13 books you can also read this year!
I made a reading goal to read 40 books during the year. To keep myself accountable, I’ve been sharing the books I’ve completed on social media, keeping track on my Goodreads account and I’ve been working on this list. From January through March, these are the thirteen books I’ve completed!
1. The Dreamers by Karen Walker Thompson
All over a small town in California, people are falling asleep but not waking up. It is spreading like an illness across the town and a quarantine environment is setup (hello 2020 vibes). The interesting part is those who are sleeping have heightened states of brain activity.
2. 75 Hard by Andy Frisella
I saw a few videos on Tiktok about people putting in the work for the 75 Hard challenge, so it seemed like a no-brainer to jump on the bandwagon at the beginning of the new year. I bought this book to learn more about the challenge and the history behind it. While the challenge is pretty tough on the mind and body, the book isn’t. I did try to do this challenge and only made it 15 days in – oops! I want to try again.
3. A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Obama reflects on the path he walked to becoming the 44th President of the United States. He goes over the way that the media handled certain situations and brought light to how tiny details taken out of context can change the way something is perceived. But he talked about how it affected him and his family during life in public office. I liked the way he calls attention to how fragile our democracy is.
4. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
I love the movie series following Robert Langdon, but I haven’t read any of the books. This book came from Half Priced Books and I read a little bit every morning before work. I finished it so quickly! I definitely want to read more from Dan Brown. This book followed Langdon as he hurdles into a mystery when a severed hand appears in a Washington D.C. Capitol building.
5. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
This one was tough to get through. It also kept referring to a workbook that I didn’t have because I listened to this on audio. After I was done, my friend agreed that it was rough. Then she went on to tell me that she read it in school for a class – oops! It is lengthy and challenging read.
6. Judgment Detox by Gabrielle Bernstein
I listened to this one on audio because I had just finished my other book and wanted something quick. This book was available for loan immediately. I will definitely keep this one on the radar if I wanted to go back to it. Bernstein goes through a series of meditation practices to help you release the judgment thoughts/beliefs you hold.
7. 1st to Die by James Patterson
I like the Along Came a Spider movie, so I thought I’d pick up one of the novels by James Patterson. I can see why he’s a bestselling author. The story moves in and out of various crime scenes, giving the reader a behind-the-scenes view of what the main character goes through while trying to find the killer.
8. That Scandalous Summer by Meredith Duran
This was another book that was available immediately for loan from the library (audio) and I needed something in a pinch. I’m not one for the romance genre, and this book didn’t make me convert either. The leading lady wasn’t likable, so it was difficult to connect to her.
9. How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell
I thought this book was going to be a guide on “how to do nothing” in the terms of unplugging. Instead, the book is about the things that we are unable to do when our attention is focused into social media. Odell links the attention economy to capitalism and reports on how we need to slow down and think about what we’re doing.
10. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Absolutely LOVED this book. Honestly, it even made me cry. The main character, Nora, ends up in library where each book contains a different life she could have lived. Once she opens a book, she is transported into that version of her life – at that moment – and tries to find out if it is a happy life.
11. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
I kept seeing videos on Tiktok about this book, so I added it to my list. Overall, the book gives me Hunger Games vibes. The story is about Mare, a 17 red-blooded girl living in poverty, who then gets a job working in the Silver palace (full of silver-blooded royals). She ends up finding out that she has lightening powers and is taken as prisoner in the palace, but publicly shown to be engaged to one of the princes. She ends up being publicly enemy number one.
12. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
Read through the first one so quickly, that I added the second one to my list to continue through the YA series. The second book picks up right after the end of the first. Mare, who is now part of a race called the New Bloods, is being hunted down by the new King. The King is also hunting down anyone who has red blood, but also has silver powers or abilities. Mare tries to find the New Bloods before the King does.
13. Postmortem by Patricia Daniels Cornwell
I read the book Scarpetta last year, so I thought I would read more of this series. This one was a little out-dated with the technology, but it is the first book in the entire series. Scarpetta is a medical examiner trying to connect four murders that seemingly have nothing in common to one killer.
Wrap Up
You can review the books I read in the second quarter of 2021, the books I read in the third quarter, and the books that I’ve read in the fourth quarter.
XOXO,
Katie
If you’re on Goodreads, add me as a friend and join me as I reach my reading goal!
Photo by Taryn Elliott from Pexels
