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Books of Q4 2019

My last reading recap of the year! Enjoy the recommendations, and let me know if you have any other books you think I should read based on this list. I’m always open to suggestions. This quarter was light on non-fiction because I’ve been crazy busy and stressed, but I’m hoping to change that trend in 2020.

To read past book recommendations, check out:

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That being said, my first preference is for you to check any recommended books out from your local library! Read more about my affiliate philosophy here. You can also check books out in e-book form and download them to the Kindle app, which means you don’t even have to put on pants and leave the house to get your book. Isn’t technology grand? Occasionally, books I read and review are also available for free through Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program, and I make sure to note if that’s the case.

  • Drop everything to read this book (DEAR for short)
  • Highly recommended (HR)
  • Good book (GB)
  • OK
  • Meh don’t bother (MDB)

Nonfiction

Fiction

  • The House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig. HR. This book was so great. It was essentially a horror version of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairytale. It was dark and suspenseful, and the worldbuilding (along with the unique religious elements) were very well done. It was masterfully written and kept me reading until the end.
  • Ash Princess
  • Smoke Lady by Laura Sebastian. HR. This is a great fantasy series with a unique magical system and some great worldbuilding. The third book isn’t out yet, but I’ll be waiting for it eagerly–the first two were wonderful.
  • Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford. HR. This was another great book that I really enjoyed reading. It’s a fantasy with strong female characters, and the first books set up some really interesting plot points for the second book to flesh out more. And as a bonus, the kindle version is currently on sale for $2.99! It was a really unique plot, and I can’t wait to read the sequel.
  • The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh. GB. I really love Ahdieh’s writing, but this one was hard to get through at points. It was slow, and a little convoluted. I liked it fine, but it wasn’t one of my favorites–I think her other books are much stronger. I’ll probably still read the sequel though. It speaks highly to her skill as a writer that even one of her books that is only “ok” still gets a GB rating. She’s one of my absolute favorites.
  • The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. HR. This book was so cute. I don’t know how I ended up on a royals reading kick, but I’m glad I did. This is essentially a romance between an American studying abroad and a British prince. I love that it isn’t a “whirlwind” romance–the relationship develops over several years, and it seems believable and human. The plot is well-developed, and I’m excited for book 2!
  • Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. DEAR. Another great book that involves British royals! But this one was even better. The premise is that the son of the (first female) US president ends up in a relationship with the British prince. They have to navigate all of the implications associated with that, while also muddling through the beginnings of their relationship. It’s delightful and heartfelt, and it made all sorts of “best” lists this year. If you haven’t read it, put it at the top of your list.
  • American Royals by Katharine McGee. GB. Compared to the other two books in my royals binge, this was only okay. It explores an alternative world where George Washington accepts when offered the monarchy after the American Revolution. Some of it is interesting and entertaining, but I didn’t feel like it was anything new from a typical royal fiction novel. I’m pretty indifferent about whether or not I read the sequel.
  • Reign of Magic by K.M. Shea. GB. Free on Kindle Unlimited! I really like Shea. She has a lovely series of fairytale retellings, and this is the second book in a continuation of that plotline. I’ve reviewed other books in this series. They’re entertaining and fun plots featuring strong female characters. I just wish that the series wouldn’t take so long to conclude…I won’t enjoy waiting for the next book to finally come out.
  • Snow Queen: Heart of Ice
  • Snow Queen: Sacrifice by K.M. Shea. GB. Free on Kindle Unlimited! This is a prequel to the series I mentioned above. Again, good quick reads. I’m glad I read this after the “later” series though–I appreciated the connections more.
  • The Kiss Quotient. GB.
  • The Bride Test by Helen Hoang. HR. Ok, there are a lot of things I love about these books. For one, they feature characters you don’t often see in a typical romance novel. In both books, the main characters are Asian, and one of them is autistic. I love the representation of autistic characters being human and falling in love (rather than simply being a plot device or not being present at all). These are Hoang’s first two books. The Kiss Quotient wasn’t as good; you could see that she was still working out her pacing and her style. But I loved the Bride Test and thought it was a lovely plot and story. If you’re at all a fan of this genre, I recommend reading it.
  • The Prince by Jillian Dodd. OK. Free on Kindle Unlimited! The book was fine. Nothing special. The main character is a teenage girl spy, fresh out of “spy school.” It’s an overplayed plot device, in my opinion. But the book was free, and I was bored. I might read the next ones, but it wasn’t a series I was particularly invested in after the first book.

I’ve been MIA on the blog for a while (might have something to do with moving and buying a house…). Look for a year-end wrap-up, a 2020 Look Forward, and a housing update in the coming weeks though!

