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If you follow along on Instagram, then you know that I have been flying through my TBR (To Be Read) List during quarantine!
I have always been an avid reader, finding solace in the pages of a book when I’m unable to physically escape on a plane, and having that safe space to escape to has been more important than ever.
With people still working from home, maybe still being under stay at home orders, and beaches starting to open up, this seemed like the perfect time to do a roundup of all the books I have read so far during quarantine. There is currently five or six more on top of this list, but I didn’t want to overwhelm all of you.
Depending on how you all feel about it, I may start doing something like this on a monthly basis. Once upon a time I even made an attempt at creating a #Bookstagram called Vagarious Reader (RIP lol), so maybe this will be a better alternative.
If you have any suggestions for what I should read next, drop them in the comments below!
1. Writers & Lovers by Lily King
Overall Rating: 3/5
I wanted to love this book…but it fell pretty flat for me. As I read it, it really seemed to be about a young woman whose anxiety was preventing her from making any real progress in her life, whether it be in her relationships or in her goal of writing her first book. Now, to me, that sounds like a relatively interesting and definitely deep book…
But it wasn’t.
The description of the book itself seems to imply that it is a kind of coming of age tale, where a young woman transitions into “real” adulthood rather than the classic story of a teen transitioning into adulthood. I personally did not really get that out of this book.
Overall, it was well written, just too dry and not engaging enough for me.
2. Pride, Prejudice, & Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
Overall Rating: 3/5
This was my second attempt at reading this book, and it finally stuck!
As the title suggests, this is basically a rewrite of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice that takes place in modern day California. The flip is that the genders are reversed in who plays Elizabeth Bennet and the beloved Mr. Darcy.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the look into Indian-American culture. This book spoke a lot to the traditional meals, why some families came to America to begin with, expectations within Indian-American families, and what life tends to be like here.
I was torn between giving this book 3 stars or 4, but ultimately gave it 3. It was a bit too unrealistic in my opinion, and the writing wasn’t anything truly inspiring. (What can I say? I’m a pretty tough book critic.) But overall, it was a really engaging book and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, Recipe for Persuasion, which just came out last week!
3. Bare Bones by Bobby Bones
Overall Rating: 3/5
If you’re a fan of country music radio and you live in America, then there is probably a 95% chance that you have listened to the Bobby Bones Show at least once over the past few years. Bobby Bones is arguably one of the most successful and well-known radio DJs in the industry, and Bare Bones is his first memoir detailing the journey from Bobby Estell to Bobby Bones.
As my favorite radio personality, I thought it only made sense to listen to the audiobook since it is read by the author himself. I’m curious how different it would be in print form since he speaks specifically to listeners in the audiobook.
I really enjoyed this book, but again, I’m a pretty tough critic and I think the early days of quarantine made me extra critical. It was fascinating to learn about Bobby’s childhood in super small town Arkansas and the crazy instances of being in the right place at the right time to get him where he is today.
4. Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Overall Rating: 4/5
This was my first official Quarantine Book Club read! I remember this book being everywhere last year, and despite knowing nothing about it, my friend and I decided to make it our first book club read anyway.
This book falls into two categories for me: beach reads and trash novels.
What is a trash novel? A trash novel, for me personally, is usually a romance novel. It takes me no time to read at all, usually gets a little raunchy at some point, and I don’t actually learn too much from it.
But if it’s a trash novel, why would you rate it above all the other books so far?
This book sucks you in! This book is all about the love story between the fictional son of the president of the United States and a prince of England…who reminds me an awful lot of the real Prince Harry…
It is outlandishly unrealistic, there are a couple characters that are not developed well, and I thought the ending was strange, but overall it is the kind of book you just can’t put down. I think it was also the exact kind of book I needed to read at that point in quarantine.
5. The Miracle Morning for Writers by Hal Elrod
Overall Rating: 4/5
As part of my morning routine, I read at least one chapter of a personal development book every single morning.
I read The Miracle Morning for Writers immediately after finishing the original Miracle Morning, and I do kind of regret it. The first half of the two books are almost identical, so I ended up skimming a lot of it.
However, there are a ton of great little nuggets of information specific to writers tucked into this book. I learned about a lot of new programs to increase productivity, ways to better organize story ideas and research, and how to force yourself to write every day.
