My January 2020 Book Reviews!

I started the year strong!  This month I read FOUR books.  I am so pumped to get a jump start on my goal of reading 50 books in 2020.  I actually really liked most of the books that I read this month, so let me dive right in and tell you about them.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

This was my book club read for January.  I was excited to read it because even though I haven’t read Eat, Pray, Love by Gilbert, I absolutely loved the movie.  Reminder to add Eat, Pray, Love to my reading list!  I was very underwhelmed by this book and I wasn’t alone.  My book club was pretty split on our opinions, half loved it and a half just did not have strong feelings.

The novel is about a young girl, Vivian, who fails out of college and has to move in with her aunt in New York City.  In the process, Vivian gets involved in the showgirl scene in the city.  The story is really a coming of age story about Vivian learning to accept and love herself.

I just never felt connected to Vivian, I didn’t dislike her, but at no point did I have strong feelings to root her on.  It wasn’t bad, but I did absolutely HATE the ending.

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Rising Strong by Brene Brown

I am a fan of Brene Brown.  After doing the Enneagram test, all results came out that I was definitely a type two.  Doing research about how I can use this information to better myself, I read that type twos would really benefit from Brene Brown’s work so I began reading her books.

This nonfiction book is all about learning how to not be afraid of being vulnerable.  It is about how to survive failure, and disappointment to rise stronger than you were before you fell.

Brene’s writing is really easy to read, she just seems so human and to me reading her books just feels like having a conversation with a well-educated friend.  Of Brene’s books, this was not my favorite, but it was definitely very good.

I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The One by John Marrs

I don’t typically enjoy science fiction novels, but this one was recommended by so many people that I eventually had to give it a try.  I am so glad that I did because I absolutely loved it!

In a world full of science and technology, a dating app is discovered that can match you to your soulmate.  Through DNA, this company guarantees your perfect match.  This novel is about five people who get alerts that their match has been found.  There were many unexpected twists and turns that made this novel captivating.

I gave this 5 out of 5 stars.

Educated by Tara Westover

I was late to the game reading this memoir, but it was fantastic and definitely lives up to the hype.  Educated is the memoir of Tara, a girl who grew up in a survivalist family.  They were educated at home and taught that modern society was evil.  It wasn’t until Tara was seventeen that she stepped foot into a normal classroom.

This memoir tells the story of Tara’s upbringing, her history of abuse and trauma, and what brought her overseas to one of the world’s most prestigious universities.

I loved this book and had a really challenging time putting down.  I gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

Also, Check-Out:

The 10 Best Books I Read in 2019

My December 2019 Book Reviews