January Book Review

January always seems to be a month I’m able to squeeze in more books than normal and since sharing is caring I am dishing on them today! None of these were the kind of page turners I had to stay in my pj’s all day long for but they were some good easy reads with enough substance to keep my attention and definitely had some feel good moments.

Amazon: For hyper-particular publishing heir Jonathan Grief, the day starts like any other—with a strict morning fitness regimen that’ll keep his divorced, easily irritated, cynical, forty-two-year-old self in absolutely flawless physical condition. But all it takes to put a crimp in his routine is one small annoyance. Someone has left a leather-bound day planner with the handwritten title Your Perfect Year in his spot on his mountain bike at his fitness course!

Determined to discover its owner, Jonathan opens the calendar to find that someone known only as “H.” has filled it in with suggestions, tasks, and affirmative actions for each day. The more he devotes himself to locating the elusive H., the deeper Jonathan is drawn into someone else’s rich and generous narrative—and into an attitude adjustment he desperately needs.

My thoughts: This was an easy ready with a decent plot line and a little twist I wasn’t expecting. The ending is a teeny bit predictable, or at least it was for me, but I didn’t mind as it turned out the way I would have wanted it to! For a cheap and easy read it was worth the download.

Amazon: Everyone knows DAISY JONES & THE SIX, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now. Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.

My thoughts: With an interesting writing style coming from the poing of view of multiple band members and family members as if in an inteview, you really have a chance to get to know all sides of this story. It took me a minute to decide if I liked it or not and I also think I loved and hated some of the same characters at different times. This is definitely a story of chasing your dreams and making the choices along the way to get you there no matter what you might lose in the process. It’s also a story of loving someone enough to walk away. All in all it was a page turner once I got into a rhythm and I really was a little shocked at who was interviewing the band members for the book.

Amazon: Annika Rose is an English major at the University of Illinois. Anxious in social situations where she finds most people’s behavior confusing, she’d rather be surrounded by the order and discipline of books or the quiet solitude of playing chess.

Jonathan Hoffman joined the chess club and lost his first game―and his heart―to the shy and awkward, yet brilliant and beautiful Annika. Jonathan and Annika bring out the best in each other, finding the confidence and courage within themselves to plan a future together. What follows is a tumultuous yet tender love affair that withstands everything except the unforeseen tragedy that forces them apart.

Now, a decade later, fate reunites Annika and Jonathan in Chicago. The attraction and strong feelings they once shared are instantly rekindled, but until they confront the fears and anxieties that drove them apart, their second chance will end before it truly begins.

My thoughts: I really loved so much about this sweet and tender love story! The book bounces back and forth between the past and the present from both Annika and Jonathan’s perspective. I loved piecing it all together and loved the ending.

Amazon: It is true that opposites attract–for a while. But often as the years go by in our marriages, opposites may also begin to attack. The habits and characteristics we once found endearing about our significant other are the exact things that drive us crazy years later!

Whether you and your spouse disagree about finances, parenting, or how to load the dishwasher, your differences don’t need to divide you. They can actually bring you closer together–and closer to God.

My thoughts: It did not take turning many pages to find Karen and I are very similar and I could relate to so many of the situations she found herself in with her spouse. While I do think there is a ton of great information and I definitely gained a few nuggets, I do think this book is a stronger read for those who are still struggling a bit with keepin their marriage “happy”. While we don’t have a perfect marriage by any means, we are in a more stable relationship than we were even 5 years ago. We have both grown a ton and we definitely keep showing up!

I read Karen’s book Keep it Shut a few years back and it was a really, really great read. Her writing is super easy and she provides so many great examples of real life struggles.

My goal for 2020 is to complete one fiction and one non-fiction each month. My list of nonfiction books I want to read is complete but what are the must reads I should have on my fiction list?