I’d highly recommend this one if you just need to curl up with a feel-good book.

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Faith to Foster was hands-down the best book I read this month, and I it’s a MUST READ for anybody interested in the world of foster care. It has deep Christian tones, but even if you aren’t a Christian I think that this book could be incredibly beneficial if you are seeking to become a foster parent, to support a foster parent, or just learn more about the system. I love how TJ and Jenn didn’t fudge over details and laid it all out. At the end of every chapter, they highlight the life lessons that they learned from that particular placement or season in their life. Everything didn’t always turn out wonderful or cheery, and they have plenty of grievences against the system, but they are still so faithful to do what God has called them to do. You can tell that the Holy Spirit has been so active and present throughout their journey as foster parents. SUCH A GOOD BOOK!

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About halfway through September, I realized that I need to get my mind into gear and start thinking about birth. During my pregnancy with Tera, I started reading pregnancy and birth books at like 20 weeks. Here I am at 35 weeks just now picking up my first birth books. I’ll write a separate post on how I prepare for a natural delivery (note: I didn’t say how I have a natural delivery, because I don’t know the outcome of this labor and delivery yet. But as someone who wants a natural delivery, there is some mental prepwork that needs to go into it).

The first book I picked up was The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth. It’s very informational and has some super graphic pictures (hello, naked birthing woman), but also SO helpful. It goes over EVERYTHING, and I love that because I need information. If you only read one book to prepare for labor/delivery, let it be this one.

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Baby Catcher is one of my favorite pregnancy prep books, but I would recommend this book even if you aren’t pregnant or planning to deliver. It’s the chronicles of a modern midwife, and she tells all the stories of the different deliveries she has attended. This book literally makes me laugh out loud, cry and is so inspirational. If you have ever watched Call the Midwife, it’s like that show in modern-day book form. LOVE IT.

This one might be cheating, but I did read Birth Plans for Dummies in one sitting while I wrote our birth plan for this birth. I did just skim over most of it, but it was helpful for me to be able to sit down and say “now THAT is what I want” or “What? People do that? No, thank you.” Again, this book is all informational, but really helpful for me when I wrote Tera’s birth plan, and still helpful this time when I needed to write a second one.

You can find my other monthly recaps here:

January//February//March//April//May//June//July//August

10 comments

  1. Brittany says:

    I’ve heard of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming! My friend said it was really good! I need to make a reading list this year. I get so busy that I forget how much I love reading!

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