Amber Can Read : May 2022 Edition

Once upon a time (pun totally intended), I used to read...a lot. Instead of spending hours scrolling through social media or attempting to organize the thousands of tabs I have open on my phone and computers, I would read. I stayed up late reading. I read during lunch breaks. I read during other meals. I enjoyed making to-read lists and reading about upcoming books. 

But, somewhere along the way over the last couple of years, I've lost that joy of reading. I love reading with Charli on the nights we don't stay up too late, and when I start a fiction book, I usually devour it, but overall I've just lost my spark for reading. 

(If I stop and think about it, I've kind of lost my spark for a lot of things, but that's an entirely different post for an entirely different day...). 

I want to get back into reading, and I noticed that when I posted about reading, I was much more likely to read more. Funny how that works. So, I'm restarting my monthly reading recaps in hopes of starting to reclaim a part of myself that I miss. Here we go!

Disclaimer: If you click on the picture of the book, then it will take you to an Amazon purchase link. If you choose to buy the book from that link, I will earn a few pennies from it. It won't cost you anything extra, so it's a win-win situation! 😉 If you click on the title of the book, it will take you to a Goodreads link for the book. Last thing - if you want to be friends on Goodreads, add me! 

Books read in May - 3

Books read in 2022 - 17 (wow, I've read even less this year than I realized!)

1. Women and Power by Mary Beard

I don't remember where I initially saw or heard about this book, but it's one of several that has been off and on my library holds shelf for a few months now. I have a tendency to reserve the limit of electronic books, and then, surprise, surprise, they all become available at the same time, and I have to use the "Deliver Later" feature to delay some of them. When I finally decided to read this one, I saw that it was pretty short - I guess my old English major brain didn't connect the word "manifesto" in the title to it being a short essay. 

This wasn't my favorite, but I kind of skated through it just to finish it and finally get it out of the deliver later cycle. I believe this was initially a speech she gave, and I think it would've been more enjoyable in that format. It was a little dry to read, and I found myself doing a lot of skimming in order to finish it quickly. 

Recommended for : academically-minded readers who want a brief overview of feminism

2. One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

Bea is a plus-sized fashion blogger who writes a ranting post about how Main Squeeze, a reality show that totally isn't based on The Bachelorette/Bachelor franchise, never has any plus-sized representation, and the post goes so viral that she is chosen to be on the next season of the show. But, she has a lot of trouble believing that the men on the show are actually interested in her...a fat woman. 

Between this book, one I finished yesterday (that will be in next month's post), and If the Shoe Fits, which I read in April and found several similarities to this one (but it was better because it's a modern-day retelling of Cinderella and is written by Julie Murphy, who has yet to steer me wrong!), I've seen a trend in books of fat women not believing that they are worthy of love or happiness in life. As a fat woman who is happily married and enjoys most parts of her life (I could use a new hairstyle, a pay raise, and a lot of organizing in our house), I don't understand these books. Maybe it's because the main characters are younger than me or because I try to follow a lot of body positive or body neutral creators. Maybe it's because I married a wonderful man who supports and loves me no matter which weight loss scheme I'm trying or if I'm saying the heck with it and asking for ice cream after work.  Maybe it's one of a million reasons, but the point is, I'm over this trope. Yes, I want to lose some weight to feel more like I used to, but I don't believe that my life has to be on hold or that I'm not worthy of love or happiness until that happens, and no one reading this should feel that way either! 

Okay, I'm finished ranting about this one. Luckily the book I mentioned above that I'll talk about next month has more depth than this one, so it hopefully won't cause another wall of words!

Recommended for : fans of cheesy reality shows and rom-com novels that are predictable even when they're trying to have a big twist, also for people who can overlook the "poor, pitiful, fat me" stereotype

3. Organizing Solutions for People With ADHD by Susan Pinsky

I knew this book probably wasn't going to be super helpful when she mentioned that people buy too many things, and if you run out of toilet paper before you go to the store again, that means you purchased what you needed and you could just use a napkin or paper towel. Listen, I know that I can sometimes be guilty of stocking up on too many things, but I don't mess around with toilet paper! In my opinion, you can't overbuy toilet paper (sorry to everyone who may be having 2020 flashbacks to the empty toilet paper aisles). I found this book preachy and long-winded, two things that are really helpful to neurodiverse people who want to organize their spaces...

Recommended for : people who don't have issues with cleaning and organizing since the tips in this book kind of sucked

This month's favorite book : None of them were great, but I guess I would go with One to Watch since it was the least worst out of the three!

