Books & Movies

October 2024 Book Reviews and Recommendations

Wow, did I read a wide variety of books this month. Which means there should be something for everyone! If you don’t spot something on this page that catches your eye take a look at previous months’ book reviews and recommendations. Also, check out my “Book Picks” highlight on my Instagram page for all of my ratings from this year.

This post contains links. Please see affiliate disclaimer here.

The Ministry of Time

I think The Ministry of Time would be an excellent choice for a book club leading to interesting discussions.

The British government has gotten ahold of a time machine. They decide to bring a handful of people from the past who were going to die very soon in their times with the intent that their absences wouldn’t alter history.

Each time traveler is given a “bridge” – a person assigned to help them acclimate to the current time. The story focuses on one pair in particular; a naval officer from 1847 and his bridge, a British-Cambodian female government worker. They live together and grow fond of one another.

Things at the Ministry (the government) are very secretative and the person above the bridge gets removed from his position. This experiment might be a lot more complicated than what she originally believed.

This book has love, murder, time traveling, history, racism, etc. I really enjoyed the relationships and learning new history. A few times in the story I was very lost and confused about characters and what was happening. I always found my way back but I didn’t love the feeling of choppiness and pure confusion. 

The Secrets of Happy Families

 The Secrets of Happy Families is a self-help book filled with easily digestible pieces of information that you can start applying to your family right away.

Much of the advice I already know (I did major in Family and Consumer Science after all). But I loved the statistics that were given, I found some of that information very interesting. The different experts in unique fields he sought out for this book were enjoyable to read about.

Many of the ideas I already incorporate (family meals, openly discussing sex, traveling with your family, etc). Some of the suggestions were good reminders for me to think about. For example, the author made an excellent point about creating cozy and unique spaces for children in your home. A few things I just can’t get behind (such as the family mission statement) and the author fully recognizes in the book that not everything will resignate with every family.

I definitely would recommend this book, especially for families with young children or couples thinking about having children in the future.

The Lost Story

 In The Lost Story, 15 years ago two young boys were lost in the woods of West Virginia for six months. When they were found the boys were healthier than they were before but one has many scars on his back and zero memory from the time they were lost. The other boy immediately leaves the country.

Fast forward to the present and the former best friends haven’t spoken in 15 years. The one who fled to England has become famous for finding lost women and girls.

Now a woman connects with him to find her long lost sister who was last seen in the same woods the boys were lost in. He agrees to search for her sister but insists that the other lost boy (now a man) come along. There’s a reason the one boy had no memory and why he is needed to search for this lost woman.

It’s a story of magic, friendship, a knight, a queen, a prince, and a princess. A secret land is filled with unicorns, mermaids, and enemies. There’s trauma and longing.

This story is uniquely written with short excerpts from the narrator. I found it clever and enjoyed the book immensely. There is a LGBTQ romance (sweet not sexy). Trigger warning – child abuse.

The Small and the Mighty

 I love history and I love America’s history teacher, Sharon McMahon. I follow her Instagram religiously and have loved her historical podcast episodes. When I heard she was writing a book I was ecstatic. I got the audio version (which I recommend) because her voice is wonderful and I love how she speaks to her listeners.

The Small and the Mighty is about 12 American historical figures that you might never have heard of but had a huge impact on history. From women’s suffrage to the Japanese incarceration camps, the civil rights movement, and much more this book features absolutely fascinating narratives.

The only reason I didn’t give it a full 5 star rating was that at times I was a little confused on who was being talked about. There are often biographical stories within stories that are connected but it still makes it slightly difficult to follow at times. I think reading a written version versus listening like I did would have made this easier. 

I hope she plans on writing more books because I never want to stop learning!

For more book reviews check out my September Book Reviews!

Mehgan

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