What I’m Reading in July

Books I recently finished 

Wild by Cheryl Strayed  

After Cheryl Strayed looses her mother to cancer she stumbles down a path of self-destruction. In an effort to set her life back on track she decides to set out on journey of self-discovery on the Pacific Coast Trail. Strayed has no backpacking experience and faces and overcomes numerous challenges on her journey. While her story reads easily the book left me questioning what exactly it was she discovered on her journey and how it affected her life. Honestly I felt the book was somewhat disappointing.

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center 

Happiness for Beginners is a fiction novel about Helen, a thirty-two year old divorced woman, who signs up for a epic three week wilderness survival course in a effort to re-discover and re-define herself. What she does not realize is that she will be joined by her younger brother’s good-looking friend Jake. Jake, ten years younger than Helen, has had a crush on her for as long as he can remember. What takes place on their journey had me smiling, laughing and holding my breath in anticipation. A fun summer read!

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

Allan is turning 100 years old and decides that he would rather not be present for his birthday celebration at the Old Folks Home, so he sneaks out his window and runs… or shuffles…away. The story that unfolds from Allan’s escape is both hilarious and quirky. It follows him on his present adventures and flashes back intermittently to describe his past adventures. There are many deaths, explosions and meetings with quirky characters and various world leaders. An entertaining story!

Books I am currently reading 

Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris by Jennifer L. Scott

When Jennifer, a casual Californian, went to France as a young adult she lived with Famille Chic. There she learned a great many lessons from Madame Chic about diet, exercise, style, beauty and how to live well. This little gem of a book shares what she learned in France. Being French myself, although not from France, I feel drawn to many of the lessons in this book. I am half way through this book and already I have purged my closets, bought some basic facial care products and had my hair cut into a chic inverted bob. Madame Chic inspires me to take better care of myself and to enjoy the small luxuries of life.

Retrain Your Anxious Brain: Practical and Effective Tools to Conquer Anxiety by John Tsilimparis

I struggle with anxiety but my efforts over the last few years have really helped me learn how to conquer and cope with this struggle. Even though my struggles have lessened over the last couple years I continue challenge myself to learn and maintain my coping skills by reading various books about the topic. Retrain Your Anxious Brain is a new book to me and already I am discovering a few new helpful tips.

Still Life: 1 (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series) by Louise Penny

This book was a recommendation from Modern Mrs. Darcy‘s The perfect summer reading for every Myers-Briggs personality type book list. As an ENTJ I really do enjoy a good mystery novel and I was pleased to discover that Still Life is set in Quebec, Canada. While I got a little lost at the beginning of the book I have quickly developed fondness for the characters and I am eager to find out how the murder mystery will be solved.

Books I am planning to read

The Bilingual Edge: Why, When and How to Teach Your Child a Second Language by Kendall King and Alison Mackey

In an ongoing effort to teach my children French I am hoping that this book will provide me with some much needed motivation to speak French to them more consistently.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

I still haven’t started this book but I will soon! An Ember in Ashes is set in a Romanesque world with elements of fantasy. It is being described as an intense story about oppression, rebellion, secrets and the supernatural.

This post is linked to Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Quick Lit.