March 03, 2015

The Books I've Been Reading

Last year I read a little over a book a month. So when I just realized I've already read six books this year, I felt a little surge of pride and if you thought a pat on the back was in order, you would be right.

A mix-mash of new and old, here are the six books I've plowed through these past two months:


1. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: This book was, in one word, life-changing. While we haven't been able to put all of Kondo's suggestions into practice yet because of our state of limbo, we've made a good start. Some of the things she suggests, like unpacking your purse every single night, getting rid of your books, and drying your dishes out on the back porch, will never, ever happen in my life time, but the deeper message of this book really resonated with me. I strive to live a simpler life, to not be bogged down with stuff, and clutter, and junk, and Kondo has given me the courage and the confidence that I can achieve a more minimalist life and still be happy. Actually, she promises life will be better. Worthy of a read my friends! And probably worthy of it's own blog post since I could talk about this book all. day. long.

2. One More Thing (Stories and More Stories): My book club pick for this year. A quick, mostly witty, and humorous read, although I fear a lot of it would be lost on people who aren't fans of, or don't know who, BJ Novak is. Perfect before-bed reading as you can get in a short story or two before passing out.

3. Horns: Another book club read and definitely not a book I would have chosen to read on my own. I'm happy to report this book wasn't scary like I originally had anticipated. It was just the right amount of creepy, but there was also a lot of depth to the characters and some parts were quite sad. An unexpected read to say the least.

4. Where'd You Go, Bernadette: The best book out of this bunch. Written in the form of emails and letters, this book was all kinds of funny and my only regret is that I didn't read it sooner. Bernadette is a hoot and I wish we could be friends in real life. Actually, all the characters, even the more annoying ones, were great. If you haven't read this one yet, fix that asap!

5. Fifty Shades of Grey: I'm not even embarrassed to admit I'm reading this series right now. Also, late to the game is clearly my middle name. Buuuuuut, when these books first came out, I took a stand and said I would never read them. Never say never. There's nothing worse than an uneducated opinion, and that goes for classy books like this one too! How could I ever have an opinion on these books if I hadn't actually read them? So call it education, call it curiosity, I don't care, because guess what? I kind of enjoyed this book. Enough to be reading the second one right now. Haters gonna hate.

6. Wild: I probably wouldn't have read this book, but my mom gave it to me for Christmas and then all of a sudden the movie was out and I wanted to see the movie, but I have this thing where I have to read the book before the movie. Except, this book is a dense read and I ended up seeing the movie before I finished the book. Both, in my opinion, were excellent, but the book fills in all of the interesting details that the movie just can't include. Strayed's journey is worthy of telling and it's amazing and inspiring that she did what she did (that would be, hiked the PCT, in case you know nothing about this book), while also being a beautiful homage to her mother. Can you imagine, hiking as a young woman, all alone during a time when modern day conveniences weren't around: no cell phones, no internet, no computers, literally no connection to anyone or anything unless you physically crossed their path on the trail or were lucky enough to have a letter from someone waiting for you at one of the camps every few hundred miles?! I can't.

Up next:

Three Souls and Fifty Shades Darker.

What are you reading right now? What's the best book you've read so far this year? I never tire of hearing recommendations!



14 comments:

  1. Impressive! I am in a book club which I am loving but it means I have not read anything on my to read list! Right now we are reading Boy's Life which is proving hard for me to get into.

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    1. I love and hate book clubs (but mostly love them!). But they can seriously cut into the other books that you really want to read. And if your book club picks books you don't always want to read, that's tough too. I haven't heard of Boy's Life - but I'm going to look it up on goodreads right now!

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  2. You're a reading machine. I just can't read that quickly. So far this year I think I've read The Art of Racing In The Rain, The Rosie Effect, Nigel Brennan's book (the name as escaped me), and am currently reading the newest Chelsea Handler book because I needed something light and silly after the last one. I have a list of books I want to read though, including Mindy Kahling and Lena Dunham's books. Always looking for more suggestions.

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    1. Haha! I don't think I'm a very quick reader! But I am consciously choosing to read a book over doing other things lately. Also, I've been downloading books from the library onto my phone which allows me to get in a lot more reading than I otherwise would (as much as reading on your phone isn't the greatest medium!). I often find myself with anywhere from 15-60 minutes during the day when Sully falls asleep in the car and I don't want to wake him! I listened to Mindy's book on audio in the car, which I highly recommend!

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  3. I love that you kept reading after your baby was born. I completely stopped reading until I went back to work after my first son. You just reminded me that I have to get on Where'd You Go Bernadette?

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    1. Well, I sure didn't read that much during his first year of life - TV watching was just so much easier! But I'm trying to make an effort to choose reading over doing something else.

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  4. I love love love Where'd You Go Bernadette. It was such a witty, easy read. Do you have BJ Novak's kid book? It's on our list to get.

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  5. I haven't been reading much lately, but did read The Girl on the Train which was good. I wish I had enough energy to read at night before bed again!

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    1. You will! I didn't much at all the first year after Sully was born. I was either too tired at bedtime or preferred to read easy things on my phone, like blogs :)

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  6. Wow, you've done a lot of reading! That's awesome! I've heard SO many good things about the first book- I'm seeing it on blogs every where right now... Putting it on my Amazon wishlist NOW! A picked up Bernadet at the library a while back, started it, but never actually read it. Hearing how much you loved it though I'm going to have to give it another shot! I'm reading Atlantia right now (by Allie Condie)- I've been enjoying it! Unfortunately it's taking me forever to read it, because my baby girl won't let me read while I'm nursing (she loves books too much she always has to touch it! haha!)

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    1. Haha, my son finds it too distracting when I try and turn pages while nursing, he'll keep ripping off the boob to look at what I'm doing, as if to say "how dare you for not giving me your complete attention right now!". I've never read any Allie Condie, but I've heard good things!

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  7. I really need to take some time for myself and read a book! I think I will set a goal of 6 books this year. Do you know of any online book clubs that are good to join?

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    1. I wish I did! I know a lot of book bloggers do readalongs, which is basically like an online book club except you talk about the book while reading it. I've participated in a few, but find it tough to stick to their schedules. And 6 books is a great goal!

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