Beth’s Books Reading List – October 2018

I’m happy to start a new feature here at Parent Lightly – my monthly reading list. I’m a pretty voracious reader and since becoming a parent I love reading lighter books interspersed with non-fiction. You’ll see that reflected pretty well in my monthly reading list.

Here’s what I read in October!

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Fiction

In October, I read a bunch of books from two different mystery series (I love pretty much any kind of mystery, especially when there’s a long series that I can just read my way through!)

Author Charles Todd Series

Charles Todd is a mother/son duo that writes the Inspector Ian Rutledge series and the Bess Crawford series.

Ian Rutledge is a Scotland Yard inspector suffering from PTSD in post-World War I England. He travels the English countryside solving crimes. These are excellent period drama without much violence.

The Bess Crawford series follows the adventures of Bess Crawford, a nurse in World War I. I personally really enjoy the female protagonist in this series, and there’s a bit more action since much of the series is set during World War I rather than after.

This month, I read:

• A Question of Honor (Bess Crawford)
• A Casualty of War (Bess Crawford)
• The Maharani’s Pearls (Bess Crawford short story)
• The Walnut Tree (More of a romance book about a side character in the Bess Crawford series. I really enjoyed it!)
• Tales: Short Stories Featuring Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge (The Maharani’s Pearls is contained in this selection of short stories so no need to purchase it separately!)

Authors Preston & Child Series

I really love the Agent Pendergast series by Preston & Child. The books are thrillers with supernatural elements thrown in. They get a little far-fetched at times but that’s all part of the fun. I checked most of the early series entries out of the library, but I’m now up to the more recent books that have super long library wait lists. I bought the two that I read this month.

After reading the latest Agent Pendergast book, I tried a book in the Gideon Crew series, another series by the same authors. Alas, I accidentally bought and read the fourth book in the series (oops!). They seem to be standalone stories, so it will be OK…really…. (in all honesty I HATE accidentally doing that.)

Here’s what I read by Preston & Child this month:

• The Obsidian Chamber (Agent Pendergast)
• City of Endless Night (Agent Pendergast)
• Beyond the Ice Limit (Gideon Crew)

The Obsidian Chamber was a little odd – more mystical than mystery – but City of Endless Night was much more of a modern thriller (with a little supernatural twist). Beyond the Ice Limit is completely different and very much a sci-fi thriller. I couldn’t put it down. Preston & Child really develop their characters and weave the sci-fi elements into the books in a way that’s very accessible to most readers. No space odysseys or sentient robots here!

Non-Fiction

I try to read some non-fiction each month, whether it’s for personal development or parenting. This month, I read one of Gretchen Rubin’s books (for the first time…more on that in a minute). I also started a book that I didn’t finish (truth telling here).

Reach Out by Molly Beck

I read about Reach Out in Laura Vanderkam’s Off the Clock (read in September 2018) and thought the concept was intriguing. The author has a system for reaching out to people via email and social media. It sounded pretty amazing, so I started the book. There’s a lot of pre-work in the book though, related to establishing an online presence, and I got bogged down in it. So I have to admit that I didn’t finish this book. Maybe I’ll go back to it in 2019.

The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

I have heard people talking about Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies book and concepts for years. Every time I thought about reading the book, though, my inner skeptic came out. Hilariously, I learned in the book that this is a classic reaction by my tendency (Questioner).

The basic premise of the book is that everyone falls into one of four categories based on how they deal with inner and outer expectation. It’s a pretty fascinating read with lots of anecdotes to back up the concepts.

The Four Tendencies gave me a greater appreciation for those around me and how to interact with them, and I liked Gretchen Rubin’s writing so much that I read another couple of her books in November, 2018! I definitely recommend The Four Tendencies.

What Have you Read Lately?

Do you have any recommendations based on what you’ve ready lately? Help a girl out! I read pretty quickly so I’m always looking for recs. This month’s tally: 7.25 books plus some short stories.