4 Books I’m Reading Right Now (+ My Team’s Picks!)
This was a great month for reading for me, in large part because of our trip to Australia which included a LOT of long flights and time to read or listen to audiobooks.
Now that we’re back home, I’m trying to keep my reading at a similarly high level even without hours in an airplane seat!
Here’s what I’m reading right now:
The Beast of Ten by Beth Brower
After I finished reading the entire Emma M. Lion series (twice!), I figured it was time to explore some of this author’s other books and multiple people had told me that her Beauty and the Beast retelling was top notch. Well, I’m always a sucker for a fairy tale retelling so I grabbed it on Kindle Unlimited and dove in. The beginning was a bit slow (which didn’t surprise me because Emma M Lion was the same) but once I got into the story, I’ve been hooked and I look forward to reading it every day!
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Since last fall, I’ve been reading this whole series aloud to my girls at night and it has been YEARS (really more like decades) since I read this one. We started reading it in Australia and it was so cozy to read aloud this familiar book in a new place on the other side of the world!
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
I’ve had this one sitting on my desk for months but when my children’s lit book club picked it AND my library showcased it as one of the best books of the year according to their children’s librarians, I finally used my Amazon Music Unlimited monthly listen to grab the audiobook so I could listen to it. I loved her Al Capone series, so this one has been on my radar since it came out!
Drake Hall by Christina Baehr
A reader recommended this series for me (and my older girls) after I gushed about Emma M Lion – she said they had a similar vibe to them. They were super cheap on Audible so I grabbed them and my two big girls blew through the series so I started the first one on our Australia trip and now am listening to the second one. They’re about a girl who discovers that her family heritage includes caring for dragons and they’re just delightful!
And here is what my team is reading!
Kelsey
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
I haven’t read her bestselling novel Black Cake yet, but I just might pick it up, because Good Dirt had me hooked! Ebby Freeman’s life shattered the night her brother was killed…and not just because the crime was never solved. That same night, a centuries-old stoneware jar, a piece of her family’s legacy, was destroyed too. Now, nearly two decades later, a messy, very public breakup sends her running to France. And the past refuses to stay buried. As she digs into the mystery of that lost heirloom, she realizes it might hold more than just family history – it could change everything.
Analese
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See
I lived in China when I was in my early 20s so I love anything with Chinese history. When Kelsey, from the Everyday Reading team mentioned she was reading it, I knew immediately it would be one I would want to pick up! Set in 15th-century China, this book follows a young Chinese girl, Tan, as she ages in an elite family and is taught by her grandmother everything she knows about being a doctor. But rather than becoming a doctor like she would like, she is wed off to act as a proper wife and carry on the traditions of an elite Chinese woman. So far this book is interesting yet heartbreaking.
Jennifer
A Necessary Lie by Doohyun Kim, Jiyeon Maeng and Heidi Tucker
I just started this book after my mom finished reading it and told me all about this true story of a couple that escapes North Korea. Last year my husband and I watched the K-drama Crash Landing on You on Netflix and absolutely loved it. It sparked my interest about life in North Korea and so it has been absolutely fascinating to dive into this true story about what life is like there and their motivations to risk everything to leave.
Kristin
Persuasion by Jane Austen
My Goodreads account tells me I read Persuasion at some point over a decade ago but I had absolutely no recollection of it! I’m so glad I read it again. I know this novel isn’t her most well known or best-loved work but something about the contemplative and slightly melancholy feel hit just right for me. Plus no one does character development like Jane Austen and that was especially true for Persuasion!
