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What I Read: June 2024

What I Read: June 2024

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Vacations are funny.

The days are long. The week is short. It makes time slow down and speed up. As I look at my list of June reads, some of these books feel like I read them a lifetime ago. So much has happened since then. But at the same time, everything is the same. I’ll stop rambling now…

Overall, June proved to be a solid month of reading. I’m definitely on a thriller/mystery/suspense kick:
-Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose
-Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena
-Don’t Believe It by Charlie Donlea
-The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
-One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
-The Coworker by Freida McFadden
-The Locked Door by Freida McFadden

Let’s get into the reviews!

Grass with water droplets
What I Read: May 2024

What I Read: May 2024

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I know it’s not technically summer, but it might as well be. It’s hot. It’s humid. And I find myself craving beach reads and summer camp thrillers.

While I got started on that trend later in the month, this month’s reads actually started rather heavy with fascinating (but disturbing and horrifying!) books on climate change and nuclear war.

This month’s reads included:
-You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen
-Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
-The Heat Will Kill You First by Jeff Goodell
-Choosing Theo by Victoria Aveline
-The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
-Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Now for the reviews!

What I Read: April 2024

What I Read: April 2024

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This was an odd month of reading for me!

My picks were a bit all over the place: Thriller, fantasy, historical fantasy, magical realism, literary fiction and non-fiction:
– Red Island House by Andrea Lee
– The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest
– The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
– Nightmare Fuel by Nina Nesseth
– The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
– Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
– To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang

I enjoy shaking things up from time to time, but I am definitely getting the urge to return to ‘romantasy’ (romantic fantasy) or picking up a beach read from Elin Hilderbrand now that temperatures are really heating up.

But first, let’s get into the reviews!

What I Read: March 2024

What I Read: March 2024

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I’m not sure when it happened, but with my reading I’ve seemed to have made the switch from “romantasy” (romance fantasy) back to thrillers again. I’ve always loved a good mystery and appreciate a well-thought out twist, so it’s not the most surprising trend!

March’s reads included four thriller/psychological suspense novels (some of which were SUPER disturbing) and two non-fiction picks:

-The Maid’s Diary by Loreth Anne White
-Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
-The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doidge, MD
-Dear Child by Romy Hausmann
-Raise Your Game by Alan Stein, Jr.
-The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon

Let’s get into the reviews!

What I Read: November 2023

What I Read: November 2023

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How are we already in the last few weeks of 2023? It’s like it was January, I blinked, and now, suddenly, I’m thinking about New Year’s resolutions again.

November wasn’t my biggest month of reading in terms of number of books, but several of these books were thick! (I also put a big dent in another 800-page book that will probably be included in my December recap).

Here’s the list:
-The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
-Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
-Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
-Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
-Up To Speed by Christine Yu
-What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction by Alice McDermott

Oddly enough, I am maintaining my near-even split between non-fiction and fiction even though I consider myself largely a fiction reader.

Let’s get into the reviews!

What I Read: October 2023

What I Read: October 2023

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I was on a roll with reading this month, finishing 9 books! I really leaned into fiction, reading only two non-fiction books:

-Hollow Heathens by Nicole Fiorina
-Rootbound by Tarah Dewitt
-Cat Tale by Craig Pittman
-A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing
-The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman
-Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent
-Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
-Pumpkin Spice Scare by Molly Maple
-The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

As you can see, the book choices are really all over the place. I had two holiday-esque books, romance, fantasy, and a memoir throw in there as well.

Let’s get into the reviews!

What I Read: August 2023

What I Read: August 2023

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To say this year has been flying by would be an understatement.

I remember looking forward to summer one moment and now I find myself already thinking about the holiday season and enjoying pumpkin spice lattes. Time is so weird.

In August, my reading picked back up from the slower July and my trend of leaning toward fantasy continued.

August’s reads included:
-The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark
-King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair
-Queen of Myth and Monsters by Scarlett St. Clair
-The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis
-Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
-Your Money Or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joseph Dominguez
-Cultish by Amanda Montell

Now for the reviews!

What I Read: July 2023

What I Read: July 2023

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Despite my intentions to read some beach-y, fun summer books… that didn’t happen.

In fact, my reading seemed to slow way down this month. In part, because I was traveling and exhausted. But I did also tackle a 784-page book, so that likely played a role.

I still seem to be continuing my trend this year toward non-fiction and fantasy with July’s reads including:
-A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
-A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
-The Power of One More by Ed Mylett
-Ragdoll by Daniel Cole
-Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt

Now for the reviews!

Goal setting planner
What are SMARTER goals? (With Examples!)

What are SMARTER goals? (With Examples!)

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I was hesitant to write this post.

I don’t want to say that I was traumatized as that’s probably a bit dramatic, but having to complete SMART goals each year for a previous job did… leave a bad taste in my mouth. Can anyone else relate??

Considering that the SMART framework is an effective way to set achievable goals, it’s obviously very disappointing to feel this way about the process. So, when I heard about SMARTER goals while listening to the audio version of Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt, I wanted to give the whole process another chance.

What I Read: June 2023

What I Read: June 2023

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I have a confession.

Summer is only just officially in full swing… and yet, I find myself already opening my fall candles and smelling them. I love that time of the year, but I’m trying to get myself to embrace the season I’m in more. Maybe, I’ll actually read some summer/beachy books in July!

As for June’s reads, I’m continuing to read a lot of non-fiction (which is a bit surprising) and fantasy:
-A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
-Ledge by Stacey McEwan
-To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
-The Good Life by Marc. S Schulz and Robert J. Waldinger
-Mastering Plot Twists by Jane K. Cleland
-How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind by Dana K. White
-Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Now for the reviews!