In 2023, I set a goal to finish one book per week. I’m aiming to listen to 30 minutes of an audiobook per day (while cooking, cleaning, and/or driving) and read 10 minutes of a book. By doing this, I hope to fairly easily be able to finish one book per week.
You can follow along on GoodReads to see what I’m reading, what books I finish, and the star rating I give each of them.
Book #2 of 2023: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
This is a book I never would have picked up on my own, but it came so highly recommended by multiple people that I decided to try it because it was free to listen to on Libby. I’m so glad I did because it is one of those books that will stick with you for a long time.
This book explores not only the Pack Horse Librarian Project that was started by Roosevelt’s New Deal — a project dedicated to bringing literary to people who lived far away from access to libraries — but it also dives deep into the Blue People.
I had never heard of either the Pack Horse Librarian Project or the Blue People and the book inspired me to dig deeper into both of them. It was fascinating and heartbreaking to learn about.
If you enjoy well-researched historical fiction about important pieces of history that aren’t widely known/talked about (at least I’d never heard of either!), this would be a good read. It does have some language and a few more adult-themed sections, but overall was well worth the time I invested listening to it.
I felt like the story was slow in parts and skipped around a little, but it was still moving and drew you in. I’m giving it 4 stars because of what I learned from it and because I’ve talked about it multiple times with multiple people since listening to it — which always signifies to me that a book resonated with me.
If you’ve read or listened to it, I’d love to know what you thought!
Rating: 4 stars
Children’s Book Suggestion: The Oak Inside the Acorn
This book was recently given to us as a gift for David’s adoption and we’ve since read it almost every single night before bed. Kierstyn calls it the “Acorn Book” and requests it very often!
It’s a beautiful story to remind us that we aren’t all called to be the same thing, but that if we let God use us in the ways He has gifted us, we can make a big impact. It’s a simple story with beautiful pictures and deep meaning.
Note: This is a longer book… but one that is great to read before bed because Kierstyn sometimes will fall asleep while listening because it has multiple paragraphs on some of the pages! 