I had an EXCELLENT reading month with a range of books that I can’t wait to share with you today. There’s a lot of ’em, so let’s jump right to the reviews.
NONFICTION
Every Day I Read, by Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books, by Hwang Bo-reum: If there’s one thing we book lovers enjoy almost as much as reading, it’s talking about and reflecting on our reading lives! Here, author Hwang Bo-Reum dedicates 53 essays to doing just that. In this collection, we are given dozens of prompts reflecting on all aspects of reading, from our purpose for reading to the types of books we choose, how we interact with the text and share it with others, the relationships between our inner lives and what we see on the page, and more.
I liked the idea of this book more than the execution. I think this would be a great fit for someone new to reading who needs help getting excited about books and the reading life; as someone for whom reading is already an avid hobby—and who already does quite a bit of bookish reflection—it felt a little redundant.
I will say that Bo-Reum offers some good discussion points, but I struggled to connect with her writing style (possibly a translation issue, as this was originally published in Bo-Reum’s native Korean). I also found Bo-Reum’s book choices and selected quotes somewhat pretentious. Bo-Reum is a very different type of reader than me, and that’s fine, but it was hard to see myself (or most readers) in the life of this author who, as a childless single adult still living in her parents’ home, is able to design her entire world around books.
My Rating: 3.5 Stars (Rounded to 3 Stars on Goodreads) // Book Format: Kindle
How to Be a Saint: An Extremely Weird and Mildly Sacrilegious History of The Catholic Church’s Biggest Names, by Kate Sidley: As a Protestant Christian, I’ve always been intrigued but also baffled by the concept of Sainthood. I never thought the answers to my many questions would come in the form of a tongue-in-cheek “how-to” guide from an irreverent comedy writer, but after hearing the glowing recommendation from Meredith on the Currently Reading podcast, I knew this was just the book for me. How to Be a Saint offers a surprisingly informative deep-dive into the history of Catholicism and the “five easy-ish steps” to securing sainthood, from death to life investigation to miracles. We journey through the biographies and works of many actual saints, exploring their (sometimes outlandish) lives and examining many of the quirks of sainthood and Catholicism, with cheeky lists and snarky commentary sprinkled throughout.
This book surprised me in every way, beginning with the vast amount of information and shocking factoids that Sidley manages to fit into such a short tome. I loved the blending of religious history and doctrinal analysis and learned SO MUCH about a branch of Christianity that can feel somewhat foreign to me. The humor and tone were also a big surprise (even a little shocking), and I know the satire won’t be for everyone as Sidley (who was raised Catholic but who seems to have a decidedly non-Biblical worldview) is quick to lovingly poke fun at the idiosyncrasies of her religion. As a non-Catholic, I didn’t have a problem with the irreverent humor and sarcasm that is directed more at Catholicism than Christianity itself, but I am not sure how well it would sit with a devout Catholic.
For the right reader, this is a fun and fascinating read with a clever and accessible approach to an overwhelming and often-dry topic. I’ll wish every book on theology or history was this entertaining!
My Rating: 4 Stars // Book Format: Audiobook
Cold-Case Christianity, A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels, by J. Warner Wallace: As a renowned homicide detective, former atheist J. Warner Wallace was no stranger to the process of piecing together evidence, analyzing the facts, and applying critical thinking skills to solve a cold case. So when, at the age of 35, Wallace reluctantly attended church for the first time and had an inkling that what he was hearing might be true, he did what he’d always done best: he began to investigate.
From his years of experience interviewing thousands of eyewitnesses and suspects, Wallace was able to recognize that the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life resembled ancient eyewitness accounts. And so, with great skepticism, he began applying his fine-tuned investigation and scrutinization techniques to the claims of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. Eventually his investigation led to the undeniable conclusion that the Gospels were true. And in Cold-Case Christianity, he shows his work.
The first portion of the book teaches readers how to be a detective as Wallace explains important principles that every detective must master (such as learning to apply adductive reasoning, respecting the nature of circumstantial evidence, and evaluating the reliability of an eye witness). The second half of the book examines the specific evidence within the Gospels, applying investigation questions to the first four books of the Bible with questions such as: Were the Gospel writers authentic eyewitnesses? Are their testimonies corroborated? Are they accurate or biased? The book concludes by asking readers to decide for ourselves whether we will choose to believe and defend the truth.
I have read numerous books on apologetics, so the ideas presented here were not new to me, but I LOVED this approach and learned just as much about homicide investigations and criminal law as I did about the authority and authenticity of Scripture. And I enjoyed getting into some of the history behind the early church and how the Bible came together. We get into the nitty gritty details of the Gospel writers, their purpose and approach, and how the books work together to offer the most reliable and complete portrait of Christ. It was fascinating to analyze some aspects of the Bile that I’ve always taken for granted—joining Wallace in an exercise of assuming the stance of a skeptic and then arriving at a strong case for Bible’s veracity—and the process ignited a renewed awe for the Lord and His Word.
