Fallish Quick Lit + my last books of 2015

Life has been busy, but not too busy to read. ;) Even if it's only for a minute or two, I just don't feel right turning off my light without my eyes resting on the pages of a book (or ebook, as it were) before I fall asleep.

And in the moments when I had time to take a breath and chill for a minute amidst the craziness of life, it was usually to pick up either Instagram or a book.

So here's what I spent my reading time indulging in during the autumn of 2015.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

(So good and, whoa, that twist at the end! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.)

The Summer Girls by Mary Alice Monroe

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

(I fell in love with SAE's books-- can you tell?? They are delightful stories with just the right amount of magic. The Girl Who Chased the Moon is my fave so far.)

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

A Window Opens by Elizabeth Egan

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell (yep, again. I just love it so much.)

After You by Jojo Moyes

(I just loved After You. It completely redeemed Me Before You for me, which had an ending I did not love. After You had a wonderfully satisfying ending, if not perfectly "happily ever after.")

Veronica Mars: An Original Mystery by Rob Thomas: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham

(I listened to this (read by Kristen Bell, which was perfect), and I can't imagine reading it any other way. If only every beloved canceled series could be followed up by a movie and 2 novels. I loved getting more of a Veronica fix, and can't wait to read/listen to the second one.)

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume was our fall book club pick. Reading Judy Blume again reminded me how wonderful a storyteller she is, but it also reminded me what I discovered when I read Summer Sisters years ago-- she can actually be a bit, well, almost graphic in her non-children's novels, especially when writing from a guy's perspective. I was unsure if the plane crashes would be too much for me to read but they weren't too traumatic for me-- the story captivated me enough to make up for them. Overall a good book, which gave us a fun discussion, and a great 5os-themed meal to enjoy.

With the kiddos

The Year of Bill Miller by Kevin Henkes

Oh how we love Mr. Henkes' writing and illustrations. This was a delightful book-- the first chapter book of his that we've read and recently Hallee asked me, "When can we read more stories about Billy Miller?" Maybe there'll be a sequel??

The Bad Beginning,The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

David read the first book from the Series of Misfortunate Events (which he and I had both read years ago) to the kids, and then we checked out the audiobooks of the next two for some very fun entertainment on a road trip-- especially the one read by Tim Curry.

Stuart Little by E.B. White (currently)

I started reading this to Hallee (mostly when the big kids are at school) but Brody has wanted to get in on it too (he was a baby when I read it previously to him and Gigi). The vocabulary in this little book astounds me! And it's just so cute.

Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp (love this beautiful advent storybook!)

Currently reading

• Skipping Christmas by John Grisham (i.e. the movie "Christmas with the Kranks")
• Side by Side by Ed Welch

Honorable mention (books that I've been "reading" for way too long):

• On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Read-aloud time got pushed to the back burner a lot late fall. Hoping to ramp it up as we start the new year after Advent kick-starting us into a good evening routine and finally have more down time with the kids during the day.)
• Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (Writing has really been on the back burner but I'm looking forward to getting back into this with its short chapters, writing prompts and general bits of encouragement and butt-kicking.)
• Encore Provence by Peter Mayle (I may wait till spring to pick this one back up. I tend to feel like reading travel lit in spring/summer.)
• Follow Me by David Platt (This is a super solid book; I just need to get back in a rhythm of reading it-- probably a bit in the mornings after I finish Side by Side.)
• Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan (I bought this for David for Father's Day in '13 and we started out having him read it to me in bed out loud (he does a good Jim impression), but considering it's been on my Goodreads shelf for 2.5 years, we apparently don't do this "ritual" very often. We both were loving the book but are better at watching TV late at night. Must finish in 2016!)

Up Next

My little book club is reading The Lake House (Kate Morton's latest) next for our winter pick and we are all super excited for our library hold numbers to come up; and I also plan to grab First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen from the library on Kindle as soon as I have a moment. Stay tuned!

Hopefully next year I will do more frequent (and less gigantic) reading updates! ;) Have you read any of these books? Let me know what you thought.