I’m on track for reading on average a book week, so far, for 2025! This is so exciting! I belong to an online book club with my sisters-in-law, so one of the books I read was for that. It’s the book below. Then I read the book above as our November pick. The top one was fiction, the one below was non-fiction, and both were amazing! The top one was for pure pleasure. The bottom counted for pleasure as well as instruction/character transformation. In other words, it was enjoyable, and also inspiring. The author, Katie Davis Majors, is a great example of following what she feels was God calling her to serve children in Uganda as a kindergarten teacher. She ultimately ended up adopting more than a dozen girls!

I’ve always been a big believer in reading books for education and self-improvement. As a young mom, I quickly discovered that God invented breastfeeding so that moms could slow down and read. I’ve devoured books in my mom life while nursing for 18+ years, and many more since weaning the youngest, while not nursing. I always have at least 6 books that I am reading. Over the years, I realize that the non-homeschooling book clubs I belong to picked books that were more for fun. The homeschooling mom book clubs read mostly books for self-improvement and instruction. It’s important to have a mix of both. In that spirit, I’m sharing books here that I have read that are totally enjoyable where you don’t have to think hard to follow the storyline. I highly recommend all these books!

Kisses from Katie does have some sadness and tragedy, but the author speaks of it with a Christ-centered perspective. But if you are pregnant and prone to tear up at the drop of a hat, wait until you are not pregnant to read it.

The book above, Papa’s Wife is based on the author’s parents’ courtship, marriage, and family life together. So it’s a true story! It is so fun! It’s part 1 of a trilogy. The sequels are Papa’s Daughter, and Mama’s Way. Then the author wrote even more after that. They are so delightful! They are hard to find but totally worth the hunt. This is the way family life should be!

The one above is a fun one about a midwife, who started as a hospital nurse then became a midwife to accompany home births. Each chapter is a different birth story. It’s fun to read although sometimes the language is a little profane.

Then this one below is Julie Andrews’ autobiography of her Hollywood years. So fun! Where else can you get the inside scoop of what it was like to star in both of the blockbuster movies, Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music?

I encourage you mamas out there to carve out time to read to yourself a FUN book, every day, either a print book or listen to an audiobook. Even if it’s just for a few minutes. Doing so puts joy into your life so that you are a more enjoyable person to be around in whatever roles you fulfill.

This one above is so fascinating! A man died, had an experience in heaven visiting deceased relatives and seeing his family on earth and being by them as a spirit, then came back to life. He was allowed by God to live for about 4-5 years, sharing his message of love, then died for good. The second part of the book has his wife and children each telling their story of what has happened since. I especially love the wife sharing her story of how she remarried.

Here are some fun nonfiction, non-story books (some of the books above aren’t fiction, but they still tell a story) that are for pure pleasure:

I actually haven’t read the Audrey book shown above. I got it thrifting over a year go and somehow when I moved last spring it went missing. It looks yummy!

Watch the video below from Sarah Mackenzie of readaloudrevival.com to get all the encouragement and reasons you need and want to have a reading mom life! Happy reading! May you find much refreshment and joy in your reading to help you be a happier wife and mom.