December Reads

For me, 2018 was about women. 2019 will most likely be the same. Because that is what I need. I need books that bring me to introspective tears from the wonder of women can accomplish together. For what happens when we fight with and not against one another. I need the lessons like the one I learned this past year. Women know how to sacrifice. It is a terrible thing taught to us from birth but it is a strength we carry to all aspects of our lives. And because we know how to sacrifice we are inherently great leaders. I began the last month of the year knowing I would have more time and that even if I didn’t hit fifty books, I still would accomplish the relaxation I needed. I would be reading almost nonstop and reading makes me so happy and lowers my stress levels so much. 

Empire of Storms/Tower of Dawn

“The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don’t. As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear. Aelin’s journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?”

I was very impressed by the maneuvers that had been laid out in past books that came to fruition in these. Such good plotting on the author’s part. I was also a little overwhelmed by the amount of girl power but in a good way. And it keeps building. This book managed to surprise me at so many turns and I loved that. The writing is also good enough that I don’t even mind the changing perspectives. 

A Gathering of Shadows

“Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift, and into Black London. In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games-an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries – a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port. But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again-and so to keep magic’s balance, another London must fall…in V.E. Schwab’s A Gathering of Shadows.”

I read the first book in this series ages ago. As in I’ve moved twice in the meantime. I loved it, but I had bought a hard copy and felt like I had to buy physical versions of the rest if wanted to read them. So here we are two years, if not three, later. These books are in my wheelhouse. I love books with magic in them and strong female leads. With multiple worlds as part of the structure, the world-building is pulled off beautifully. The only aspect I didn’t like was the cliffhanger. If I want to read your next book I’m going to do it anyway.

Little

“In 1761, a tiny, odd-looking girl named Marie is born in a village in Switzerland. After the death of her parents, she is apprenticed to an eccentric wax sculptor and whisked off to the seamy streets of Paris, where they meet a domineering widow and her quiet, pale son. Together, they convert an abandoned monkey house into an exhibition hall for wax heads, and the spectacle becomes a sensation. As word of her artistic talent spreads, Marie is called to Versailles, where she tutors a princess and saves Marie Antoinette in childbirth. But outside the palace walls, Paris is roiling: The revolutionary mob is demanding heads, and . . . at the wax museum, heads are what they do.”

I honestly wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did. As a reader, you are drawn further into her perspective than usual and you are privy to her confusion at her circumstances at different points in time. I also love what an odd little duck she is.

What I loved was that this showed her evolution. When we learn and think about well know people from history it usually is about what they had and what they accomplished by the end of their lives. It is always refreshing to learn more about what they went through and how they got there. I also love when books have historic cameos of well-known figures and they seem like regular people. Because in that time they mostly were regular people.

The Female Persuasion

“To be admired by someone we admire—we all yearn for this: the private, electrifying pleasure of being singled out by someone of esteem. But sometimes it can also mean entry to a new kind of life, a bigger world. Greer Kadetsky is a shy college freshman when she meets the woman she hopes will change her life. Faith Frank, dazzlingly persuasive and elegant at sixty-three, has been a central pillar of the women’s movement for decades, a figure who inspires others to influence the world. Upon hearing Faith speak for the first time, Greer—madly in love with her boyfriend, Cory, but still full of longing for an ambition that she can’t quite place—feels her inner world light up. And then, astonishingly, Faith invites Greer to make something out of that sense of purpose, leading Greer down the most exciting path of her life as it winds toward and away from her meant-to-be love story with Cory and the future she’d always imagined.”

I didn’t love this book, but I did like it a lot. Probably because I related to so much of it. Especially in the beginning. Her reading at dinner. Scrambling to get financial information to Ivy league colleges after her dad just didn’t do it. The sense of uncertainty almost everyone feels at every age. It was real and it was real to me.

Occasionally the story takes up different perspectives. But since it’s infrequent it isn’t distracting. I think since self-realization for those different perspectives the part of the driving force, it fell a little flat.

What this book left me with was the hope that I learn enough humility to accept criticism and stay that way no matter what.

The Art of Gathering

“In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker argues that the gatherings in our lives are lackluster and unproductive–which they don’t have to be. We rely too much on routine and the conventions of gatherings when we should focus on distinctiveness and the people involved. At a time when coming together is more important than ever, Parker sets forth a human-centered approach to gathering that will help everyone create meaningful, memorable experiences, large and small, for work and for play.

“Drawing on her expertise as a facilitator of high-powered gatherings around the world, Parker takes us inside events of all kinds to show what works, what doesn’t, and why. She investigates a wide array of gatherings–conferences, meetings, a courtroom, a flash-mob party, an Arab-Israeli summer camp–and explains how simple, specific changes can invigorate any group experience.

