January Reads

Liked/Loved

Recursion by Black Crouch – Loved this book, read it in about a day and a half.  It’s about something that starts affecting people called False Memory Syndrome. A cop and a neuroscientist work to fix the problems that have started to happen as people re-experience memories from a technology that allows people to go back in time and life a parallel timeline to the one they already lived.

The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner – Sad, sad book but also, so interesting to see the way that Ruth and her siblings lived in a polygamist colony in poverty. 

Molly's Game by Molly Bloom - Really liked this book, about a young woman getting into the underground world of poker and the rise and fall of it.  It would be interesting to hear other people's side of view.

Maid by Stephanie Land - This was about a woman who was living in poverty and making money by working as a maid and cleaning houses and trying to care for her daughter as a single mother.  It was interesting to understand the hoops necessary to even prove/claim she was in need of government benefits.  It definitely made me want to hold Hailey and hug her a little tighter 

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah - A story about two best friends, one who chooses to be a stay at home mom and the other who goes down the path of reporting and becomes famous.  It explored the rollercoaster of their friendship and their fallouts.  The ending was so sad

A Promised Land by Barack Obama - I really appreciated this book.  Since it was his memoir, I'm sure there are decisions that he made that weren't rainbows and butterflies and were more complicated than he explained, but it was still a really good book.  Obama was campaining while I was a senior in high school and became president when I was just starting college, so I was not very informed back then of the events going on in the world and how bad the economy was, so this was a great book to put things into better perspective. 

Meh

A Beautiful Work in Progress by Mirna Valerio – Mirna is a very inspiring person to follow on Instagram.  As a “larger” runner, this book is a memoir of some of the runs she’s done and other hardships she’s overcome in her life. 

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo - This was a pretty good book.  I liked the examples that she gave with each chapter to bring things into perspective and help me understand why some of the things that I think can be improved on

Nope

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen – Three sisters experience unspeakable domestic abuse at the hands of their mother.  I found this to be quite brutal and graphic and hard to read.  I like that it had a happier ending.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle - Had a decent, strong start but then just became preachy and hypocritical and sounded way to much like Rachel Hollis.