November Reads

This year I have read 16 books. That hasn’t happened since I was about 12. Thinking about it, I can’t believe there was so much free time this year. When? Granted some were audible and being that I am in the car 5 days a week for at least 2 hours a day, this helped conquer that quest. I wanted to share my favorites with you all. I know it’s hard to find quiet time during the holidays to sit and read but maybe you can put a few of these on your stocking stuffer list.

The Girl On The Train, by Paula Hawkins – Now you probably don’t need me to tell you much about this book. But one thing I recommend is to read it before the movie comes out. The movie is reporting to be a huge hit. Like my mother would always say, the book is better than the movie. I have a feeling this will be just that.

If you love the Housewives series on Bravo then you must read The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year. The title does say it all. Although, I love Andy and never want to think of him as a shallow person. This book will make you laugh all the way through. He’s witty and simply a happy person. He makes me want to move to New York. I binged this book last week since I am heading to New York this Thursday. Andy now made it to my top 3 favorite New Yorkers list. SJP being one and Kelly Ripa the other. I will be on the hunt while in NY for him and his dog Wacha. He mentions a ton of celebrities. If you’re into that sort of thing, you won’t be disappointed. Overall, each day he jots down notes from his day in his diary and shares them with us. It’s unique, sweet, and fun getting to know Andy a little deeper.

Longevity and Body Book, by Cameron Diaz. It’s really hard not to love everything she does. I read both of these books after Beauty Detox. First of all, The Beauty Detox by Kimberly Snyder has changed my entire life. I decided to go full on Vegan after this read. The way Kimberly explains food and how it impacts our bodies, without using a scaring tactic, I no longer wanted anything to do with dairy products. It’s terrible how we treat these precious and fragile bodies that we have. I want to take care of mine the best I can. One day I plan on trying to have babies and I want to host the best home for them. Personally, I feel as though that could start now while I have plenty of time to flush out the sludge in my body and jump-start a healthier eating lifestyle. The part about babies came from reading Longevity by Ms. Cameron. I had no idea she was so brilliant on the topic of body maintenance. She’s done her research and really knows her stuff. I fact checked a lot. My goal for 2017 is to dive into healthier recipes to share with you all. The past 6 months have been spent trying to create new vegan meals. Did you know you actually CAN eat healthier at a cheaper cost? I’ve been keeping a log and this is a real thing. Stay tuned for a lot more of this early next year. I have a lot of easy, healthy recipes coming your way.

The Women In Cabin 10, by Ruth Ware. This book took me on a roller-coaster ride. Just when I thought it was going in one direction, it took a sudden turn and I was shocked by the ending. It’s a quick and easy read that I finished within two plane rides.

Lastly, I want to share the book Love & Respect by Emerson Eggerich. WOW! Talk about blown away. In this book, Emerson, who has studied marriages and counseled couples for his entire career, definitely hit the nail on the head. He talks about the fact that men need to be shown respect by their wives and how women need to feel loved and desired by their husbands. What’s interesting is, I’ve read this book in the past but wasn’t in a relationship nor had I really had a relationship where I thought about marriage. So this book wasn’t a shock to me the first time I read it. I was able to take things from it as a single woman and implement them into my relationships, but those relationships weren’t the right ones. That was a telltale sign that God had a bigger plan for my life. Now that I am dating “The One” The Lord has put into my life to be with, this book makes all the sense in the world. There are some very vulnerable parts to it, some funny parts, as well as moments where the author speaks directly to the men reading and then to the women reading. This book shows us the expectations The Lord has for a husband and a wife. He points everything back to scripture.

I’ll share something very personal with you all. After reading this book seriously the second time, it allowed me to open my heart to my incredible boyfriend and express some clarities I had found within my own heart. I felt I needed to share with him what The Lord revealed to me. As a Christian I yearn to have a heart like my Heavenly Father. While I know I’ll never be perfect, I can strive to be the best He has planned for me. I need to show gratitude when needed. I need to keep my big mouth shut at times so that altercations don’t occur unnecessarily. Sometimes I don’t have to be so dang bossy because it comes across controlling and disrespectful. Overall, the important thing was that I shared with my boyfriend the simple fact that I DO respect the man that he is, his heart for the Lord, and that I see he works hard and strives to one day give us an incredible future.

Yeah, that just got real. It’s a vulnerable place to be in and this only brought us closer to one another. Isn’t that what we all want?

So these are a few of my 2016 reads so far. If there is anything you’ve read and want to share with me, please do. I am always on the hunt for a book to drown into.