books for fall 2015

Aren’t books wonderful? I am reading so many wonderful new and old books, I can’t not tell the world. The stack on my bedside table is sky-high, and they call to me with their siren song on the chilly Fall days. I’ve listed out my current reads below, and all the cold weather can start now so I can get under a furry blanket with some cocoa and lose myself in the pages.

But I’m always looking for my next must-read. What are you reading this Fall? What book do you think everyone should read because it stuck in your head and in your heart and made you into something new? Don’t leave a girl scrounging for books. Leave your favorites in the comments!!

Fiction

1. Vango and A Prince Without a Kingdom. These are super fun adventure/historic fiction YA Lit set in the pre-WW2 era. The story line is complex, and my middle schooler couldn’t keep up very well, but in a couple of years my boys will love this series as much as I did.

2. The Paris Wife. I read this historic fiction about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife a couple of months ago, and it has stayed with me. I want to read it again already.

3. Little Women. Nothing feels cozier on a windy Fall evening than this book, a fire, and a cup of cocoa. I know new books are delicious, but there’s a reason classics are classics. Little women is like the joy of Christmas in a book, and the adorable cover art on this version is so happy I can hardly bear it.

Non-Fiction

1. For the Love. Jen Hatmaker has written the funniest, truest, best book about life and God and people. It’s amazing.

2. Daring Greatly and Rising Strong. Brene Brown has researched shame and vulnerability and her books are life-changing. Her TED talks have been viewed in the millions, and there is good reason for that. Her writing has shaped me as a person, a mom, and a leader. I’m forever grateful.

3. Hot Mama. This is an honest and inspiring book about sex and our marriages, and being set free as women in this false-image-based culture we have found ourselves in. Make yourself happy, make your husband swoon: read this book.

4. Talk Like TED. I am LOVING THIS. It’s about public speaking, but it’s also about passion and skill and communicating with the people around us. Plus, it tells the stories behind some of the most popular TED talks, which is fascinating.

5. Bird by Bird. Anne Lamott is so fun to read. She has witty and insightful advice about writing and life-in-general in this book. Any writers out there should definitely read this.