What I’ve Been Reading 5

It’s time for another book review! I’ve been reading a ton of cookbooks lately, but I’ve read some novels too that I know you’ll want to hear about. This is my 5th edition of What I’ve Been Reading! 

Not That Kind Of Girl by Lena Dunham

There were really mixed reviews for this book. I usually read the reviews on Barnes & Noble and on Amazon before I order a book, just to get a feel for what people did and didn’t like about the book. So although there were a ton of scathing reviews, I read them carefully and realized a lot were from women who didn’t want to read a book containing bizarre sexual encounters. Call me kinky but I just don’t care so I ordered it anyways.

Well, I’m not super impressed with this one. Lena is around my age. I get her mindset. She and I have had a few things in common (extreme morbidity fears and all consuming thoughts, out of body experiences, bad relationships we didn’t realize were so bad…). But I didn’t love her story. It became very repetitive. I heard the same story over and over. And it seemed like it was trying so hard. Hard for what? I’m not sure…to be deep or edgy or unique or something like that.

I didn’t laugh once. I get that she thought her candor was slightly humorous, and I too have a dry sense of humor, but while authors like Mindy Kaling, David Sedaris and Jen Lancaster had me peeing my pants while reading their tales, Lena just didn’t have it.

She’s awkward and talented and I love that. I just didn’t love the book. Meh. Skip.

 

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Another amazing book by Rainbow. And I’m pretty sure it’s ranked HIGH on my list of her works. She truly makes you feel ALL THE FEELINGS and doesn’t drag you through those unnecessary lengthy moments of “omg why is the main character being SUPER irrational and thinking this way for so many pages?!” Yup, none of that.

In this book, the main character, Georgie, decides to stay home while her husband and children go away for Christmas because she needs to work. She realizes that she and her husband have some deep marital problems…and maybe he’s leaving her, because they’ve already left each other emotionally. As the realizations hit her, she is trying to get in touch with her husband, but he won’t pick up his cell phone. He will, however pick up the landline at his parents’ house…

Until we find out Georgie is talking to her husband years in the past, from before they got married. She can only speak to PAST him. Because present him won’t pick up his cell. She thinks she’s going crazy, understandably.

This one is so good. You’ll be remembering how wonderful it was to talk on a landline; to really talk to someone you love on the phone. You’ll be rooting for the two of them to work it out. So good.

 

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

I am so SO glad I read this book. Let’s start there.

I was actually going to skip reading this one. I thought, “eh, Lena’s book was no bueno and I don’t want to go through that again…” Yup, totally carried my Lena feelings into this. But when I saw a signed copy at Barnes & Noble the day after Thanksgiving, I took it as a sign and snatched it up. So glad I did.

Amy isn’t just that funny woman from Parks & Recreation. In her book she outlines how she worked HARD for years to get the jobs that built up to be her comedy career. She is a business woman, working hard to stick with the comedy team she helped found which eventually snowballed into opening a whole school for improv. She details her life in SNL and her deep love of the people who she has befriended along the way.

I loved hearing her personal little stories: working in the local ice cream shop, small moments with her sons, her extremely mature appreciation for her ex husband, remembering moments playing with her neighbors when she was a child…

It was all sweet and so smart and, yes, hilarious. I laughed out loud a few times (always a great sign) and I smiled during almost the entire book. It was a true breath of fresh air. I needed this one.

Make Your Own Rules Diet by Tara Stiles 

I don’t do diets and I don’t really like preaching a diet book, but this isn’t one, despite the title. This is more about incorporating yoga and meditation into your life, which will make you feel whole and fulfilled. I love the easy-going nature that Tara writes in and she makes you feel like you can do anything! Because, honestly, you can! 

Incorporating yoga and meditation into your life isn’t something that will feel like a droning daily task. She gives you tips and reasons why even a few minutes of just relaxing and breathing will make you feel more present and fulfilled in your everyday life. 

Her recipes are all plant-based, but if that’s not your game (not mine) then you can easily add in meat. But her juices and smoothies are where it’s AT. Love her simplicity, because honestly, she’s not a cook. She’s just a woman who needs simple nourishment. I love that. And I love her philosophies. And I love her perseverance (she details a rape experience that will truly touch your heart, because it led to so much hurt in her life, and then so much drive to live a full life.). 

 

CURRENTLY reading: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty 

For more book reviews: read this…and this…and this…and this... 

Note: all links are affiliate links to Amazon. All reviews are opinions that are solely my own. This is not a sponsored post.