Fall 2020 Books I can't wait to get my hands on!

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Books. Books. Books!

It is no secret that I love books. Since I went silent on y’all for awhile as I processed all that is 2020 (and rebuilt my website), I’ve had some more time to peruse the shelves of my own home. It’s been such a delight to start reading some of the titles I hadn’t had time for yet.

Coming back to work on this book roundup though was so incredibly fun. I had no idea how much I missed looking up to see what new books are coming out soon. It’s always been my virtual way of exploring the endless shelves of books when I can’t get to a bookstore or just discovering new titles.

There’s a ton of books that have captured my eye this season, and I’m so excited to get my hands on them. I’m super intentional with the ones that I share here. I end up looking through hundreds if not thousands of titles. I lean to the book hoarder-y side of life - which I don’t believe is a bad thing at all - but I do try to narrow this list down to the ones that I’d try to carry all at once to a bookstore register.

These are the ones that I’ll probably gush about over coffee to my friends:

  • The Bible Recap is the study I’ve been doing this year via The Bible Recap podcast. It’s a full Bible reading plan that has a daily podcast digest to go along with the reading. This book takes all of those podcasts and turns them into a written form. I adore the way Tara weaves things together and points out things that I didn’t notice - like grace in the Old Testament.

  • Forgiving What You Can’t Forget is totally already on my Christmas list! I can’t wait to read this since I loved her books, Uninvited + It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way. This book feels like it’s a third in a trilogy of these three as they navigate both Lysa’s life and some truly hard things we all encounter.

  • More Power to You is written by Margaret Feinberg. She authored both Taste and See as well as Scouting the Divine. My mom gave me both of these books for Christmas last year, and they’ve already become two of my favorite books. They are chock-full with wisdom and insights about things in our world like salt, grapes, and sheep and are interwoven in the pages of scripture. I seriously love them and think they should be on anyone’s reading list.

Happy preordering, waiting, and reading, friends! And if you’re searching for a book that you can get your hands on sooner or looking for one of my past recommendations, here’s my last book roundup, or you can peruse the entire series of books that have piqued my interest here.



 

September 8 – The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr

In the tradition of Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore's Dilemma, an extraordinary investigation into the human lives at the heart of the American grocery store

The miracle of the supermarket has never been more apparent. Like the doctors and nurses who care for the sick, suddenly the men and women who stock our shelves and operate our warehouses are understood as 'essential' workers, providing a quality of life we all too easily take for granted. But the sad truth is that the grocery industry has been failing these workers for decades.

In this page-turning expose, author Benjamin Lorr pulls back the curtain on the highly secretive grocery industry. Combining deep sourcing, immersive reporting, and sharp, often laugh-out-loud prose, Lorr leads a wild investigation, asking what does it take to run a supermarket? How does our food get on the shelves? And who suffers for our increasing demands for convenience and efficiency? In this journey:

  •  We learn the secrets of Trader Joe's success from Trader Joe himself
  •  Drive with truckers caught in a job they call "sharecropping on wheels"
  •  Break into industrial farms with activists to learn what it takes for a product to earn certification labels like "fair trade" and "free range"
  •  Follow entrepreneurs as they fight for shelf space, learning essential tips, tricks, and traps for any new food business
  •  Journey with migrants to examine shocking forced labor practices through their eyes

The product of five years of research and hundreds of interviews across every level of the business, The Secret Life of Groceries is essential reading for those who want to understand our food system--delivering powerful social commentary on the inherently American quest for more and compassionate insight into the lives that provide it.

 

September 15 – Welcome Home: A Cozy Minimalist Guide to Decorating and Hosting All Year Round by Myquillyn Smith

Decorating for each season doesn't have to be overwhelming or expensive. Your home can be festive, stylish, and cozy with minimal effort and a limited budget--just ask The Nester! In Welcome Home, Myquillyn Smith guides you through creating and enjoying a seasonally decorated home with more style and less stuff.

No matter what the world says, embracing the seasons does not require bins of factory-made décor or loads of time. In fact, it's possible to decorate for each season without frustration, going overboard, or blowing your budget.

Drawing from the cozy-minimalist principles in Cozy Minimalist Home, stylist and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Myquillyn Smith will help you create a home that's fresh, meaningful, beautiful, and (bonus!) always ready to host. With engaging how-tos and inspiring photos, she guides you step by step through purposeful design decisions to cultivate a space where loved ones gather, meaningful connections are celebrated, and lasting memories are made.

