What I Read: January

I've been tracking the books I read each month for my 31st year list and I thought it would be fun to do a recap at the end of each month. That way I can share my thoughts about each book as well as document how I read them. There were a few books I wanted to read that I was only able to get as a downloadable audiobook and I found I loved having an audiobook I was listening to at the same time as I was reading a regular book. That way when I was driving in the car or doing chores I could listen to the audiobook. It has helped motivate me to do chores when I'd rather do something else and I've even enjoyed listening on some runs when it is light out and less dangerous to have headphones in. Then I had a book I could only get as an ebook and liked getting to read on my phone so I could read as I rocked Elise before nap or at other times when I had my phone but didn't have my book with me. Reading a regular book is still my favorite form of reading but I enjoy these other forms as well. I tend to have 3 books going at a time: one ebook, one audiobook, and one actual book. I used to be the type who couldn't fathom reading more than one book at a time. But it works for me because I stick to either nonfiction or books that are easy to stop and start again with my ebook and audiobook. I've also found some books to be even better as an audiobook when they are read by the author or someone who does a wonderful job with accents and dialogue. I listened to the Kite Runner as an audiobook because it was read by the author but it wasn't the best one to do that with because I hated pausing it. It was really one I needed to read as a book with no interruptions because it was so darn good! Listed below are the books I read separated into categories of how I read them. I have lots of books on my want to read list, but I'm always interested in new and interesting books. If you've read anything great lately, please list it in the comments!

To keep this post more interesting, a picture of my sweetie reading at the library!

Regular Book:

• The Dirty Book Club by Lisi Harrison- This book was listed in the Book Page magazine I pick up at the library. I wanted something just silly and fun and this fit the bill perfectly. It was a really fast read and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The plot was a little ridiculous but I didn't mind because I was just after something fun. I'd classify it as more of a beach read.
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain- I have a list of classics I want to read and this was on there. I didn't like it quite as much as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The ending was not at all what I was expecting and had I known how it would end, I would have enjoyed it more. The fact that they were dillydallying when they could have helped Jim escape really easily stressed me out!
• Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush- I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. It was so interesting to read from the perspective of a president's daughter dealing with the secret service after reading a few books from the perspective of the secret service (to the Kennedys).
• Little Bee by Chris Cleave- This book was so well written and so intense. It was one that at times I couldn't put down. I'm usually pretty good about stopping in time to go to bed because I tell myself, tomorrow would you rather have finished the chapter or gotten more sleep? This was one that didn't apply to. It was so sad to think about how many lives like Bees are fraught with war and terror. It really made me stop and think about the refugee situation and how little we are doing to help them.
• A Secret Sisterhood: The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney- I was immediately interested in this book when I saw it. I was afraid I'd love the section about Jane Austen who I know a lot about but would be somewhat uninterested in the sections about the other authors, but that was not the case at all. It was so fascinating to read about each author and her special literary friend who helped her become a better writer. I found it interesting how the earlier writers' work and lives were of interest to the later writers and how the authors of the book incorporated that into the book. In the prologue the authors discussed a few other literary friendships between female writers and I loved that section as well! It mentioned one of my favorite authors, Maya Angelou!

Ebook:

• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll- This is one that I wanted to read because it was on my list of classics to read. I didn't really like it and was a bit surprised. It was just so weird to me and there were a lot of strange songs and rhymes that seemed to go on for way too long and distract from the progress of the story.
• Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll- The book I downloaded had this included with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I didn't really want to read it because I hadn't really liked the first book all that much but I went ahead and read it. It was interesting to me as I was reading it to see how the classic Alice in Wonderland movie combined these two stories into one story for the movie.

Audiobook:

• The Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini- Oh my gosh, this book was so good. It was really eye opening and made me think more about the caste systems in other countries. I had a little exposure to that when I traveled abroad to India in college but this gave a more intimate and upsetting glimpse into it. This book has stayed with me and I think of the characters at times. It was a heartbreaking story of how being born into certain classes can change not just the direction of your life, but the length of it as well. I think this was possibly the most heartbroken I have ever felt about the death of a fictional character. It was also interesting to listen to this after having read I Am Malala and Black Flags: The Rise of Isis which both gave me some background knowledge of Afghanistan and the issues the country faced while this book gave a more intimate and personal experience. Although this was not the best book  to listen to as an audiobook, mostly because it was emotionally charged and I had a hard time when I was interrupted, I loved that it was read by the author. I loved getting to hear how things should have been pronounced, rather than butchering them as I read them from a book. 
• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond- This was another eye opening read. It is a book that everyone in America should read, our current president first and foremost (although it probably wouldn't effect him as it should). As I listened to the stories of the people being followed, I made connections to the friends we deliver to on our Meals on Wheels route. So many times it's easier to believe that people are homeless because they made poor choices when you realize, if you stop to listen, that there are so many factors outside of their control that led to them being in that situation. I've always known I was so privileged to have parents and parent-in-laws who are always backing us and able to support us when we need a little help. It was so sad to see the stories of these families with no support. Desmond did such a wonderful job of fitting so many different key points and so much information into one engaging book. Ty got really excited after I'd read this because it was on Obama's book list. Hopefully that means more people read it because it was so good and so important!
• Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham- I am fascinated with Thomas Jefferson and some of his seemingly contradictory beliefs. I was so excited to read this book and loved all the little tidbits it included. In all honesty, I was a little disappointed overall. There was such a long and drawn out emphasis on his early life and I felt like there wasn't enough time spent on his years as president and afterward. I wanted to know more about the Louisiana Purchase and the Core of Discovery and they were combined in a short section. Now I want to find a book about the Core of Discovery from Thomas Jefferson's point of view. I'd love to read about his thoughts as he received live animals sent to him from Meriwether Lewis!
• Longbourn by Jo Baker- This book was so much fun! Longbourn is the home of the Bennets from Pride and Prejudice. This story was told from the perspective of the servants. I liked that I knew what was going to happen as far as the masters of the household went and got to see how those events impacted the servants. It was really neat and I loved getting to hear about the chores of the household servants. It was a perspective I'd never thought of before. My main complaint about the book would be that it was so wonderfully descriptive and spent so much time covering a small portion of time and then all the sudden in the last portion of the book there was a bunch crammed in without as much description and lead in as I felt like the rest of the book had. It was like the author realized she only had 100 pages left and tried to cram everything in. Maybe that was just me and I didn't want the story to end, but I wish she'd filled in the gaps in time rather than passing over large segments of time.
• 1984 by George Orwell- This book was one I had on my list to read but I didn't really want to read it. I didn't like Animal Farm so I figured I wouldn't really like this one. That's why I decided to do it as an audiobook, I figured I wouldn't mind stopping it when needed. I ended up really liking it. It was so good and definitely a bit scary with how our current administration has been so forceful with labeling everything "fake news". I was pleasantly surprised by this one.