August and September Books:

I’m going to start with the books that I read in August and September!

The first one may be one of my favorites of the year! “Vera Wong’s Unsolicited advice for Murderers” by Jesse Q Sutano was SO good! It was funny and sweet and I loved the characters. Apparently it is in the works to be made into a movie which I cannot wait for. I immediately followed up with the authors other books “Dial A for Aunties” and I loved that one too! Not as much as Vera but it was still good. The sequel to aunties was a little bit of a let down though. The antics just got to be too much.

I think I’ve decided that Lisa Jewell is just not for me. I read “None of This is True” because there was so much hype about the twistiness of it but was let down. I feel like it could have been more clever. I will say the audio version was very well done. It was told as a podcast and made a good book to listen to while on a road trip.

“The Five Star Weekend” by Elin Hilderbrand was fine. I liked it more than some of her books but it wasn’t anything that will stay with me.

I really liked “The Drowning Woman” by Robyn Harding. As a thriller it was compelling and I read it in two days. I actually didn’t see most of the twists coming. I heard the audio version is good too.

I listened to “Tell Me Everything” which is Minka Kelly’s memoir and wow what a story. She had a crazy childhood and I really liked how she told it. I really prefer to listen to audio anytime it’s a memoir read by the author.

I was really disappointed in “The Honeymoon Crashers” by Christina Lauren. I really liked the “Unhoneymooners” and this didn’t live up to it as a sequel. It is an audio only book which was a cool experience because it was highly produced.

William Kent Kruger has become one of my favorite authors. “Ordinary Grace” was so well done. It was sad and hopeful and I just really liked it.

“The Things We Leave Unfinished” by Rebecca Yaros was really forget-able. It was trying to be really poignant but fell a little short.

I’m a little late to the game but I LOVED Andy Weir’s “The Martian”! I also loved “Project Hail Mary” and don’t know why it took so long to read this one. I really wish there was a young readers version. I think it would be a great lesson for kids about using science to survive. I think my son would love the way the main characters personality was told too. I immediately watched the movie and loved it too.

Favorite Recipes I made This Month!

These Thai Beef Basil Rolls were so good! Such a different take on egg rolls.

This Apple Cider Braised Pork Shoulder was pretty good. I think it needed something else but I can’t decide what yet. I used the instant pot to braise it and it worked well. Really yummy over mashed potatoes.

This is my go-to chili recipe! I have tried many different kinds over the years and this one is really fool proof! I can even go easy on the chili powder for kiddos. I like to add a little cinnamon sometimes too.

If you need a perfect fall recipe this is it! This Pumpkin risotto has been on rotation every fall for a while now.

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