January 2018 Reading List

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pinterest strategies

In 2018, I have a goal to read at least 40 books like I did last year. It does take conscious effort, and a little bit of self-disciple, to make time to read. Especially when I’m always thinking of other ways to spend my time.

But reading is such a meaningful habit. I usually read mystery and psychological thriller novels for entertainment. And I’ve been making an effort to incorporate business and blogging books onto my reading list as well.

After all, if you’re not learning anything new, life can get pretty stagnant. A common habit of millionaires is that they read a lot. I’ll gladly adopt as many millionaire habits as I can!

Related post: How to find time to read when you’re just too busy

In the order that I read them, here are the two fiction books I devoured in January.

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Fiction Books:

Every Last Lie: I enjoyed Mary Kubica’s other three books, so I thought I’d give this one a shot. I almost didn’t read it, because the main character’s husband dies in a car crash. (Don’t worry, that’s not a spoiler! The very first sentence of the summary discloses that.) My husband has a long commute, and I’m always afraid he’ll get into a bad accident.

But I realized that obviously the book has no link to my life so I ventured forth. I mostly enjoyed the story. Maybe 4 stars if I had to assign it a rating. It’s not uplifting by any means, but psychological thrillers typically aren’t. I liked Kubica’s other books more though honestly.

books to read in January

Elizabeth Is Missing: This was Emma Healey’s first novel. It intertwines the past and present of a now elderly woman with dementia. She thinks her friend is missing, and confuses her current life events with those that happened in her youth.

I really enjoyed this book! I love a good mystery, and this one kept me guessing throughout. It really gives the reader a peek into the mind of someone with dementia. My grandparents had it, and reading this made me all the more sympathetic to their frustrating plight. Some people might find that aspect of the story quite sad, but I appreciated the insight into how it must feel to be so very forgetful. I also found parts of the book quite humorous too.

I enjoyed that the “past” portion of the book was set in post-WWII England. That time in history is very intriguing to me, as is England in general. I’d give this book 5 stars, though I see it only received four on Amazon.

good fiction books

Related: Here’s my reading list from 2017.

The other two books on my January reading list were nonfiction. I’m hoping to read a 1:1 ratio of fiction to nonfiction. But we’ll see how it goes. : )

Nonfiction Books:

Pinteresting Strategies: If you are a blogger or business owner who uses Pinterest, this is a must read! Carly Campbell of Mommy on Purpose has a completely different approach to Pinterest than I’ve ever seen. With all the pin schedulers out there, a manual pinning strategy is a fresh perspective.

I recently started using Boardbooster, and am definitely seeing benefits from it. (If you haven’t tried Boardbooster, click here for a free trial.)

But after reading Pinteresting Strategies, I am certainly also incorporating her very unique techniques. Carly’s strategies have resulted in massive success for her, so I’m definitely down for emulating that.

pinterest strategies

You Are A Badass At Making Money: Have you ever felt unprepared for how awesome something was going to be? That’s how I felt about this book. Jen Sincero is such a compelling writer if you ask me. It was a funny, intelligent, and highly motivating read.

The main idea is to “master the mindset of wealth,” and it does deliver on how to do that. But she also leads the reader through discovering their mental stigmas against wealth or making lots of money. And even though the major theme is about mastering wealth building, I would say absolutely anyone could gain insight from reading this.

My favorite chapter was about ‘inner wealth,’ which discusses the role that our own kindness, patience, confidence, and forgiveness plays in the outcome of our life. Almost every sentence in the book is meaningful, and I wrote down many quotes from it. 100% worth owning!

I definitely plan to read her other bookYou Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life soon as well. 

Jen Sincero

I really enjoyed the books I read in January. My top pick was definitely You Are A Badass At Making Money.

I’ll be back next month with my February reads!

What have you been reading? Do you have any book suggestions?

Linking up with Jana and Steph.

 

 

 

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12 Comments

  1. I do really love mysteries and psychological thrillers! I find them so fascinating.

    Yay for some good non-fiction reads too. Pinteresting Strategies sounds fascinating as I DO want to utilize that platform more.

    -Lauren

  2. Mysteries and psychological thrillers are my sweet spot and definitely what I read the most of.

    I read that Mary Kubica.

    1. I hear ya! I could probably lay around all day reading mysteries and psychological thrillers : ) Alas, there are so many other things to do.

  3. Every Last Lie was my first and only Mary Kubica. I love mysteries but for whatever reason it underwhelmed me, which really bummed me out as I’ve heard great things about her. I need to check You are a Badass at Making Money because I know that I have some money hang-ups around how much I earn, etc. that are holding me back.

    1. I enjoyed Kubica’s other books more, but I have heard other people say they didn’t love her writing. I’d love to know what you think of You Are A Badass At Making Money if you get around to it!

  4. So many people seem to enjoy Mary Kubica’s books yet I still haven’t read one.

    I just finished (literally, two days ago), You Are A Badass At Making Money. I’ll share my complete thoughts next month but I liked her writing more than I liked her message. I will read her first book, though, because I think she’s funny.

    1. I wouldn’t start with Every Last Lie, if you’re going to read Mary Kubica. I look forward to reading your thoughts on You Are A Badass At Making Money. I enjoyed Sincero’s writing a lot as well, though I had a hard time agreeing with the way she knocked ‘frugal living.’ I’m still waiting on her other book to become available at the library.

  5. I really enjoyed You Are Badass. There is an event with Jen Sincero next month in my area that I hope to get too. Admission includes a copy of You Are A Badass at Making Money. Pam 🙂

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