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October 2021 Reading List: Witch Books

11.05.2021 by Tana Henry //

For 2021, I set monthly categories to read from, in an effort to feel less constrained by reading challenges that I’d participated in previously, while continuing to work through the massive collection of books that I already own or have borrowed from friends and family. Each month I’ll include the books that I finished within the month’s category reading, books finished outside of the category reading, books in progress, and books abandoned. And I’ll tell you where the book was sourced from. For October 2021, my reading list is from the category of Witch Books!

Witch Books Finished:

Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg

Already owned Kindle e-book.

This was a Kindle First book that I saved for “witch” reading month. It was about a woman who is able to break spells in a world where those who do magic have to register their talents. and there is a mystery afoot with magicians ending up dead, and a shadowy organization involved. This was quite good. There is a second book that I plan to read as well.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Already owned Kindle e-book and physical book.

I’d been looking forward to this book for quite some time. It was very different than what I expected, so I had to adjust my expectations a bit. Once I did, I enjoyed the story. It is a story of female family love and protection, while also having an insightful view into human nature. I liked it.

The Witch’s Daughter by Paula Brackston

Already owned physical book.

Ooh, I really liked this book. I almost quit at one point when Satanism and demons made an appearance, which makes me super uncomfortable. I pushed through that section to see how the author was going to ultimately deal with the topic, and I’m glad that I did, as the main character ended up being a force for good against those things. This was a great book, set in a time period (at least the first time period) about which very little fiction seems to be set.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Borrowed Kindle e-book from library using Libby.

This is also the first book in a series. It was pitched as ‘Harry Potter for grownups’ which I don’t necessarily agree with, although I understand why it would be pitched that way. At times the book is a little bit depressing, but I think this was a stylistic choice by the author to demonstrate how basically unlimited power doesn’t do great things for a person’s mental health. The story was powerful and engaging, and I’ll definitely continue reading the series.

 

Other Books Finished:

The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths

Borrowed Kindle e-book from library using Libby.

A body in a WWII plane is unearthed, but things aren’t quite as they seem. Ruth Galloway is brought in to consult. And the family who owns the land where the plane is found are all a bit odd. Mystery and action ensue. I really love the Ruth Galloway mysteries and recommend them for a quick and exciting read.

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

Borrowed audiobook from library using Libby.

This has been on my TBR for awhile, as I’m trying to work through all of Ray Bradbury’s works, but reading any other time of year seemed wrong somehow. If you’re a fan of Bradbury, you will like this one. But if you’ve not read his works before, and are expecting a light-hearted read, this isn’t for you. The story follows a group of boys on Halloween, who are trying to save their friend. The setting or structure of the book reminded me of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I enjoyed the book.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

New physical book.

I started this book just a couple of days before Halloween and finished it Halloween night. This book is fairly short, and makes for a quick read. It is spooky, and a perfect demonstration of gothic horror. It’s not like the Netflix series, so you could watch that and still read the book and be surprised by the ending. I really liked it.

Restoring the Shattered: Illustrating Christ’s Love Through the Church in One Accord by Nancy E. Head

New physical book.

If you’re looking for a book that will make you stop and think about the relationships between the Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox churches (and what they should look like), this book is for you. The fundamentals of these churches are the same, and where we differ is quite small in the scheme of things. The author believes that we can attract more people into the Christian churhch and to Christ’s word by working together, rather than by trying to sway believers away from each other’s churches, and I agree with that perspective. A thought-provoking book.

You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience edited by Tarana Burke and Brene Brown

Borrowed Kindle e-book from library using Libby app.

This book is a collection of essays from other writers. Tarana Burke and Brene Brown wrote the introduction and ending. I really liked some of the essays, while others didn’t speak to me in quite the same way. I am glad I read this book, but I’m also not sure that it’s the type of book that a person “enjoys”, if that makes sense.

Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World by Anthony Doerr

New Kindle e-book.

Anthony Doerr is an amazing writer. This is his memoir of living in Rome for one year with infant twins and his wife, while writing All the Light We Cannot See. It captured beautifully the scenery and setting, as well as the exhaustion of early parenthood, and the fear and the fun and the bewilderment of living abroad. It was wonderful.

The Master Plan: My Journey from Life in Prison to a Life of Purpose by Chris Wilson

New Kindle e-book.