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Books of Q3 2019

books of q3 2019 owning the stars

It’s that time of the year again! This is my third quarterly recap of books I’ve read in the last three months. Separated below into fiction and nonfiction. I hope it gives you some new book ideas! To read previous book review posts, check out Q1 2019, Q2 2019, 2018 nonfiction, and 2018 fiction.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That being said, my first preference is for you to check any recommended books out from your local library! Read more about my affiliate philosophy here. You can also check books out in e-book form and download them to the Kindle app, which means you don’t even have to put on pants and leave the house to get your book. Isn’t technology grand? Occasionally, books I read and review are also available for free through Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program, and I make sure to note if that’s the case.

Rating Categories

Ok, here’s how I rate the books. It’s a super scientific method based on my own subjective opinion. If I trashed one of your favorites, I’m sorry…but not really. My blog, my rules, my views.

  • Drop everything to read this book (DEAR for short)
  • Highly recommended (HR)
  • Good book (GB)
  • OK
  • Meh don’t bother (MDB)

Non-Fiction

  • The Scar: A Personal History of Depression and Recovery by Mary Cregan. HR. Major trigger warning on this one. Cregan writes about her experiences with melancholic depression, and specifically her suicide attempt in a psychiatric hospital after losing her newborn. It’s wrenching and real, and she uses her personal experience to tell a broader story about the search for treatments for depression and some of the science behind it (which, turns out, doesn’t really give us a lot of answers). I think the more we’re exposed to stories of mental illness and their very real victims and consequences, the more we as a society can de-stigmatize those illnesses. This book works to do that.
  • The F*ck It Diet: Eating Should be Easy by Caroline Dooner. GB. This is one I read while thinking more and more about diet culture and its major problems. Dooner approaches dieting from the perspective of a serial dieter that struggled with weight cycling throughout her life. In the book, she explains that the biggest step for her (and one she recommends) is putting everything back on the table in terms of what’s allowed. You can have whatever you want. The idea is that yes, you might eat way too much chocolate for a bit, but eventually, you’ll tune back into your body’s natural cues and find a healthy balance. Restricting food is what puts us back in a mindset of scarcity, which can lead to those famine responses from our bodies. Basically, this seems to me like a more millennial-friendly version of Intuitive Eating. Worth a read if this is a topic that interests you.
  • 100 Questions Every First-Time Homebuyer Should Ask by Ilyce R. Glink. HR. If you’re a regular reader of the blog, then you know that I’m planning on moving to Cleveland and buying a house in the next few months. This is absurdly exciting for me but also a bit overwhelming. I’ve never owned my own home before, and I know that there are things about this process that I don’t even know I should be worried about. That’s where this book comes in. Glink does an amazing job of documenting all of the things you need to consider in the home-buying process, including what hurdles to expect and what problems to prepare for. Even though it’s a pretty thick book, it was a good read and is broken up into digestible questions and sections. After reading this, I feel like I can at least kind of have an intelligent conversation about home-buying where I’m asking the right questions.
  • The Holmes Inspection: Everything You Need to Know Before You Buy or Sell Your Home by Mike Holmes. GB. Again, I’m trying to read up on homeownership now before I actually have a house to deal with. Specifically, I don’t really have any experience living in older homes (which is primarily what I’m looking at in Cleveland), and I wanted to know what I should be looking for during an inspection. This book was a decent primer, though I wish it had more examples of good versus bad when talking about different housing elements. But, it’s pretty quick to read, and I definitely learned a few things.
  • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. DEAR. For those of us that aren’t a minority, I think we have a particular responsibility to not only educate ourselves about racial issues but also to do so in a way that doesn’t place the emotional burden on those marginalized groups. I’m hoping to read more on this topic because as a society, we’re at a tipping point. I want to make sure I know what I’m talking about when racism shows up (because it does) but also that I know when to shut up and just listen since this isn’t my story. Anyway, everyone should read this. And if you have other recommendations on the topic, please let me know in the comments!
  • Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
  • Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. Both 100% DEAR. These are two of my all-time favorite books that I recently re-read. Seriously, Lawson is one of my favorite human beings of all time. She’s hilarious, and raw, and real. She writes about her struggles with mental health in a way that is approachable. It’s simultaneously accurate and disarmingly funny. Please make sure you read this ASAP. In fact, if you don’t want to read them, I can also highly recommend the audiobooks–Lawson narrates them herself, and there were points while I was driving when I was laughing so hard that I probably should have pulled over…

*side note about Lawson. I’ve gotten in the habit of picking up copies of these books at library sales because I always seem to give my copy away. Well, when I went to read the copy of Furiously Happy that I bought, I saw that the title page was already autographed. Which led to some wonderful twitter banter:

via GIPHY

Fiction

This wasn’t the best quarter for fiction reading. I think I watched more TV for entertainment than I read. I read a few books, but it was a mixed bag in terms of quality IMO.

