September & October Books

Whew, I'm squeezing this post in at the last minute right before November ends! My two month total for books read in September and October was 11 books. While I only really loved one of the new-to-me fiction books I read on this list, I very much enjoyed both of the nonfiction books I read in September and October. I'm not fast at reading nonfiction, but I enjoy finding a book about an interesting topic, and diving in. I usually read a little nonfiction each day while I eat lunch. This is a no-frills, no-quotes post, since I was not in quote-saving mode during cross country season. 

[* = re-read]

Fiction:

1. *The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King: Mary Russell books will always be on my re-read list. Love them. I listened to three of them on our many long school bus rides during cross country season.
2. Complete by Kortney Kiesel: a falling for your best friend trope, sweet but also a tad frustrating because of the lack of communication between the characters. And when they finally acknowledged that they liked each other it was this weird persuasion thing where the guy was too scared to mess up the friendship with love and the girl was trying to convince him. Not a super satisfying conclusion, haha.
3. *A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King: Mary Russell book 2
4. What the Doctor Ordered by Janette Ralliston: fun sweet little love story about a girl who goes to take care of her great aunt for a summer and clashes with her great aunt's doctor.
5. Raymie Nightingale by Kate Dicamillo: sweet soulful middle grade book about a girl who misses her father, and all of the adventures she has trying to reach out to him.
6. *A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King: Mary Russell book 3
7. The Even Odder Couple by Julie Christianson: silly rom-com book set at a summer camp. The camp director has her friend/secret crush help out at the camp and it is kind of an unbelievable situation, with the town mayor monitoring the camp? I've never heard of town-sponsored summer camp before. Whatever. It was a perfectly fine story, the newest release in a series that I have enjoyed.
8. Censor-shipped by Savannah Scott: another silly rom-com book. Small town love story of a guy who falls in love with his best friend's younger sister. Ok. Not amazing, not bad. 4th book in this series.
9. The Peach Rebellion by Wendelin Van Draanen: if I had to choose my favorite book out of this list of fiction, it would be this one--Wendelin's newest book, released in August I believe. It is well-written and even though it's set in the late 1940s, it has some very applicable themes to the current world and I loved how accessible it was. Wendelin has a genius for profoundness through youthful voices and experiences. This book is about two friends: a girl whose family owns a peach farm, and a girl whose family were dust bowl refugees and are finally able to settle down in a permanent house again after a decade on the move searching for work. Highly reccommend.

Nonfiction:

1.  Two Part Invention: the story of a Marriage by Madeline L'Engle: beautiful memoir of her marriage with thoughtful insights and a sweet perspective. She wrote this as her husband was dying of cancer, and it really made me think about the wonder of a strong happy marriage partnership. 
2. High Conflict: why we get trapped and how we get out by Amanda Ripley. Fascinating read about conflict with studies and red flags to watch for. This book taught me so much--as a conflict-avoider, I really appreciated the tools to keep conflict minimal and healthy rather than letting it get inflamed and run away out of control.
   
   -Most informative tidbit: one of the hallmarks of high conflict is that it collapses and simplifies the issue into a very limited binary of us vs. them, removing all of the complex nuances that are present on both sides. The solution: keep it complicated! Don't use absolutes like never and always; stay curious and connect to different parts of the people involved rather than flattening them into crazies who only think one thing. LOVED that insight.
   
   -My other favorite takeaway from High Conflict was a listening technique called "looping," which is when one person listens to the other person's thoughts/feelings, then repeats back what the person said. This technique helps the sharing side to feel validated as well as communicate their feelings more accurately. Studies show that most people don't express their exact thoughts on the first try, so looping helps them hear what they said and then correct it. Both sides come away with better understanding. LOVE THIS IDEA. This book feels necessary and medicinal for any Americans who have felt any political indignation over the past few years.