This month's least favorite book : Definitely the Organizing Solutions book. It just didn't resonate with me!

Read anything good lately? Let me know in the comments!

Linking up with Steph and Jana for the last time! Hopefully I can find another reading link up to participate in because I love seeing suggestions for new books to read! 

Amber Can Read : December 2020 Edition

I know you have all on the edge of your seats wondering if I hit my Goodreads goal for 2020. Drum roll, please.

I did not. 

I made it to 77 books, which put me slightly above halfway to my goal of 150 books for the year. I had so much trouble getting into reading and focusing, so instead of being frustrated about falling short, I'm going to be happy that I still read as many books as I did! 

This year, I decided to go for 150 books as my goal, which is the exact same as last year. I feel better about this year though, even if we still are quarantined/locked down for a good part of it. I can't wait to dive into this year of reading and crush this goal!

But first, let's look at what I read in December!

Disclaimer: If you click on the picture of the book, then it will take you to an Amazon purchase link. If you choose to buy the book from that link, I will earn a few pennies from it. It won't cost you anything extra, so it's a win-win situation! 😉 If you click on the title of the book, it will take you to a Goodreads link for the book. Last thing - if you want to be friends on Goodreads, add me! 

Books read in December: 6

Books read in 2020: 77

1. More Myself by Alicia Keys

I've made it no secret that I enjoy celebrity memoirs, and I like her music (okay, I'm a surface fan; I like her music that I've heard on the radio), so I thought I would enjoy this one. At the beginning, I did. It was inspiring to read about how the daughter of a single mother worked hard, used her talent, and got signed for her first record deal. However, I liked her less and less as the book dragged on, and by the end, I was rolling my eyes and just skimming through it. I think what flipped the switch was when she started talking about her concept (borrowed from Oprah) of the resounding yes, making space in her life after tours/recording/events to have time alone with her family, her charitable work, etc. I'm all for confidence and being proud of who you are, but it read like a #humblebrag (only without the humble). It's absolutely wonderful that you can take the time off between your tours to be with your family and experience the peace of being at home. I'm so incredibly glad that you're able to only say yes to the events that nourish your soul. It's not that I don't think this is realistic for actual people; I think there's an opportunity for all of to do some variation of this. I think it's just the way that she puts it into words and presents it as "this is what I do, and if you don't like it, then tough on you." There's a part where she goes into the whole #nomakeup movement that evidently she was instrumental in starting, then another part where she talks about wearing makeup while being a judge on The Voice. Don't worry though - when another judge said that he thought she didn't wear makeup, she made sure to let him know that she does "whatever the f she wants to." Cool, cool. 

I didn't mean to go on such a rant about this book, but I think reading it in 2020 when life was exceedingly difficult for a number of people (including my family at times) just made me super salty. When you're having day-to-day issues, it's hard to cheer for someone who devotes time talking about how she and her husband like to give each other extravagant gifts and outdo each other every birthday. Wonderful. Meanwhile, I'll continue to keep my grocery order under $100 this week because, you know, we live in the actual world.

Recommended for: Anyone who is a huge fan of hers and won't care about all of the stuff I've complained about above, anyone who has low blood pressure and needs to raise theirs by reading about the struggles she has endured (particularly if you've just finished paying utility bills or something similar).

2. The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward

I didn't like this one at all. I wanted to. There was one character (Cord) who I liked the most, and I was interested in his sister Reagan's sub-story, but that was about it. I found this book scattered, and I thought it was difficult to really care about any of the characters (except Cord). The only reason I finished it was because I wanted to see if there would be a good resolution to the events, but even that let me down. This book also had such an unsatisfying and abrupt ending. I was so mad, but since I finished it after Will was asleep, I couldn't even share how annoyed I was! I'm sure he's sad he missed that...

Recommended for: No one, unless you like disappointment and books about whiny families where the issues never fully get resolved. 

3. The End of October by Lawrence Wright

 

This felt like a couple of books mushed together. It was about an infectious disease scientist trying to contain a worldwide pandemic (seems a little familiar), but it was also about how his family was affected by it, a political scandal, a submarine, something about an old colleague of his, maybe 10 or 12 other sub-stories too, I don't know. It felt like too much disjointed content trying to fit together. Plus, I don't know the author's background, but he either is really good at research or has a history in some of this stuff because the writing was so boring at times, I can only assume he has written academic, peer-researched papers about these things. I didn't quit this one only because I wanted to see what would happen to the scientist and his family. I should've just looked it up online because it was such a blah book that wasted my time.

Recommended for: Fans of sci-fi-ish type stories who can handle boring and technical writing, people who can keep up with multiple plotlines better than I can.

4. Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle

Lest you think my December was full of literary losers, this book has come to provide a little hope! This was the story of a woman who found a body floating under the deck in a lake near her home. After her husband finds out, he disappears for a few days, leaving her to try to solve the mystery of who the woman was. If that wasn't enough, it turns out that this is the second body that has been found in that lake; the first one belonged to her husband's first wife. This was a good mystery that showed how far people would go to protect their friendships and relationships. And honestly, I was just so excited to finally like a book this month!

Recommended for: Mystery fans, people who think lakes are disgusting and want another reason to stay out of them

5. Fly Guy Presents: Monster Trucks by Tedd Arnold

I got this one in a Book Fair preview pack during my school librarian days. I read it on Christmas Eve so I could give it to our younger nephew on Christmas (not as a gift - just as a book that Aunt Amber thought he'd find interesting!). I had never read any Fly Guy books, but I know that they're popular. This is a non-fiction title that gives information about a certain topic (obviously monster trucks in this case). It was quick and informative. Thanks to this book, I was able to recognize that our nephew got the "Gravedigger" truck for Christmas. See, reading does help you learn...

Recommended for: Kids or adults who want to be cool and learn to recognize popular monster trucks so they can briefly impress their nephews on Christmas day...

6. The Cousins by Karen McManus

I've read her other books (One of Us is Lying and One of Us is Next) and while this one wasn't bad, it didn't capture me as much as the other two did. Maybe it's because this was set in a new place with different characters than the other two. Three cousins are summoned by their grandmother to spend a summer working at her resort. All of their parents encourage them to go since their grandmother disowned all of them years earlier via a letter and refused to have any contact with them. When the cousins get to the island where the resort is, their grandmother immediately leaves. Things just get weirder from there because of course they do!

Recommended for: Anyone who isn't close to their family and thinks that they need to change that, mystery fans

Didn't finish 

1. Notes from an Apocalypse by Mark O'Connell

This was on my library eBook's app under the "It's your lucky day" section, which I assume means that it's a popular title and it was my lucky day that it was available for checkout. Otherwise, they're pranking me because I did not feel like it was my lucky day to start reading this one. I got a couple of pages in and determined that it could be someone else's lucky day...

2. Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

I was so excited about this one. I loved her Hyperbole and a Half comics and the subsequent book, but I just could not get into this one. I don't know if I just wasn't in the right head space for it or what, but I slogged through a good bit of it before deciding to return it early and be done with it. Have any of you read it? Should I go back and give it another try?

This month's favorite book: Definitely Stranger in the Lake because not only did it break my streak of crappy books but it was also just an enjoyable read!

This month's least favorite book: More Myself hands down. I mean, look at that rant. I think we all could've guessed this one...

Read any good books lately? Let me know in the comments!

Linking up with Steph and Jana!

Amber Can Read : October 2020 edition

This should have been the perfect year for reading. We've been ordered to stay home as much as possible. I work from home and have a job that, unlike my last one, does not require any external preparation or work done outside of my Monday-Friday, 8-4:30 hours. I'm not in school, teaching, or doing anything that requires any type of solid commitment. The list goes on and on.

But, 2020.

(I think I'm just going to use that to explain away anything or justify why I haven't been productive in certain areas of my life.)

I had a lofty reading goal this year - 150 books. I started the year pretty strong, but now I've stagnated, and Goodreads tells me that I'm currently around 65 books behind where I should be to reach that goal. I'm not surprised. I've had so much trouble reading and focusing on things. I know I'm not alone, but it's frustrating because I love to read, but I'm falling short on actually doing it. I'm trying to give myself some grace and get back into the swing of things, so I'm joining this linkup for the first time in a while! Maybe this will help me jump back into reading again and knock that snarky little message off of my Goodreads tracker...

Disclosure: If you click on the picture of the book, then it will take you to an Amazon purchase link. If you choose to buy the book from that link, I will earn a few pennies from it. It won't cost you anything extra, so it's a win-win situation! 😉 If you click on the title of the book, it'll take you to a Goodreads link for the book. Last thing - if you want to be friends on Goodreads, add me! 

Number of books read in October: 7 

Number of books read in 2020: 64 

1. Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump 

  

I had high hopes for this one. I wanted her to dish some dirt, spill some tea, give up the scoop, etc. Unfortunately, I found it kind of meh. She did reveal some history about the family that I wasn't aware of, but there wasn't a ton of information about Trump himself. She gave good information about how his personality was shaped as a child due to his family, and there were some other interesting parts in the book, but overall I didn't find it as scandalous or controversial as I expected it to be. 

