September 2019
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang: I picked up this book solely because I knew the heroine was autistic. I am loving that they are more authors writing about heroines that are different, it was so refreshing reading from an autistic person point of view. This is basically a modern pretty women story, instead the girl is the rich one and autistic. It was such a fun read and I totally recommend it, it is a little steamy fyi. It also has several heartfelt moments. Verdict: 4 stars
Educated by Tara Westover: I’m mad at myself it took me so long to pick up this book. In this book Tara tells her life story growing up in the Mormon faith with an eccentric dad and abusive brother. She managed to get in college without going to high school and ends up at Cambridge and Harvard. Her story is riveting and I couldn’t put this book down. Tara’s memoir reminds me that we are so much stronger than we think. Verdict: 5 stars
The Honest Truth About Dishonesty by Dan Ariely: This book started slow for me but quickly got really interesting specially the fashion section. Dan did a series of study to find out how dishonest people can be. Most of all how we come to believe the lies we tell ourselves. It was a fun read for me but it may not be your cup of tea if you are not in the mood to hear the author go over a bunch of data on this subject. He is clearly very passionate about this subject which kept me interested throughout the book. Verdict: 3.5 stars.
The Secret Lives of Introverts by Jenn Granneman: Oh I so loved this book and was nodding the entire time I was reading it. I’ve known for a long time now that I was introverted and came to terms with that. I often resent society and the way it views introverted people, like we are mean or boring. Which is so wrong, if you are introverted you will love this book, if you are extroverted perhaps it will help you better understand us introverts. Verdict: 5 stars
Before We Were Strangers by Renée Carlino: I picked this up on a whim so I had no expectations. It is a sad and sweet love story, Grace and Matt met in college and instantly fell for each other. They lost touch for 15 years, the story goes over both time periods (college days and now) from both of their perspectives. It wasn’t your typical, they met and everything went perfectly. It got really messy but I don’t want to give too much away. I loved it! Verdict: 4.5 stars.
OCTOBER 2018
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari: This is the same author who wrote one of my favorite books Sapiens. This book covers the issues we currently face, this book may not have solutions for our problems but it offers a clearer view of our current situation. I personally loved it, Yuval is officially a favorite of mine. Verdict: 5 stars.
Josh + Hazel Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren: This book made me laugh and it was a sweet love story. It’s not your typical love story and the heroine Hazel is not the typical perfect girl with her shit together. She’s hilarious, I could not put it down. Verdict: 5 Stars
The Dip by Seth Godin: Some people are proud of not being quitters, well sometimes quitting is the right thing to do. If you are considering quitting anything, this book will give you the push you need or convince you to stick it out. This book is a gem and a fast read. I love Seth and listen to his podcast Akimbo religiously. Verdict: 5 Stars
The Coddling of the American Mind: This book is great for parents, I don’t have kids and found it fascinating still. It highlights the various ways we are hurting kids by coddling them and the struggles of iGen or GenZ. This book covers the issues happening with iGen on college campuses. It’s really a must read, full with valuable info. Considering I might be working with this generation soon, it was a little scary. I got the recommendation from Gina, she’s also doing a book review post today. Verdict: 5 Stars
Lying by Sam Harris: Sam Harris argues that even white lies are not worth it and he was pretty convincing. This is a great book that goes straight to the point. I picked this up after I started listening to Sam Harris‘s podcast, I finished it in one day. Verdict: 5 Stars
Love and other Words by Christina Lauren: I loved the previous book so much, I had to pick up another one by the same authors. This is another great, well thought out love story. I preferred the previous book slightly but this was a page turner for me as well. Deducting a star because the heroine was annoying to me at times. Verdict: 4 Stars
NOVEMBER 2019
The Elephant in the Brain: It took be a while to finish this book but it was so good. It made me question my motives, specially all the excuses I like to make for myself to justify this or that behavior. I loved the part about donations because it resonated with my beliefs. It’s long winded but this book is full of valuable of information and I highly recommend it. It also goes over religion, politics, medicine and more. Verdict: 5 stars
10 Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts by Oliver Wyman: This book pretty much gave me the push I needed to make some drastic changes with my social media habits. I didn’t delete my accounts because of the blog but I did remove all social media accounts from my phone. So if this book convincing, yes! Yes it is. Verdict: 5 stars
Always and Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han: My OCD didn’t allow me to just move on, so of course I had to finish Lara Jean’s story. The first book is still my favorite but I was still happy to read about her story and how her relationship with Peter evolved. It’s a lovely YA book. Verdict: 4 stars
Where Should We Begin: I love Ester Perel and have read all her books. This is the third installment of her couple therapy sessions that you get to listen in on. It is so interesting. This is not a book but it is available on Audible. Verdict: 4.5 stars.
All My Life by Prescott Lane: This is not your typical love story, he not only didn’t choose her, he even had a baby with another girl. Eventually she did get her happy ending because she loved him all her life. It was a light read and very sweet. Now I don’t know how someone can spend their entire life pining for another person but what do I know. Verdict: 4 stars
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory: Now this was a more modern and diverse love story. The heroine got proposed to at a baseball game by the guy she’s being seeing for the past 6 months. Of course she said no and was left humiliated in the stadium. Thankfully, this guy and his sister came to her rescue when she was been hounded by reporters. Eventually she end up with him as her rebound guy, unfortunately their casual affair gets complicated when someone develop real feelings. Verdict: 4 stars
Hate Notes by Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward: This was your typical romance novel BUT the heroine although perfect looking was quirky and funny. She made me chuckle a few times. Another thing I loved about this book is that the guy was of course gorgeous but had some serious health issues that I honestly did not see coming, I don’t want to spoil it for you. The epilogue went 26 years later, although they are still together and in love, they are facing challenges. So this was pretty refreshing compared to other perfect love stories. Verdict: 4 stars
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewel: Last Sunday, I asked for a new book recommendation and my friend Gina told me about this one. I could not put it down! The story is about a missing girl, once her mother finally start to move forward with her life and get a new boyfriend, she can’t help but notice the resemblance between her dead daughter and her boyfriend’s youngest child. This story is not like Gone Girl, there’s no major plot twist. You will figure out pretty early on what happened but the character development is amazing. The author also does a great job at not casting some people as villains and others as saints, there’s a grey area. Even the worst characters, you get a view inside their madness. You will bad feel for the mom but like any human she wasn’t a perfect. She wasn’t a great mom to her other children and made some mistakes.GET THIS BOOK AND THANK ME LATER. Verdict: 5 stars