I continued the new trend of taking books back to the library EVEN IF I HAVEN’T READ THEM. It’s still a little weird but I took a ton back this month. It was a busy month with Disneyland and ministering interviews, but I also made a conscious effort to protect free time and reading helps me unwind. The books this month were diverse and interesting, so it was great to have lots of different options at the end of a chaotic day.

Sometimes you want something light and hilarious. Sometimes you want to read about someone being locked in a cellar. Sometimes listening to a parenting book while taking a relaxing bath is exactly what you need after battling your toddler all day. Keep things fresh, fam.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant is solitary, responsible, habitual, practical, and completely fine. She doesn’t have friends or hobbies, she doesn’t date, she doesn’t do much of anything except work, but she likes it just fine that way. Most people confuse and dislike her, anyway. But that all changes when she is forced into friendship with a warm coworker and a charming old man. 

I was completely taken by surprise with this book. I went into it thinking it was straight comedy about an autistic woman learning to come out of her shell. It’s actually a very complex story about anxiety, trauma, friendship, death, disillusionment, and murder. I’ve never read anything like it and I’m so glad we picked it for my neighborhood book club!

Good

• I’m a better person on the other side of this book. It urges you to face the assumptions you make about strange people in your life, and to treat everyone with a little more compassion.
• I absolutely loved that love didn’t save the day. Friendship and bravery and facing the music saved the day. I’m all for romance but in this story it would have cheapened the message.
• I really enjoyed how Eleanor’s relationships with older people like Sammy and Raymond’s mother allowed her to feel and learn things she wouldn’t otherwise.
• This book takes a really good look at our comfort zones vs. trying new things and breaking out of our shells. It’s often scarier, more difficult, and disappointing. But it’s also healthier, happier, and just MORE.
• Parts of the mental illness and struggle were difficult to read, but I think those parts were also powerful and force you to face the reality of the impact mental illness can have.
• I was very happy with how the book ended. I’ll admit that about 3/4 through I grew VERY concerned but it wrapped up leaving me all warm and fuzzy.

Less Good

• There’s a lot more language and dark stuff that I wasn’t expecting. Terrible violence, trauma, bullying, suicidal ideation, murder, anxiety, alcohol abuse, and more. It’s all balanced very well but you still deserve a trigger warning.
• I really would have liked one more chapter to see where things go for Eleanor.
• This book was delightful but I’m concerned about how heavy a movie approach could be – Reese Witherspoon is producing it and I’m just not sure I can handle it!!!

You

Their meeting was electric, and he couldn’t let it amount to nothing. So he checked her name from her credit card and took a deep dive into her social media. Soon he was “coincidentally” running into her, along with reading her emails and sneaking into her apartment. A pretentious boyfriend and clingy best friend stand in the way of their happiness, but he won’t let that stop him.

I checked out this book after a friend group decided to read it before the Lifetime series (starring Penn Badgley) premiered. It is a very specific type of book and honestly I’m having a hard time thinking of anyone I could recommend this book to? It’s a thriller, horror, and erotica? I wasn’t really aware of the erotica when I started it and I don’t really read much of that. Was it worth reading? It definitely sucked me in but I’m probably not going to read the sequel.

Good

• I LOVE a good creepy stalker story and this one keeps you shocked and scared. Surely he’ll get caught? There’s no way!!!! There’s no way he gets away with it!!!
• The whole book takes place inside Joe’s head, as he is talking to her. The stream-of-consciousness is so immersive that it’s hard to set the book down even when you want to.
• Because it’s all his view you see the real complexity of the characters. Even Beck, the love interest, has so many weak spots. I like seeing real characters with flaws and issues.
• I LOVED the use of social media throughout the book. Honestly there should have been more to flesh out the story.

Less Good

• The erotica! There was just so much. Gratuitous. Too much. Maybe I’m a prude. But be forewarned this book has a LOT of sex in it.
• Language. There were so, so many f-bombs and it felt unnecessary. I’m not actually a prude about swearing. I love a good swear, and often in his brain it makes perfect sense that there’s swearing. But there was a lot.
• There were a lot of parts that seemed lazy to me, especially the ending. It was intense but a little underwhelming.
• He is the most pretentious a-hole character I’ve ever encountered in my life and being inside his head for the entire book is exhausting.

Ignore It!

What if we told you that you could solve most of your parenting woes by just… ignoring? Every time you negotiate, argue, yell back, or try to reason with your child you are unknowingly reinforcing behaviors. Instead, this approach shows you exactly how to ignore the bad behaviors to decrease them and to reinforce good behaviors to turn your child into an angel. 

This book came recommended by a couple different lifestyle/parenting bloggers I follow so I immediately placed it on hold. The audiobook was available first, and it was a decent listen! It’s one I wish I had on hand to refer to at different stages, but it’s hard to know with parenting books if you’ll like it until you’re knee deep in it, ya know?

Good

• The way she lays out WHY your kid continues to negotiate, or whine, or cry, or suck up to you was the clearest and most logical I’ve ever heard. It expressed something that I have always intuitively believed, but succinctly.
• I really liked the balance of paying attention to the behaviors you WANT to see. That’s what I needed to hear. Ignoring bad behaviors isn’t a problem for me, but it wasn’t powerful enough without the element of reinforcing the good stuff.
• The idea of identifying just one behavior to begin with was helpful. I’m a “fix it all right now 100% all at once” person, which obviously works INCREDIBLY WELL with a toddler. #not
• I’m all about parenting that is functional for parent and child. I love that she emphasizes how much this can help you love and appreciate your kids again after all the fighting and yelling. Or maybe that’s just me.

Less Good

• Like most parenting books I’ve encountered, it gets pretty repetitive.
• She needs more examples about the stuff you can’t ignore and specifically what to do with it.
• It was an easy listen but I think if you’re reading this for actual implementation then I would probably recommend getting a hard copy of it.

The Cheerleaders

Five years ago Monica’s sister and four of her teammates on the Sunnybrook cheerleading quad died tragically in three different incidents, but in rapid succession. Now Monica has stumbled onto her sister’s old cell phone and a stack of suspicious letters in her stepfather’s desk, setting her on a path to finding out what really happened to the Sunnybrook cheerleaders. 

I impulsively grabbed this one off a display shelf as I walked into the library one day and I’m glad I did! It was interesting enough that I read it even on vacation in Disneyland.

Good

• This captures the teen angst in quite a realistic and aching way. Especially the parent relationships.
• The twists were pretty good, at least to the extent that I wasn’t sure too far beforehand.
• It’s pulpy and moves pretty fast.
• The drama is pretty great – if you’re a fan of Pretty Little Liars, Veronica Mars, Riverdale, and other teen mystery/dramas you’ll love this.

Less Good

• This book could have been SO. MUCH. MORE. It just scratched the surface and for tht I am disappointed.
• There were so many plot holes!!! Ew!!!
• The story literally opens up with teen abortion soooooooooo yikes
• As you might imagine there is quite a bit of language, more than I like in a YA fiction novel.

I’m currently reading The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Annihilation, and The Thirteenth Tale. On deck is Self-Compassion, Frankenstein, Eve and the Choice Made in Eden, and The Last Juror. It’s fun to get a little spooky in October!!!!