November Book Recap and December Reading List

Hey, did you miss me?  I feel like I was MIA for most of December, although blogging was frequently on my mind, and I've been thinking of how I want my 2017 to look- both personally and blogging wise.  So, since I never got around to posting my November book progress and my December reading list at the beginning of the month, I'm just lumping them into one post now.

First off, what I read:

I only made it through two books, but one was a duzy!  Gracious Living in a New World by Alexandra Stoddard had me by turns nodding in agreement, then rolling my eyes, and thinking this book was written for the 1%.  Stoddard is a successful interior designer in New York City who owns multiple homes and apparently thinks shipping furniture you find at the open air market while you're on vacation in France is something we all can do.  There were little nuggets here and there that I found useful but for most of us, staying in bed until noon for gathering ones thoughts and writing is not an option, nor is having a secretary just to transcribe our notes because we prefer paper and pen to untrustworthy computers.  I only finished it because I was more than halfway in and it's not that thick.

The other book I read was The World's Last Night by C.S. Lewis.  I always find Lewis refreshing and after finishing the Stoddard book, this was a nice change of pace.  Even though it was written decades ago, it felt as if a lot of it could have been written today.  It was pretty short so I breezed through it to, which was nice after trudging along through the previous book.

The book I acquired was one I read years ago, and gave my copy away, but have been looking for a copy for quite a while.  It's C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, which is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche.  I remember reading it in high school, and loving it, but that's about all I remember.  I'm hoping it holds up better than some of the things I loved in high school.


2016 Totals:
Read- 34  Acquired- 51


Now, on to my December reading list:

• The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty- I read What Alice Forgot, and enjoyed it, so I'm interested to see what Liane has up her sleeve in this one.
• Dear Mr. Darcy by Amanda Grange is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's point of view, and to be honest, I can never get enough Jane Austen in my life.
• Life's Companion by Christina Baldwin is a book about the importance of journal writing.  To be honest, I don't know if I'm going to get to it this year, but it sounds good, and has gotten really good reviews on Goodreads so I hope to pick it up soon!
• Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood is a collection of short stories, and really, I just love her writing.  Every time I finish a book by her, I think to myself, I need to sit down and write.  She makes it seem so effortless and spins the mundane into these weird tales that just get down into your bones and stick to you.

Alright, well, I have a few more posts planned for the end of the year, and some new things cooking for 2017.  And as always, if you think there's a book I have to add to my lists, drop me a comment and let me know, or if you've read any of these, let me know what you thought!