What I Read In January 2020.
New series alert!
For years you guys have been asking me to keep all my book reviews in one place, and this is how I’m doing it! I’m so excited about this because I can go revisit some of my favorites. I got this idea from Grace at The Stripe because she posts a recap of what she read every month and I just love it. While I often talk about what I’m reading in Tuesday Things and I always recap in Summer Fridays, this is a catch all for everything for the year!
I also sort of revived my good reads account just so I can rate the books as I finish them. Because I have major mom brain and need a backup to remind me what I read and what I rated!
You can find all my reading lists here and for a peek at this season, here’s my winter 2020 reading list. And I would love to hear what you’re reading now or what you though of the books below!
what I read in January 2020
Regretting You – 5 stars
I read this book into the new year and it was so, so good. I’m still thinking about it. I don’t know what it is about Colleen Hoover – her writing just GETS me. I normally don’t care for YA books but I love every single thing she does. This story is told from an alternating mother/daughter perspective and most of it takes place after a tragedy occurs. I didn’t want to read it for that reason – I don’t like to read sad/scary/death from sickness/etc books. But this wasn’t like that and it was SO GOOD.
Such a Fun Age – 4.5 stars
Really really liked this one! I loved the writing and felt like I could relate to some of the book in certain ways even though one of the characters is awful (she’s an influencer – ha!). And I absolutely loved loved loved the relationship between Emira and Briar. This is written from alternating perspectives and the nanny and her employer and there is a little twist in it too. It was an easy but thoughtful read and one that had me invested quickly.
Recipe for a Perfect Wife – 2 stars
It took me FOREVER to get into this book. I mean, forever. I wanted to quit it so bad – seriously I looked at my kindle app and it was at 62% when I finally felt remotely invested. I didn’t really care for any(!) of the characters (except Nellie?) in this book. The story is told through alternating perspectives of a 1950s housewife and a present day woman. And I HATED how it ended. I feel like it totally glazed over the issues in the present day marriage. I also didn’t like how it tried to portray the ghost-like presence in the house. Whomp whomp. This got great reviews so maybe I’m just missing something.
The Better Liar – 2.5 stars
Guys, this is crazy because I am such a bad critic and usually love EVERY book, so it’s odd that I read two that I didn’t love this month. This one was totally my fault. It popped up on recommendations after I finished the book above and I went for it. This is so not my type of book! I don’t really enjoy thrillers or murders or anything like that (with the exception of the very occasional Gone Girl eqsue story). This is told from the perspectives of two sisters and a third character and again, I just found them all to be really unlikable! I read to escape and this took me nowhere, even with the twist at the end – though it was much more interesting than the book above, and I was invested earlier on. Did not like the ending at all though! (p.s. you still may love it because the other amazon reviews are pretty good. this is just not my genre of book!)
Love Lettering – 4.5 stars
Started this on a whim (it was another recommendation when I finished The Better Liar) and I finished it last night. I really, really enjoyed this! It is so super cute. It’s about a woman who does hand lettering and the detail that goes into the hand lettering was so interesting! I found it to be really well written and interesting too, especially since I don’t know much about that. What that being said, it’s definitely a fun, light, quick and easy read. Totally my kind of book!
Currently listening to: Atomic Habits
So far, I’m loving this. I don’t get to listen to books very often (and honestly prefer to read them) but enjoy listening to this type of book more than fiction. I think this book will be a game changer for me.
13 Comments on “What I Read In January 2020.”
This January I read Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, I really enjoyed it, currently reading Looking for Alaska by John Green, originally I’ve got the book for my teenage daughter – totally bonkers !!!
I agree with you on Recipe for a Perfect Wife. Nellie’s story was quite captivating and that’s the main reason I enjoyed the book. Reading about the present day marriage and how Alice deals with her problems was quite maddening. I just could not relate to her and read her chapters super fast. Nellie was a much better developed character for sure. And the ending!!! Seriously?! I wouldn’t call that a resolution at all, and no way are these two going to continue to be happy. Ugh.
I liked Karma Brown’s first book though, it was a whirlwind. Definitely some negatives and red flags, but overall a book that I thought about for a while after finishing it.
Starting Love Lettering today, so excited! Next up are Such a Fun Age and Regretting you. Thanks for the recommendations!!
Great list! I DO love anything crime/true crime/mystery etc.. so I may still have to look into The better Liar… but now you’ve expanded my TBR list. LOL
We just recently discovered Downton Abbey so as we have been binging the show, I picked up two big coffee-table-esque books to read: “The World Of Downton Abbey” and “Behind the Scenes of Downton Abbey”. Absolutely loved learning more about the show background and also what goes into making it. In addition I read “Smoke Screen” by Terri Blackstock, “Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating” by Christina Lauren (not my favorite of theirs) and “The Dating Charade” by Melissa Ferguson (definitely recommend – like reading a RomCom). Recipe for a Perfect Wife is sitting on my counter and was my next read – I may reconsider!
Oh! I didn’t realize Terri Blackstock had a new book out, looking that one up now!
I’m currently reading Atomic Habits and it’s definitely a game changer for me. It’s so full of practical, easy-to-implement advice. I’ve already implemented a couple of his suggestions and am making big progress toward my goals!
Oh hey! I got to be an advances reader of Atomic Habits. I’ve listened to it and read it. Really good read!
I could not get into Recipe for a Perfect Wife either. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood though?
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Yay, love these reading recap posts! I read Regretting You in December and thought it was really good too, Colleen is the best! Nothing beats It Ends With Us for me though. Excited to read Such a Fun Age – I’m on hold at the library. Reading The Water Dancer right now and it is dense, a little confusing at times, but powerful and beautifully written. :)
Atomic Habits was a life-changing book for me.
I read it twice. The second time I took notes. I revisit my notes regularly.
Oh no!!! I have been looking forward to RECIPE FOR A PERFECT WIFE. It sounds like it’s so disappointing. Maybe I will skip it, then. It’s not like I don’t have a ton of other books to read, haha. I just finished reading WITHIN THESE WALLS, which you would NOT like since it’s a super scary horror story (but I loved it!). And, I’ve just started TIDELANDS, by Philippa Gregory. I love her historical fiction, so I’m excited to see where this one goes. It’s got a little 1600s English withcraft/superstition mixed into the royal history, so it should be good!
love this idea ! i have not read any of these books. i am usually really behind in reading best sellers since most of my reading is “listening” in the car on my commute so i rent from the library next door to my office and the new stuff is always a mile long waiting list. i dont care though…
i just finished 9 perfect strangers. for me it was to long and just ok. i did give 4 stars on goodreads but really its a 3.5 for me. i have zero interest in the movie version of this book for some reason which is odd for me. i also just finished reading Summer Island and give it a 4. it was very predictable but i liked it overall. I’m currently reading Michelle Obama’s book. im slow at reading it not because i dont like it but because i have it in hardback which means i would only read it before bed.
Next up for me is Where the Crawdads Sing and hopefully Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow as i try to throw some non fiction in every few books.
love this post !