Meredith's Recommended Books: February » Living Life with Meredith

Another month, another set of recommended books! Welcome back y’all!

I have to be completely honest with you:

I banned myself from Books-A-Million (BAM).

I can spend hours in there. There have been quite a few times where you could find me sitting in one of the Young Adult/Teen aisles surrounded by a bunch of books trying to narrow down my 9 options to 1 or 2. Because, unfortunately, I cannot buy 9 books at a time which is a real bummer.

Anyway…if my sister was with me, we’d look at each other’s picks & decide which ones we both wanted to read & narrow down from there because it’s a lot easier to justify 4 or 5 books when you both want to read them.

So I banned myself from BAM a couple of years ago because I did not trust myself to go in there & NOT look at books nor buy one (or three) but also because at one point, I had a whole shelf of books that I had yet to read & the stacks were piling up. I challenged myself: read all the books on my shelf before I buy another. I had 2 exceptions to this rule: 1) If one of my fav authors came out with a new book, I could get the book. 2) If my sister or mom recommended a book, then it could join the others on my bookshelf. (Disclaimer: pretty sure I slipped a couple of times & bought a book or two at Target. It did get read immediately & they were good ones so do I feel guilty? No. Moving on… 🙂 )

It took me several months, probably close to a year, because more kept getting added to my shelf, but guess what?! I DID IT! I read all of the books on my shelf last year. I’m not gonna lie, I never thought I’d see that day but I made it! Now, I’m looking for new books. I’m either borrowing books from my sister, buying the occasional book or checking them out from the library.

I haven’t been to the public library in years thanks to my awesome family who gives me BAM & Target gift cards so I can go buy some. But instead of buying one of this month’s books, I decided to go to the library & check it out. First off, it was like returning back to a place you’re very familiar with—I spent a lot of time in the library during high school due to online classes & I’ve had a library card since I was 6 so I enjoyed being back there and going through the process of locating my book & checking it out. (Gosh, I’m a nerd.) Second, I highly recommend this if you’re on a budget but still want to read or if you’re not sure if you’ll like the book.

There’s my speech advocating for your public library. Thanks for reading.

Let’s get to the books for this month!

February Book #1:

The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth

Here’s the summary:

“Small, perfect towns often hold the deepest secrets.

From the outside, Essie’s life looks idyllic: a loving husband, a beautiful house in a good neighborhood, and a nearby mother who dotes on her grandchildren. But few of Essie’s friends know her secret shame: that in a moment of maternal despair, she once walked away from her newborn, asleep in her carriage in a park. Disaster was avoided and Essie got better, but she still fears what lurks inside her, even as her daughter gets older and she has a second baby.

When a new woman named Isabelle moves in next door to Essie, she is an immediate object of curiosity in the neighborhood. Why single, when everyone else is married with children? Why renting, when everyone else owns? What mysterious job does she have? And why is she so fascinated with Essie? As the two women grow closer and Essie’s friends voice their disapproval, it starts to become clear that Isabelle’s choice of neighborhood was no accident. And that her presence threatens to bring shocking secrets to light.

The Family Next Door is Sally Hepworth at her very best: at once a deeply moving portrait of family drama and a compelling suburban mystery that will keep you hooked until the very last page.”

My Thoughts:

I expected a psychological thriller because my sister recommended this book to me and that’s the type of book that she loves. This book was not that type. But let me tell you…it’s a GOOD book. It features some mystery but ends happily. I can’t stand when a book doesn’t end well, as in it isn’t fully wrapped up nor when it literally ends badly. This book does neither! Hallelujah!

Within the first 50 pages you’re gonna think that you have this book figured out. You’ve solved the mystery!

No.

If you think that within the first 50 pages, let me assure you that you have it wrong. I thought I did and immediately thought “Okay so that’s not the accurate theory.” And it wasn’t. The ending was so much better than what I had in my head.

It’s an easy read. Have you ever read a book that you don’t want to put down? You tell yourself that you’re gonna stop after this next chapter. Just one more chapter and then you’re gonna get up and move on with your life. Then you read that next chapter and the one after that and the one after that? Yeah…that’s this book. The chapters are pretty short which is great (I love short chapters) but it also aids in the “one more chapter” thing.

Quick Summary: Read this book. It has a little bit of mystery but not of the on-the-edge-of-your-seat-might-be-scared-when-it’s-dark type. It’s great to curl up and read and read and read. If you’re looking for a book you can sink into and read to your heart’s content, this is it.

February Book #2:

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

Here’s the synopsis:

“Do you ever suspect that everyone else has life figured out and you don’t have a clue? If so, Rachel Hollis has something to tell you:

That’s a lie.

As the founder of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and CEO of her own media company, Rachel Hollis developed an immense online community by sharing tips for better living while fearlessly revealing the messiness of her own life. Now, in this challenging and inspiring new book, Rachel exposes the twenty lies and misconceptions that too often hold us back from living joyfully and productively, lies we’ve told ourselves so often we don’t even hear them anymore.

With painful honesty and fearless humor, Rachel unpacks and examines the falsehoods that once left her feeling overwhelmed and unworthy, and revels the specific practical strategies that helped her move past them. In the process, she encourages, entertains, and even kicks a little butt, all to convince you to do whatever it takes to get real and become the joyous, confident woman you were meant to be. With unflinching faith and rock-hard tenacity, Girl, Wash Your Face shows you how to live with passion and hustle-and how to give yourself grace without giving up.”

My Thoughts:

I hate that I’m about to write this. But. I did not feel fired up after reading this book. I enjoyed reading her stories. I enjoyed that she tackled specific lies people/women tell themselves. But I just felt like a lot didn’t apply to me right now. So, I guess what I’m saying is that this book wasn’t for me right now at this specific point in my life.

However…this may be for you. If you’re struggling with lies like, “I’m not good enough.”, “I’m not a good mom”, “I will never get past this”, “I am defined by my weight” or “I’m a terrible (insert whatever it is for you here)”. Then you should read this book.

I read her second book, Girl, Stop Apologizing first and really liked it. It gave me a push & I felt fired up and ready to go after I read it. For whatever reason, I didn’t feel that way with this one.

I like her writing, I liked the advice that she gave to help you combat those lies. I liked reading stories from her life that have shaped her. I just didn’t feel pumped up. There were maybe 2-3 chapters that I felt like could apply to me right now & I liked those chapters. It just as a whole didn’t fire me up & totally apply to me.

Quick Summary: liked her life story and her advice, it just didn’t meet me where I’m at right now & that’s okay. Read this book if the lies like I wrote above are getting in your way. Otherwise, I’d probably wait unless you also like reading advice told through life stories.

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,