Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

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The Library of the Unwritten (3 stars): I checked out and returned this book tens of times. I finally decided yesterday was the day to read it and it turns out I was wrong. While it started strong, it would not hold my interest and by the end, I was dragging my way through the story. On another day, in another mood, I might have loved it but yesterday apparently was not the day. If it was 2/3rds as long I think the story would have been tighter and considerably more interesting to me. I loved the premise of this book and loved the creativity behind it.

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The Guest List (4 stars): Read this one in one sitting. I am not sure I am a big fan of the moving forward and backward in time thing so many authors like to do lately. Clearly something terrible will happen or this would not be a story. And i get that it’s there to keep me interested and keep my pulse going but, for me, it pulls me out of the story. Other than that, I really enjoyed my time with this story. I loved all the different twists that were believable and yet unexpected. I couldn’t stop reading.

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The Second Home (4 stars): This story was exactly what i thought it was going to be: a layered story about family and the complexities of growing up. It was interesting how many times the parents were lauded to be the “perfect” parents and yet the kids each turned out to be broken in different ways. There are some really serious topics explored in this story so it’s not “light” reading in my opinion but it’s one of those books that I enjoyed reading. I’ve never been to Cape Cod but I loved the way the book brought it to life.

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A Burning (4 stars): This was a provocative read covering topics around social media, politics, fame, government and how fairness/truth can in fact be subjective and of course distorted. How everyone has their own story and is always optimizing on their own needs. How people might be willing to help but not if it means true self sacrifice. I know this was in India but the topics explored and statements the author is making are definitely not unique to india.

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Sad Janet (2 stars): One of the reviews I read called this a “cynical, misanthropic read” and I think that’s exactly why I didn’t like it. I don’t disagree with the sentiment that we do overmedicate people today. But I also don’t believe that medication is inherently evil. It’s a complex and layered issue. I don’t enjoy cynicism so there’s also that.

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With or Without You (4 stars): “Did he really believe that you could shuffle the past and the present like a deck of cards, and everything would be okay again?”

For some reason, it took me forever to start this book. I had this idea that it would be really depressing and I was going to have a tough time getting through it.

But I was completely wrong.

The story takes a little bit of time to take off. Stella and Simon’s “before” life wasn’t that interesting to me. So by the time she falls into the coma, I still wasn’t really attached to them as characters. And I wasn’t sure where the story was going to go. I thought maybe it would be one of those stories where selfish man turns hero.

But this story isn”t as simple as that. It has layers and the characters make choices and there are consequences to the choices. Every one of the characters in this story is real, flawed, and grows in their own ways. This book is about relationships, about finding one’s self, about recovery, lost dreams, friendship, and so much more.

This is sad, astonishing, intense and realistic story about life, death, choices we made, opportunities, paths we get to shape up our lives! This is about heartbreak, loneliness, self-discovery, insecurities, love, trust, friendship!

It has unexpected turns and I found very little of it predictable. The characters managed to surprise me and each of them grew in their own ways. By the end of the book, I was rooting for every single one.

with gratitude to netgalley, edelweiss and Algonquin Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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And there we go, grateful to be reading.

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Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

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The Feel Good Effect (5 stars): “You have only one life, it is only so long. I hope you’ll spend it feeling good.”

Sometimes a book comes at just the right time and is exactly what you need to hear.

I don’t know Robyn and do not listen to her podcasts (I clearly should!) I took an online class with her and Ali Edwards. And while the class was good, I took it at a time when it didn’t resonate with me as much as I wish it had. So I am not sure what drew me to this book. But I opened it up on Saturday morning just to read a few words and I ended up not moving from my chair until I’d finished it.

Robyn’s voice and her ability to break down concepts resonated 100% with me. This book is chock-full of information but it’s explained in an incredibly accessible way. The book has three parts: mindset, method, and life. Mindset is about ways of thinking and why it’s crucial to reframe your mindset where she explains the Feel Good Mindset. Method is where she talks about the four strategies and habits that help you get lasting results. And finally Life is where you take action and incorporate it all into your life.

For me, this book was like a good friend who is also very smart and kind explaining to me why all the ways in which my striving and my all-or-nothing thinking are not here to serve me in creating change in a lasting way. Robyn explains a lot of what I knew in a practical, consumable way and the best thing about this book is that it makes sense at my core and it gives me small, tangible ways to work towards a way to practice having the kind of life I want for myself.

Robyn’s book really resonated with me and satisfice might become one of my new favorite words.

with gratitude to netgalley and Crown Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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Your Year in Art (4 stars): I am a big fan of doing something regularly and creating a routine and habit around it. The hardest part of doing something daily/weekly is generating ideas. Coming up with a list of 52 things to do so you can keep learning, expanding and exploring takes time and energy that could otherwise be going into creating.

This book can help with exactly that. The colorful, beautiful, and inspiring drawings in this book come with a different focus/challenge each week, keeping you learning and exploring. Each week is fun in its own way and the variety and depth here is sure to keep you going. The ideas are simple but the art can apply to everyone from a beginner to an advanced artist.

with gratitude to netgalley and Walter Foster Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Anxious People (5 stars): “All we’ve managed to find out about the boundaries of the universe is that it hasn’t got any,”

Backman really knows how to write. He has a particular style and it might not resonate with you but his books have so much heart that it’s not possible to not love his people by the time you finish his books.

This book is no exception.

