One thing about me – I love reading. It is my favorite past time and the best way to clear my mind. My New Years Resolution for this year is to read 50 books…. I only read 22 last year so that is double. Anyways what that means is I have to read about 4 a month.
To be honest I am not great at rating books my good reads everything is 3-5 stars. There are few books I have not enjoyed that I have read. In my mind for something to have a 5, there is a major theme which I take away from it. I am left thinking about the book days after I finish it. And lastly, it causes me to have some sort of reflection on my life.
SOOO lets go on to the books I read in August from my favorite to least favorite
- After I do – Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Happiness for Beginners – Katherine Center
- Small Great Things – Jodi Picoult
- Evidence of the Affair – Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The Widow’s Husband’s Secret Lie – Freida McFadden
So lets work backwards!
I LOVE Freida McFadden and if you are looking for an author to help you get back into reading and you like thrillers I recommend her 100x. So now why is this book my least favorite of the month? Well when I started reading it I had no idea it was a satirical novella and I am not a fan of satire. So the whole time I was reading it I was just in shock at how bad it was considering how good her books typically are. However, once I figured out it was satire I did think it was funny and aside from all of that it is a good book.
“It is funny the crazy things our brains make up to save us from the truth”
Not to be repetitive – but I LOVE Taylor Jenkins Reid! I am currently on my last book of hers and all of her books have been so amazing and quick, good reads. This book was good but I didn’t really take much away from this book. It is considered a short story and I did enjoy it but it definitely is not her best book she’s written. This book goes back and fourth between letters that a wife and husband write to each other when they find out their spouses are having an affair. Even though it is a short story it goes into depth of what is important in a relationship and what can happen when one is left feeling unfulfilled.
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”
“It just goes to show you: every baby is born beautiful. It’s what we project on them that makes them ugly.”
This book. There was so much to take away from it, there were so many important parts that I could not accurately even describe or summarize it. To quickly go over it, Picoult writes about the story and life of a Black labor and delivery nurse who is assigned a baby whose parents are White supremacists. The newborn dies in the care of the nurse and she is then charged with murder. This story comes from multiple characters perspectives and covers themes of racism, shared humanity and community. Would your friends defend you?
“The most important thing to remember is that getting what you want doesn’t make you happy. Happiness is more about appreciation than acquisition.”
“It’s my battle cry: Appreciate Everything.”
This book! I had never read anything from Katherine Center before but after this I will be. Also to mention I did not know this was a show until right now while writing this so I will be binge watching that this weekend… Anyways this book was so so so good and made me think a lot about the small things in life. It is about a 32 year old, Helen, who signs up for a wilderness survival course after her divorce. She plans to re-evaluate her life that is until she finds out her younger brother’s best friend is also going on the course. How is she supposed to begin again with someone from her past there?
“The sun will rise no matter what pain we encounter. No matter how much we believe the world to be over, the sun will rise.”
“Just because you can live without someone doesn’t mean you want to.”
Again with Taylor Jenkins Reid! Out of all of her books that I have read so far this one falls in top three and honestly those three tie form number 1. This book meant everything to me as someone in a long-term, highschool relationship. It is about a couple who has been together for almost a decade and they feel their marriage needs work so they choose to take a year from eachother and decide what they each want in their marriage. It is about finding yourself, what you want from someone else and making love work. For me, this book made me think about what I am looking for in life and how important it is for me to know that about myself in order for my relationship to be successful. If you are someone who is in a relationship or ever plans on being in one, I highly recommend this book!!
OVERALL
All of these books were amazing and I would recommend them to anyone who listens. I would 100% be willing to go into more detail in a future post or in an email if that seems interesting. I also do want to mention that I am an Amazon affiliate and may earn commission from qualifying purchases.