What I read — January 2022
There’s something so cozy about having a good book in the wintertime. I love starting the year out strong. In fact, this may be the most books I’ve ever read in a single month. A lot of that has to do with the incorporation of audiobooks (yes, they count) into my routine. I listen to books while I clean and on my daily dog walks, so I get a couple of hours of reading in every weekday just from audiobooks.
I recently had someone ask me what I do with all of my books since I read a lot and move constantly. The answer? REDISCOVER YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY! If you don’t already have a library card for your city (and you should because it costs you $0), get one stat. The library of yesteryear is not the library of today. I rent all of my books and audiobooks through the Libby app, formerly Overdrive. They have thousands of titles (my library has more than 24,000) available for rent, including best sellers and recent releases. So go. Go now, and join me in the quest to read all of the things!
In 2019, I inadvertently completed the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge and have decided to attempt the same challenge from here on out… mainly because my to-read list is out of control! Normally, I’ll have a physical book and audiobook going at the same time, so for review clarity, I will put either duration or pages for the stats based on how I completed the book.
Here’s everything I enjoyed this January:
This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life
Annie Grace
Stats: Nonfiction, 7 hours & 28 minutes
Quick summary
Alcohol is intertwined with our culture. It‘s paired with food. It‘s front and center of TV shows and movies. It‘s the way we deal with life. This book holds a mirror to the reader and asks why do you drink? Through liminal points, psychology and science, the author creates strong fact-based arguments to separate the lies we tell ourselves and what‘s actually at play.
What I thought:
Wow. Full stop. I‘ve been questioning my drinking habits since the start of the pandemic and saw a few Facebook friends (and not people I judged to have an “alcohol problem” by the way) post about this book, so I decided to pick it up in tandem with dry January. This book forced me to have a hard look at myself and how I was using alcohol in relation to my mental health. I can’t say that I’ll never drink again, but for the here and now, I have absolutely zero desire to go back to my old ways after January ends.
Who should read it:
Anyone drinking more than they like. Anyone who has ever been hungover or blacked out. Binge drinkers. People who only drink on the weekends… and the occasional Thursday. People who think they need alcohol to have fun, fit in, calm anxiety, be more creative. People who are health-conscious.
Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo
Stats: Fantasy, 465 pages
Quick summary
Kaz Brekker leads the Dregs, a gang of misfits from the grungy Barrel of the city of Ketterdam. He’s given an opportunity at more money than he’s ever seen, the only catch is he has to release a prisoner from the highly guarded Ice Court, almost a guaranteed suicide mission.
What I thought:
I started watching Shadow & Bone on Netflix over the summer (part of the Grishaverse). I enjoyed it but was highly confused, so I decided to read the duology and trilogy (Six of Crows and Shadow & Bone respectively) before diving into the series. The first of the duology proved to be highly immersive, and I found myself transported to the Grishaverse.
Who should read it:
Lovers of fantasy. Anyone who has enjoyed the TV series, or enjoyed Game of Thrones for that matter.
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
Stats: Classics, 8 hours
Quick summary
Set in the future, Brave New World has mastered the production of the human experience in the new World State. People are assigned a role in society at the onset of conception. There are never unpleasant feelings, and if there are, Soma is available to help you forget. One of the main characters, Bernard, finds himself questioning everything, especially once he meets John “The Savage.”
What I thought:
This was my classic lit book club’s pick for January. I read Brave New World in high school but remembered very little of it. I think it’s a great idea to revisit novels we read in our youth as adults; you see things so differently.
Who should read it:
Honestly, everyone. This book will have you thinking about society and our values for hours.
Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
Anderson Cooper/Katherine Howe
Stats: Nonfiction, 8 hours and 50 minutes
Quick summary
The dynasty of the Vanderbilts, beginning with Cornelius “the Commodore” Vanderbilt, as his family landed on the shores of New York at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The book details how he built his fortune, and how his heirs managed to squander everything by the 1950s.
What I thought:
Absolutely fascinating how a family can rise and fall in such a short span of time. Admittedly, I knew very little about the Vanderbilts other than that it was the name of a college and a brand of jeans. I loved listening to the audio version as it is narrated by Anderson Cooper, the Commodore’s great-great-great-grandson.
Who should read it:
People who love memoirs.
The Final Girl Support Group
Grady Hendrix
Stats: Horror, 352 pages
Quick summary
Lynnette Tarkington is a final girl, or a girl who survived a horrifying massacre. For more than a decade, she’s met with other final girls in a musty basement to work through the trauma, until one day, another final girl ends up dead. Slowly it looks like someone is hunting down all of the final girls and Lynette takes it upon herself to save them all.
What I thought:
Fair warning, this book is gruesome, as that is Hendrix’s style. I loved his previous book, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, and I tore through this one as almost as quickly.
Who should read it:
Fans of 90s and early 2000s horror films.
West with Giraffes
Lynda Rutledge
Stats: Historical Fiction, 346 pages
Quick summary
Set during the Dust Bowl, West with Giraffes is based on the true story of America’s first giraffes and their journey from New York following a hurricane to their new home at the San Diego Zoo. The tale is told from the viewpoint of their driver, Woody Nickel, a boy with no family trying to escape to California and willing to do whatever it takes to get there… including lying about his qualifications to be their driver.
What I thought:
Another Amazon First Read that was okay. Some of the conversation was hard to follow as I believe the author was trying to be authentic in Depression-era idioms. I also didn’t care for the way the story was structured: a dying Woody Nickel writes down his tale of driving West with the giraffes from his hospice room so the book is spliced between his writings and current day. I think this book had a lot of potential and could have been more captivating if written differently.
Who should read it:
A lot of people like this book (I gave it a 3.5), so if you like historical fiction, you’ll probably enjoy it.
Anxious People
Fredrik Backman
Stats: Fiction, 341 pages
Quick summary
The story of a bank robbery gone wrong that leads a bunch of strangers to learn more about each other and their internal struggles.
What I thought:
This is the third book I’ve read by this author and I didn’t love it as much as the first one I read, A Man Called Ove. Anxious People had a pretty loose plot and was more about the inner turmoil each character was facing. At times it felt a little preachy and silly, but it was still good enough that I’m not upset that I finished it.
Who should read it:
Once again, going to recommend A Man Called Ove instead.