February 9, 2016

January Books

In my ABC update last week, I mentioned that reading is something I'm doing in an unintentional way right now. As a result, I feel much less stress about the whole thought of reading, so this is a strategy that's working for me this winter.  Only 5 books in January? I can live with that.  What I can't live with is that none of them were awesome. Maybe I'm being too picky.



Books that are part of the Winter Book Challenge are in blue.

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling C-
I honestly couldn't tell the difference between this and her last book.  The last one talked a lot about her childhood, while this went from college to the present.  But I was bored.  There were a few parts where I chuckled. I loved The Office.  I don't really watch The Mindy Project.  I like her, but I don't know if we could be friends, so it wasn't like reading her book was likened to having a conversation with a friend. She seems super easygoing and I am...not. I might be the only person who doesn't love her books.
And reading about her day-to-day schedule was exhausting.  I met her once but didn't get a picture like I did with B.J. Novak.  Darn, right?

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo A
See separate review here.

You by Caroline Kepnes C+
This is like Dexter meets 50 Shades meets Gossip Girl. Kind of.  I didn't love it. I thought it was just a really weird book. None of the characters were likable and this almost wasn't finished because I just wasn't invested in Joe's brand of crazy.  He is what I would refer to as an "unlikable Dexter" and Dexter was a serial killer but he had many decent qualities; Joe has none. Beck has even less so it's hard to sympathize with her.
If anything, this teaches us to erase our digital footprints and stop using Twitter.
This might be one where I insist on reading the sequel even though I didn't love it.  That's what happened with Me Before You/After You.

Killing Reagan by Bill O'Reilly C+
There's few things I enjoy more than a non-fiction biography of sorts narrated by Bill O'Reilly.  Is that kind of twisted?  I just love these books. Unfortunately, this was my least favorite of the series...I do recommend the documentary series on Netflix called Crimes of the Century. I learned about this event from that, initially, a few years ago. This topic might just be too modern at this point.
If you're going to read a Killing book, go with Killing Kennedy.
From this book, I learned about what a terrible person Nancy Reagan was as first lady and I also was able to recollect that Reagan died the day after I graduated from high school.  It's like I knew that on some level, but never connected it.

The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Edwards D
My friend sent me this for Christmas (hi Jenna!) and it comes with accolades and recommendations from many famous authors. I had high hopes, but it just kind of fell flat.  Like, the story didn't make me care about the characters.  There was a lot of superfluous dialogue/action/characters that just didn't need to be there.  I wouldn't completely discourage you from reading it, but I didn't fall in love with it in any way.  There's some important themes and serious issues (namely children illegally immigrating to the US), but there just wasn't a follow-through for me. And the ending was weird.

Linking up with Jana and Steph!

10 comments:

  1. I think it's good to know the amazing books as well as the duds. Thanks for sharing!!

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  2. I keep seeing the Why Not Me book and being tempted by it, but I was totally underwhelmed with her first one--so I'm kind of glad I haven't ever pulled the trigger on it.

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  3. Who knew Nancy Reagan was such a bitch? I guess it's just our generation, because everyone I talked to who was an adult during his presidency knew. I've read Reagan, Kennedy, and Patton. Patton was my least favorite. I've got Killing Lincoln, but I just haven't got around to it. I love these books, but I have to be in the mood for them.

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  4. I'm too picky when it comes to books if the first few pages don't keep my attention I put it down.

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  5. I didn't love the second Mindy book. She lost some of her normalcy since she's a showrunner now, and it showed. I did like You a lot, though. He was so weird and messed up that I had to keep reading. Thanks for the Netflix rec - I'm always looking for something new and that sounds like something my husband would like, too.

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  6. gah that sucks about the crappy books lately. i hope you find a good one soon. i enjoyed mindy's first book even though i knew nothing about her, i have the second one ready to go but i have to be in the right mood for books like that. i get what you mean about 'You' i really didn't like the characters, but i guess i thought iot was well written kind of because it kept me interested even though it freaked me out / disgusted me? it's hard for me to rate books like that because they aren't books i normally gravitate towards or would pick up on my own, so it's like i'm already biased, you know?

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  7. I loved Joe's brand of psychosis.

    I hate when I'm on a streak of crap books.

    I liked the first Mindy book okay...not enough to read the second.

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  8. So many people loved You. It was just okay for me too. I remember saying that with 100 pages left in it, I just wanted it to be over. That's not a sign of enjoying the book.

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  9. I read Mindy's first book, and I didn't like it. I never watched any of her shows, but I just heard that people loved it and thought it was funny. I really didn't. So you are not alone.

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  10. Is it bad that the top recommendation I've taken away from this is Crimes of the Century? I do love a good documentary. Maybe that's why my book list was so short this month, too....

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