{Friday Favorites} : Books I Read in 2019

Here we are, almost at the end of January 2020 and I’m just getting this posted. I only managed to read six books last year but oh well! Here it is: the books I read in 2019 in the order I read them, mostly favorites but some I was just determined to finish.
      

[The Last American Man] by Elizabeth Gilbert ★★★.5
      This book is about Eustace Conway, a man some may have first heard of on Mountain
      Men. “The Last American Man” is about Eustace, a naturalist who owns, runs, and
      maintains Turtle Island, a nature preserve/education center/farm in Boone, NC where
      children and adults can both go and learn how to respect and appreciate nature. The
      book tells us about Eustace’s early life and now his current daily life. Gilbert writes this
      book in a way that is partly telling about Eustace but also has a lot of Eustace’s own
      words. It seems like he is “helping” her tell the story. I give it 3.5 stars because I
      struggled to get through the book. It is not necessarily anything to do with how it was
      written. I think it is well written (I have read two or three of Gilbert’s other books and
      loved them). Maybe I was not as engrossed in the book as I thought I would be.

       

[Already Gone…] by Ken Ham & Britt Beemer ★★★★
      The full title of this book is “Already Gone: Why Your Kids Will Quit Church and What
      You Can Do to Stop It”. I highly recommend this book for people who work with children
      and teenagers in church. This book gives the statistics about how many teens/young
      adults stop going to church and the reasons why. It is sad! BUT! It also provides different
      ways to keep them involved and interested in church. I gave this book 4 stars because it
      is not something I would normally run to read but it is very enlightening and helpful for
      anyone that works with children and teens. 

       

[Little Lady, Big Apple] by Hester Browne ★★★★
      This is actually the sequel to The Little Lady Agency but I knew that Little Lady, Big
      Apple was set partially in NYC so I wanted to read it. It is about Melissa, who owns a
      business where she organizes the lives of single men (helps them dress better, act
      better, and sometimes acts as a stand-in girlfriend) in London. Her life is upended when
      she decides to spend an extended holiday in Manhattan with her boyfriend, who has just
      been promoted in his job, and must now move back to NYC. To be quite honest, I
      wouldn’t normally like this type of book but it really focuses more on Melissa’s life
      between Manhattan and London and how she navigates her job in Manhattan. I gave it 4
      stars because it is not a favorite favorite but it was well written and the author did well
      showing us New York City from a British prespective.

       

[Girl, Stop Apologizing] by Rachel Hollis ★★★★.75
       Ok…so sometimes you need encouragement from someone other than the people that
       love you (they are supposed to lift you up). This book is just that! Rachel Hollis writes
       this book in a way that felt/sounded like she is talking directly to me! Maybe not
       everyone needs encouragement and I didn’t realize I did either but this book provides it,
       even if you don’t think you need it. Honestly, I gave this book 4.75 stars because no one
       or nothing is perfect but this book and author comes close. Maybe it should be 4.999…
       stars.

        

[How to Find Love in a Bookshop] by Veronica Henry ★★★.5
       I decided to read this book because, 1) it is set in the United Kingdom (Peasebrook)
       and 2) it is about a quaint little bookshop. It starts out where Emilia learns her father
       Julian has passed away and she has now inherited the bookshop. This bookshop is
       loved by all of the local book lovers but is struggling financially, which Emilia soon
       learns. The book shows her struggle of trying to keep the bookshop open (a promise
       she made to her father), the secrets that come out before, during, and after his
       memorial service, and blossoming love stories (and maybe the rekindling of a former
       love story). I gave it 3.5 stars because I struggled to get into the book at the beginning. I
       can’t say that it is necessarily because of how it was written; it could have just been me.
       If a love story and books are your thing, definitely check it out. I am glad I did.

        

[Never Have I Ever] by Joshilyn Jackson ★★★★.5
       This is about Amy, an ordinary suburban housewife/diving instructor who hosts a book
       club night at her house. A new neighbor, Roux (who is a mysterious, yet brash woman) 
       joins the book club and decides to take over and play a game of “Never Have I Ever”.
      This game leads to secrets being told, except for Amy. Once Roux and Amy are alone,
      Roux tries to blackmail Amy by threatening to reveal her secret, which would blow her
      entire quiet, normal, calm life apart! To be honest, I did not expect the ending. I had a
      different scenario in my head. I was shocked! I give it a 4.5 because it was very well
      written and kept me enthused until the very end. I wanted to know more once it ended
      HA!

      

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci today for… 

            

Have a great Friday!