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July 20, 2021 · Leave a Comment

8 Books I’ve Read So Far This Year

Books

I have made it my goal to read more this year and I have been relatively successful so far! When I was younger, I used to LOVE to read, but when I went to college, I stopped reading for fun almost all together, and for the past 5 years or so I was only reading about 2-3 books per year.

With the pandemic and everything, I have gotten so jaded by television and have finally gotten back into reading. I would love to read even more than I currently am– maybe next year I’ll make a reading goal! But I wanted to share with you guys what books I have read so far this year, in the order that I read them. Not every single one of them is a hit in my opinion, but I still finished them so that must count for something right?

Whenever I finish a book, I rate it over on my Instagram Stories, so make sure you’re following me there to keep up with what I’m reading next!

What do you think, should we create a Regular Folks book club? 😉

1. Normal People by Sally Rooney

★★★★★★★★

Just a good novel about a dysfunctional couple. I love a novel where the characters that feel so real and raw that they are borderline unlikable at times. Sally Rooney is a phenomenal writer.

2. We Were Liars by E. Lockhark

★★★★★★★

To level with y’all, this one has slight YA novel vibes, but it’s still really good, I couldn’t put it down, and the ENDING??!?!!! Holy cow.

3. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

★★★★★★★★

This book made me cry. Sweet story, I tore through this book and really recommend it.

4. The Boy From the Woods by Harlan Coben

★★★★★

Meh. There were so many plot points to this story that were irrelevant. Just felt like a bunch of different stories that were weirdly compiled together. This had potential to be SO good, but for some reason it fell kind of flat for me.

5. 11/22/63 by Stephen King

★★★★★★

First of all, this was the first Stephen King book I’ve ever read. Secondly, this was probably the longest book I’ve ever read.

Here’s my bad syopsis: a man travels back in time to save JFK because a fry-cook told him to

Pros: immersive, clearly well-researched, I just like time-travel stories

Cons: why is it 900 pages??? I was also not a fan of the ending

6. Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson

★★★★★★

I picked up this book in a little bookstore in the Outer Banks, NC because of the cover art LOL do any of y’all do that too? The synopsis of the book sounded interesting, sure, but the cover really drew me in hahaha

I just thought that this book was such an interesting concept: a psychologist is doing an experiment with 10 families who all live together for 10 years and raise their children together as a unit without revealing to the children who their biological parents are. I just thought it was such an interesting, different idea for a story, that I was very intrigued. It was a little slow in some parts and the ending was a little lack-luster in my opinion, but I still really enjoyed it.

7. Conviction by Denise Mina

★★★★★

This one was hard for me to rate, because I felt like it had a lot of potential, but it was a little bit hard for me to get into in the beginning, the middle had me gripped, and the ending was just kind of…. weird? I still finished it so that counts for something, right?

8. Recursion by Blake Crouch

★★★★★★★★★

One of the best books I have read in a while. The author, Blake Crouch, also wrote Dark Matter which is one of my favorite books ever, so I was super excited to finally read another one of his books.

Gripping and a super interesting concept, you HAVE to read this if you enjoy a little bit of sci-fi 🙂

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Hey there!

I’m Sara Ann and am a big fan of fresh flowers, traveling, and eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s in one sitting. I share my life, loves, ideas, and everything in between with the hope to inspire and help make the lives of regular folks (maybe like you!) simpler, happier, and healthier.

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saraannsutton

creating a suburban fairytale with a toddler + pregnant 📚🧚🌷
making life a little more whimsical and healthier ✨
💌 saraann@theregularfolks.com