Recommended for: nosy people like me who enjoy reading about public figures (I almost said celebrities, but so help me, I can't call this man a celebrity...). 

2. Melania and Me by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff 

The three Trump-related books that I requested from my libary's eBook app all came in within a day of each other. There's an option to delay holds, but since I'm trying to get back into the reading habit, I went ahead and checked this one out as well. This one was more interesting than Too Much. Wolkoff spent time explaining her relationship with Melania and providing insight into her as a person; well, as much insight as she could. It turns out that Melania is kind of a closed book. Shocking, right? There was a lot of political talk in this since Wolkoff worked in the administration, so I glossed over those parts, but I did enjoy the personal insights.

Recommended for: same as above - nosy people. Also, people who have wondered about the dynamic of POTUS' and FLOTUS' relationship. This book doesn't tell much about it, but it gives a tiny bit of insight into their lives.

3. The Art of Her Deal by Mary Jordan 

The final book of my Trump-related trio! This book focused on Melania's background and how she went from being a fledgling model in Europe to the wife of the 45th president of the United States. There were a couple of themes that came up, such as her being very focused and serious about things, as well as her neglecting people from one stage of her life each time she moved on to the next stage. This book gave me a better picture of how and why their relationship works. 

Recommended for: see above two statements! 

4. The Farm by Joanne Ramos 

Now for a palate cleanser! Ha! I can't decide if I really enjoyed this one or if I'm kind of meh about it. The concept of it seems unique and a little terrifying (check out the description by clicking on the title or image above), but there were a few things that just didn't quite click with me. On the flip side, it did keep my attention and kept me guessing until the end, so there's that. 

Recommended for: those who like "could this actually happen?" type stories or anyone who needs a little bit of fiction after reading three Trump-adjacent books in a row...

5. A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost 

I'm a lukewarm fan of modern SNL (I'm a lifelong Will Ferrell fan, and I will fight you about it), but I do enjoy the Weekend Update portion of the show. Also, as I mentioned above, I'm a fan of books by and about famous and infamous people. His book was funny enough, and it was interesting to read more about the SNL writing/rehearsal process, but I just kind of made my way through this one without being super invested in it. 

Recommended for: SNL fans, fans of comedians/writers/celebrities, people who read celebrity autobiographies or biographies regardless of the subject (that's me!)

6. Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel 

I think I read about this one on another blogger's post, but I can't remember who it was! I enjoyed this one, so thank you random person! This is a story about a mother and daughter reuniting after the mother is released from prison for aggravated child abuse against her daughter. Phew! This story has some twists and turns that kept me guessing!

Recommended for: mystery fans, fans of complicated family relationships, anyone who likes a good revenge story...

7. The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren  

This one was my lightest fiction read for the month, which I needed after those other couple of heavy fiction titles! It tells the story of a couple who have a remodeling television show and a new book coming out...I'm not going to say it reminds me of anyone in particular, but I definitely think it was supposed to be a certain Texas-based couple who have a magazine, books, bakery, silos, etc. Catch my drift? The story is told from the perspectives of the assistants to the man and woman, and I'm sure just by looking at the cover, you can tell that there is going to be some kind of romantic involvement...

Recommended for: fans of light romances, fans of semi-generic "chick lit", people who want to speculate if the people this book seems to be modeled after actually act like the book characters (guess which camp I fall into?!?)

Did not finish:

1. Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker 

I'm not sure where I read about this book, but I received a notification that my library eBook hold was available. The concept of this book was interesting - a family with twelve children and half of them diagnosed with schizophrenia - but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe I'll try it again down the road. 

2. United States of Socialism by Dinesh D'Souza

In the interest of full disclosure, I consider myself a pretty left-leaning liberal. However, I've been trying to seek out viewpoints from "the other side" in order to try to understand where some of their thoughts and rhetoric comes from. When I saw this one available for a fast-track checkout on my library's eBook app, I checked it out. Then, another title I had put on hold became available, and I had already reached my checkout limit, so I returned this one in about half a second to be able to read the one I had actually selected. This is another "maybe eventually" title.

This month's favorite book: This is a tough one because I enjoyed all of the fiction ones pretty equally! I think I'll go with Darling Rose Gold because I didn't figure out the twist in it. They all were good and meh in their own ways though! 

This month's least favorite book: Too Much and Never Enough - it wasn't a bad book, but it just wasn't my favorite this month. 

Have you read any of these books? Tell me what you think about them if you did! 

Linking up with Steph and Jana