The Little Things
March 7, 2017

February is traditionally one of the lower (or lowest) reading months of the year (only read 3 books last February!), even after accounting for having fewer days. It kicks off my first busy season of the year, so after the slow month of January I have far less time to read. That being said, I still try to read a bit before bed every night. In February I read 12 books (and am at 31 books for the year!).

Here’s what I read:

The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House (Brower): I’m not sure where I learned about this book, but as soon as I read the description on goodreads, I was intrigued. This book interviews the staff of the White House throughout administrations including the Kennedys, Johnsons, Reagans, Clintons, Bushes, and Obamas. It was absolutely fascinating.

Winter Storms (Hilderbrand): This was book 3 in the Winter series (I read the first two books in January). The series takes place on Nantucket and follows the lives of a family who owns an inn (plus some of their friends). It resolved the story lines from the first two books and it was definitely a fun read during the winter.

Winter Garden (Hannah): I’ve read other books by this author and enjoyed them, but knew nothing about this book going into reading it. Short story: I adored it. The book goes in depth into the relationship between mother and daughter, of sisters, of family dynamics. It takes place in the present and in the past, and merges these two together. The end of the book made my heart ache so deeply and I wanted to cry for quite awhile. I’m not sure my heart has felt simultaneously so heavy and so wonderfully about the same story. I so appreciate the author’s ability to take the reader to deep emotion as she walks them through the story.

Shockaholic (Fisher): Another book by Carrie Fisher, which was narrated by her in the audiobook version. She shared several interesting family stories throughout the book that I enjoyed hearing about. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Magnolia Story (Gaines): I’ve only watched a few episodes of HGTV’s fixer upper, so I went into this book not really knowing much about them. I enjoyed the book and learning more about what lead them to one another and to their hit TV show.

The Perfect Letter (Harrison): This is written by Chris Harrison, host of the Bachelor, so I’m a little embarrassed to even say that I read this. It was an interesting story.

Pretty Happy: Healthy Ways To Love Your Body (Kate Hudson): I was really disappointed in this book, and gave it a 2 out of 5 stars. I loved some of the stuff she talked about at the beginning of the book, focusing on engaging with emotion and the idea of “being present in your body”. It went downhill after the first 25% of the book.

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (Sandberg): I read this book 2 years ago, but decided to read it again since I got a new leadership position in the last year. She normalizes feelings that many women in the workplace experience, puts challenges to sit down at the table, and speaks so much truth.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story (Leaming): I have no idea what drew me to download this audiobook from the library, but I randomly did before a run and ended up really enjoying this book. I don’t know much about Jackie, especially outside of her years as first lady, so I found this book about her life from birth to death especially fascinating.

Commonwealth (Patchett): Hmm. Not sure how I felt about it. Some parts seemed to drag endlessly on. Reading the description and hearing others’ reviews of this, I assumed that I would absolutely love this book, but I didn’t. Gave it a 3.75

I Know How She Does It (Vanderkam): A book about “how they do it” for women! It felt like a pretty realistic look at the ways that women can make time for relationships, leisure, etc…, offering multiple looks into ways that this is done. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Hidden Summit (Carr): This is the next book in the Virgin River series that I’ve been slowly going through for the past several months. 3 stars- one of my least favorite of the series.

If you read anything from this month: Winter Garden and The Residence.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you reading currently?

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