My goal was to read 30 books this year by reading at least a little bit every day. I managed to do this on 298 of 361 days — with 4 to go! — and am currently in the middle of my 28th book. Not too shabby, and even 27.5 books is 10+ more than I usually read in any given year.
Be warned there may be spoilers, in case any of these are still on your “to read” list. Also, some previous reads.
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
3/5
I’d seen several people mention this book and say it was “life-changing” so I put it on hold at the library and waited for it to become available. I was excited to start but lost steam as I went along. I’m totally on board with the ideas described here — less is better, say no anything that’s not essential, etc. But I can’t say I found any of these ideas to be all that new or unique from things I’ve seen and read in other places. Overall I found the book both too general and too repetitive from chapter to chapter. I don’t regret reading it, and there were a few worthwhile nuggets, but I’m glad it was short.
Momo by Michael Ende
3/5
Another win for postal book club, as I never would have read this if it hadn’t ended up in my mailbox. I was a little slow to get started, but picked up the pace significantly once the plot started to take off around 1/3 of the way through. The underlying lessons about time, our perception of it, and how we choose to spend it are universal and timeless (pun intended). I assume it is meant as a children’s book but it has a unique charm and is worth a read even as an adult.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
4/5
I kept seeing this book mentioned EVERYWHERE last spring, so I put a digital copy on hold at the library…and 6 months later, it finally came up. I expected to find Kondo’s methods kooky and borderline crazy, and don’t get me wrong, it’s possible she has a few screws loose (or at least some sort of tidying OCD). But I found this to be a surprisingly valuable read.
I’m not going to start talking to my belongings anytime soon, and I don’t buy into the idea that tidying up can make you thinner…but I do find a great deal of merit in the idea of surrounding yourself only with things that “spark joy” and getting rid of the rest. I liked her points that it’s really our emotions that connect us to our stuff, and that getting rid of the stuff doesn’t mean you lose the meaning.
If you’re able to look past the oddness and think about the deeper message, I think there is a lot of good in this book. I’m glad I read it.
Armada by Ernest Cline
3/5
This was a fun and fast read. My biggest criticism is that it felt like a lot of the major plot points were “borrowed” from other books (Ender’s Game in particular). This clearly wasn’t accidental, given what I know of the author’s background and interests and heck, the fact that lead character Zack mentions Ender’s Game outright a couple times.
The borrowing of plot points from other books and video games and movies isn’t all bad, because real life echoing scifi (or vice versa) is an integral part of the story. But for me as a reader, the close parallels between this book and existing sci-fi books/movies/games did detract from the story and make the whole thing feel a bit unoriginal.
Still, in the end, I return to my first statement: this was a fun read. The final chapter seemed to open the door for a sequel, and if that happens in a couple years, I’d read it.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
4/5
I didn’t know what to expect going into this book; I only knew that I’d seen the cover and thought it looked interesting. In other words: I 100% picked this book based on its cover. But I’m glad I did! This was a wonderful little story about human kindness and I enjoyed every moment of it.
Building a Business by Maggie Whitley and Elisa Cripe
2/5
I’ve followed Elise’s blog for a long time and was interested in the topic of this e-book she wrote with another creative. I’m fascinated by the idea of small creative businesses. I’m not sure if I’ll ever have my own, but I think about it a lot. Unfortunately while both Maggie and Elise are successful, this e-book kind of missed the mark for me. It didn’t really feature any information that I haven’t already read elsewhere, and just felt very cobbled together. Are my standards for e-books too high? “E-book” doesn’t have to be synonymous with lower quality, does it?
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
4/5
This book about a woman diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s was moving, poignant, terrifying and heartbreaking all at once — to read and think about what it would be like to slowly lose your mind and KNOW (at least at first) that it’s happening and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. And while told from Alice’s perspective, it’s hard not to think about what it would be like to be her husband or her children. Emotionally difficult but worthwhile read for sure.