  • The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout. OK. Basically Twilight but with aliens. And there were a couple of twists, but they were only meh. The general premise is that aliens are among us, but there are also extra special aliens…and there’s a love interest…and the girl is super special for some mysterious reason…whatever. Turns out this is actually a spinoff in the same world as one of Armentrout’s other series. That one might be better, but I’m not sure I care enough to find out. Maybe when I’m really bored at some point.
  • Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout. GB. Slightly better than the above by the same author. At least it’s a semi-original premise. This one is a teen love story but involving gargoyles! Like from cathedrals. And demons. Another spinoff from a previous series. If I hadn’t already checked this one out from the library before finishing The Darkest Star, I don’t know that I would have read it. But it was a decent read if you need something light.
  • Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin. HR. This was lovely. It’s a fantasy novel involving the persecution of witches. One of the things I absolutely loved about it was the super unique magical construct. The attention to detail and nuance in developing her magical system gives Mahurin major points in my book. And from a debut author! If you like YA fantasy, this is worth a read.
  • Storm Siren
  • Siren’s Fury
  • Siren’s Song by Mary Weber. GB. This is a good series with an interesting plot. It’s only GB because the second book in the series was a little weak…and there were some holes in the plot where things didn’t seem to make as much sense as they should have. the magic aspect got a little vague at points, but the overall plot was fun.

Ok, that’s it for Q3. Only one more quarter of reading to go! I’ll probably include a tally for the year at the end of the next post.

Anything I should add to my reading list? I’d love to hear your suggestions!

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Books of Q2 2019

blog post title books of second quarter 2019. open book owning the stars

It’s the end of the quarter, so it’s time for another book list! I read way more books than the first quarter of the year and more nonfiction specifically. Despite that, it’s worth noting that last quarter’s post was a chore to write. It seemed insurmountable. This post was a breeze, and I even finished and scheduled it several days early. I guess it just goes to show how taking care of mental health (and using medication as needed) can make a huge difference! I’m feeling better, and that shows in how much effort it takes me to do productive things in my life. It’s also definitely one of the reasons I was able to read more new books this quarter.

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Money Lessons from the Avengers

Y’all. I AM SO EXCITED FOR TODAY. If you don’t know why based on this title and the date, you probably won’t enjoy today’s blog post very much. In honor of the premiere of Avengers: Endgame, in which ALL CHARACTERS HAD BETTER LIVE, DAMN IT, I decided to distill all of the films in the franchise to their money lessons. Which, I’ll be honest, was quite the stretch in some places. And I couldn’t have done it alone; my BFF Lyra valiantly assisted to save the day with a number of these. Thanks, boo!

via GIPHY
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Books of Q1 2019

After writing my book lists at the end of last year, and realizing that it was so long I had to break the list into two separate posts for non-fiction and fiction that were each massive, I decided to write quarterly book posts instead. So, for your reading pleasure, here are the books I read from the end of December 2018 through Q1 2019. I’m traveling this week, so there’s a good chance I’ve read a couple more books to add to this list, but you’ll just have to wait till the end of Q2 for those!

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That being said, my first preference is for you to check any recommended books out from your local library! Read more about my affiliate philosophy here. You can also check books out in e-book form and download them to the Kindle app, which means you don’t even have to put on pants and leave the house to get your book. Isn’t technology grand? Occasionally, books I read and review are also available for free through Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program, and I make sure to note if that’s the case.

In the list below, the books are labelled by level of recommendation:

  • Drop everything to read this book (DEAR for short)
  • Highly recommended (HR)
  • Good book (GB)
  • OK
  • Meh don’t bother (MDB)