The Master Plan is a memoir of Chris Wilson’s life in poverty and in a dangerous neighborhood, then to prison, and his fight to develop a life of purpose, and then how he carried that journey on outside of prison. It’s such a powerful book. I recommend it.

How Can I Be Blessed? by R.C. Sproul

Already owned Kindle e-book.

This book examines the Beatitudes and looking at the Bible’s view of blessings. Really good food for thought, as have all of the other short books in this series.

How Can I Be Right with God? by R.C. Sproul

Already owned Kindle e-book.

This short book looks at the doctrines of justification (by faith alone, or by faith and works) and examines them biblically to determine which is the more accurate perspective.

Originals: How Non-Conformists Change the World by Adam Grant

Borrowed audiobook from library using Libby.

Adam Grant is a genius, and I don’t mean that as an exaggeration. I truly think that he thinks of things in novel ways that can really make me think through them. This book gives real information and examples about how we can best champion new ideas and see them through to fruition. Good stuff.

The Heart of the 5 Love Languages by Gary D. Chapman

Borrowed e-book from library using Libby.

Like most other people, I’d heard about the five love languages over time, and really wanted to learn a little more about them. This was a pretty short book that described them well but also concisely.

Books in Progress:

Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day by Clemency Burton-Hill (Already owned physical book.)

The Stand by Stephen King (Already owned Audible audiobook.)

Influence by Robert B. Cialdini (New Audible audiobook.)

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears (Already owned physical book.)

The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness by Susannah Cahalan (Borrowed Kindle e-book from library using Libby.)

 

Abandoned Books:

Spell Booked by Joyce and Jim Lavene (Borrowed Kindle e-book from library using Libby.)

The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston (Already owned physical book.)

Why We Dream: The Transformative Power of Our Nightly Journey by Alice Robb (Borrowed Kindle e-book from library using Libby.)

The Intentional Entrepreneur: How to Be a Noisebreaker, Not a Noisemaker by Jen Dalton (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything: A Collection of Fascinating Historical, Scientific and Cultural Trivia about People, Places and Things by Mark Jacob (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycleby Emily Nagoski (Borrowed audiobook from library using Libby.)

What’s It Like to Be Married to Me?: And Other Dangerous Questions by Linda Dillow (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goldman (Borrowed audiobook from library using Libby.)

Success Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices; Change Your Life by Tommy Newberry (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

The Juggling Act: Bringing Balance to Your Faith, Family, and Work by Pat Gelsinger (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

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Categories // Uncategorized Tags // 10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything, Adam Grant, Alice Hoffman, Alice Robb, An Instance of the Fingerpost, Anthony Doerr, Brene Brown, Burnout, Charlie N. Holmberg, Chris Wilson, Clemency Burton-Hill, Daniel Goldman, Elly Griffiths, Emily Nagoski, Emotional Intelligence, Four Seasons in Rome, How Can I Be Blessed?, How Can I Be Right With God?, Iain Pears, Influence, Jen Dalton, Jim Lavene, Joyce Lavene, Leaves of Grass, Lev Grossman, Linda Dillow, Mark Jacob, Nancy E. Head, Originals, Pat Gelsinger, Paula Brackston, Practical Magic, R.C. Sproul, Ray Bradbury, Restoring the Shattered, Robert B. Cialdini, Shirley Jackson, Spell Booked, Spellbreaker, Stephen King, Success Is Not An Accident, Susannah Cahalan, Tarana Burke, The Ghost Fields, The Great Pretender, The Halloween Tree, The Haunting of Hill House, The Intentional Entrepreneur, The Juggling Act, The Magicians, The Master Plan, The Stand, The Winter Witch, The Witch's Daughter, Tommy Newberry, Walt Whitman, What's It Like to Be Married to Me? And Other Dangerous Questions, Why We Dream, Year of Wonder, You Are Your Best Thing

April 2017 Reading List

05.01.2017 by Tana Henry //

Every month I try to read at least one book from the following categories: nonfiction, devotional, and fiction. And this year I’m participating in the 2017 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenges, so I’m also going to be listing which category my books fulfill. If you want to join in on the fun, you can check out the list of categories here! This is my April 2017 Reading List, my brief reviews and book recommendations for April 2017. Hopefully I’ll provide you with some inspiration for your future reading as well!

Books Finished:

The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joana Gaines

This book is inspiring and was exactly the right book for me at the time that I read it, a real pallet cleanser. Things have been difficult for me at work lately, and reading Chip and Jo’s descriptions of hard times in their work, as well as how God was present and guided their actions and decisions and the outcomes was a great reminder. The book is an easy and short read. I recommend this book.

