Mommin' this Mess

I started the year with a hefty goal to read fifty books in 2018.  I have never tracked my reading before so I had no idea how attainable this goal would be.  I did not meet the goal, but I believe I was definitely encouraged to read more knowing that I was working toward a goal.  I read 30 books in 2018!!  Below is a list of those books in no particular order.  You can see a star beside my top 10 favorites. The Hate You Give  by Angie Thomas  ⭐ Children of Blood and Bone  by Tomi Adeyemi Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakeable Peace  by Sarah Mackenzie Where the Crawdads Sing  by Delia Owens ⭐ Little Fires Everywhere  by Celeste Ng The Good Earth  by Pearl S. Buck Break the Line  by Allison Mullinax  One Thousand Gifts  by Ann Voskamp The Hiding Place  by Corrie ten Boom ⭐ How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character  by Paul Tough The Lucky F...

As you know from my previous post, I had three books on my TBR list for the summer.  Shockingly, I finished all 3 by early August.  Here are my thoughts and rankings.  Least to most favorite..... #3:  Children of Blood and Bone:   ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ *What I liked:   -the sibling bonds (two sets of siblings both brother/sister with different yet strong bonds) -a girl hero -short chapters (easy for start and stop reading that is my life right now) -multiple points of view *What I did not like:  I confirmed my non-preference of the fantasy genre. There was  so much rising and falling action. Is that typical for the fantasy genre?   This is a great book for anyone who enjoys fantasy and/or dystopian society setting ( an imaginary  society  that is as dehumanizing and as unpleasant as possible).  If anyone has a fantasy recommendation that could change my opinions about it, please share !   #2 "That Kind...

What are you reading this summer?  I would love to know.  I wanted put out a quick post to share my summer reading list.  I only have 3 books on the list, and I will be lucky to get those three finished.  I should also add that I have all 3 books on hold at the library and I am like number 47 on the wait list for each one, so I feel like I have picked good ones! 1.  Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover This memoir details the life of a child raised by religious, overprotective, isolated parents.  Her first exposure to public education was at age 17.  Up until then she was"homeschooled" (but not really).  She describes the grit and determination she possessed to amizingly earn her PhD from Cambridge University.  I have a feeling this book will leave me saying...."I can't even imagine" Click here for the direct link in Amazon. 2.  That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam This novel begins with a first-time, overwhelmed mama R...

Hello Everyone, I wanted to share a super cool thing that happened recently as well as a book & podcast recommendation. I listen to a podcast (my personal favorite podcast right now) called "The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey" .   About a year ago she shared that she would be writing a book. Of course I was excited to hear this news!  Now fast forward to September.  As I was listening to her podcast one day she talked about a "launch team" for her book set to release in January.  Wait a minute! You're telling me that I can get my hands on this book sooner than the release date PLUS be a part of a team that reads together and shares our takeaways??**NERD ALERT** Where have launch teams been all my life? I immediately followed the instructions to apply....lo and behold, I'm part of her team! I just finished the book last week and I plan to do a full review soon  But oh gosh, you guys  It's good... like really, really good.  The title is "If You O...

WHY:  Here we go again. Mahala is tapping into blogging once more.  Is this even still a thing? Jesus, be near. My first instinct was NO WAY...there is no time for this mess.  But then I realized if I spent as much time blogging as I do writing a blog in my head then why not?  Ever since Beau was born, we moved states (again), and I transitioned to staying home (again) I just cannot stop thinking about all these things I want to share with all these people that I love...and maybe even some people I don't know (yet).  Ya know?  So, that's the "why".  Next is the "HOW". HOW:  I wanted my first post to be sort of like a mission statement if you will.  I want you to know the things I plan to write about, share, discuss, and ask.  This way you can decide if my blog is something you want to spend your time reading.  Everyone has interests and everyone has limited time. Trust me... I understand about choosing to spend your time wisely......