Show Us Your Books Link-Up: August 2016



I missed last month's link-up...got distracted from the whole "adjusting to work again" thing. So my list is a little longer than normal since it is actually covering two months. 

Fun fact- I managed to finish my diversity reading challenge (finally!), hit 30 books for the year which was my yearly goal, and read everything on my IRL TBR*!! 

I think I was worried about having "me" time to read after the baby so I did as much as possible while on leave, and it's awesome to have met my goals with so much time left in the year.

*really, I've read all the books that were collecting dust on my shelf as of January 1 2016. The books I've purchased this year are not included in this goal.

I'm going to try a different rating system...I've been using the 5 star system but it's starting to feel inadequate. So I'm going to try an "A, B, C" system this month and see how it feels.


As:
  
The last book for my diversity reading challenge. Full review here, but basically you should go read right now.


  
An Epilogue to Innocence by

 
Bs:


I follow Maureen Johnson on Twitter- I've "gotten to know her" from the Vlogbrothers as she is friends with John Green. This was super cute and a fun read while also being full of feeling. A great YA choice...I will probably continue the series but I'm not running out just yet.




 

Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
Another very good book about a terrible subject. It was compelling, and would have been an A if things hadn't suuuuuuuper sped up at the end.

Cs: 
 It's worth mentioning that Cs are average. These books were not bad, by any means. They just...weren't great.



  Corrie Ten Boom's Prison Letters
This was interesting. It's letters between family members who were imprisoned during the Holocaust. Their ability to praise and have faith during such a bleak time is impressive, and probably the thing that most stood out in the book. 

 
I don't entirely remember how I got this book...I think it was given to me? I don't know. It was an okay read. Apparently part of a series- maybe if I had read the others first it would have been better, but the writing alone wasn't enough to really pull me in. 
 
At the end he does speak about Christ, and how he is the ultimate guidance which is important. Also he mentioned how Christ hung out with "sinners" and that we can be the right "they" for others, which I appreciate. Too often, especially with a book like this, it can seem as though we are supposed to live in our little Christian bubbles. 
 
Life According to Steph
 
What have you been reading? 
Link-up with Show Us Your Books and let us know!

18 comments

  1. Bastard out of Carolina was a great book. I actually picked it up again recently thinking I hadn't read it, but I had. LOL

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  2. I tried to read Bastard Out of Carolina a few years ago and it just sat and sat on my nightstand. Honestly, I'll probably just watch the movie.

    And holy hell, do I need to read Monster. Right. Now.

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  3. That last book sounds like something I want to check out.
    I re-read Wizard of Oz a few years ago & was so surprised how different from the movie it was :)

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  4. I was kind of laughing that a 50 Shades reference ended up being a Christian book, although from your synopsis, I guess that was kind of the point they were making? Wizard of Oz! It's been a while but I remember really enjoying it and, as always with books made into well-known movies, finding the comparison pretty interesting. I was thinking about what I'll read to my baby in 6 months and I like the idea of classics! Especially when they're too little to really get into picture books.

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  5. hmmm Bastard sounds good.....going to do more research on this so thanks for the reco.

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  6. Congratulations on hitting so many of your goals! I definitely need to tackle my IRL TBR list but they always get pushed back by library books or netgalleys!

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  7. good job on hitting all your goals and finishing challenges, that is awesome!
    13 Little Blue Envelopes sounds super cute and right up my alley :)

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  8. I haven't read Wizard of Oz since I was a kid. That Take me Home book has a gorgeous cover!!!

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  9. I can never explain precisely why but some titles just strike up so much curiosity in me. "An Epilogue to Innocence" just did that! Going to check it out now.

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  10. I've seen The Wizard of Oz so many times but have never read the book. I so need to that :)

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  11. Monster sounds like a great book, adding it to my TBR. I sometimes have problems when books are not in the traditional format but it sounds like it really works with Monster.

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  12. I read 13 Blue Envelopes years ago but never read the next in the series. I also haven't read The Wizard of Oz since I was a kid!

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  13. I've never read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but it would be a great book to have for upcoming kiddo. Monster also looks really good, for just myself.

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  14. 13 Little Blue Envelopes sounds fun. Congrats on hitting your reading goal!!! I am 9 books ahead of mine on Goodreads when I signed in this morning. My goal is to read 50 this year. Gotta keep it up!!!

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  15. I worked as a caseworker in a juvenile detention center in Texas, so Monster is definitely getting added to my to-read list.

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  16. Congrats on hitting your reading goal AND for reading all your TBR books! That is impressive! You don't even want to know how many unread books I've own!

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  17. Congrats on hitting your goal! I just read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for the first time back in June. It was a harder book for me to rate b/c of the differences between the book and the movie (which I've seen dozens of times.) I'm glad I finally read it, though.

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  18. Monster sounds like a great read! I want to pick it up ASAP!

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