Book Recomendations 2020

I've read a lot of books since I wrote my Book Recommendations of 2018 list. Some great! Some, not so great. In the end, I found some I would definitely recommend which I'm sharing here. Plus, who doesn't love a good "clean read" book recommendation?

Picture Book

The Glassmaker's Daughter by Dianne Hofmeyr and Jane Ray

This book takes place in Venice with a glassmaker and his gloomy daughter. He offers a glass palace as a reward to the first person that can make his daughter smile. People come from all around to try to win the palace, but in the end, it is a young boy that has the answer to happiness she has been looking for.

This book has beautiful illustrations and a sweet story that I immediately loved! I pulled it randomly from the shelf at the library and ended up buying it to add to our home library a little while later.

Children's Book

The Book with no Pictures by B.J. Novak

This book is in the basic size and format of a picture book, but it just didn't feel right calling it a "picture book". Probably because it's "The Book with no Pictures"! Haha!

This book was fun to read to our kids and was a great way to introduce them to the idea that not every book has to have pictures to be entertaining.

I thought this book was very creative and my kiddos loved reading it together. Especially when they could get Grandma or Grandpa to read it to them. They thought it was a funny trick to get them to say silly words!

Autobiography

Unsinkable by Jessica Long

I actually read this book a few years ago and found it to be a quick, uplifting read. It's about Jessica Long and says on the cover, "From Russian orphan to Paralympic swimming world champion." Jessica is open about her faith in God and the struggles she has overcome to be where she is today. 

Brooke likes to look through this book sometimes and asked me once if she could read "the book about the princess with no feet." Brooke is all about princesses, and I'm glad she was able to identify a "princess" in a girl who's life is more than just pretty dresses and fancy balls. (Not that there's anything wrong with dressing up sometimes. Haha!)

Mystery

English Trifle by Josi Kilpak

This was the first time I had ever read a murder mystery (other than the children's book "The Westing Game"). For some reason, I've always thought I would hate that specific genre. Well, I was pleasantly surprised with this book! 

While searching for a new book to read this year, my mind went back to a series I had seen a lot at the bookstore a few years ago. After noticing that my great aunt has the entire series in her house, I decided to give it a try. I picked one that didn't sound too intense and ended up loving it! It had just enough suspense and mystery without so much of the creepiness or gore that I always expected this type of book to have in it. It was definitely a "cozy" murder mystery - one I could read at night without going to bed a little freaked out.

As a side note, this was the second book in the series and not reading the first one did not affect the understanding of the plot and characters for me. I ended up reading the first book in the series afterwards and actually liked the second book a lot more...

Classic

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

Okay. So this one is totally obvious and most people have probably read it. I hadn't until this past year. 

Now that I'm a little older and can get through the language and style easier, I see why people like Jane Austin books! Not only are they clean, but there were so many parts in the novel where the author made statements that were so hysterically true to how many of us feel at times. Just look at any page of quotes from the book and there will definitely be at least a few you can connect with. It's funny that something written so long ago can still be relevant in our time and I think it is the characters' personalities and the plot line that comes through (more than their way of living in that era) that really connects the reader to the story.

I know most people have read this book, but if you haven't, it is worth the read. There's a reason people continue to enjoy and connect to it and it has earned the genre of "classic".

Fantasy

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

This is the book that got John and I through all of the road trips we took towards the end of this year. Although we were expecting this book to have a little more of a "Harry Potter magic" feel, it doesn't. It feels more like they took Nicholas Flamel's name from the Wizarding World and put him in a completely different world. 

That being said, we weren't too disappointed... just surprised. It's definitely not a book I would read at bedtime to my little kids (it can get a little intense - not inappropriate, just scary for younger children) but it is a book John and I have been able to enjoy together and book 2 in the series has been even better so far!

As a side note, I had no idea this was a six book series when I picked it up from the library. We'll have to see how many road trips it will last!

With a new year, it's time for new books! Haha! To be honest, it felt like I didn't read as many books this last year as I have in the past that I'd actually recommend, but that doesn't mean I didn't find some great ones this time around! And now I can look forward to the great reads to come!