10 Books I Read in September
10 Books I Read in September
By: Brittany Shields
First of all, there are two days left to enter my book giveaway for this month’s Spotlight book! I have two copies up for grabs. To enter, head over to my Facebook page! (The contest finishes September 30, 2022.)
Secondly, here are my latest reads!
I read my first Stephen King book, my first Lisa Jewell book, continued a series I already liked, and found a new one I’m going to keep reading!
Out of 10 books, I disliked 2 of them.
Spotlight of the Month
I read the book Mama Bear Apologetics this month and I LOVED it. So, of course, I want everyone to read it. And that’s why I decided to give away two copies.
It may be targeted towards moms, but it truly is a universal read and would benefit all readers.
Apologetics may seem like an intimidating word, but it just means that we are giving reasons and evidence for our beliefs.
It is a book to equip us to talk about and answer hard questions that our kids may ask us about, or ideologies they may be hearing at school, in songs, in movies, on the news, etc.
We want our kids to be critical thinkers and this book will help us build that foundation! It will help us parse out truth from lie and learn discernment. Click my review link below to hear more about the topics/questions it discusses or access my affiliate link to buy a copy for yourself. You won’t regret it!
1. What She Found (Tracy Crosswhite #9) by Robert Dugoni
Genre: Mystery/Crime
“I want the truth, Detective. Whatever that may be. Even if finding out what happened to my mother means losing my father.”
This is a series I highly recommend.
This is a typical police procedural thriller where the main character is investigating a case.
Crosswhite is in the Cold Case division at the police department and looking into a disappearance from years ago— an Autistic journalist was doing some investigating of her own.
Read my full review for some more plot details and random comments I decided to make.
2. Trauma Bonds: An Informed Memoir by Alex Taiwo
Genre: Memoir
“There’s an abuse pandemic going on in plain sight.”
Alexis Taiwo has courageously written Trauma Bonds to share her own personal story with domestic abuse.
From London to Nigeria to America, from childhood to adulthood, Alexis has endured one abuse after another— inside and outside of marriage. She is very transparent about her life, her feelings, and her thoughts. Having now processed these events, she provides insights that acknowledge where certain behaviors or thought patterns she had during that abuse were hindering her from seeking help or safety.
Having just attended a seminar on identifying abuse and helping people trapped in these situations, this book hit stronger.
Read my full review for more about her story, see her beautiful artwork (which she will commission for you), some shocking statistics, and some valuable resources for anyone who may find themselves in an abusive relationship.
3. Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
“Life is all around you. The more you know about it, the more you can shape it to your will. Pick your target, learn everything you can about it, and then go in for the kill.”
“That’s the thing about obedience. it feels safe. But it’s only safe it the person has your best interest at heart.”
Having recently read Cultish (which I would highly recommend) this book was interesting to read as it deals with more of a corporate cult.
When Nicole thinks she is joining a group dedicated to helping women succeed in the workplace and advance their careers, she is strongly mistaken as her loyalty requires more than she would like to give. And no questions asked. The lawyer in her tries to resist.
How far is she willing to go and what will she do to get out?
Read my full review for more observations of the cult, profanity info, and some comments on the patriarchy… cuz it’s in there…
4. The Survivors by Jane Harper
Genre: Mystery
“Are they supposed to be happy or sad? I mean, is it a celebration of the people who made it, or a memorial to the ones who didn't?”
This quote is in reference to a statue facing the ocean looking over a shipwreck. It doubles as a question about the main characters who survived a storm and a tragedy over a decade ago. There are mixed feelings throughout this book. Are we happy or are we sad?
Kieran and his partner Mia are back in Tasmania to help Kieran’s parents move when a body is found on the beach, forceably drowned.
The investigation brings up bad memories for Kieran and many others in the town as there are a lot of similarities to another girl’s disappearance twelve years ago during a storm that also killed Kieran’s brother.
Read my full review for my comments and recommendation!
5. Undistracted: Capture Your Purpose. Rediscover Your Joy by Bob Goff
Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help
“Are you willing to do what it takes to uncover the wonder that already surrounds your life? Will you do the courageous work to identify what is distracting you from the better things? And finally, are you willing to do the difficult and selfless work of releasing the beauty you discover into the lives of others rather than keeping it for yourself?”
This book was a bit of a love bomb. Ironically, a distracted love bomb.
