Rockabye: From Wild to Child by Rebecca Woolf

This book is about motherhood. The writer finds herself pregnant at age 23 and she gets married and has the baby. She writes about her transition from partying single gal to wife and mother while staying true to herself.

There was something that didn't click for me while reading this book. It was honest and interesting, but I didn't develop any kind of affinity for the writer. Maybe it's because I'm not a mom? Or maybe not, but something was missing for me.

I found this book recommendation on Notorious MLE's blog. And even though I didn't like it as much as MLE did, I appreciate the recommendation. I'm willing to give any book a try.

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

The second in this popular series. Again, I found myself gripped by this book, but I found out that I can't read it before I go to bed. It's too intense and sometimes scary, and that does not make Dreamland very pleasant.

I'm #9 on the waiting list at the library for the third and final installment. Looking forward to it.

The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg

Have you attended any of your high school reunions?

I received an invitation to my 10th high school reunion several months after it happened. Now THAT made me feel like I was in high school again.

This is the story of a 40th high school reunion, the last reunion that will be held for this class. We meet a bunch of characters anticipating what it might bring and who they might see. And then there’s the reunion itself as they all meet up and re-connect.

Charming, funny, and tenderhearted. Another one of those sweet afternoon reads, good with a cup of tea and a cat on my lap.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

This book is from the perspective of a woman with early-onset Alzheimer's. It starts off with her picking up on the early signs of memory loss, leads into her diagnosis, and then continues with how it affects her life (the end of her career, her relationships with her husband and children).

I almost returned the book without reading it because I thought it might be too depressing. And, indeed, it was heartbreaking, but I'm glad that I read it.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

There are several narrators that tell this story that involves love, loss, a lost manuscript, plagarism, and people that somehow find themselves connected through this all.

I cannot exactly say why, but this book was just okay for me.

Unclutter Your Life in One Week by Erin Rooney Doland

The rest of this title is “A 7-Day Plan to Organize Your Home, Your Office, and Your Life!”

I started this book at the beginning of a stay-cation week. The first day, it inspired me to clean out a closet and medicine cabinet. The next days, I just read the rest of the book for the helpful tips about uncluttering. (Also, I got pulled into reading the Marta’s Legacy books as described in the post below.)

I did make a change to my house based on a suggestion in the book to make a “Reception Station.” This is the area you first step into when you come home. Yesterday, I set up a shelf that gives my work bag a home, and I put a Recycling Bin for paper there so mail can be easily recycled. It makes me smile because it looks so much organized than having bags, mail, and shoes intermingling on the floor.

This book had helpful hints. Some hints would apply more to if you work in an office environment. But the 7-day regimen was a bit ambitious for me. This is going to be more of a slower process.

Marta’s Legacy: Her Mother’s Hope & Her Daughter’s Dream by Francine Rivers

I discovered books by Francine Rivers during a time in my life when I was pretty down. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I clung to her books to give me some hope.

This is a two-part series. The first is called Her Mother's Hope, the second is Her Daughter’s Dream. It’s a saga, the story of four generations of mother-daughter relationships. The first book starts in 1901 in Switzerland, and the second book ends in 2010 with the family living in northern California.

I flew through these books (each about 500 pages) in a week. I liked the whole mother-daughter theme. Also, it’s interesting how secrets and wounding comments are sometimes passed down to the next generation and how it affects relationships.

These books fall under the category “Christian fiction,” and I remember being embarrassed to tell my sister that I was reading “Christian fiction” (back when I was down in the dumps). However, it’s not in-your-face Christianity, it’s more that each of the characters have their own struggles with faith. It’s a subtle part of the book.