The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win by Joel Trachtman

I heard about this book at a conference last fall for trial lawyers (which I am). It was a great reminder of all of the various concepts and arguments that I learned back in law school. It would be a great primer for new lawyers as well.

The American Girl by Kate Horsley

My book club’s April pick, this was unlike every other book that we’ve read so far. I listened to it as an audiobook, and really liked it in that format. The structure of the book is blog posts and video diaries, so it feels very modern, and realistic. The story was exciting and had lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing. I recommend this one.

What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding: A Memoir by Kristin Newman

2017 MMD Reading for Fun Challenge: a juicy memoir

I don’t honestly remember how I heard about this book, but the title made me want to read it. I thought that I may relate to the author, as a 32-year-old woman without children…but I did not. The author wrote about her experiences taking drugs and having sex with random strangers around the world on her travels. I don’t relate to that experience at all. My version of traveling is experiencing the sights, sounds, and local culture, not just hooking up or getting high and missing out on the location visited. And the author mocked her friends who decided to get married or have children, while eventually ending up with a divorced man with two kids. I choose not to have children, but I can understand why others would want to. I didn’t care for this one.

The House by the Lake by Ella Carey

I feel like books like this are exactly in my wheelhouse. I love when historical fiction and a modern-day story meet, as well as examining a time/culture/situation/people in a new way, and this book does that. The plot (protagonist goes to Germany to recover an item that her grandfather left behind in 1940) seems sort of hokey, which the character  even acknowledges sounds far it definitely works.

How Can I Be Blessed? by R.C. Sproul

A short book, it examines each of the Beatitudes, what they mean as well as what they don’t mean. It was helpful,as I find the Beatitudes confusing and difficult to understand. In some respects they seem easy to achieve, and in others, impossible. I appreciated this short but close examination, with examples and anecdotes, enlightening.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2017 MMD Reading for Fun Challenge: a book with a reputation for being un-put-down-able

This was a $1.99 Kindle deal, and had been on my wish list for quite some time, so I snapped it up and read it almost immediately. I previously saw the movie and loved it, but the book truly is even better. The movie stayed pretty true to the story, but there were some changes that would be necessary to cut the story down to a reasonable length movie. The perspectives of the main characters felt authentic. I really loved it!

A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold

I first heard about this book (and the book Columbine, which is on my overdrive waitlist) on the What Should I Read Next podcast. And boy it did not disappoint! The subject matter, and Sue’s description of her meeting with law enforcement and learning in detail about what her son and Eric Harris did, thought, and said is horrifying. But most of the book focuses more on her reaction and the worlds response to Columbine. I also appreciated the amount of research that the book contained, as it was clear that Sue really did everything possible to understand how her son could become a mass murderer. This book is enlightening, and makes you realize that what you thought you knew with respect to The Klebolds and Columbine is probably. Or accurate.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Expurey

So this is a children’s book. But I can’t say that I’d want my nieces or nephew to read it. The story was sort of sweet, until the ending, where it’s sad and horrible, and doesn’t make any sense. I guess I don’t understand why the book is beloved by so many.

 

Books in Progress:

In the Woods by Tana French

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

 

Books I’ve Abandoned:

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill

The Road to Jerusalem: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1967 by Walter Laqueur

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Categories // What I Read Tags // A Mother's Reckoning, All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr, Antoine de Saint-Expurey, Chip and Joana Gaines, Columbine, Ella Carey, How Can I Be Blessed?, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, In the Woods, Joel Trachtman, Joseph O'Neill, Kate Horsley, Kathryn Stockett, Kristin Newman, literature, Netherland, R.C. Sproul, Ramit Sethi, reading list, Sue Klebold, Tana French, The American Girl, The Help, The House by the Lake, The Little Prince, The Magnolia Story, The Road to Jerusalem, The Tools of Argument, Walter Laqueur, What I Read, What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding

My name is Tana, and I am an attorney in South-Central Nebraska. I'm married to a great guy, named Mike, and have a dog named Emmy and a cat named Scout. I read as much as possible, and travel any chance I get. Luggage and Literature chronicles both. I hope you enjoy looking around! Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

HELP KEEP CREATIVITY GOING AND MY MIND AWAKE WHILE READING AND REVIEWING!

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