Favorite Reads from 2015

I (Cassie) really enjoy lying in a hammock, ice-cold water in hand, with a book.  The amount of time I am able to read has changed a bit since the arrival of Estela, but I am still flipping pages and making my way through books.  She and I also read a lot together, but the books are a bit shorter and the content is quite different!

For the past few years, I have kept an ongoing list of the books that I have read in a word document.  As I was browsing through the list to write this post, I realized that I did not enjoy a lot of the books that I read this year, so the list is a bit shorter from last years list.  But I hope that you enjoy some of my favorites and I am looking forward to reading some great books in 2016.

  
The Girl on a Train by Paula Hawkins - Intersecting, overlapping, not-quite-what-they-seem lives.  The story is told from three character’s not-to-be-trusted perspectives.  I devoured this book in a couple of days.

Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber – Bolz-Webber shares stories of herself and her congregation of how God works through imperfect people.  I was unsure if I would find this book to be too similar to her first, but I was pleased to find new and touching stories of how God is working in our world.

Parenting from the Inside Out by Daniel Siegel and Mary Hartzell – This book explores the extent to which our childhood experiences shape the way we parent.  Drawing on stunning new findings in neurobiology and attachment research, the authors explain how interpersonal relationships directly impact the development of the brain, and offer parents a step-by-step approach to forming a deeper understanding of their own life stories, which will help them raise compassionate and resilient children.  This was an excellent read as a brand-new parent.

Rising Strong by Brene Brown - Social worker Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness.  Rising Strong is a book of stories about people being brave, falling down and rising back up.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose.  My heart was not ready for this beautiful and unexpected love story.  It may cause you to question your beliefs on euthanasia.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell – Don’t let the stigma of “books for teens” fool or deter you. Eleanor and Park is written about teens, sure, but the themes are so universal that anyone.  This is another love story that had me crying.