I read Goff’s book Everybody, Always, and contrary to popular opinion of it, I wasn’t really impressed.
I decided to give Goff another chance by reading his newest book before I heard any hype about it. A clean first impression.
And I felt about the same as when I read his other book.
In short, it just felt like a shallow, self-helpy book with dramatic anecdotes Goff wrangled into inspirational one-liners that sound great but feel a bit fluffy. Everything was all over the place and I’m not really sure it’s actually going to help anyone.
Read my full review to understand my reasons for that analysis and to see the good things I got out of it.
6. Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies by Hillary Morgan Ferrer
Genre: Cultural/Theology/Christian Living
This was my Spotlight of the Month. And for good reason.
It’s one I’m going to recommend. So. Much.
Read my full review to learn more because there are so many things to like about this book. But here are some of the topics they discuss: Self-Helpism, Naturalism, Skepticism, Moral Relativism, Feminism, Marxism, Postmodernism, Emotionalism, Pluralism, New Spirituality, and Progressive Christianity.
It’s easy to understand and it’s super relevant. Even if you think it’s not, I think once you read it, you’ll be surprised how many of these ideologies are infused in the things we absorb daily.
7. Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell
Genre: Mystery
“Invisibility was my favorite state of existence.”
This was my first Lisa Jewell book.
Told from 3 POVs, we go back and forth between ‘before’ and ‘after’ Saffyre disappears outside the house of her therapist.
What happened to her and who was responsible? Was it her therapist she completed therapy with but can’t seem to let go of—not to mention she discovered his affair? Was it the creepy dude who lives nearby and was just laid off from his job for sexual misconduct allegations? Or was it the therapist’s son who may not be as pure and innocent as everyone thinks?
Read my full review for a cast of characters, profanity report, trigger warnings, some spoilers, an introduction to FatFace, and that time I thought I was learning a hip new word but realized, no, I’m still not cool.
8. The Lord’s Prayer: Learning from Jesus on What, Why, and How to Pray by Kevin DeYoung
Genre: Christian Living/ Theology
“If prayer usually feels dull and boring, I have to conclude that in large part I’ve lost a sense of who it is I’m praying to.”
I would guess that there are a lot of you who, like me, don’t have a deep attachment to the Lord’s Prayer. Maybe it feels rote.
Maybe praying in general is hard for you and you just don’t know what to say or if it even matters.
Prayer is such an essential part of the Christian life but such a hard discipline.
This is a really insightful (and short) book that breaks down each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer and breathes new life into it. Whether you pray the prayer with new meaning or you use the ideas to infuse into your own prayers, I think this book will help you struggle well with such an important topic.
Read my review to hear more of the things I liked about it and some of the insights that really stuck out to me!
[And stay tuned because I’m working on a blog post called ‘Why Pray?’ that I think this book will help inform]
9. Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy #1) by Stephen King
Genre: Horror/Thriller
This was my very first Stephen King book.
I’m not a big horror fan so I was hesitant to read it, but it’s been sitting on my shelf for years so to celebrate Stephen King’s birthday on September 21, I decided to give it a shot.
True to many other readers’ comments, this is different from his MO in that it was more thriller than horror. It was not gruesome, though several people die. There was also no supernatural element.
A man steals a Mercedes and runs it through a crowd waiting in line for a job fair, killing and injuring several people. He manages to escape without apprehension.
Recently retired cop, Bill Hodges, receives a note from the Mercedes Killer and thus begins a renewed energy for Hodges to track down ‘the one that got away’ before he acts on any more urges to kill more people.
Read my full review for why I won’t be finishing this series.
10. Death and the Conjuror (Joseph Spector #1) by Tom Mead
Genre: Mystery
“I’ve gone from clueless to completely hornswoggled.”
This is a classic locked-room mystery set in London during the 1930s.
It’s a great setting for this type of mystery because there isn’t a lot of technology that can explain away the impossibilities. I was, indeed, ‘hornswoggled’ throughout the book as idea after idea was eliminated.
How was someone murdered in a locked room?! Where is the weapon and how did they escape?
[BTW- conjuror is another name for magician… this is not a book of sorcery or conjuring spirits…]
Joseph Spector is a “magician-turned-sleuth” and when I found that out, I knew I had to read it.
Read my full review to find out why the magician/detective means so much to me, more details of the summary, and a couple things I wish were different.
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