Myquillyn's realistic and down-to-earth design tips will teach you how to:

  • Seasonalize your living spaces with simple, actionable steps

  • Cultivate easy, seasonal rhythms of change in your home

  • Incorporate the beauty of the natural world through the five senses

  • Feel confident in volunteering your house for gatherings, parties, and impromptu get-togethers

  • Know what to focus on and what not to worry about as a relaxed and confident hostess

Bigger than the latest and greatest trends, Welcome Home aims to usher in the seasons without using more resources, money, or stuff than needed.

 

September 15 – Brave(Ish): A Memoir of a Recovering Perfectionist by Margaret Davis Ghielmetti

At forty, Margaret quits her sales job to follow her husband’s hotel career to Paris. She’s setting sail on this adventure with a glass half full of bravery, a well-traveled passport, a journal in which she plans to write her novel, and the mentally engrained Davis Family Handbook of Rules to Live By.

Everyone tells Margaret she’s living the dream, but she feels adrift without a professional identity. Desperate to feel productive and valued, she abandons her writing and throws herself into new roles: perfect wife, hostess, guide, and expatriate. When she and her husband move to Cairo, however, the void inside she’s been ignoring threatens to engulf her. It’s clear that something needs to change, so she does the one thing she was raised never to do: asks for―and accepts―help.

Over the next fifteen years abroad, the cultures of Egypt, Thailand, and Singapore confront Margaret with lessons she never would have learned at home. But it’s only when they move back to Chicago―with Margaret now stepping into the role of perfect caretaker to her parents―that she has to decide once and for all: will she dare to let go of the old rules and roles she thinks keep her safe in order to step into her own life and creative destiny?

 

September 15 – The Home Edit Life: The No-Guilt Guide to Owning What YOu Want aNd Organizing Everything by Clear Searer + Joanna Teplin

The New York Times bestselling authors of The Home Edit and stars of the upcoming Netflix series Get Organized with The Home Edit teach you how to apply their genius, holistic approach to your work life, on-the-go necessities, and technology.

At home or on the go, you don't have to live like a minimalist to feel happy and calm. The Home Edit mentality is all about embracing your life--whether you're a busy mom, a roommate living with three, or someone who's always traveling for work. You just need to know how to set up a system that works for you.

In the next phase of the home organizing craze, Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin go beyond the pantry and bookshelf to show you how to contain the chaos in all aspects of your life, from office space and holiday storage to luggage and pet supplies. Get to know your organizing style, tailor it to your family's lifestyle, and lead the low-guilt life as you apply more genius ideas to every aspect of your life.

Clea and Joanna are here to remind you that "it's okay to own things" in the quest for pretty and smart spaces. With The Home Edit Life, you'll soon be corralling phone cords, archiving old photos, arranging your phone apps by color, and packing your suitcase like a pro.

 

September 15 – How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs by Guy Raz

Based on the highly acclaimed NPR podcast, How I Built This with Guy Raz, this book offers priceless insights and inspiration from the world’s top entrepreneurs on how to start, launch, and build a successful venture.

Great ideas often come from a simple spark: A soccer player on the New Zealand national team notices all the unused wool his country produces and figures out a way to turn them into shoes (Allbirds). A former Buddhist monk decides the very best way to spread his mindfulness teachings is by launching an app (Headspace). A sandwich cart vendor finds a way to reuse leftover pita bread and turns it into a multimillion-dollar business (Stacy’s Pita Chips).
 
Award-winning journalist and NPR host Guy Raz has interviewed more than 200 highly successful entrepreneurs to uncover amazing true stories like these. In How I Built This, he shares tips for every entrepreneur’s journey: from the early days of formulating your idea, to raising money and recruiting employees, to fending off competitors, to finally paying yourself a real salary. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever dreamed of starting their own business or wondered how trailblazing entrepreneurs made their own dreams a reality.

 

October 1 – Writers Inspiring Writers: Insight From Famous Writers To Keep You Writing 365 Days a Year by Matthew Kelly

Anyone who has ever tried to write regularly knows how difficult it can be at times. Getting started is perhaps the hardest part of all. We all need to be inspired from time to time, or perhaps it is that we all need a little inspiration every day.

This is a collection of inspirational and educational quotes from hundreds of writers designed to provide the daily inspiration required to start writing, to keep writing, to access your best ideas, and to have the courage to write them boldly.

The creative process is different for every writer, but every writer benefits from learning about how other writers approach a project or simply tackle the day. Writers Inspiring Writers is a fabulous companion for any writer!

Includes quotes and insights from Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King, Stephenie Meyer, J.K. Rowling, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie, Flannery O'Connor, Oscar Wilde, Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Elizabeth Gilbert, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, Harper Lee, Walt Disney, Charles Dickens, Robert Frost, C.S. Lewis, Shakespeare, John Steinbeck, and more!

