My reading has slowed down a little bit since my tear in January, but I’ve finished another four books in the last two months keeping me on track to hit my reading goal for the year.

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick – (Goodreads/Amazon) I just love Anna Kendrick. I flew through this book and felt myself nodding along with her. She talks about self improvement and I laughed so hard. “The further I get into self-improvement, the more I hope I’ll grow some new part of my brain that makes me take care of my responsibilities automatically. Like highway blindness. If I grabbed my keys for a Krispy Kreme run in my sweatpants, I’d come to twenty minutes later, wearing pleated khakis and getting my oil changed.” Don’t we all?

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood – (Goodreads/Amazon) So this was a strange story. I don’t know if I loved the characters or if I was horrified by them. It was a story about a family that has lots of drug issues and it centers around a relationship between a young girl and a young adult man. It kind of grossed me out the whole time, but I was definitely pulling for the girl the whole book. I didn’t love it, but I’m glad I read it. It is best described as a story of dysfunction.

The Girl Before by JP Delaney – (Goodreads/Amazon) This was an interesting story that followed two women at different time periods living in similar situations. It was good, but nothing to rave over. I was really intrigued by the architectural masterpiece that is the center of the story. It’s a high tech house that requires minimalist living. I keep reading that it’s a mix between Gone Girl and 50 Shades of Grey and I can kind of see that, but I wish they would stop referring to any psychological thriller as “the new Gone Girl.” I read recently that Ron Howard is directing this movie, so I’ll be interested to see how it turns out.

And finally, my favorite of this round up:

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance – (Goodreads/Amazon)  Since the election, I’ve been trying to learn more about the point of view of people that are different than me and there are millions. I saw this one on the best seller list and waited a long time to get it from the library. It is the story of a man that grew up in the Appalachian region of Kentucky & Ohio and ended up at an Ivy League school. Reading his thoughts and opinions on the community he grew up in helps me think about that part of the country in a different way. It’s just one story, but every story helps to expand my view on the world and I would highly recommend checking this out. Let me know if you’ve read it. This book made me wish I was in a book club because I just wanted to discuss this one. I even read through all the reviews I could on Goodreads just to see other opinions.

Tell me what you think if you’ve read any of these. Do you find a hard time reading when it gets nicer out? I’m hoping with the balcony being open for business at our apartment that I will find myself enjoying some sunsets with books in hand.

Obviously, I’m linking up with Steph and Jana for their monthly book share. Go find some things to add to your list.