No.462: My Latest Reads // November 2020

This post contains affiliate links.
P.S. I highly recommend Book Outlet! Use my link to receive $10 off your first order of $25 or more. Have you heard of Bookshop?  They are an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores.  I hope you’ll check them out!

ALSO!  From Black Friday (11/27) through Cyber Monday (11/30), Bookshop is offering free standard shipping!  You can find a bunch of my favorite books here.

#73. STILL ALICE by Lisa Genova || ★★★★☆ A quick fictional read about a woman diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s.  Heartbreaking and thought-provoking.  3.5 stars, rounded up.

#74. CONSECRATION TO ST. JOSEPH: THE WONDERS OF OUR SPIRITUAL FATHER by Donald H. Calloway, MIC || ★★★★★ I really, really enjoyed this and learned so much throughout the 33 days of preparation.  

#75. HUNGRY SOULS: SUPERNATURAL VISITS, MESSAGES AND WARNINGS FROM PURGATORY by Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg || ★★★★☆ If there was such a thing as a kinda spooky religious book, this is it!  Perfect for October and November, but also an important read for understanding the concept and purpose of Purgatory.  I learned a lot.

#76. THE PUSH by Claire McGowan || ★★☆☆☆ The Push is a thriller that chronicles a detective as she investigates a falling death at a party.  It was a quick read and had an intriguing premise, but I figured out most of the twists early in the book.  This one was just okay for me.  (Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.  The Push was officially released on November 12, 2020.)

#77. THE TURN OF THE KEY by Ruth Ware || ★★★☆☆ A creepy page turner that had me up way too late!  I can’t give details for fear of spoilers, but I didn’t care for the ending.  Solid three star read.

#78. THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS by Vanessa Diffenbaugh || ★★★★☆ Four stars is probably a bit too high of a rating for this one, so maybe a 3.5?  I liked the writing and really rooted for the main character (a life-long foster kid emancipated out of the system at 18), but some parts were a little far-fetched to be truly believable. I enjoyed it anyway.

#79. INSIDE THE LIGHT: UNDERSTANDING THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA by Sr. Angela de Fatima Coelho || ★★★☆☆

If we know we are beloved children of God, we should be able to live a life free of fear.  God will not abandon us.  This is one of the most important things that we learn from Fatima: that no matter what, our Father will not abandon us.  That doesn’t mean he takes all our crosses away – he did not even take away the cross from his own Son – but the Father was there with him through it all.  From the experience of Jesus, we understand that suffering will always be a part of our life but that God suffers with us. (p.61)

This brand new book is a hard one to rate.  Some chapters I loved, but she also dealt with a few topics in a way that was just ambiguous enough to be confusing.  I definitely want to read a bit more on the Fatima apparitions to compare and contrast.  

_________________________

MY READING IN NUMBERS FOR 2020