The writing here was clever enough to hold my attention (with lots of detailed stories from Wallace’s detective days) but simple enough for the newest of Christians (and skeptics) to follow along. I highly recommend this one for logic-minded skeptics who are examining the credibility of the Christian faith, or for believers like me who love knowing the evidence backing the beliefs we’ve held for quite some time. Luke and Charleston are currently reading Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ (also excellent) and I’m recommending that they make this the next stop on their tour of apologetics literature.
My Rating: 4.5 Stars (Rounded to 5 Stars on Goodreads) // Book Format: Audiobook
FICTION
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 7, by Beth Brower: I’m so happy to have brought Emma with me into 2026! This series has taken the bookish community by storm, and it’s fun to know that I’m in excellent company as I delight in the antics of our Victorian heroine and her assortment of beguiling compatriots in the world of St. Crispins. This was not my favorite of the series, as I didn’t love the focus on Emma’s romantic life. (I can’t offer details for fear of spoiling earlier books in the series; I’ll just say that I’m not totally thrilled with her chosen love match). I enjoyed settling into some of the other storylines, though, and liked learning more of the characters’ backstories. The side bit of Emma’s fake chaperone is also a hoot; I don’t always appreciate slapstick in my novels, but Beth Brower has a knack for weaving in the humor in ways that are just so funny that I don’t mind the over-the-topness of it all.
My Rating: 4 Stars // Book Format: Audiobook
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, by Vol. 8, by Beth Brower: This volume catches me up to the series and I will be breathlessly awaiting the publication of the next installment! It’s difficult to divulge too much about the plot of this volume without verging into spoiler territory, but I will note that am STILL not very happy about Emma’s current romantic choice and hope this is just a stop along the journey to her true love (I’d honestly be happy with either of her two most obvious alternate choices). However, the book certainly has some shining moments. I really enjoyed this volume’s additional setting of Stonecrop (a countryside estate), a move that keeps the series moving forward at a point where the action could easily begin to get stale. And I continue to be surprised by revelations of our various side characters and their pasts; St. Crispins never ceases to deliver on the intrigue and excitement. Volume 9 can’t get here too soon!
My Rating: 4 Stars // Book Format: Audiobook
Best Offer Wins, by Marissa Kashino: At 37, Margo has a great job and an enviable marriage. Now all Margo needs to make her picture-perfect life complete is a baby and home, and she doesn’t feel like that’s too much to ask. But the baby isn’t happening, and after 18 months and 11 lost bidding wars into house-hunting in the competitive DC suburbs, it doesn’t look like the house will be happening any time soon, either. Desperate to land a home for her someday-family, Margo becomes obsessed with the idea of snagging a house before it’s publicly listed. And once that right house (in the PERFECT neighborhood) appears, Margo quickly weasels her way into the homeowners’ lives, certain she can win them over. But when Plan A is derailed, Margo grows increasingly unhinged, proving there is nothing she won’t do to lay claim to the house she is certain is meant to be hers.
I was drawn to this book by many glowing reviews praising the humorous narration, and by the intriguing premise of a novel centered on the competitive housing market and the drastic measures people take to land a home. I’ll admit that the premise is a very good one and relatable for many of us who have pined after homeownership and found it frustratingly elusive. Unfortunately, I was not impressed with the biting humor, and my distaste for Margo’s lies and psychopathic behavior grew as she became more and more unbalanced. I think that Margo is meant to be a “likably loath-able” type of dark heroine, but I simply found her abhorrent, and I took no joy in detesting her deception and destructive antics. I also had a hard time stomaching the profanity—SO MANY f-bombs, which should have been an immediate red flag, but as the plot ramped up, I had to see the story through to the end. The conclusion is equal parts shocking and disturbing, but I have to give the author credit for holding my attention through to the bitter end.
My Rating: 3 Stars // Book Format: Kindle
I See You’ve Called in Dead, by John Kenney: Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who spends his days reflecting on the lives and legacies of others but who, in his mid-40s, is still waiting for his own life to truly begin. Bud’s been in a funk since his not-so-recent divorce, and one night, after receiving an unsettling email from his ex-wife, he winds up inadvertently publishing his own obituary, only to awaken from his drunken haze to realize this mistake that may have cost him his job. As Bud awaits his fate at work—where the system has identified him as dead and thereby un-fireable—he seeks meaning and purpose in an unexpected pastime: visiting the wakes and funerals of total strangers.
