During my accidental book swap hosting, I was trying to find a book gif to liven up the Facebook post and other than the ones with Belle, I was kind of disappointed in the selection. I don't know what I wanted, but I feel like there should at least be books explosions, or books in space, or a mountain of books, or someone happily rolling in a swimming pool of books. Seriously, not a specific vision at all...
Anyway, I started the month off with some duds and then struggled a bit to get back into it. I was also trying to force myself to only read productively and I started to get a bit burned out with it, so I ended up rereading the Percy Jackson series when I needed a break.
Anyway, I started the month off with some duds and then struggled a bit to get back into it. I was also trying to force myself to only read productively and I started to get a bit burned out with it, so I ended up rereading the Percy Jackson series when I needed a break.
♥♥♥♥♥ - Loved!
Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World by Lisa Bloom
I started reviewing this and realized I needed to talk a lot more about it. Full review here, but basically this WILL make you think. It's not necessarily fun to read but I highly recommend because the vast majority of us could use a reminder to educate ourselves about the world we live in and not get distracted by the petty bullshit that dominates American culture. Even if you're thinking to yourself, "Oh, I already do that" still read it. There'll be something you didn't know and she has a ton of great resources at the end.
The Secrets of Happy Families by Bruce Feiler
Sooo good. I do feel like a lot of the tips are better geared towards families with non-babies (as in old enough to talk and think vs my little fetus) because they involve things like forging your family identity and letting the kids have a say in their chores and discipline and so on, but I discussed almost every idea with Ryan and I fully intend on rereading this in 4 years or so. I LOVE the idea of using business organization tactics at home and I also love that everything the author talks about is based on research (including his own, anecdotes from other successful families, and scientific studies). I also appreciate the author's attitude - he's very humble and has more of a "pick and choose what works for you" approach than a "one size fits all."
♥♥♥♥ - Liked
Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
Fun facts and an interesting take on various social/cultural issues. I was surprised how interesting they managed to make trivia and I'm glad to know more of the science behind global warming (I feel like normally people take a political approach when they discuss it instead of explaining the research). I was also fascinated by the economics of prostitution. :P
♥♥♥ - Ambivalent-ed
100 Habits of Successful Freelance Designers by Steve Gordon Jr.
Not much to say about this one. It was pretty, had lots of imagery and easy to scan, bulleted information. It read more like an Internet article than a book, which was great because I had too many books and needed to get rid of some quickly. But I also didn't feel like it was anything I couldn't have gotten from searching the Internet. So... meh.
♥♥ - Mildly Disliked
None!
♥ - Did Not Finish or Wanted to Burn in a Fire
MFW Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche
I will concede that there is a small possibility that this book redeemed itself by the end. However, the author enraged me so much in the first 30 pages that I could not continue. The author seemed so immature, and judgmental, and had no self awareness that I could detect. Whining about your lack of friends, and then jumping to snap decisions about people and "playing hard to get" or thinking someone else is weird for inviting you out again because it's "too soon." Nope, nuh uh, just not my cup of tea. I do understand wimping out or feeling awkward, but at least I know it's my own damn fault when that happens. And even if the author does learn to be a better person by the end, I don't need to read a whole book to figure out how to be nice to people and put myself out there.
Currently...
Beauty and the Clockwork Beast for a nice change o' pace, and then Year of Yes for my "while being productive" audiobook.
Challenge Updates
Erin 5.0
Finally complete! And just in time for the end of the challenge (ran until the end of October so... yeah I cut it close). Challenge book this month: Happy Families.
Jenn Self Book Challenge
I could cheat and count a couple of these, but they were all completed well before I started my personal challenge, so I'll start counting next month.
What have you been reading? Have you read anything from my list and what did you think?
