What I Read in January

Annnnd we're off! In my goal to read 55 books in 2021, I'm going to try to get back in the habit of writing monthly "what I read" posts. I finished five books in January, which puts me a little bit behind schedule, but I'm pretty happy with everything I read. 

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

I both loved & hated this book, but mostly loved? I think? Doyle is a truly incredible, beautiful, fantastic writer, her words like a poison & a balm all in one. I loved this memoir, a series of short essays about life, generally, & lessons learned from the smallest & largest pieces of it. The "hated" part, though is just because... it's a lot sometimes. She's a lot sometimes – & that's OK. It's just occasionally a lot, is all. Sometimes I was like "OK, lol, this is not at all relevant to my own small life." ★★★★☆

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

Like No Exit before it, of a similar plot, I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. When Mira's layover flight home for Christmas is canceled due to an incoming blizzard, she joins a group of ragtag travelers who have rented a car to drive... but, of course, there's a blizzard. And someone is stealing things. And everyone is a little creepy. And is one of them trying to murder her? ★★★☆☆

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

I loved the premise of this book so much: When we die, we end up in a library filled with countless, endless, infinity-forever books of the various ways our life's stories could've gone, each choice a different book. I cried at the end of the book, which is unusual for me, & truly, I just wish every book could be like this one. It made me think & feel & live. ★★★★★

The Best Laid Plans by Cameron Lund

Keely (thinks) she is the last remaining virgin in her small-town senior class. Her lifelong BFF, Andrew, is a nice guy but a bit of a player, so she asks him to teach her the ropes before she gets physical with her college-aged boyfriend. This story was charming, realistic, emotional, anxious, painful, joyful... all the things high school really is. Oh, & sex-positive, which my HS experience was decidedly not. ★★★★★

Still Learning by India Oxenberg

After watching Oxenberg's horrifying & powerful Starz documentary Seduced, about her time & experiences in the cult NXIVM, I knew I wanted to go deeper by listening to her audiobook, available exclusively through Audible. The book reiterates more of the same from the documentary, but it was yet again horrifying & powerful to hear her own story dictated in her own words. ★★★★☆

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Sci-fi isn't usually my jam, but this book appealed to me because there's serious underrepresentation of BIPOC authors in the sci-fi space; this author is also non-binary. The main character is Aster Grey, who lives on the lower decks of a generational starship & works as a healer. When the ship's Sovereign dies of a mysterious illness, Aster sets out to figure out what happened... & how it connects to her mother's long-ago suicide. ★★★★☆

The Herd by Andrea Bartz

I started this thriller in late 2020, but when it was automatically returned to the library, it somehow it fell off my radar. Upon picking it back up, I flew through it, desperate to know what happened to Eleanor Walsh, the celebrity businesswoman who disappears the night of a much-anticipated announcement about her famous co-working space, The Herd. Her three best friends are on the case, but who else can they trust? And how well do they really know Eleanor at all? ★★★★☆

Tell me what you're reading, then add me on Goodreads to keep in touch & see what I've read in months past. You can also follow my bookstagram account. 

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