 

October 6 – The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

In the vein of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Life After Life, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab’s genre-defying tour de force.

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever―and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

 

October 6 – More Power To You: Declarations to Break Free from Fear and Take Back Your Life by Margaret Feinberg

Each of the 52 devotions in More Power to You by Bible teacher Margaret Feinberg examines a popular lie in our culture, helps us understand how that lie shows itself in our lives, and invites us to replace that lie with a biblical affirmation of truth that will bring joy to your soul.

In a culture that constantly tells us we're not good enough, not beautiful enough, and not doing enough, it's easy to feel as if we have nothing to offer. Lies about who we are and how we are failing slip into our thinking until we believe they are reality. But that's not what God intends for us.

In More Power to You, Margaret Feinberg exposes these false beliefs and shows you that the places of your deepest hurts can become wellsprings of your greatest healing. Here Margaret shares the daily practice that has been so life changing for her: the 90-Second Daily Declaration Challenge. You'll launch into each day by reading the Daily Declaration aloud, paying attention to what the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you. Then you'll read through the weekly devotions that examine each line of the Daily Declaration, exploring the what and the why behind those biblical truths. These brief but powerful devotions are designed to unleash the true you--and remind you of who you really are.

More Power to You equips you to embrace your true identity every day. You'll find power in knowing you are already worthy in God's eyes. As you begin to live out that truth, you will break free from the negative thoughts that hold you hostage and experience the joyous life God wants for you.

 

October 13 – Searching for Certainty: Finding God in the Disruptions of Life by Shelly Miller

We all long for certainty in life, yet things often don't go as we expect. When facing illness, job loss, strained relationships, and other struggles, our impulse is to question God and strive to fix things ourselves.

In this book, Shelly Miller, a trusted ministry leader, explores how difficult times can actually be purposeful times of spiritual growth. Weaving the exodus story from the Bible with her own story, she shares how to focus on God rather than trying to overcome challenges in our own limited strength. Each chapter features a simple spiritual practice to help us enjoy the peace and security that is only possible through Christ. Uncertain seasons will soon be translated as an aha instead of an oh no.

 

October 13 – They Never Learn by Laybe Fargo

From the author of the “raw, ingenious, and utterly fearless” (Wendy Walker, USA TODAY bestselling author) Temper comes a dynamic psychological thriller about two women who give bad men exactly what they deserve.

Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor. But she’s even better at getting away with murder.

Every year, she searches for the worst man at Gorman University and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she’s avoided drawing attention to herself—but as she’s preparing for her biggest kill yet, the school starts probing into the growing body count on campus. Determined to keep her enemies close, Scarlett insinuates herself into the investigation and charms the woman in charge, Dr. Mina Pierce. Everything’s going according to her master plan…until she loses control with her latest victim, putting her secret life at risk of exposure.

Meanwhile, Gorman student Carly Schiller is just trying to survive her freshman year. Finally free of her emotionally abusive father, all Carly wants is to focus on her studies and fade into the background. Her new roommate has other ideas. Allison Hadley is cool and confident—everything Carly wishes she could be—and the two girls quickly form an intense friendship. So when Allison is sexually assaulted at a party, Carly becomes obsessed with making the attacker pay...and turning her fantasies about revenge into a reality.

Featuring Layne Fargo’s trademark “propulsive writing style” (Kirkus Reviews) and “sinister, of the moment” (Chicago Review of Books) suspense, They Never Learn is a feminist serial killer story perfect for fans of Killing Eve and Chelsea Cain.

 

October 27 – Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South by Rick Bragg

From the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All Over but the Shoutin' and The Best Cook in the World, a collection of his irresistible columns from Southern Living and Garden & Gun

A collection of wide-ranging and endearingly personal columns by the celebrated author, newspaper columnist, and Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg, culled from his best-loved pieces in Southern Living and Garden & Gun.

From his love of Tupperware ("My Affair with Tupperware") to the decline of country music, from the legacy of Harper Lee to the metamorphosis of the pickup truck, the best way to kill fire ants, the unbridled excess of Fat Tuesday, and why any self-respecting southern man worth his salt should carry a good knife, Where I Come From is an ode to the stories and the history of the Deep South, written with tenderness, wit, and deep affection--a book that will be treasured by fans old and new.

 

November 3 – The bible recap: A one-year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible by Tara-Leigh Cobble

Have you ever closed your Bible and thought, What did I just read? Or maybe you have tried to read through the Bible in a year, but quit when it felt confusing or impersonal. The Bible Recap is here to help. Tara-Leigh Cobble, host of the popular Bible Recap podcast, walks readers through a one-year chronological Bible reading plan and explains each day's passage in an easy-to-understand way.

