February Reads

I’d be a liar if I said I was sad that February is gone. Between bad weather (We always seem to have the worst of our winter in February) and general winter blahs, I’m always thrilled to see March regardless of whether it enters like a lion or a lamb!

Anyway, I apparently took the whole month of January off from reading but caught up in February so thought I’d do another monthly book roundup to share with you what I’ve been reading.

First up was The Golden Compass, which I started back in December but didn’t finish until a week or two ago.

I’ve got the second book in the series that I’m hoping to read before it has to go back to the library, but I’m still not super into this series. I have read lots of reviews about how it was life changing for many, and maybe I need to sit back and think about it a bit more, but it mostly left me sad. Perhaps it says more about the state of the world right now, that the lack of good role models in the book has affected me more than it may have otherwise, I don’t know. But for now, I’m sticking with the series to see how it unfolds.

Side note – I recently read that Pullman is releasing more books in this series!

My Not So Perfect Life

I adore Sophie Kinsella so it should be no surprise that I bought this as soon as it came out, and thanks to one of our winter storm days this past month, I read it in less than a day.

The funniest moment of the entire book (in my opinion) happened on page 7. I was laughing so hard I was crying and my husband had to come see if I was ok. Was it my favorite Kinsella book? No, but I definitely enjoyed it, and there were twists I did not see coming and I loved the way she added Instagram into the mix.

It is a definite keeper and one I will definitely come back to when I’m on one of my classic Sophie binges.

Big Little Lies

I picked this up the same day I got Sophie’s new book, having heard lots of good thing about Liane Moriarty’s writing, but having never read one of her books. Ironically, I picked this up two weeks before the limited TV series on HBO premiered so I wanted to finish it before the show started as to not ruin anything in the book for myself. Reading it before the show started was NOT a problem as it is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Without giving it away, the ending surprised me and left me feeling quite satisfied. Definitely, a great read if you are late to the Moriarty party like I was (and honestly, I think I was late to the party because I always associated her with Sherlock Holmes arch nemesis. I’m such a nerd).

The Husband’s Secret

Because I was enjoying Big Little Lies so much, I decided to check out The Husband’s Secret on audiobook, and again I wasn’t disappointed. The ending of this book was masterfully written. Not my favorite book, but one of my favorite endings purely because it was so wonderfully crafted. So, so, good. She paints the picture of good in bad in shades of gray showing how very rarely things are ever black and white.

And as a sidenote, when I talk about the ending, I’m talking about the actual ending, not the epilog. That did well to answer the questions you may not have thought to ask, but the ending itself was so well done, have I already said that? Haha, sorry, but it was!

Positive Thinking Will Never Change Your Life But This Book Will: The Myth of Positive Thinking, The Reality of Success

Yup, that title is quite the mouthful. For people (like me) who believe in the power of positivity, but think there is more to it than what “The Secret” led you to believe, this is the book for you. I really appreciate what David says throughout this book, not only from his personal experience but by adding in stories from other experts and positive minded people.

In short – positive thinking is wonderful and definitely needed, but you can’t just think yourself into a healthier body, bigger bank account or love. You still need to do the work. If you are looking for more in your life but don’t know how to achieve it, or where you are going wrong, I strongly urge you to check this one out. It left me with some great thinking points.

Vlog Like A Boss

I’ve followed Amy for years and found her videos and courses to be incredibly valuable, so I was thrilled to pre-order her book when it came on Amazon and couldn’t wait to dive into it when it arrived in my mailbox. As a long time follower, some of the advice in the book was a repeat for me, but even still, a repeat I needed. That coupled with lots of new information made it a great – and quick read. It’s literally a handbook on how to vlog and do it well. While I still don’t vlog as regularly as I’d like (my mac is still broken wahhhhhhhhhhh) when I do I like to think my process gets better every time thanks to Amy. If you are a content creator interested at all in creating video, I strongly recommend this book. It doesn’t go through the step-by-step of how to shoot and edit a video, instead outlines the step-by-step process of the planning that goes INTo a video, which is arguably just as important but is the part many people forget.

So after a slow start in January, February turned out to be a pretty good month for reading. If you enjoy seeing these monthly book roundups please let me know and I’ll keep them going!

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links I will get a small commission which I will use to support my reading habit. I was given a digital copy of “Positive Thinking Will Never Change Your Life…” but all other books listed were either purchased by me or borrowed from the library.