I am so late on this post, and nearly didn’t write it at all. I think I’m going to change up the format in which I do these, if that’s okay with you? I read 10 books in January + here they are!

Absolute Best Book of January:

All The Things We Cannot Say by Kellie Rimmer. This was a Bad Bitch Book Club BOTM option so many times. Yet for some reason, it was never chosen. I finally read this at the beginning of the year and I’m now more determined than ever to get this chosen as a BOTM. If you like historical fiction, you will love this book.

Obama has questionable taste in books:

Look, I miss him as much as the next liberal, but I’m convinced he lists every book he’s read all year as his book suggestions. Sometimes they are amazing (Pachinko) other times they are polarizing (Normal People/Trick Mirror) and sometimes they are interesting but poorly written. For me, in January, that was American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson. Though I learned a good amount about Burkina Faso in the 80’s (interesting), the debut novel read very much like a first draft.

My boss recommended me this biz book and I loved it:

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss it’s a book about negotiation written by a former FBI global hostage negotiator. I highly recommend.

A fun + forgettable YA book:

Jackpot by Nic Stone (library it! but I wouldn’t buy.)

A feminist manifesto that made me uncomfortable:

My girl Lily + I read The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson last month. This book was absolutely groundbreaking when it was released in 2015. Though some of the concepts are mainstream feminism now, her exploration of gender and motherhood was undoubtably profound.

People love this book, I didn’t.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

A romance I’m obsessed with:

If you’re reading this, you need to read THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB!!! by Lyssa Kay Adams. Perfect for anyone with taste. I absolutely loved this book. A steamy romance novel with multi-dimensional characters. Highly recommend.

A good mystery with complex characters:

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

A polarizing book that I absolutely love:

When I listed Red at the Bone by Jaqueline Woodson as a Bad Bitch BOTM this month, I really had no idea it would be controversial. Similarly to how I felt after reading Normal People by Sally Rooney, I thought it was the kind of book that anyone would like. Turns out, there is actually quite a lot of people who have mixed feelings about the writing style of this book– which admittedly all over the place time-wise, and written like a really long beautiful poem. If you’re someone who has a strong appreciation for literature, I suspect you’d really enjoy this book. If you need your novels to follow a traditional story arch, maybe sit this one out.

A YA book that is truly fantastic:

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson is one of those YA books that is written in equal parts for teens that it is for adults. It was originally published in the UK, and there are a lot of indicators in the pages of this book that it didn’t take place in Connecticut as it was supposed to…. starting with the protagonist’s name (Pippa.) It’s the story of a teen who wants to investigate a closed murder case in her hometown, and it’s truly awesome.

What i’m reading next month:

• Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo
• Who put this song on? – Morgan Parker
• The Stars and the Blackness Between Them – Junauda Petrus

+ probably a few more 🙂