What We Read in August

August was another strong reading month as I finished 8 books, bringing my 2019 total to 73! I was surprised to see how many non-fiction books I read. That is a genre I've been more drawn to this year! My favorite reads of the month are in italics.

Non-fiction Reads:

Bringing of Bebe was an interesting examination of the French approach to parenting. There are approaches I'd like to borrow but it's tough to completely mimic what they do since their culture is so different from ours! I was surprised to read that many French parents send their kids to week-long sleepaway camps as early as age 5!

Cribsheet was an excellent book that looks at the decisions parents make from birth to preschool. My takeaway was that, at the end of the day, quality of parenting trumps all of the decisions you make. For example, the decision to stay at home, have a nanny or send your child to daycare doesn't have a super meaningful impact on the child - what matters more is the quality of child care and quality of parenting you provide. The author said it's better to focus on what works best for the parents/family than feeling like a certain decision is best for the child.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone was an interesting look inside the relationship of a therapist and their clients. I kind of love being a voyeur so it was enjoyable to take a peek inside a therapist/client relationship and see how they help people work through the challenges in their life.

The Year of Less was a short memoir about the author's decision to give up shopping for a year (with some exceptions like toiletries, replacing clothing that is damaged/worn out, etc). I'm not much of a shopper so I couldn't really relate to the author's tendency to turn to retail therapy before embarking on her shopping ban, but it was still interesting to read about how she pared down her belongings and broke her addiction to buying things.

Fiction Reads:

Resistance Women is a WWII fiction novel set in Germany. Unlike other WWII books I've read, this book starts in the early 1930s and really focuses on the rise of Hitler. I'd say 75% of the book is set before the start of the war. The novel did drag a bit for me as it was about 600 pages! I think the author could have cut 100 pages and still adequately covered the subject matter. Nonetheless, it was still a good read.

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating was a easy, breezy romance novel. I needed something light to offset the heavy fiction and non-fiction books I read and this novel delivered. The ending is predictable but that's often the case with romance novels.

Waiting for Tom Hanks was another book from Modern Mrs. Darcy's summer reading guide. It was a light, predictable romance. After a string of heavier books, it was a good way to close out the month!

Paul's Reading:

I picked up some new books at a children's book store earlier this month and they've been a hit! I also pulled a truck book off the shelf that we got when he was born and he loves it. There is a flap on each page that plays a different sound like a tractor, ducks, and a horse.

We also checked out "Duck on a Bike" from the library. Ducks are Paul's favorite animal so I've been trying to find duck books. He really loves this book so I think we need to purchase a copy. The illustrations are awesome! In the picture on the right below, he is kissing the illustration of the cat. He does this anytime he comes upon cats in a book! He also kisses other animals but it changes based on the day!

 What have you been reading lately?