Emphasizing how God's character can be seen throughout Scripture, the recaps are simple and short yet deep enough to help you understand the hard parts and press into knowing God better. As Cobble says, The primary role of Scripture is to show me who God is, and if I behold God, my life will naturally conform around what I learn about him. The Bible Recap will not only help you understand the entire narrative of the Bible, it will fortify your faith.

 

November 3 – Silent Night by Nell Pattison

What happened while they were sleeping?

A school for the deaf takes an overnight trip to the snowy woods. Five teenagers go to sleep, but only four wake up. Leon is missing, and a teacher’s body is found in the forest…

Sign language interpreter Paige Northwood is brought in to help with interrogations. Everyone at the school has a motive for murder – but they all have an alibi.  

As Paige becomes increasingly involved, she suspects there’s something sinister going on. With the clock ticking to find Leon, only one thing is certain: the killer is among them, and ready to strike again…

 

November 10 – Little Threats by Emily Schultz

Both a taut whodunit and a haunting snapshot of the effects of a violent crime, Little Threats tells the story of a woman who served fifteen years in prison for murder...and now it's time to find out if she's guilty.

In the summer of 1993, twin sisters Kennedy and Carter Wynn are embracing the grunge era and testing every limit in their privileged Richmond suburb. But Kennedy's teenage rebellion goes too far when, after a night of partying in the woods, her best friend, Haley, is murdered, and suspicion quickly falls upon Kennedy. She can't remember anything about the night in question, and this, along with the damning testimony from a college boy who both Kennedy and Haley loved, is enough to force Kennedy to enter a guilty plea.

In 2008, Kennedy is released into a world that has moved on without her. Carter has grown distant as she questions Kennedy's innocence, and begins a relationship with someone who could drive the sisters apart forever. The twins' father, Gerry, is eager to protect the family's secrets and fragile bonds. But Kennedy's return brings the tragedy back to the surface, along with a whole new wave of media. When a crime show host comes to town asking questions, believing the murder wasn't as simple as it seemed, murky memories of Haley's death come to light. As new suspects emerge and the suburban woods finally give up their secrets, two families may be destroyed again.

 

November 17 – Forgiving What You Can’t Forget: Discover How to Move On, Make Peace with Painful Memories, and Create a Life That’s Beautiful Again by Lysa Terkeurst

You deserve to stop suffering because of what other people have done to you.

Have you ever felt stuck in a cycle of unresolved pain, playing offenses over and over in your mind? You know you can't go on like this, but you don't know what to do next. Lysa TerKeurst has wrestled through this journey. But in surprising ways, she’s discovered how to let go of bound-up resentment and overcome the resistance to forgiving people who aren’t willing to make things right.

With deep empathy, therapeutic insight, and rich Bible teaching coming out of more than 1,000 hours of theological study, Lysa will help you:

  • Learn how to move on when the other person refuses to change and never says they're sorry.

  • Walk through a step-by-step process to free yourself from the hurt of your past and feel less offended today.

  • Discover what the Bible really says about forgiveness and the peace that comes from living it out right now.

  • Identify what's stealing trust and vulnerability from your relationships so you can believe there is still good ahead.

  • Disempower the triggers hijacking your emotions by embracing the two necessary parts of forgiveness.

 

November 24 – Stuff You Should KNow: An Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things by Josh Clark + Chuck Bryant

From the duo behind the massively successful and award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know comes an unexpected look at things you thought you knew.

Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant started the podcast Stuff You Should Know back in 2008 because they were curious―curious about the world around them, curious about what they might have missed in their formal educations, and curious to dig deeper on stuff they thought they understood.

As it turns out, they aren't the only curious ones. They've since amassed a rabid fan base, making Stuff You Should Know one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Armed with their inquisitive natures and a passion for sharing, they uncover the weird, fascinating, delightful, or unexpected elements of a wide variety of topics.

The pair have now taken their near-boundless "whys" and "hows" from your earbuds to the pages of a book for the first time―featuring a completely new array of subjects that they’ve long wondered about and wanted to explore. Each chapter is further embellished with snappy visual material to allow for rabbit-hole tangents and digressions―including charts, illustrations, sidebars, and footnotes. Follow along as the two dig into the underlying stories of everything from the origin of Murphy beds, to the history of facial hair, to the psychology of being lost.

Have you ever wondered about the world around you, and wished to see the magic in everyday things? Come get curious with Stuff You Should Know. With Josh and Chuck as your guide, there’s something interesting about everything (…except maybe jackhammers).

 
 
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