The premise of this book is a morbid one, and Kenney dives right into all the tough stuff: life and death, meaning, purpose, heartbreak, friendship, and the seeming futility of it all. These challenging topics are couched in some of the most humous and insightful writing I’ve ever read, making the subject not just palatable but incredibly life-affirming. I found myself laughing at the razor-sharp dialogue and insane sarcasm while wiping away tears at the sheer beauty and poignancy of Bud’s observations and internal reflections.
While the writing here is incredible (I was not at all surprised to learn that Kenney is a poet), it’s the characters that I will remember most. Down-on-his luck Bud is profoundly lonely, yet in pulling out of a slump he is able to recognize the love that is all around him in the form of a considerate boss, a quirky coworker with whom he shares a brother-like love/hate relationship, the precocious 8-year-old next door and, most importantly, his landlord/best friend/mentor Tim who is vivacious and gregarious and a total thrill-seeker despite having spent the last three decades of his life confined to a wheelchair. Tim and Bud’s relationship is one of the most amazing depictions of male friendship that I’ve encountered in modern literature, and I learned so much about companionship, vulnerability, and heathy interdependence through reading about their dynamic.
This book is gritty at times (we get detailed descriptions of an embalmment and an in-depth play-by-play of life in a wheelchair—not scenes you read in most books!) but also impossibly lovable. It is written from a secular perspective, and reading about death by authors who don’t share my faith can be hard, but this perspective always prompts even more reflection on my part—so this might have been a point in the book’s favor? There were a few timeline discrepancies that pulled me out of my reading in scattered moments throughout the book, but this was a small issue from an otherwise excellent novel.
This was the first full book I finished in 2026 and it was an amazing start to my reading year. And also, I will never read an obituary the same way again!
My Rating: 5 Stars // Book Format: Kindle
Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi: It’s just before Easter when Theo arrives in the southern town of Golden. Nobody knows anything about the 86-year-old Portuguese man, who is reticent about his past and his current business in Golden. One thing is clear: Theo is a man of many interests, and he is immediately captivated by the 92 pencil drawings adorning the walls of a local coffee shop. Each portrait depicts a resident of Golden, and Theo embarks on a project of buying the portraits one by one and bestowing them on their rightful owners. His generosity ignites a string of new friendships with the recipients whose lives are forever altered by the kind gesture and thoughtful words from the enigmatic stranger.
This book has been everywhere in the past few months, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. After the first few chapters, though, I was feeling a little baffled by all the shining reviews. The pacing is slow, with a narrative style that reads like a fairy tale or fable (more telling than showing), making it difficult to truly sink into the story. The dialogue feels forced at times, and the overall vibe is more than a little saccharine. In other words, this isn’t exactly a book that checks the usual popularity boxes, and it took a while for me to understand the hype. But by the end of the book (and almost in spite of myself) I had succumbed to the allure that is our protagonist. Theo—with his benevolent spirit, genteel demeanor, and knack for truly seeing and celebrating everyone he meets—managed to wedge his way into my heart. And not just Theo, but also the many other remarkable residents of Golden whose unique value we come to recognize and appreciate through Theo’s kindhearted exaltation of each man, woman, and child.
This is indisputably a character-driven novel with a plot that is slow to take shape, but there is a sense of mystery around Theo’s past and his true purpose in Golden, and the way this comes together in the final chapters absolutely shocked me and bumped the book up from what was a 4.5-star read to an easy 5 stars and contender for Top 10 of the year. Ultimately, this was a story that will live with me for a long time.
With this book, Allen Levi (a debut author in his sixties!) has gifted us an unforgettable story that is a celebration of life, kindness, and the transformative power of the Gospel. This is the best type of faith-based novel in that the Christian themes are overt while the messaging is subtle, without a whiff of preachiness. Theo’s life and words are marked by his relationship with Christ, and while he makes mention of his faith at moments throughout the book, his loving actions speak far louder than his words in a way that is so appealing, he can’t help but inspire readers to act with similar generosity and altruism.
I’m grateful to the many readers who sang the praises of this book, launching it from self-published debut in 2023 to national bestseller by the end of 2025. What a joyful read this is, and one I am happily and heartily pressing into the hands of nearly everyone I know.
My Rating: 5 Stars // Book Format: Kindle
Life, and Death, and Giants, by Ron Rindo: At birth, Gabriel Fisher weighed eighteen pounds and measured twenty-seven inches long—so large that his mother died bringing him into the world. Gabriel grows to more than eight feet tall, but being raised in an Amish community by the devout grandparents who took the orphan in, he’s largely shielded from too much public attention. But when the town’s high school foot ball coach gets wind of the boy’s athletic prowess, Gabriel gets swept up in the world of football where he quickly becomes a star and catapults to international fame.
