January 2020 reading stats:
Total Books Read: 7
In progress: 3
Did not finish: 1
Total Pages: 2869
I hope your January went well and your February is even better! I went back to work after a two-week holiday vacation and moved into new and unknown territory since I took a role switch at work, that said, I haven’t written many full reviews this month; C’est la vie.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this wrap-up and the two reviews that I did manage to write. Let’s get started!
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
You can read my full review of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern here. Still, in summary, this was masterfully written, completely immersive, with great characters, a slow but worthy plot, and the world-building and magic is nothing short of cinematic. I highly recommend reading this one if you need a little magic in your life.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Gosh, this book turned me into a puddle of tears and snot. It was the epitome of love and loss. When it was over, I felt sick with emotion as if I suffered the loss of someone close to me. If you don’t want to feel sad or loss, I wouldn’t recommend this book. If you’re okay with being emotionally destroyed read this now!
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
This book is not an applicational approach to self-help. It’s more of a relatable story about some people and the problems they worked through in therapy. Humans are fundamentally the same in respect to our emotions and this book highlights those emotional faults. As such, it makes you feel a bit better about your own life and the way you react to life’s events. I enjoyed this one and do recommend it if you’re looking for a pick me up.
One Million Followers by Brendan Kane
Hubby finally started to share his music after being told to do so for years, and so I picked up One Million Followers to learn more and help. This book will give you with some high-level ideas on strategies like A/B testing ads to find your target audience and a bit of inspiration for content creation. The concepts aren’t really drilled down into, but you’re left with areas to research and explore. I gave this book bonus points for mentioning Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger, one of my favorite marketing books to date. If you want to learn more about online advertising I recommend this one.
The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib
Unlike One Million followers, The 1-Page Marketing Plan focused less on Facebook Ads and included topics like face-to-face, online, word of mouth, and snail-mail marketing. Also, pricing your services or products correctly, up-selling, and being an innovative company while not just having innovative products. This book is well worth the read if you’re looking to take your marketing to the next level. It’ll help you organize your thoughts and develop an actionable plan to test and tweak as you learn more about your industry.
Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vaderah
You can read the full review for Where the Forest Meets the Stars here. Ultimately, Where the Forest Meets the Stars dives headfirst into the human condition as we follow three main characters Jo, Ursa, and Gabriel; their history’s all wrapped in mystery, pain, love, and sorrow. This story drowned me in compassion and empathy; I found myself crying more than once. I loved the characters and the romance sprinkled throughout. I love this one and you should check it out if you’re looking for a contemporary fiction.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
While the main plot point was a bit predictable, I will read the next one since there’s a cliffhanger and I like Cinder enough to know what happens to her. The politics are intriguing, and I hope we get more of that in the next books. The sci-fi cyborg elements are fun. I like the Lunar magic. I would recommend this for a weekend. I read it in one day, so if you’re looking for something light and fun, give this one a try.
In progress
From Blood and Ash
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Holy sexy Batman! This book is well, just sexy. Also, it’s action packed. I’m enjoying the politics, the vampires, the dynamics between the characters. The romance is fun. The only reason I haven’t finished this one is that I ordered the next book and I don’t want this one to end until I have the next part in my hands. So far, I do recommend this book at only 73% through. Get it, now! (Update: full review of From Blood and Ash is here).
The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe
by C. S. Lewis
Hubby and I gifted each other the same exact hardcover edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for Christmas. It was his childhood favorite and I’ve never read it so we wanted to read it together. So far it’s a sweet read, and I can’t wait to one day read it with my little ones.
A Universe of Wishes Anthology
by Dhonielle Clayton
I got this one in the Limited Edition OwlCrate Winter Wishes box, and I’m excited to dive into this. So far I’ve only read the foreword. I think I’m going to post a mini-review of each short story on my Instagram, then compile them all into a blog post here, so stay tuned for that if you’re interested!
Did Not Finish
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Daniel and I were reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban together, and we were 47% into it. While I was enjoying it much more than the Chamber of Secrets, we’re all pottered out. We’re not fishing it for now, but I will certainly go back to it at some point when I’m in the mood for more Potter.
Book Blogging Stats for January
Full Book Reviews:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
Bookish Posts:
OwlCrate Winter Wishes Limited Edition Unboxed
What was your favorite book of January?
