Today I am linking up with the amazing Modern Mrs. Darcy to tell you What I’ve Been Reading Lately. This is a super fun link up that I used to participate in monthly but it has been ages since I have so… I am just going to talk about a few of the books that I have read and loved this fall.

Hum If You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais

I finished this title awhile ago but I’m still thinking about the characters and the world in which they lived. This story, set in apartheid-era South Africa, brings two families together through tragedy. I learned a lot while reading and the story really made me think.

Young Jane Young by by Gabrielle Zevin

Young Jane Young is a fun page turner based loosely on the Monica Lewinsky scandal. This was my first selection from the Bookshelf Thomasville Shelf Subscription. I did really enjoy it but I wanted it to be more like The Hopefuls which was a favorite of mine from the summer.

The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

This book deserves a post of it’s own and it will get one later on this month. Gretchen Rubin touched on her personality framework in an early work and I had myself pegged very clearly as an obliger (a person who meets outer expectations but resists inner expectations). After talking about this framework with a friend last week, I came to an alarming discovery. I am pretty sure I am a rebel. Who knew!? As I said, more to come on this one.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

I loved Ng’s latest so much that it got it’s own review. Click here to see what I thought about this family drama.

What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan

We discussed this book as part of our middle school’s parent-teacher book group. I have to admit that I probably would have avoided reading this one were it not for a bookclub. Fagan tells the true story of Maddy, a young girl who dies by suicide. Maddy grew up a few towns away from ours and until the very end of her story, she could be any one of many girls we know. I will also be writing more about Maddy down the road as this story has filled my mind ever since I finished the last page.