If you are an aspiring writer, I highly recommend giving this a read.
6. Folsom Untold by Danny Robbins (Audible Original)
Overall Rating: 3/5
Now that stores can only allow a certain amount of people inside, there is almost always a huge line outside the grocery store. When I noticed my weekly screen time going up, I figured the quickest and easiest way to bring it back down would be to find something else to occupy myself in line than just staring mindlessly at my phone.
Enter: My reason to start listening to audiobooks again.
Folsom Untold is an Audible Original and tells the story of how the album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison came to be and Johnny Cash’s unlikely, and ultimately tragic friendship, with a Folsom Prison inmate.
There are a couple sections where the audio is pretty rough, but overall this audiobook was engaging and informative. I love that album and it was fascinating to learn the history behind it.
If you’re interested in a free 30 day trial of Audible, which includes a free audiobook, follow this link. (This is an affiliate link, which means I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.)
7. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Overall Rating: 4/5
Apparently my book club was late to the party on this thriller novel because when I posted it on my Instagram stories about a dozen of you DM’d me to say you had read it and loved it!
Ahhhh…what words can I use to describe this book?
Ultimately, this book was a bit of a disappointment to me.
The first few chapters were really slow, and it took me forever to get through them because I just couldn’t get into it.
The meat of the book was incredible!!! I was sucked in and couldn’t put it down! So much so that I finished it over a week ahead of schedule… The character development was great, the story line kept you on the edge of your seat at every page turn…truly amazing!
But then we got to the ending…
After such a dramatic middle, I wanted the ending to have at least some drama. Instead I was left with a very mundane, lacklustre ending that ended with someone having tea in their kitchen…seriously? I stayed up until midnight to finish this book because I was so hooked and that was all I got? Not the ending I wanted for this book, and rather than feeling fulfilled or like I was desperate for a sequel I just felt dejected.
8. This is Marketing by Seth Godin
Overall Rating: 4/5
Another morning routine book, this one was recommended to me by my mentor Gloria Atanmo of The Blog Abroad.
I truly think that everyone, no matter your industry, should read this book. It teaches you how to identify your ideal audience, why your ideal audience shouldn’t necessarily be the largest possible audience, how to speak to your audience and build a relationship with them, and ultimately how to serve them in a way that also profits you.
Highly recommend. I plan on making this one of my annual reads because there are just so many gems in it and there is no way I caught them all on this first read.
9. Sleeping with the Enemy by Hal Vaughan
Overall Rating: 4/5
This book has been sitting on my bookshelf forever! Forever seriously being about ten years at this point. I bought this book on a trip to New York with my mom, was gassed to read it, then for whatever reason I just never picked it up.
This book is all about Coco Chanel’s role as a Nazi agent in World War II, which in and of itself is just crazy!
It was a really informative book. I have always loved learning more about WWII and the roles different people played in it, but I had never learned much about the different ways mere civilians played a part.
Lots of dates, lots of French and German names which, for someone who does not speak either language, is kind of hard to keep up with at times, but it is a really well written book. I am actually going to have my husband read it next because even though he knows absolutely nothing about fashion I think he’ll really enjoy all the history in it!
10. Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore
Overall Rating: 5/5
Another Quarantine Book Club read, but also the April (I think?) read for Jenna Bush’s book club, this book blew my mind.
It is a historical fiction book highlighting the struggles women faced in 1970s Texas. It discussed issues like victim blaming/shaming, racism, and sexism. This was easily the deepest book I have read with my book club so far, and I loved every second of it.
I don’t think my book club friends and I typically share the same worldviews, but Valentine gave us a great opportunity to discuss issues that still plague the world today in a safe and non-politically charged setting. If you ever feel the need to discuss a sensitive subject but don’t want to come off as combative, I suggest either reading a book together knowing you’ll discuss it after or phrasing the conversation as if you’re only bringing it up because of a book you recently read.
If you haven’t heard of the Read With Jenna Book Club, I highly recommend checking it out. Some of the greatest novels I’ve read over the past year have been from her selections, and they typically either address a common issue going on in the world right now or offer a perspective on something from another culture. (A perfect example that is not part of Quaranreads, but I highly, highly recommend, is A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum. I read it almost a year ago and still think about it weekly.)
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