October Books

*sigh*

That about sums up this month of reading.

Working gets in the way of my reading goals.

Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I am a sucker for all things Tudor. Philippa Gregory tells another great tale in English history. I particularly enjoyed, though, that the main character in this novel was Henry VIII's sister, Margaret, Queen of Scotland.

It was a great story that intertwined with the insanity that was the Tudor court, of which I am very familiar. I enjoyed piecing together my previous knowledge with how Margaret was experiencing it across the border in Scotland.

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So That Happened: My Unexpected Life in Hollywood by Jon Cryer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoy celebrity memoirs. I would not say that I am a Jon Cryer fan, but I've watched "Two and a Half Men" from time to time, and I enjoy that he is hosting the Undisclosed Addendum podcast this season. So I decided to listen to his book on Audible. It was definitely an enjoyable listen with a lot of humor.

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I actually started, did not finish, and returned an audio book this month.  *insert gasp*

If you've been around here for awhile, you know that it is an extreme rarity for me to not see a book through to its end and then give it an honest rating.  But I've been feeling guilty since I don't have a lot of time to read an actual book lately.  Therefore, audio books are my only source of literary entertainment.  I also have a TON of podcasts that are backing up, and I can't listen to them while I'm also listening to an audio book.

Actually, the book I returned came as a recommendation from the "Stuff You Missed in History" podcast.

The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Started listening to this on Audible. Didn't even finish it.  Maybe it would've gotten better when I actually got to the part about the author and his brother traveling the Oregon Trail.  But I just couldn't get that far.  I gave up during a chapter in which he was rambling on about horses.... I have better things to "read."

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Shaken Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life's Storms by Tim Tebow

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I was selected to receive an advance copy of this book to read and review.

This book wasn't what I expected. I expected it to be autobiographical, and that's not what it is.

While I'm not a fan of Tim Tebow's in regards to sports, I do very much admire that he is a man of great faith and is not afraid to share that faith. That was an aspect of this book that I really enjoyed. Tim shares his heart and his faith. He has great words of wisdom that even when things are tough, God is there. He knows what he's doing, and He has a plan. I really liked reading about Tim's background in his faith and how he continues to grow in his relationship with Christ.

I wish that I we more excited to read the book, though. I had to push myself to pick it up and read because it was part of my commitment to do so. I didn't like that the book seemed to jump around and wasn't very organized. I almost think I might have liked this more as an audio book since it read like someone might speak at a public event. (If that makes sense.) I also didn't like how Tim would state that he would talk about something more in another chapter. For example, he would make a statement about something and follow it up (usually in parentheses) by saying that he would talk about that more in another chapter. As an avid reader, I don't need a warning about what's to come. Foreshadowing is one thing, but I'm going to keep reading your book. So I'll read about it when I get there.

Overall, though, I did appreciate Tim's words of faith. I think this book would be great for people who are fans of his, people looking to strengthen their faith, sports fans, Christians, or someone who is going through a struggle.

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The good news is that, despite what I saw as a lack of reading this month, I'm actually 1 book ahead for my goal of reading 40 books this year.  (And NO, I didn't count the Oregon Trail book.)  Technically, I finished Three Sisters, Three Queens on October 1st.  I was very busy on September 30th, or I would've been able to sneak it into September's books.  But, alas, it makes my October look better. :)