2021 Book Reviews

 AH! 2021 was a huge year for me, reading wise. I surpassed my reading goal of 25 books by reading 47 books. I couldn't get enough this year and I found some really amazing books.

Libby was the MVP again this year. I was able to find such fun and engaging books that I would never have found in the library.  Once the library opened back up, I still choose Libby over an actually book. There were a few books I got from the library since they were not available on Libby.

A fun discovery with books I found this year was audiobooks. I've listened to some audiobooks in the past that were on cds but let me tell you, audiobooks were game changers this year. I listened to them on walks, at the gym and where ever else I could. Between Libby and my wireless earbuds, it was perfect. 

I previously posted here  about the first 6 books of the year. They were:

How to be an Artist by Jerry Saltz⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silcon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou*⭐⭐⭐⭐
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey*⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson*⭐⭐⭐⭐
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert*⭐⭐⭐⭐
Southern Lady Code: Essays by Helen Ellis*⭐⭐⭐⭐

(*audiobooks)

Here are the rest of the books I read in 2021:

You Know I'm No Good by Jessie Ann Foley⭐⭐⭐⭐
Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent⭐⭐⭐⭐
To Siri With Love: A Mother, Her Autistic Son and the Kindness of a Machine by Judith Newman⭐⭐⭐
The Inheritance Games by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ask Again, Yes by: Mary Beth Keane⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Single On Purpose: Redefine Everything. Find Yourself First by John Kim⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Twenty by James Grippando⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Rationing by Charles Wheelan⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner⭐⭐⭐⭐
Solitary by Alexander Gordon Smith⭐⭐⭐
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult⭐⭐⭐⭐
Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn⭐⭐⭐⭐
Of One Blood: Or, the Hidden Self by Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins⭐⭐⭐
Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hola Pai: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer⭐⭐⭐⭐
We Can Only Save Ourselves by Alison Wisdom⭐⭐⭐
With You All The Way by: Cynthia Hand⭐⭐⭐
The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten⭐⭐⭐
Personal Effects: What Recovering the Dead Teaches Me About Caring for the Living by: Robert A. Jensen⭐⭐⭐
Ordinary Heroes: A Memoir of 9/11 by Joseph Pfeifer⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fault Lines by Emily Itami⭐⭐⭐⭐
Friends Like These by Kimberly McCreight⭐⭐⭐⭐

The following books were all the audiobooks I listened to. I highly recommend these books to be listened to- they really bring the story alive and I don't think I would have liked these books if I had read them. 

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite⭐⭐⭐⭐
No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy Seal by Mark Owen⭐⭐⭐
Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry⭐⭐⭐⭐
Impostor Syndrome by Kathy Wang⭐⭐⭐
Ring Shout by P. Djli Clark⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter by 50 Cent⭐⭐⭐⭐
Influence by Sara Shepard⭐⭐⭐
Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage & Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere: Ree Drummond⭐⭐⭐
11/22/1963 by Stephen King⭐⭐⭐⭐
The First Husband by Laura Dave⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Husbands by Chandler Baker⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Still Lives by Maria Hummel⭐⭐⭐
Instamom by Chantel Guertin⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cul-de-sac by Joy Fielding⭐⭐⭐

Phew! That is a lot of books read (for me!)-22 audio books and 25 books

I truly read a wide variety of genres- YA, romance, Nonfiction, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Humor, and Self help. I love finding books that I wouldn't necessarily pick up but end up really loving!

If I had to choose a top 5 for favorite books I read in 2021 they would be:  (in no particular order)

1. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
2. Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
3. The Husbands by Chandler Baker
4. The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
5. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This was really hard for me to pick because I truly did love all the books I read this year- thy were so diverse and intriguing. I struggled only through a handful, some of the story lines were dry but interesting enough that I decided to keep reading. Some of those "dry-er" books actually ended up being really awesome, others not so much. 

Click here to follow me on Goodreads. 

How many books did you read this year? Which one was your favorite?

[[Reading allows you to be transported to a different world, from the comforts of your home]]

Wellth: The New Life Currency

Jason Wachob defines Wellth as a new and more valuable life currency. “A wellthy existence is one in which happiness is attainable, health is paramount and daily living is about abundance. It’s a life in which work is purposeful; friendships are deep and plentiful and there's a daily sense of richness or overflowing.” (pg.30)

Living a well rounded life has always been a priority with everyone's but how do you exactly live a well rounded life and what should be included in it?Jason thinks a well rounded life should be filled with the following: Eat, Move, Work, Believe, Explore, Breath, Feel, Love, Heal, Thank, Ground, Live and Laugh- each one of these have a chapter dedicated to the title. There is anecdotes from Wachob, insight from professionals and scientist and then at the end of each chapter- there are two mini sections- Grow your Life savings and a quick deposit into your wellth account. These summarize the chapter, gives you something to think about and how to incorporate the principle into your own life. 

