This was a pretty productive reading month. I actually managed to read ten books this months which is maybe the most I’ve read in a month. Granted, there were a couple of them including The Artist’s Way and The Four Hour Work Week that I’ve been chipping away at for a while and other’s like Eleanor Oliphant, Strengths Finder 2.0 and Outer Order, Inner Calm that I was able to power through in a day or two.
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
by Gail Honeyman
What a delicious book. It was like slowly unwinding a skein of yarn with a prize in its center. Eleanor’s character was well developed and the ending was unpredictable.
5 Stars
Fool Me Once
by Harlan Coben
Loved the characters in this book and the twists and turns. Did not see the ending coming at all. I also liked that the issue of PTSD among women vets was addressed. If veterans are forgotten when they return, female veterans are completely invisible.
4 Stars
City of Ashes
(The Mortal Instruments #2)
by Cassandra Clare
I don’t read a ton of YA, but I really do enjoy this series. The characters continue to develop. The plots are plausible within the world that she created, but not predictable. The endings are the perfect blend of wrapping up the story and making you want to pick up the next. Looking forward to reading City of Glass in the next month or two.
4 Stars
FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives
by Jerri Williams
Enjoy watching television shows and movies about and including the FBI like Quantico, The Americans, The Informant, Wolf of Wall Street?Ever wonder how accurately the agency is portrayed? You can find out in Jerri Williams new book, FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives.
Jerri is a retired FBI agent who spent 26 years with the bureau primarily focusing on financial crime and corruption in the Philadelphia area.
Read more in my previous review blog.
5 Stars
Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-to Guide
by Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark
This book is not at all what I expected, but that’s not really a bad thing. I’m not sure what I expected, exactly. Maybe a print version of the podcast. Instead, what Karen and Georgia delivered was a raw and vulnerable account of what led them to where they are today.
4 Stars
Outer Order, Inner Calm
by Gretchen Rubin
Not a ton of substance to this book. It does give some good advice though, so if you’re struggling to manage minor clutter, frequently lose things or feel stressed by visual clutter this may help.
A couple reminders to leave yourself a little margin or space, use the things you love and if something takes less than a minute to take care of, just take care of it.
3 Stars
The Artist’s Way
by Julia Cameron
I really do like the concept of morning pages, which I have adopted, although I rarely get past a page. I also like the idea of an artist date. Much of the rest is a little too woo for me, but I’d love more people to know that they are creative or have creative potential. If the book achieves that it’s well worth it.
4 Stars
Strengths Finder 2.0
by Tom Rath
I liked that the book focused on building your strengths rather than overcoming your weaknesses. The downside is that half the book is about specific strengths which may or may not apply to you.
3 Stars
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
by Robin DiAngelo
This book was really eye-opening. I suggest not bothering to read it if you are unwilling to examine your own racism. It talks a lot about institutional racism, a topic that is really not discussed enough. It doesn’t matter if everyone you know is nice to black people if the system still sets them up for failure.
5 Stars
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
by Timothy Ferriss
I know this book can be polarizing. It does assume a certain degree of privilege and also suggests shifting undesirable work to those often working in subsistence economies.
However.
The essence of the book is encouraging readers to do more of what they enjoy and do best, while delegating the rest.
If you have the means to do so, it’s not a bad idea.
Further it discusses paring your lifestyle down, so that you have the freedom to do so.
4 Stars
