Books I've Read & Loved

 I read a lot and always love sharing my favorites. Here are a few of my 5-star picks from the last few months. I will note - these are affiliate links, which means if you purchase, I will receive a very small commission from the seller (*you will not pay any additional amount by using my affiliate link). 

I'll start with some of my favorite recent quilt books. Welcome to Woodberry Way is adorable an is a serious bargain at only $13! I have made a bed runner using a pattern from this book and the instructions were clear and easy to follow. 

This Barn Star Sampler is GORGEOUS. I haven't made the quilt (yet), but it stops me in my tracks every time I see it. I also love these kinds of patterns because I could very easily choose any one of the blocks to make a whole quilt with just that one block, so the possibilities are endless. 

I love Lori Holt's books and this Scrappiness is Happiness book is beautiful. I love a scrappy quilt. I am working on the main quilt from this front cover. One little thing I love about her books is they are spiral bound, which is so convenient so the book stays open and stays flat. 

Another Lori Holt book... Quilters Cottage one is little but the instructions and photos are so clear. I think I will probably make a table runner out of just the house and trees. 

Alright... on to non-quilt books. This new Kristin Hannah book, The Women, is SO good. I could not put it down and loved it so much. It's about the often overlooked role that women played in the Vietnam War and it was so well done and such amazing characters. I also have heard that they are making it into a movie, and I'm sure it will be great, too. She also wrote The Nightingale, and if you haven't read that yet, you should - it's one of the best books ever! 

The Library Book was a really interesting read about the history of libraries and how they have modernized with the times. There was a bit of true crime mixed in and a really interesting look at how the staff of libraries make such a difference in their communities. I loved it and - bonus! - it's under $10!

The Many Lives of Mama Love was not my usual read, but it was really eye opening about how normal, every day moms get involved in addiction and what happens during and after going to prison and rehab. I've mentioned before that I volunteer at my local NICU and have held and helped a lot of babies who have been drug exposed. This book gave me a new perspective. I've often said I started volunteering because I didn't know what to do about homelessness or drug problems in our communities, but I know how to make quilts and hold babies so that's where I will start. I think we all need to do something - anything! - to imrpove our communities in whatever way we can.

On a lighter note, The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks was a much lighter read about a small town book shop and a newcomer who comes in a shakes things up. I almost always love a book set in a bookstore or library and this one is also under $10!

Generations is a non-fiction book that's heavy on statistics, but absolutely fascinating, especially if you are in a position of being in between multiple generations in your family. This book seemed like they interviewed my parents and my kids, it was so spot on in describing them both! I am somewhere in the middle of being a millennial and a generation x, so I didn't fit so neatly into one of these categories, but still found a lot I could relate to. It was particularly interesting to read the author and researcher's opinions on the futures of each generation. 

Hidden Potential was another interesting non-fiction read. I have two teenagers who are getting ready to launch, so I loved reading this book with them in mind. I also got the honor of being on a zoom video call with the author, which was SO cool! He was really fun and funny and clearly loves his job. 

Ann Patchett is one of my favorite authors and she writes beautiful books. Tom Lake was one I listened to on audiobook (while quilting, of course) and it was narrated by Meryl Streep. AMAZING to listen to her voice. So well done!

Speaking of... The Dutch House is an older Ann Patchett book and this one is narrated by Tom Hanks. Who doesn't want to listen to Tom Hank's voice for 10 hours?! The book was great, too, but honestly I could listen to Tom Hanks read the phone book. 

And last but not least, Stars in an Italian Sky was a beautiful book set in both 1946 and 2017, with beautiful characters and lots of twists and turns. I loved this book. 

If you'd like some of my older book recommendations, check out blog posts here and here and here and here. 

These post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my small business. :)