#4. I Am My Mother’s Daughter by Iris Krasnow

I Am My Mother’s Daughter is a nonfiction piece about — you guessed it — mothers and daughters. There were many diverse interviews about all kinds of mother/daughter relationships, which I liked, but would have enjoyed more if I could have related to them on a personal level. For example, this probably would have spoken to me more strongly if I myself were a mother, as “mothers with mothers” was a prominent idea throughout the book. It would be great to find a book like this geared more for women my age, still on the precipice of adulthood and being your own person while still maintaining that weird, wonderful relationship with the one we call Mom.

#3. A Practical Wedding by Meg Keene

I recently read Meg Keene’s stellar book on wedding planning, A Practical Wedding. It is less about which flowers to buy or what kind of cake to serve and much more about how you should feel about your wedding and the people in it. You should be joyful, honest, and very flexible with whatever happens when it all comes together. (And only DIY your brains out if you actually like crafts.) But until it all comes together…it’s kind of okay to feel like the whole ordeal is overwhelming and irritating. There are a lot of tips about making the day meaningful, being nice to your budget, and that no matter what happens, your marriage should be at the forefront of such a big event. As the titles states, it is a very practical book. The best bit of practical advice I gleaned was this: getting married may be one of the finest moments of your life, but there are a whole lot of other good days out there too.

I read it at a very good time in the planning process, and would highly recommend it to anyone throwing any kind of marriage celebration, from an intimate reception at a favorite restaurant to a full-blown catered garden wedding.

Meg runs a really neat website too!