Throughout each chapter , there are quotes from famous people about life and living. These reinforce what is being talked about in the chapters. Some of these quotes are funny, some are serious but they all are in this book because they are inspiring. Some of my favorite quotes are :

 

  - "Sometimes good things fall apart, so better things can fall together." Marilyn Monroe

            -"Courage is not something that you already have, that makes you brave when tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you've been through the tough times and you discover they are not so tough, after all" Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath

           -"This is what I believe to be true.... You have to do everything you can. You have to work your hardest. if you stay positive, you have a shot at a silver lining" Pat Solatano in Silver Linings Playbook

           - "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from" Cormac McCarthy, No Country For Old Men

- "Does this spark joy? If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it." Marie Kondo, The Life Changing Magic of Tiding Up

            - "It was possible that a miracle was not something that happened to you, but rather something that didn't" Jodi Picoult, The Tenth Circle

- "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle" Albert Einstein

I really enjoyed this book- for so many reasons but mostly because I feel like I needed to read this at this very moment. As the inspirational author SQuire Rushnell calls “Godwinks”. He goes on to explain that Godwinks are little reminders that there's a lights at the end of the tunnel and that someone is watching and that you are on the right track. (p.72)

If you are looking for an inspirational, yet light-hearted read, this is the perfect book for you. I think this book is brilliantly written as to that you do not have to read the chapters in order- If you feel like you need to focus on Breathe, read that chapter. It’s a nice way to gain information but not read a whole book.  This has inspired me to be more Wellthy!

 Get your own copy of Wellth here.

 
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review and all the thoughts expressed are my own. 

The Power of Broke: Your Greatest Competitive Edge

Source

Setting a goal, doing Homework, Adoring what you do, Remember you are the brand and Keep swimming. These are what Daymond John calls his Shark Points. These are Daymond's principles that are reoccurring throughout the book. He provides examples from the real world and his own business and in stories of other entrepreneurs who started with little and grew their business using the Power of Broke.

Daymond John started his company, FUBU in the early nineties with little money but he was hungry, metaphorically speaking for success. He knew he wanted to do something with this idea of his but with not many resources, he had to be creative and start his business only a  few dollars. He has grown FUBU into a huge company and now as one of the sharks on Shark Tank, he is taking what he has learned in the business world, and sharing it with everyone. Known as the People’s Shark, Daymond really wants to show that it is possible, you can become successful and do great things. The Power of Broke reads like an old friend who really cares about you is giving you the advice directly.
Power Facts, Shark Points, true life stories and personal advice is how Daymond shares that being broke can work to your advantage and help you succeed even more. He breaks down the principles of being successful and how you can start small, and grew your business into something big. The love of the business really shows through when Daymond is explaining how his ideas can help you reach your dreams. He wants you to be as successful as you can be.

One of my favorite stories in the book was about Mo’s Bows-how a little boy named Moziah (Mo) who loved to get dressed up for school, didn’t like his options for bow-ties. He enlisted his mom and grandmother to help him create his own unique bow-ties using some of his grandmothers scrap fabric. This kid had the vision, idea and ingenuity to enlist people who could help him. When Mo wore his bow-ties, they caused a lot of noise in his small hometown. When he started to make his own bow-ties then slowly but surely making custom orders for men of all ages. Mo’s Bows grew into something that they couldn’t believe and were elated to see it flourish. It all started with his idea, his vision and some help and it turned into a big company.  I loved that he dressed up for school but Mo got creative and asked his grandma for help and eventually teaching him how to sew. He not only learned about business but he learned a new skill too!

Setting goals and talking about them is another point Daymond talks about in The Power of Broke. “If people aren’t laughing at your dreams, then you’re not dreaming big enough” (p. 209) This is an inspiring quote that I wrote down and keep close. I think people are sometimes afraid to dream BIG and talking about your dreams is almost taboo. In order to keep your dreams alive, you have to talk about them and tell anyone you come across about your dreams.  Earlier in the year, I remember I started talking about a dream I would like to accomplish and I was super nervous to even say it out loud to myself; after I told my family who was very supportive about this goal; then I started to talk about it with co-workers and friends, I got some weird looks and a few people who tried to discredit my dreams. Even though,  people had their doubts,  I felt even more empowered to accomplish this dream.

Daymond provides great advice about loving what you are doing. I always feel that is so important- in order to succeed, you must love what you do, you absolutely have to love each and every part of your business, life, project etc. If you aren’t in love with what you are doing, then why are you doing it?

I absolutely loved this book, it gave me great advice; so much to think about and great heartwarming stories about how the power of broke influenced some many people with their crazy ideas. I would recommend this book for anyone who is thinking of starting a business,  anyone who owns a business and for Shark Tank fans. This book is filled with a lot of advice, ideas and inspiration. Check out The Power of Broke to see how your greatest competitive advantage can work for you!

Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this honest review.