“The result is a book that’s both journey and guide, full of exciting ideas with real-world applications. The Art of Gathering will forever alter the way you look at your next meeting, industry conference, dinner party, and backyard barbecue–and how you host and attend them.”

I actually was part of a group she facilitated and she “gathered” us so well I had to have her book! I think we’ve all been to a great meeting or dinner party and then have never been able to recreate it. This book tells you things that should be obvious but that we naturally shy away from. Because this book is full of anecdotes it is also full of ideas.

My Oxford Year

“American Ella Durran has had the same plan for her life since she was thirteen: Study at Oxford. At 24, she’s finally made it to England on a Rhodes Scholarship when she’s offered an unbelievable position in a rising political star’s presidential campaign. With the promise that she’ll work remotely and return to DC at the end of her Oxford year, she’s free to enjoy her Once in a Lifetime Experience. That is, until a smart-mouthed local who is too quick with his tongue and his car ruins her shirt and her first day.

“When Ella discovers that her English literature course will be taught by none other than that same local, Jamie Davenport, she thinks for the first time that Oxford might not be all she’s envisioned. But a late-night drink reveals a connection she wasn’t anticipating finding and what begins as a casual fling soon develops into something much more when Ella learns Jamie has a life-changing secret.

“Immediately, Ella is faced with a seemingly impossible decision: turn her back on the man she’s falling in love with to follow her political dreams or be there for him during a trial neither are truly prepared for. As the end of her year in Oxford rapidly approaches, Ella must decide if the dreams she’s always wanted are the same ones she’s now yearning for.”

This was supposed to be a cute little daydream of a book reminding me that at one point I wanted to do a year in England. And then they had to make it all dramatic. I guess I didn’t expect life-changing to be so life-changing. Overall I wanted the boy to be secondary and for there to be a less open ending. That being said it was a very lovely book. It evoked memories of visiting Oxford for a day and it was a nice poolside read on my cruise.

Lagging indicators

“It’s October 2009 and thirty-five year-old Mia Lewis is an independent woman at the top of her game. Sharp, attractive and the only senior female executive at Atlas Capital, she survived Wall Street during the worst financial crisis in modern history. Devoted to her job, Mia always fights for what she thinks is best for the firm—until one false move ushers her spectacular downfall. Disgraced and broke, she escapes to a crumbling cottage in upstate New York to repair her reputation and plot her comeback. Alone and threatened by lasting unemployment, she risks becoming what she has always feared: a failure. But a chance encounter with a handsome single dad ignites feelings and a sense of longing that Mia had intentionally buried. As she begins to consider a new life—one away from the stress and excess of Wall Street—the past comes calling, jeopardizing her whole future.”

That feeling. The one where you know that you are being trusted less and held in lower regard than the person you’re up against specifically because he is a man is the absolute worst feeling. And this book starts with that.

Next, there is also a huge lesson in here about always being aware of how much you’re spending no matter how much you make or have in the bank. You need a budget.

And finally, I loved the ending of this story. It embodies the narrative that we are learning to understand, where leaning in doesn’t mean you’ll get to have it all.

My Beloved World

“The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. Now, with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting Justice, she recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.

“Here is the story of a precarious childhood, with an alcoholic father (who would die when she was nine) and a devoted but overburdened mother, and of the refuge a little girl took from the turmoil at home with her passionately spirited paternal grandmother. But it was when she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes that the precocious Sonia recognized she must ultimately depend on herself. She would learn to give herself the insulin shots she needed to survive and soon imagined a path to a different life. With only television characters for her professional role models, and little understanding of what was involved, she determined to become a lawyer, a dream that would sustain her on an unlikely course, from valedictorian of her high school class to the highest honors at Princeton, Yale Law School, the New York County District Attorney’s office, private practice, and appointment to the Federal District Court before the age of forty. Along the way we see how she was shaped by her invaluable mentors, a failed marriage, and the modern version of extended family she has created from cherished friends and their children. Through her still-astonished eyes, America’s infinite possibilities are envisioned anew in this warm and honest book, destined to become a classic of self-invention and self-discovery.”

I needed to read this, which so surprising because it was the third try. It was refreshing to get some perspective on what it takes to reach goals that some people don’t even consider. Two things really struck me. The first was that if you are not “of” certain spaces, just because you learn the rules at one level doesn’t mean you’ve made it. You have to start all over at the next. This is something I understood somewhere in the back of my mind, but hadn’t fully realized.

The second thing I noted was that Sotomayor wanted to be a judge and knew it. She also instinctively knew that some dreams are too big to share with everyone. Until the time is right. If you’re a striver, read this book.