What an amazing book this is, from the unique premise that seamlessly blends magical realism into family saga, to the unforgettable characters, to the gorgeous writing and diverse narrative voices. The story is told in alternating chapters by those who know and love Gabriel best (Gabriel’s Amish grandmother, the “English” [non-Amish] veterinarian who delivered Gabriel and serves as a surrogate father, the football coach, and the local bar owner), and their narration helps us get to know the remarkable character of Gabriel while also offering a thoughtful, respectful, and nuanced depiction of Amish life that neither patronizes nor sentimentalizes the community (a rarity, I’ve found, in fictional depictions of the Amish and really in most religious fiction). In telling Gabriel’s story, these narrators grapple with questions of faith and faithfulness and familial duty; navigate the complications of family and community; and wrestle with frustrations surrounding identity, belonging, and home. The faith-infused musings of Gabriel’s grandmother are particularly insightful and touching.
The title here is an accurate one: this is, of course, the story of a giant, and there is more than a little death depicted in the book’s pages (beginning with the very first chapter). The content is difficult, with Rinde leaning into the visceral nature of death and illness and the grittier aspects of the protagonists’ rural lifestyle. But as the title suggests, this is also a book that celebrates life and shows the beauty of found family and a community that is willing to embrace and defend the ones who need them the most.
While the arc of this story is beautiful, the middle sections—with their focus on Gabriel’s athletic career (which spans more than one sport)—lost me a bit. I also had a hard time stomaching some of the physical and emotional traumas endured by our characters. But I was willing to wade through this murkier territory for the sake of a genuinely unforgettable story that has all the makings of a tall tale with the themes of a philosophy textbook and the winsomeness of a poem.
My Rating: 4.5 Stars (Rounded to 5 Stars on Goodreads) // Book Format: Kindle
MIDDLE GRADE FAMILY READ-ALOUD
Understood Betsy, by Dorothy Canfield Fisher: (BOOK REVIEW WRITTEN BY 11-YEAR-OLD CHARLESTON, WITH SOME NOTES FROM ME)
If you like the type of story where you see a spoiled, overprotected child turn into a confident orphan who thinks for herself, then you’ll enjoy the book Understood Betsy. The story begins when “poor” Elizabeth Anne has to move away from her two overbearing aunts (though she just thinks they’re doing what is required of them to take care of her and help her through the troubles of life, school, and nightmares). She moves from a midwestern city to a quiet town in Vermont where she will stay with three of her relatives in their humble dwelling.
Expecting to hate the change, but still anticipating that she will be babied by her new adoptive family, Elizabeth Anne (now “Betsy”) learns an original thought, or at least one that she never learned in her massive city school: it doesn’t matter if you know your right from your left when you are pulling the reins, it just matters that you know which way you want to turn. You may think this is a metaphor, but it’s really true—Betsy’s uncle was letting her drive the cart to their home, and Betsy was having trouble remembering her right and left but discovered it didn’t matter; but it COULD be a metaphor in the sense that Betsy was not entirely knowing what she was doing with her life, but still turning from one road in her life where she’s coddled all day to another road where she thinks for herself and even for others, too.
Betsy gets one of her first doses of doing things for herself one morning when she waits quite a while to be allowed out of bed and helped with her morning dressing. Eventually she realizes that it isn’t necessary to be told to get out of bed, and that she doesn’t need help preparing for what the day brings. From that point on, Betsy starts learning more and more and starts figuring things out for herself in an equally increasing amount.
Our whole family really liked this book. I [Charleston] gave this book 4.67 stars because I enjoyed watching Betsy figure out problems for herself, like when she gets a job selling donuts for a couple of hours so that she can pay for a train ride home from the country fair where she and her friend were accidentally left. Sully liked how Betsy learned a lot, and Kali liked the part when Betsy adopted a kitten.
KENDRA JUMPING IN HERE TO ADD MY THOUGHTS: I absolutely LOVED this book, especially the insights into personality and behavior (very forward-thinking for the time period!), the subtle (and not-so-subtle) commentary on child-rearing and education, and the lessons on personal responsibility, agency, and resilience. I could see the principles of Charlotte Mason (whose ideas are very in line with our own homeschooling philosophy) reflected in the novel, and I’d be curious to know if there was a direct connection between these two influential educators. This was such a fun one to read and discuss with my kids, and I was tickled by how much they seemed to understand and appreciate the story and its lessons.
Sullivan’s Rating: 4.5 Stars // Kalinda’s Rating: 5 Stars // Charleston’s Rating: 4.67 Stars // Mom’s Rating: 5 Stars
Have you read any of these books? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
