I’m really excited to have some more blog ready to go for you shortly – all the thoughts I mentioned a little while back? They’re still coming together.
But now? It’s time for books!
I didn’t realize how light of a quarter it was for me on the reading side, but honestly, it makes sense. Related again to my previous emails…it was a shitty start to the year. I was stressed, so I was up too late, spending too much time on screens, taking a lot of time away from myself and the things I actually love. Couple that with a couple meh books that felt like a slog to get through, and here we are with only six books to share for Q1 of 2025.
But there were several wonderful ones too, so let’s focus on the positive, shall we?
Heir by Sabaa Tahir (This book got so much play everywhere. Highly recommended all over the place, including our local bookstore, which is where I saw it and decided to add it to the top of my list. It…did not live up to the hype for me. It dragged. It was a little all over the place. It came back together, but wow, it was rough to get there. It’s a duology, so I’ll probably read the second book to see how it ends up, but I also can’t say it’s a must-read.)
Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal by
Oren Klaff (Y’all. This book was terrible. The new CEO of my company came in and recommended it to everyone on the revenue team, so OK, I gave it a go. It was so, so bad. I’ve read sales books before and they’re always a little blah for me, but usually I can take something away. But this one? No. It was just so far from applicable to almost anything, and it wasn’t even that well-written. I’m bummed I spent hours of my life on this book.)
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman (I love The Thursday Murder Club series so much! Never disappoints, and the same is true of this third installment. I’m already on the waiting list for the next one. If you love a cozy mystery and haven’t started reading these yet – what are you waiting for?)
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell (I’m a huge Rainbow Rowell fan, and I very much enjoyed her most recent novel. It was both predictable and lovely at the same time. Well worth the ready. I gobbled it up and highly recommend.)
The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley (I loved The Guncle way back, and even though this sequel came out last year, I just wasn’t in the right mood for it for a while. Well, it hit at the perfect time. So funny, so full of heart. Plus, you get to follow along on a gorgeous European adventure! Definitely recommend.)
Columbine by Dave Cullen (OK, first off, can we give me a tiny round of applause for reading TWO non-fiction books in one quarter?!? Now second, and far more importantly, this is one of the top five books I’ve ever read. Probably the majority of people reading this remember Columbine. But what do you remember about it? The trench coat mafia? Marilyn Manson? Violence and video games? Yeah, no, throw it all out the window and go read this book to learn what really happened. Over 600 pages, and I devoured it in less than two weeks. The research and journalism is absolutely incredible, and the writing is so compelling and highly readable. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for absolutely anyone. Put it at the top of your list if you haven’t already, and if you’ve read it, let’s talk about it.)
So, six is better than zero, and I’ll take a 60% win rate for now. Honestly, we should probably all get a little more comfortable with a 60% win rate in a lot of things. Life can be hard, y’all. More self-compassion, please. But that’s a tangent for another day!
Anyway, I’ve been creeping a few folks on Goodreads, but I’ll always take more recommendations to add to my Want to Read list (231 and counting…). Send me a note and bring ‘em on! What have you been loving lately?
And, I mean, in general – what have you been loving lately? Never a bad thing to pause for a second and name those things out loud or write them down.
Books are love, of course, but there’s more love to be found around, too.
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