I had diet-controlled gestational diabetes with my I had diet-controlled gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy, so once I found I was pregnant with my second child, my doctor asked me to go ahead and be “carb-conscious” and try to roughly follow the diet while I wait to do my glucose test at ~24 weeks. 
Since I’m not checking my blood sugars rn, I’m trying my best to count carbs, adjust my portions, and make low-carb swaps where I can, with the knowledge that IF I get a diagnosis this pregnancy, I may have to adjust this diet further to reach my blood sugar goals. I’m also  trying to make my diet as nutritious as possible for myself and baby but in a realistic way! #gestationaldiabetes #whatieatinadayrealistic #pregnancy
Whimsy isn’t supposed to be complicated!!! It’s ju Whimsy isn’t supposed to be complicated!!! It’s just changing up or adding simple things into your everyday to make it a little more magical 💫✨ here’s some ideas to try this week! I love doing cute whimsical projects and trying to my days healthier, happier, and more whimsical, so if you’re into that, come follow along! #whimsy #whimsicalchildhood #romanticizinglife #toddlermom
My toddler is regularly bullying me and saying “MO My toddler is regularly bullying me and saying “MOM!! YOUR BELLY IS HUGE!” (It’s not lol) so he’s in for an awakening at just how huge I can get 🤰 #pregnancy #toddlermom
And if you want that for yourself and your kids, H And if you want that for yourself and your kids, HI 👋 let’s be friends 🥰 #whimsicalchildhood #motherhood #whimsy #romanticizeyourlife
I had diet-controlled gestational diabetes with my I had diet-controlled gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy, so once I found I was pregnant with my second child, my doctor asked me to go ahead and be “carb-conscious” and try to roughly follow the diet while I wait to do my glucose tolerance test.
I do think this is a good way to ease myself back into the diet in case I do test positive again. I’m still letting myself enjoy what I want rn but I’m adjusting my portions and making low-carb swaps where I can! Also trying to make this diet more nutritious, but clearly my food aversions are still hitting, so I’m just trying my best 🤪 #gestationaldiabetes #whatieatinadayrealistic #pregnancy
baby #2 loading… ❤️ After having a difficult firs baby #2 loading… ❤️

After having a difficult first pregnancy and difficult postpartum, getting to a place mentally to feel ready for another pregnancy/postpartum took more time than I ever expected, and consumed me with a lot of anxiety. And then I faced conflicting feelings of sadness of not having the smaller age gap we originally hoped/wanted for our kids. Thankful for a supportive husband, 📣 THERAPY 🗣️, prayer, and friends who listen, to work through the hard stuff, get to a better mental space, and to feel peace to do this again.

This baby is truly so loved already and we cannot wait!! 

#toddlermom #fosterfamily #pregnancy
#SecretDeoPartner I cannot get through the summer #SecretDeoPartner I cannot get through the summer heat without @secretdeodorant ☀️ @secretdeodorant has the BEST scents (have you tried Cocoa Butter???) and provides all day freshness against heat in the South and all the activity that goes along with parenting 😅 #ToddlerMom #DayInTheLife
Every month, my toddler and I shop for our local c Every month, my toddler and I shop for our local community blessing box (although I think I might have missed last month! It’s been busy over here 🫪) I use this as an opportunity to teach him about taking care of others in our community in big and little ways. This is everything we got this month! #blessingbox #foodpantry #toddlermom
Let’s cook some raspberries up and make some raspb Let’s cook some raspberries up and make some raspberry-fudge pudding popsicles with a secret healthy ingredient 🤫🥑

RASPBERRY FUDGE POPSICLES 🥑🍫
Raspberry Part:
-~6 oz of fresh/frozen raspberries
-2 tbsp of sugar (I used coconut sugar)
•add raspberries and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat. Cook and let boil for about 5-7 minutes, stirring often to get a jammy consistency

Chocolate Part
1 avocado
1/2 cup milk
2-3 tbsp cocoa powder (depending on how chocolatey you want it!)
Splash of vanilla
Pinch of salt
Maple syrup to taste
•add all to a blender and blend until smooth

•layer chocolate and raspberry portions in a popsicle mold. You can use a toothpick or wooden skewer to swirl the layer a bit before adding sticks and freezing for at least 6 hours
•you may need to run warm water outside of your molds to help remove the popsicles when you’re ready to enjoy ❤️

This makes 6 popsicles with the molds I have but it may vary depending on the size you are using. You also may have leftover raspberry sauce!! It’s really good on Greek yogurt for a parfait or on ice cream 😉 #healthydessert #kidrecipes #toddlermom #easyrecipe
I scored this free water feature on Facebook marke I scored this free water feature on Facebook marketplace with hopes to make a mini wildlife pond in my garden to attract frogs, toads, and any other creatures in our yard! 🐸🐦‍⬛🦌
After I dug a big hole (no easy feat in this heat and with all this NC red clay), I buried the water feature so that it was level with the ground. I added some water plants native to my area: blue eyed grass and pickerel weed and also added some rocks so that animals could get in and out if needed. Once I filled it with water, I also added a solar fountain and mosquito dunks to keep those suckers away 🙃

To my toddler’s excitement, within a day, we already had frog visitors! Now I just need to decide what to plant around it 🤔🌼🪻 #garden #toddlermom #backyardwildlife
As a Love Island fan, PLEASE GOD NO 😩🙏 #toddlermom As a Love Island fan, PLEASE GOD NO 😩🙏 #toddlermom #momhumor #momsofig #loveislandusa
Mr. Toad called in for repairs to his damaged roof Mr. Toad called in for repairs to his damaged roof, so we are on the case 🫡 #whimsy #whimsical #fairygarden
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