It’s always great to resume reading “normal” books after taking the break to read holiday-themed books in December. I read a nice variety of books in January – historical fiction, mystery, true-life stories and an encouragement book. Here’s what I read in January:
The Afterlife of Billy Fingers is the story of Annie hearing messages from her brother, Billy, after he dies. He describes to her what the afterlife is like to him and even gives her messages for other people. While he isn’t in what we typically think of as Heaven, he is an a realm where there is ultimate peace and learning. It’s a fascinating take on the afterlife.
In the blink of an eye, famous Nantucket author Vivian Howe is gone – killed by a hit-and-run driver. In Golden Girl, she is able to watch her family from Heaven and is granted three nudges to help them just for the summer. Vivian learns things about her family and friends that she never knew, but they also learn things about her and how she wanted them to live. Will it all make sense or was her death just meaningless and unfair?
The Woman with the Blue Star is a WWII historical book that deals with something I’ve never read about before – Jews who survived the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto by living in the sewers. I had never heard about that before and it was fascinating and terrifying to read about. The ability of people to fight for survival is incredible. I highly recommend this book.
I have not read anything by Anne Lamott before but saw that several people were reading Dusk Night Dawn and thought it would be interesting to read. I had a hard time getting into it as I didn’t really relate much to her story. She also inserts politics into the book, which is hard to read because there’s always people on the other side. Her message is one of hope and while her theology doesn’t match up with mine, she does seem to fall back to the idea of God always being there.
My youngest daughter loves pigs and Harry Potter so when we saw J.K. Rowling had a book out called The Christmas Pig, we knew she’d want to read it. (I wanted to read it, too, actually.) It’s a story about a boy who loves his stuffed animal pig and feels it really understands what’s going on, especially when his parents divorce. However, the pig meets an untimely end and the boy is offered a replacement. On Christmas Eve, the new pig comes alive and offers to take the boy to the Land of the Lost to try and find his old pig … and they have quite an adventure! It’s a sweet book with a good message.
Death on the Nile is showing at a local theater in February so my husband and I decided to read the book first and see the movie as our Valentine’s date. I probably read Death on the Nile back in high school, but I don’t remember the storyline. I read it carefully because I wanted to try and guess the ending … and, I was close! There’s quite the cast of characters and people who like mysteries will enjoy Death on the Nile.
In Order to Live is my first 5-star book of 2022! It’s an important book to read about a person who escaped North Korea. She and her mother journeyed to China and finally made their way to South Korea after being trafficked. It’s not an easy story to read, but Yeonmi pulls back the curtain on what life is like in North Korea. Due to the trafficking aspect, it’s a story for mature readers. I plan to listen to some podcasts she’s been interviewed on in the next few weeks.
After reading two other books by Kate Bowler, I wanted to read the one she talks about in those books – Blessed. It’s based on the thesis she wrote while fighting a life-threatening illness. It’s about the history of the prosperity gospel in America. I ended up skim-reading through most of it because it reads like a history text book. However, it would be a good resource if someone wanted to learn more about the prosperity gospel.
I remember when I heard that J.K. Rowling had written some mystery books under a different name that I wanted to read at least one and see how well it was written. It’s taken me a long time to finally read one, but I picked up the first one – The Cuckoo’s Calling. It was an interesting mystery that had me guessing along the way. It’s very descriptive (almost too) in some parts, but the characters and plot are interesting. It’s for adult readers, but mystery lovers would probably like it.
I was in a bookstore and saw The Night Lives On by Walter Lord. I’d read his first book on Titanic, A Night to Remember, and had really liked that book. The Night Lives On is full of more information about the tragic disaster, which leaves the reader wonder if it could have been avoided. I added more books by Walter Lord to my to-read list.
Almost reading like a devotional, Bits & Pieces is full of religious musings from a brave soul willing to share her lessons with those who would listen. Rebecca would often feel called to post about her spiritual journey on social media and she has taken those posts and put them into a book. The book is interesting and challenging. It’s always good to have more honesty out there for all of us to relate with. (The author lives in the same area that I do.)
What was your favorite read in January? Share in the comments – I’ve love to add it to my to-read list!
