When I Should Be Studying

Last year I took all the books I read and ranked them into a list. To make it easier, this year I designed a book bracket that I filled out throughout the year. In this blog post I will share my book rankings for the year along with the links to my reviews of them.  I will continue to update the links in this blog post as I post the remaining reviews for the 2022 year. Books that did not make it passed the first round: The F*ck It Diet: Eating Should Be Easy by Caroline Dooner 4 star Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart   1 star The Secret by Rhonda Byrne 4 stars Majesty: American Royals 2 by Kathrine McGree  4 stars Every Last Secret by A.R. Torre  4 star A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard  4 stars All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata  3 stars The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives by Brian Moylan  5 stars  Girls With Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman  2 stars We'll Always Have Summer...

Reasons for Reading This Memoir:  I am always looking for knew books to read and open to suggestions for books people loved. In an episode of The Readheads podcast one of the host, Dana, read and recommended Know My Name by Chanel Miller . If you have followed my blog and past book reviews you would know that this type of memoir is right up my alley. Dana mentioned this book months ago but it wasn't until recently that I was able to get my hands on a copy. When getting a book I first look at the library, then at a used book store and lastly an ebook. When I saw it was available at the library I checked it out. As someone who was does not remember when these events where playing out in real time, I was excited to learn about it and learn the personal perspective of Chanel Miller. Content of This Memoir: Chanel Miller or who you might know as Emily Doe, was sexual assaulted by Brock Turner at a party on Stanford's campus. Her viral victim statement posted by BuzzFeed  promoted ...

Reasons For Reading This Book: As I have mentioned before on the blog, my best friend and I trade books all the time. In September she texted me that she read The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley . Her text also said 'it is a horribly written book' that was more funny than the advertised seriousness and that she 'needed me to read it so she could talk to someone about it'. She gave me her copy and I read it in a week. I had expectations going in that it was poorly written. I did not read the book description before starting and just let the writing and story speak for itself. Content of the Book: After leaving behind her terrible job and life in London, Jess goes to stay with her half-brother in his apartment in Paris. Ben, her brother is a journalist trying to make it in the city. Like any apartment building the residents are going to be a collection of interesting individuals. This apartment is no exception. There is a stylish and posh 50 year old named Sophie who is mar...

Reasons for Reading This Book: As a member of The Readheads podcast book club I am always putting their book recommendations on my to read list. One of the recommended books was Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand. Oddly enough it wasn't the concept of the book that caught my attention it was the title. While working in Boston, MA I visited a used book store. I went in with books that I was looking to buy and this was one of them. Lucky for me they had one copy left. I went into this book with little to no expectations. I knew it was a summery beachy read and was excited to read it during the start of the summer. Content of This Book: Vivian Howe is a Nantucket novelist who has one summer to protect her secrets while her loved ones on Earth learn to live without her. Vivi is killed in a hit-and-run while on her morning run. Upon her death she entered the Beyond, where she meets Martha. Vivi is granted one last summer to watch what happens on Earth. She is also given three "nudges...

Reasons For Reading This Book: Last year I read a number of memoirs and really enjoyed them. This year I knew I wanted to read more. I was in the mood for one and looked at my to read list and saw that I had  A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard  on there. I looked at my library to see if the ebook copy was available, it was. I took this as a sign that I was meant to read this book at this time. I put this book on my list years and years ago because I had watched Jaycee's 20/20 interview and was so intrigued by what she had experienced, her resilience, and all the new things she wanted to experience with her new found freedom.  Content of This Book: "In the summer of 1991 I was a normal kid. I did normal things. I had friends and a mother who loved me. I was just like you. Until the day my life was stolen. For eighteen years I was a prisoner. I was an object for someone to use and abuse. For eighteen years I was not allowed to speak my own name. I became a mother and ...

Reasons For Reading This Book: In May I was in desperate need of a good book shopping trip. I was in Massachusetts for work and found a used book superstore in the area. I took a trip out there in hopes of finding a few books on my list, but also wanted to browse and find other books that interested me. While browsing the entertainment section I found  The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives by Brian Moylan . Something I have not talked much about on my blog is my love of TV. I watch all types of TV, but one genre I watch a lot of is realty TV. The Real Housewives franchise is one I watch a lot of. I have seen the title of this book on different reality and housewives social media accounts but I never gave much thought to reading it until I saw it on the shelf. I picked the copy up and instantly started reading it when I got back to my hotel. Content of the Book: Brian Moylan is the writer of  Vulture ’s legendary  Real Housewives  recaps.   Br...