Book Review: March 2024
Settling in with some awesome fiction and non-fiction reads. I’m averaging one book per week which is about where I want to be. The mix of audio books and paper books makes me feel like I’m interacting with learning and entertainment in different ways.
What are books are you reading / listening to right now? You know I love your suggestions!
"Happy Place" by Emily Henry
4 stars
A typical beach read: easy and fun about a group of friends and a lovely summer home where they all feel joyful together. Until of course something goes wrong and the happy balance is threatened. It felt a little bit like watching "Friends" given that it was 6 mixed gender folks having fun together with occasional hookups + pairing off. This was, after all, one of my favorite shows in college and just afterwards. There are a few steamy scenes as well...if you're into that sorta thing ;) In January and February I read a lot of personal development books so "Happy Place" was a nice light and fluffy read for an upcoming book club.
"The Creative Act: A Way of Being" by Rick Rubin
5 stars
Told in short snippets, Rick Rubin drops some loving bombs about creativity. As a music producer he's a great one to share about the creative process. But this book is less of a "how to create" and more about viewing creativity as a spiritual practice. Namely that we are all connected to Source, the divine universe that encourages us to step into the joy of being a conduit for creativity. As I grow as a writer, these notes and stories are really interesting to consider. We all have so much to share and it can come out in any form. To not share our creativity feels like a misuse of energy, and so I will try to share mine more. I enjoyed this article from NPR as well.
"The Mountain is You" by Brianna Weist
4 stars
How we react to stimulus is something that is fascinating to me. Sure we can stay the same, although changing is the less comfortable option, this is where the magic happens. I started this book after I got a medical diagnosis and it rocked me in a way that I had to make some radical changes to my diet. I'm only 3 weeks into those changes and whewwww it's a doozy. Making my mind up that I can or cannot do something is a good challenge. And as Weist shares, challenges are how we grow. Some of her other suggestions / ideas weren't really my jam but overall interesting to consider.
"The Measure" by Nikki Erlick
5 stars
I was struck by this book, in a really great way. A fiction novel that is both dystopian and hopeful. It has echoes of the early covid days (ahem, like this time 4 years ago) In just one night, every human on earth gets a box with a string inside which tells them the length of their life. And as folks turn 22 years old they receive theirs on their doorstep. Naturally, as humans do, we start to discriminate based on length of strings, people freak out, governments fumble the responses. I love books with multiple character POVs and this was really cool, especially with the connections towards the back 1/3 of the novel. Right now, we can't predict the future but how would we live if we knew just how long we had to be on the planet? Would this change how we lived and loved, worked and served our communities? And of course, not everyone looked at their string, some folks kept living as we do now...without an expiration date but knowing it's coming. So I wondered "would I look to see the length of my string" I think I would....but then what? My current favorite fiction read of 2024.
Monthly book total: 4
Annual book total: 13