This is the story of a bank robber who ends up having to run away from the robbery and ends up taking a bunch of people at an open house hostage. Backman tells you that part from the very beginning.

As it seems common in his books, the characters don’t seem all that lovable on the surface. Some are downright annoying. And yet, as he often does, he slowly unwinds the story to show you how we are all connected to each other with invisible strings that tie together all of humanity. How we are each only a handful of steps removed from each others’ lives.

How each of us is struggling and striving to make a life for ourselves in different ways and coping with loss, grief, fear and anxiety.

“But she found ways to cope, to tunnel her way out of herself, to climb down. Some people accept that they will never be free of their anxiety, they just learn to carry it. She tried to be one of them.”

As is always the case, you can’t help but fall in love with each of his characters and they, of course, fall in love with each other too. Each other’s humanity. Each other’s frailty. Each other’s flaws. They see the beauty of each other and help each other. And in return they end up less alone, and more healed.

As if all that wouldn’t be enough, the writing in the book is also so beautiful:
“the sky doesn’t seem to bother even attempting to impress us, it greets us with the color of newspaper in a puddle, and dawn leaves behind it a fog as if someone has been setting fire to ghosts.”

And here’s the other magical thing about Backman: he leaves no loose ends. Everything ties up in this book, even the things you didn’t remember, he does. Everything comes full circle. There are surprises, sadness, happiness and of course hope. So much hope.

I cried big, fat tears as I finished this one. I am so so grateful I got to read it, especially in the middle of all that is going on in the world right now, I needed a book with this much hope and heart in my life. Thank you, Frederik Backman.

with gratitude to netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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The Science of Mindfulness and Self-Compassion (5 stars): You can never go wrong with a Kristin Neff’s work. She is phenomenal. This SoundsTrue audio class was no exception. I wish she had more publicly accessible work. Like Brene Brown and Tara Brach and Kelly McGonigal, Kristin Neff’s work speaks to me and I have to revisit it regularly to train my mind and unlearn+relearn.

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Stray (4 stars): This was an honest, raw memoir about Danler and her upbringing, the poor choices she’s made along the way in her life and how she is reckoning with all of it. It isn’t trying to paint a pretty picture of anyone (including herself) and it isn’t drawing out life’s lessons for the reader, it’s not a redemption story either. I think books this honest and real (and yet not melodramatic) are rare.

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Little Eyes (3 stars): I read this because one of my friends really loved it. I didn’t know what to expect and hadn’t read any of the blurbs. It was somewhat hard to follow on audio. While I enjoyed parts of it, I could never fully get into it and I felt the author was trying to make too many points at once. Didn’t love it but I did enjoy how weird and unusual the plot was and I did enjoy the exploration of both the up and down sides of such creepy/unusual technology.

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And there we go, grateful to be reading.

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Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.

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A Good Marriage (3.5 stars): If you’re in the mood for a mystery, you will enjoy this one. For me, it was a good mix of fast pace, character development, plot twists, and an overall good story. I really enjoyed it. For me, it had the right mix of fast and slow, plot twisty and character-driven.

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The Knockout Queen (4 stars): This was an unexpected novel. It’s not sweet and fluffy the way the cover or title might imply. This is about two teenagers growing up though difficult family and personal situations and being bullied at school. The writing is honest and brutal. I felt the gamut of feelings reading this, laughing out loud, crying, cringing, angry and everything in between. Life is so complicated and tough and people can be so cruel and this book doesn’t spare us much. It’s a controversial book and some loved it and some hated it. I was completely surprised by it and find myself still thinking about it two days (and two books) later.

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Something to Talk About (3 stars): I really enjoyed this sweet story. The whole story is about the build up so not the one for steamy scenes but i really enjoyed all my time with it.

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The Vanishing Half (4 stars): “There were many ways to be alienated from someone, few to actually belong.” I was really looking forward to this story and it did not disappoint. Brit Bennett is such a fantastic writer, she has an excellent way with words. This story about roots, racism, family, identity and motherhood was really layered. I really enjoyed not just Desiree and Stella and how we got to know so much more about them but I found myself more fascinated with Jude and Kennedy and how their sense of identity and belonging changed because of the choices their parents made. Britt Bennett is a fantastic writer and after two great books, I cannot wait to read more from her.

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Learn to Paint in Acrylics (4 stars): One of the best ways to learn to do something is to do it regularly. To create a routine around it. This book is a fantastic way to do that. It has all that you need to know to get started. It explains paint, brushes, surfaces, basic color theory and design principles. And then there are 50 paintings. You could do one a day, one a week, or even one a month. They are each simple and yet look great. I especially loved the chess piece, the wrapped candy, and the pretzel. These are simple and fun and great way to start your journey into acrylic.

with gratitude to netgalley and Quarry Books for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Colorful Fun Embroidery (3 stars): This book has really cute and lovely projects and there is a full range from quick ones to more complicated ones. The best part of these is that you don’t have to go and learn different stitches, you can jump in and do many of these with just the basic stitch. The projects are all colorful and very fun. I did wish there was a bit more variety in the projects, almost all of them are script-focused so if that’s not your thing, there aren’t many for you. My very favorite one was a simple rainbow pendant. If you’ve wanted to embroider but weren’t sure where to start, this is an excellent book to grab.

with gratitude to netgalley and Pen & Sword for an early copy in return for an honest review

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And there we go, grateful to be reading.

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Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.