If you’ve been following along, you know I’ve been traveling a lot. First Palm Springs, then Austin, London, Atlanta, and next week will be Atlanta again. One of the best things about traveling is the time in transit to read! Full disclosure, my guilty pleasure is absolutely a grocery-store romance novel, but lately, I’ve been trying to read a bit more of substance. Wanted to share some short book reviews with you – the several I loved and the few I didn’t.
Plan B by Jonathan Tropper
This is an older book (2010) written by the guy who wrote the book behind This Is Where I Leave You. Hands down my favorite of the past few months, it’s about a friend group in their 30s who contemplate kidnapping their famous friend to help him kick his cocaine habit. There’s self-reflection, mystery, and even romance. Highly recommend!
The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron
I’ve talked about the Enneagram a bit on here and this book is extremely helpful in identifying your number and understanding what all of the numbers mean. It goes into the background of the Enneagram and helps you understand why you may act the way you do in situations and how you can better yourself based on your type. My one warning: while the Enneagram itself is not religious, it has gained popularity with the religious sect, so this book has a lot of talk around God and the Bible. I honestly just read around that a bit because I feel strongly that the tool is so useful.
Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman
The premise of this book sounds really fun – a woman who keeps a log of gossip noted in an old yearbook passes away and bequeaths the book to her daughter … who promptly throws it away. A nosey neighbor picks it out of the trash and decides to write a screenplay based on the secrets written within and causes all sorts of problems digging into the past. I had high hopes for this one, but sadly it fell flat for me. The character relationships weren’t believable and what could have been a dramatic story line seemed predictable and boring. If you’re looking for something mindless for a few hours, this is your pick. If not, I’d pass and grab another!
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Not to get overly political here, but I really, REALLY miss the Obamas. This book was so incredibly well written and helped me understand both the sacrifices Michelle made for her husband and our country, as well as what a rockstar she is in her own right! Even if you don’t line up with her politically, you’ll enjoy this book for tales of triumph and women empowerment.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Another great book with some mystery and intrigue! It’s about an aging actress who decides to tell her life story to a “nobody” journalist. I tore through this because it was such a fun read and although I did guess the plot twist (a major book / movie pet peeve of mine) it wasn’t until much closer to the end, which kept me in suspense a bit longer.
Molly’s Game by Molly Bloom
This is a memoir from a woman who ran an exclusive underground poker ring in Hollywood for years before getting caught and brought up on federal charges. I was hoping for more girl power vibes, but instead felt this read more like “entitled girl takes credit for men puppeteering her to do bad stuff.” The entire book is a brag about how she built this game from scratch and made money hand over fist, yet her legal defense in the end was that she had been “ordered into” the whole ordeal by her former boss. If you pick it up, expect a fun inside scoop into a world of wealth and fame, but keep your expectations low when it comes to the lady of the hour.
All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin
I was skeptical when ordering this book, but wound up really loving it. It’s about a mom of a teenage boy navigating modern-day bullying and a dad of a teen girl – the victim of said bullying. It’s very topical and the characters are easy to love – or hate … Even though it’s a work of fiction, I think it’s a great book for parents to read.
Right now, I’m painfully trying to get through When Life Gives You Lululemons. I find the way these women talk to each other and think about sensitive issues like relationships, wealth, and weight to be pretty repulsive. After that, I’m on to The Great Alone which has been sitting on my Kindle for ages.
I’ll likely be back in a few weeks with a fresh, new reading list! Tell me in the comments – what’s something you’ve read recently that I should add?
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