Non-Fiction Books

  • Refinery29 Money Diaries by Lindsey Stanberry. HR. I really enjoyed this book. I haven’t spent a lot of time reading the Money Diaries series on Refinery29, but it was kind of fun to read about how other women are spending their money from week to week and see how it compares to me. Stanberry also has some great financial advice for women starting out in the workplace, though I wouldn’t say any of it is wildly different if you’ve already read other personal finance books geared toward millennials. If you haven’t, this is definitely not a bad place to start! 
  • Fed Up by Gemma Hartley. DEAR. Hartley’s article in Harper’s Bazaar about emotional labor went viral last year, and this book deal was a result. And thank God for that. She does a great job of discussing what emotional labor is, why women carry the bulk of it, and why that’s a problem. As a woman, I found myself nodding along and thinking, “well, duh” quite a bit. It would be interesting to hear what a guy thinks while reading this. The only comment I have: I wish more time in the book had been spent on solutions (and not just for married couples). But that’s a pretty minor complaint, and everyone should read this book.
  • The Financial Diet by Chelsea Fagan and Lauren Ver Hage. HR. This book was a fun read, and I loved the great breakout sections featuring experts in different areas. Including Cait Flanders, who is one of my favorite writers! There’s some great advice in here about how to find your first apartment, cook at home, and be financially savvy. It’s a wonderful book for recent college grads who are overwhelmed by adulthood. I actually sent a copy to my youngest sister last fall based on recommendations from Twitter, and I decided I should finally read the book for myself. I’m glad I did!
  • The Nature Fix by Florence Williams. HR. Williams goes around the world learning about what science has to say about the effect of nature on our physical and mental health. This book was a compelling read about why it’s important to get outside, and specifically to get out in nature and not just on city streets. While we can’t all disappear and go camping for weeks on end, it did have some easy action items. One I’ve adopted since reading is putting cypress oil on my dryer sheets, and now my whole house smells like a lovely Japanese forest. Placebo or science, it makes me happier!
  • Becoming by Michelle Obama. DEAR. This was such a wonderful and fascinating read. It was interesting to read more about Obama’s early life and hear her perspective on her husband’s meteoric rise in politics. I think everyone should read this book. It combines discussion of politics, race, and gender in a witty and endearing memoir. Michelle kicks ass.
  • Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. HR. Pang analyzes the benefits of rest to our creativity and productivity by comparing habits of great thinkers throughout history, from artists to scientists to politicians. He breaks down rest into component parts, including naps, sleep, deep play, walks, exercise, etc. and explains why each are necessary to perform at our best. He also talks about how society has shifted to celebrate overwork and stress, to the detriment of our health and wellbeing. I’m hoping to bring some of his takeaways into my own routines, especially as my schedule seems to get busier and busier.
  • The Geography of Genius by Eric Weiner. HR. Weiner writes about his attempt to find out what makes places of genius special. From ancient Athens to Calcutta to Vienna to Silicon Valley. It was an interesting read, and I definitely learned something about these places. He dispels the myth of the lone genius; instead, these cities fostered genius in their people and gave rise to multiple creative geniuses at one specific point in history. There are several common threads, but one of them is exposure to new ideas from around the world; none of these cities were isolated or cut off from inspiration.
  • The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. HR. I’ve been using a Bullet Journal setup for some time, and I love the method and its flexibility. Before this, I always carried around both a paper planner and a small notebook, but the ease of combining both in something that is customized especially to my life is really attractive. It means all of my notes, ideas, to-do lists, and calendars are in one place. I can tie ideas together and easily make plans. Despite already using Carroll’s unique journal system, I found reading the book to be really helpful. It introduced several new ways that I can document my life and my tasks to meet my goals, both personal and professional. This is definitely worth the read if you already Bullet Journal or if you’ve been looking for a better way to organize your life. The book is well-written for novices and experts of the method alike. Bonus tip: this is the notebook I use. It’s wonderful and magical and I will never look back at my sad Moleskine notebooks again.
  • Pass the 65 by Robert Walker. Not going to lie; this is the most boring book on this list. It’s basically the only thing I read in January (other than the occasional mindless romance to give my brain a break–see below). That being said, it gets the job done. It’s a good resource if you are studying for the Series 65 exam, though I definitely had to supplement it with other study materials to absorb what I read. It’s a standard textbook price at $50, but pro tip: I used a free Kindle Unlimited trial (normally $10/month) to read it, so it was free!

Fiction Books

  • Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan.
  • Warsworn
  • Warlord
  • Warcry
  • Wardance
  • Warsong. GB. Look, these books aren’t groundbreaking. But sometimes I like a good familiar romance series when my life is chaos and I can’t focus on anything with more substance. Vaughan tells a good story, despite some plot issues and one-dimensional characters. It’s also a little weird that the first three books are not fantasy, and then in the next three, suddenly wyverns show up. But whatevs.
  • Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.
  • New Moon
  • Eclipse
  • Breaking Dawn. GB. Ok, so when I was looking for something to procrastinate with while studying for my exam, I realized that all of the Twilight Saga movies were on Hulu. So, of course, I watched them. And then I decided that I probably needed to reread all the books too. Really, the same rationale as above. And now I’m kind of regretting deciding to honestly list all the books I read…
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A Year of Book Recommendations: Nonfiction

I’ve always been a voracious reader, primarily of fiction (and specifically fantasy novels). This year, I decided to consciously track the books I read throughout the year, both so I could be keeping myself accountable with regard to reading more nonfiction, and so I could know how many new books versus old books I read/reread respectively.
belle reading book recommendations
via GIPHY
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Financial DNA and Learning from the Past

financial dna and learning from the past

I’ve had a lot of fun over the last year going through my family’s genealogy. Digging into rumors and fact, old documents and family stories (Spoiler alert: I was lied to as a child, and we are not, alas, illicit descendants of Queen Victoria). And as I’ve done that and have seen some of the struggles that my ancestors overcame, I’m struck by how much my financial heritage—my financial DNA, so to speak—influences my life now.

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