Last year my reading goal for the year was 50 books. I set my bar low just in case while dealing with pregnancy, I wouldn’t be able to read as much as usual. I ended up reading 69 books in 2017ย ๐
This year, I set my goal pretty low (25 books) because I have a baby. There is just not the free time I used to have to be able to devour books. However, I have been able to sneak in some reading here and there during nap time (hers not mine), and here is what I have read so far since the beginning of the year:
Breathe Mama, Breathe by Shonda Moralis
I enjoyed reading this book about mindfulness for mamas because let’s face it, there are times when being a mom can get the best of us. This book shows how to have mini meditation breaks during the day and still keep your sanity while taking care of your kiddos! Definitely recommend for mamas no matter what stage of parenting you are in.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
LOVED THIS BOOK! I seriously had all the feelings about thisย novel and it is truly such a great read. This book about a young girl’s life in the early 1900’s in Brooklyn, is so good!
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Guys… I wanted to like this book. I really did. I adore Plath’s poetry and I thought I would feel the same about her stand-alone novel published right around the time of her suicide, but I just couldn’t. This book, which is a fictionalized version of Plath’s actual nervous breakdown and subsequent shock therapies, just really did not pull me in, as the main character wasn’t one that you could really understand and therefore, it was hard to sympathize with her subsequent downward spirals. I empathized with her plight, but felt not enough was explained as to how she got there.
A Talent For Murder by Andrew Wilson
Meh… I was so looking forward to reading this book and was just completely disappointed. Agatha Christie, the mystery novelist, really did disappear for 9 days in 1926, and this author decided to take that true story and put his own fictionalized twist on it. The results were underwhelming. I feel that some bad guy telling Agatha Christie to commit a murder for him or else he tells the world that her husband is having an affair and Christie agrees to do what he says, in order to forsake unwanted publicity, seems far-fetched to say the least.
The Address by Fiona Shaw
Such a great read!! This book which flips back and forth between 1885 and 1985 is so, so good! And it really is so interesting and the author gives great detail about how New York was in the late 1800’s.
The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
Cait blogs about mindfulness, minimalism, and personal finance. She wrote a book about how she decluttered her life and went on a shopping ban for a year and all the lessons she learned along the way. I have been reading Cait’s blog for years, so it was super cool to finally read her book! ๐ I really enjoyed reading it.
And if y’all are interested in what I am currently reading, I post pictures of ’em over on Instagram. All the pictures in this post are from my account. Stop by and say hi!ย ๐
What are you guys reading?
I enjoyed The Address but I liked her first novel a bit better, The Dollhouse. I think you would enjoy it too. It takes places at the Barbizon Hotel which, of course, you know is where Sylvia Plath committed suicide. Like The Address it flips from past to present but takes places in the 1950s. I saw you raving about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on Twitter and must confess that I am unfamiliar with the book as it was never required school reading for me. ๐ But you’ve got me intrigued and I added it to my TBR. I’m glad you’re still finding time to sneak in a few reading breaks with baby! ๐
I will definitely have to check out The Dollhouse! Adding it to my TBR as we speak ๐
I think you’ll like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It is an engaging read, for sure!
Oh my gosh, you’ve read so many books already in 2018! And with a newborn … That’s humbling. I’m reading The Disaster Artist. It’s a light, funny read. I don’t know if you’ve heard of James Franco’s movie by the same title (I really liked Franco – then he too was outed as sexually inappropriate – ugh!), but I get a kick out of the whole story – which is about the worst movie ever made – The Room. I’m intrigued by The Address. I enjoy time-travel stories. I wish I could time travel myself:)
I will have to check out The Disaster Artist, I hadn’t heard of it before!
It won’t make much sense if you haven’t seen the movie The Room. Such a terrible movie, it’s become a cult classic, and its writer/producer/director/star (all the same person) has become truly famous. A quirky story – so funny:)
Bummer A Talent for Murder was so underwhelming. I find the story of Christie actually disappearing to be an interesting one, but yeah, this premise does not seem likely in the slightest!!
Glad you enjoyed most of your reads though!
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
It was soooo underwhelming ๐
Ive wanted to read The Address! Glad to see someone liked it!
I loved it! ๐
I loved The Bell Jar, but I never read her poetry. To me, the Bell Jar felt like part of me, I understood exactly why she was going crazy! To me it was that the expectations of her as a woman were too much, she had no way out of them.
Hmmm, I like your perspective on The Bell Jar. Interesting way of looking at it ๐
The Mama Mindfulness book sounds like something I might need in my life…. ๐ Year of Less is on my holds list at the library!
Mama Mindfulness is a lifesaver for moms for sure!!
The Year of Less was awesome! ๐
Ooh I must read The Address! I read The Dollhouse, and didn’t realize she had another book. Thanks for the awesome suggestions. I’ll add A Tree Grows In Brooklyn to my list as well. Your pictures are amazing, btw! Nicely done : )
I have The Dollhouse on my list to read now, having read The Address ๐
Thanks for the compliment on my pictures! You made my day! ๐
Following on IG.
I LOVED A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and felt similar about The Bell Jar.
Followed back ๐
Yay! Glad to hear someone else loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn!
The Year of Less sounds right up my alley. And I love that you read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn! I haven’t read that one so I might need to pick it up! Nothing like a good classic!
The Year of Less is such a great read ๐
I feel like the Agatha Christie book would make me mad… I’m a big fan of her mystery novels and it’d irritate me to hear someone put a spin like that on her life. I didn’t know she had disappeared for 9 days, though. That’s super interesting.
I always bye my BFF a mom-book each year for Christmas. Breathe Mama, Breathe might be my next one for her! Thanks for the rec!
Oh my gosh, that book about Agatha Christie was so annoying, ughโฆ. You wouldnโt like it.
Breathe Mama, Breathe is such a great book for moms! Hope your friend enjoys it ๐
So many great reads!!! I really want to get to both The Bell Jar and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn this year. They have been on my tbr for several years. Pam ๐
Thanks! Hope you enjoy those books ๐