Here are a few books I read and listened to within the last month or so… Everything was good, but no must reads this go ’round. If I had to pick one of these five, go with You Are a Badass.

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Little Fires Everywhere
by Celeste Ng (fiction, audiobook) – on the fence

I’ve started and stopped this book a couple of times. Mostly because there were just too many holds on it at the library and I couldn’t renew it or finish it before the renewal date. I finally downloaded the audio from the library to my phone. That way, I could listen to it as often as possible (read: when I’m walking or doing housework), rather than just in the car. To be quite honest, I don’t understand the hype around this book. I think it’s making it’s way to the big screen or getting a TV series deal now or something. I thought it was good, but not great.

That being said, when I think back about it, there are some themes that I didn’t notice how interconnected they were while reading the book – conflicting perspectives that provoked my thoughts long after reading this book. Maybe that’s all an author really needs – someone to keep thinking about the book long after it has been read.

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O’s Little Book of Happiness
by The Oprah Magazine (nonfiction, audio) – worth a read

This is a collection of submissions to the Oprah Magazine of what brings people happiness and joy to people’s lives. You cannot help but smile when you read some of these these. Some are even inspiring. I listened to them on audio, but I think this book would be better suited to read. It’d make a great coffee table book!

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My Italian Bulldozer
by Alexander McCall Smith (fiction) – worth a read

I’m not quite sure how I heard about this book! But I may have put it on my TBR (to-be-read) list when I was longing for Italy. It’s a pretty easy, fairly quick read and while fun, not exactly earth-shattering. I like the thought of driving a bulldozer in the countryside of Italy, though!

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You Are a Badass
by Jen Cincero (nonfiction, audiobook) – worth a read

This book has been on my TBR (to-be-read) list for at least a year or two; but I think I was thrown-off by the title. It made me feel like the book was trying to hard to get my attention. But when I finally downloaded the book on audio and listened to the author read her own words, I learned that the title and the voice of the book are completely authentic to her personality. Sincero takes many of the motivational and self-help ideals and spins them in a way that is more down-to-earth that even the biggest skeptic will get on board.

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How Not to Die Cookbook
by Michael Greger, M.D. (cookbook) – worth a flip

 

After reading Dr. Greger’s How Not to Die and having reconfirmed what the health and nutrition field claim as the healthiest way to eat (eat real food, mostly plants), it was natural to pick up this cookbook to help transition to a more whole-food, plant-based diet.

What I liked about this book is that Dr. Greger explains such a diet without going into all the technical and medical detail that he does in How Not to Die. However, I found many of the recipes in the book to be quite cumbersome with long ingredient lists and new techniques that make such a transition seem daunting. I do know that that doesn’t have to be the case and I’ll let you know the cookbook next week that will prove that to you! (That being said, the How Not to Die Cookbook does have a few recipes that make checking out this cookbook from the library to flip through it. I just wouldn’t purchase it just yet. )

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Where do you read most often?

Cheers~
Carrie