February Reads!

At the beginning of the year, I decided to make it my goal to ready 21 books in 2021. I count audiobooks as part of my read count, since it’s easy to multi-task while listening to a book. I listen while I clean, walk my dogs or when I’m cooking. I ended up reading 5 books this past month which is a personal record for me! Perhaps it was because I also refrained from alcohol for the entire month. Coincidence? That 21 book count is not so daunting anymore. Here are the books I read in February:

1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

This book was the March pick by my book club. It’s about a mother and her daughter Pearl, who move to a wealthy neighborhood after years of living a nomad life. The story is heavily focused on the gray area of what is right and wrong when it comes to having children. I’m sure my book club will have a lot of opinions and discussion surrounding this book.

2. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson

February I’ve been on a decluttering kick and the words “Death Cleaning” were intriguing enough to pick up this book. It follows the same vein as Marie Kondo’s book, “The Simple Art of Tidying Up” however with a more morbid frame of mind. Rather than saying “does this spark joy?” the author invites you to ask yourself if what you have is worth passing down to your next of kin or charity. At some point everyone will clean out their parent’s home and death cleaning spares your family of going through emotional clutter left behind.

3. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I highly recommend the audiobook version read by a full cast. The story centers around two story lines that merge midway through the book. One is Daisy Jones, known for her beauty and being the daughter of famous but neglectful parents, gifted with a beautiful singing voice. The other is a band called, The Six, and how the members came together and how they rose to fame. It was very entertaining and I forgot that the story is about a fake band. There’s a small twist at the end of the book that was sweet as well. It’s a great book if you want to read the gritty parts of rock stardom.

4. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

This was a natural pick to go along my decluttering trend for the month of February. By trade, I’m a Project Manager, so increasing efficiency is a thrill for me. I know, I sound super cool. This book inspired me to start waking up early and creating a routine that now I look forward to. I’m not perfect in that routine yet but I’m improving! It was also eye-opening to realize how my bad habits came to be. For example, I associate Coca-Cola as a treat that always accompanied “bad food” like burgers and cheesesteaks. When I was a kid, we could only have coke once a week and that was typically associated with other take-out foods. So, I’m trying to break the life-long habit but at least I know what triggers those cues!

5. The Year of Less by Cait Flanders.

Rounding out the intentional living theme of February, I read The Year of Less. It’s about the author, Cait, who goes 1 year without buying anything (unless it is on the approved list). It did inspire me to go 1-month without buying ANYTHING off Amazon. I’m trying to be more mindful when I find myself flitting over shopping sites. What is my mood? What led me to come to this site? Is what I’m looking at something I actual need? The answers so far are 1. I’m bored/stressed/sad and 2. I definitely DO NOT need this.

If you’re looking for economical ways to read new books, check out my post on finding free books!