Meredith’s Recommended Books: January
If you know me, you know that I love love love to read. I’ve been reading since I was a little kid.
My dad says that when I was about 4 years old, I used to bring him a laundry basket full of books for him to read to me & then I would start “reading” them instead of letting him read them.
When I was in middle & high school, I read all the time. If the teacher wasn’t teaching and I wasn’t working on classwork or homework, I was reading. I wish I had kept track of how many books I read in a school year but I feel pretty confident that the answer is close to 15, at least.
I’ve been reading forever.
When I was in college, I found that I wasn’t reading as much because there were textbooks to read and work to do so reading for fun fell by the wayside. To remedy that, I decided in 2018 to read at least 1 book a month for fun. That “resolution”, I guess you could call it, has stuck around ever since.
Some months I read only one book, some months I can read 6. (I’m not kidding. I can read a book in a day if I’m out at the pool or at the beach.)
Since reading is such a big part of my life, I’ve decided to create a monthly series about my recommended books from the previous month. The first Thursday of every month will be a post about the books I’ve read. (Don’t worry…if it’s a month where I read 6 books, I’ll only dive into my top 2 & briefly name the others.)
I’ll share a little summary of the book, my thoughts on it, and all of that good stuff. I’ll even make it easy for you to find the book & link it for you in the post. How does that sound? I’m excited!
Let’s do this!
January Book #1
The first book I read was…Watching You by Lisa Jewell.
Here’s the synopsis:
“Someone knows what you did. Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Bristol, England. It’s not usually the sort of place where people are murdered in their own kitchens. But it is the sort of place where everyone has a secret and prying eyes lurk behind every curtain. So who has been murdered-and who would have wanted one of the neighbors dead?
Watching You will keep you guessing until the startling revelation on the very last page.”
My Thoughts:
Okay…so, yes, there is a startling revelation on the last page. I just re-read the last page & I was startled again because I forgot that that was how the book ended.
The best way I can really describe it is this: if you want a book to read but don’t have time to read a book non-stop for 2 days and just want something that you can read a couple of chapters before bed or while you’re sitting in a waiting room and then be able to go about the rest of the day, then this a good choice.
It was an easy read in that you didn’t have to think too much. It was a good book (and really picked up about halfway through so hang in there) but not that captivating-on-the-edge-of-your-seat good. You won’t be disappointed that you spent time reading it or feel like you wasted time though. (We’ve all read those books & this wasn’t one of them for me.)
January Book #2
The second book was…Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode–and into a Life of Connection and Joy by Aundi Kolber.
Here’s the synopsis:
“In a world that preaches a “try harder” gospel―just keep going, keep hustling, keep pretending we’re all fine―we’re left exhausted, overwhelmed, and so numb to our lives. If we’re honest, we’ve been overfunctioning for so long, we can’t even imagine another way. How else will things get done? How else will we survive?
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Aundi Kolber believes that we don’t have to white-knuckle our way through life. In her debut book, Try Softer, she’ll show us how God specifically designed our bodies and minds to work together to process our stories and work through obstacles. Through the latest psychology, practical clinical exercises, and her own personal story, Aundi equips and empowers us to connect us to our truest self and truly live. This is the “try softer” life.
In Try Softer, you’ll learn how to:
- Know and set emotional and relational boundaries
- Make sense of the difficult experiences you’ve had
- Identify your attachment style―and how that affects your relationships today
- Move through emotions rather than get stuck by them
- Grow in self-compassion and talk back to your inner critic
Trying softer is sacred work. And while it won’t be perfect or easy, it will be worth it. Because this is what we were made for: a living, breathing, moving, feeling, connected, beautifully incarnational life.”
My Thoughts:
This is a departure from the books I normally read but Oh. My. Gosh. It. Was. So. Good!!! I learned so much from this book & it was so interesting to read about how your brain and body works when you experience anxiety, stress, trauma, etc. That’s what the first half of the book is about–explaining how your brain works & why you process & approach life the way you do. Part 2 is all about practical exercises that will help you to try softer. Aundi is a licensed therapist and she uses stories from clients and her own personal experience with trauma to walk through all of the concepts in part 1 and part 2.
It was so fascinating to read & one I will return to again to refresh my memory on how to try softer. I’ve never experienced big trauma but I have dealt with (and still do deal with) anxiety and stress & I was able to learn so much about myself while reading this book and then I learned ways to move through those feelings and approach them in a softer way.
I would recommend this book even if you don’t deal with anxiety, stress, or haven’t experienced trauma. It’s very interesting to read & learn about. If you know someone who has, I think this would be a really good book to read as well so you can understand them better & help and support them as they deal with those things.
That’s all for this month! I hope you enjoyed reading about what I read and that you take the time to read for yourself this month.
Let me know what you think! Have you read either of these books? Are you going to? Let me know what you think when you do. I can’t wait to chat about them!
Love,
