A Book Walk Through my Home !

When I get to heaven I swear there's going to be a huge ranch with a lot of cows, a huge kitchen and book shelves lined with books to read!

Here are some of my favorite titles:

1. The Break by Estela Gutierrez (who I'm blessed to know personally AND she's from South Texas!)

2.  The Tao of Martha: My Year of Living or Why I'm Never Getting all that Glitter Off the Dog by Jen Lancaster *hilarious

3.  Where'd you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

4. Bird in Hand by Christina Baker Kline

5. The Martian by Andy Weir *technical vocabulary but I enjoyed it nonetheless

6. Unleashing Mr. Darcy by Teri Wilson

7. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

8. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty *couldn't put this down

9. Happily Ali After by Ali Wentworth *love the laughs!!!!!

10. Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me (and other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling * I don't even watch the show and I loved this book!

11. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

12.  Adultery by Paulo Coehlo

**some of these books are quick book versions of chick flicks**

Not sure if I should have added Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James  (honestly you only need to read the first book and watch the movie because what is better than being flown in a helicopter from Portland to Seattle just to have dinner, really?)

Here is a list of books I plan to read only because they are sitting next to my bed in a basket:

1. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez

2. Wildflower by Drew Barrymore

3. Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling

4. What Maisie Knew by Henry James

5. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

6. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

7. The Vacationers by Emma Straub

8. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert

9. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

10. The Recipe Box by Sandra Lee

11. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

12.  Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan

13. Unmasking Juliet by Teri Wilson 

14.  What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

15. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee *everyone has to read this considering the story behind the publication of this book

16. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes *my friend Georgina loved this book 

17. A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan 

Books that make great gifts (even though quite frankly any book makes for a good gift :) )

1. Anthropologie has this set and although I only bought one I highly recommend them even if they are used for color in a room http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-books-cookbooks/35447085.jsp#/  (I got the Sense and Sensibility-great color in any room of the house)

2. Shiny Happy People by Neil Roake

3. The Secret Lives of Baked Goods by Jessie Oleson Moore

4. The Pioneer Woman Cooks Dinnertime by Ree Drummond *she's living my ideal life in Oklahoma

5. For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards by Jen Hatmaker *for your girlfriends

6. Sparkly Green Earrings by Melanie Shankle *my all time favorite blogger ever and she's from San Antonio!

7. The Antelope in the Living Room by Melanie Shankle

8. Nobody's Cuter Than You by Melanie Shankle

9.  Cupcakes and Cashmere at Home by Emily Schuman

10.  Trophy Cupcakes and Parties by Jennifer Shea 

11. Domino: The Book of Decorating by Domino Editors

12. Cookbook Book by Annahita Kamali and Florian Bohm

13. Charley Harper's Animal Kingdom by Todd Oldham 

14. Cupcakes and Cashmere by Emily Schuman 

15. The Pastry Queen (any of her cookbooks are fabulous) by Rebecca Rather

and who can forget the little ones:

1. Read all About It! by Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager

2. Charlie the Ranch Dog by Ree Drummond

3. Julia, Child words by Kyo Maclear and pictures by Julie Morstad 

for the religious at heart (My Mom was a huge fan of St. Francis of Assisi probably because our home looks like a zoo)

1. Francis: The Journey and the Dream by Murray Bodo *have not read it yet

2.  The Lessons of St. Francis: How to bring simplicity and spirituality into your daily life by John Michael Talbot with Steve Rabey

3. Embraced by the Light by Betty J. Earle *interesting perspective on near death experiences and a fast read

for the educator at heart:

1. The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial by Susan Eaton

2. I am Malala: The Girl who Stood up for Education and was shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

3. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews *already watched the movie but I'm intrigued by the book

4. The Holy Tortilla by Carmen Tafolla

5. Ladybugs on a Mission by Hilda L. Trevino *written by my elementary school teacher! 

This is a walk through my collection of books (future posts will include "ranch" themed books and my ultimate favorite collection of cookbooks) Stay tuned.....