What I’m Reading Now (4/16/18)

After starting last week with some April snow flurries (wha?!!), this past weekend was sunny and hot and got me excited for summer! However, it was a bit overly jam-packed for me and I’m now craving some downtime. I’m one of those people that doesn’t operate well without any time to recharge my batteries.

Tools of Titans Tip
I’m slowly working my way through Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss, a collection of highlights from interviews he’s done with various stars of their fields. It’s chock full of awesome tidbits, so I thought I’d share the most helpful tip I pick up each week. I’m still in the ”Wealthy” section.

On Figuring Out What You Want to Be When You Grow Up:
I was I’d had this mentality when I was younger and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. 

“I distinctly remember him saying not to worry about what I was going to do because the job I was going to do hadn’t been invented yet…the interesting jobs are the ones that you make up.”

– From Chris Young, CEO of ChefSteps, Founding Chef of the Fat Duck experimental kitchen

Hosted by The Book Date.
This post contains affiliate links (plus: here’s your Amazon Smile-specific affiliate link).

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐// Only my second 5 star novel of the year! Riverhead’s Editor-in-Chief (Sarah McGrath) says The Female Persuasion is a novel about “female power, ambition, leadership, and mentorship […].” And it is, but those issues are secondary to what is ultimately a story in which the characters are the stars: Greer, her boyfriend (Cory), her best friend (Zee), and Faith Frank. Though it’s 464 pages, I read it in a few days and I was always itching to get back to it when I had to leave it for some real life. #partner _⠀ ⠀ Greer is a shy college student still in love with her high school boyfriend when she meets Faith Frank, an icon of the women’s movement, who changes the trajectory of Greer’s life.⠀ _⠀ ⠀ Check out my Alcohol & Advil post for reviews of The Female Persuasion and Look Alive Out There: Essays by @sloane_crosley (the book I read to cure my Female Persuasion-induced reading hangover)… LINK IN PROFILE⠀ ⠀ Recommendation Sources: @rebeccaschinsky @anniebjones05 @readbookpage (Thank you all!)⠀ *⠀ *⠀ *⠀ *⠀ *⠀ *⠀ @riverheadbooks @megwolitzer @sloane_crosley @fsgbooks #bookstagram #amreading #bookworm #instabooks #bookblogger #booklover #booklovers #booksofinstagram #bookgram #bookblogger #bookaddict #bookaddiction #instareads #thefemalepersuasion #fiction

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I finished reading…

Educated by Tara Westover

 

Educated by Tara Westover (February 20, 2018)
Excellent – lived up to the hype! It’s like a combination of Under the Banner of HeavenThe Glass Castle, and Hillbilly Elegy. Mini review to come.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

I’m currently reading…

Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton

 

Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton (June 5, 2018)
I’m about halfway through this NYC story of a toxic friendship and I honestly have no idea what I think about it. Sometimes I think it’s completely ridiculous and want to DNF it and sometimes I’m completely sucked in. Has this ever happened to anyone else?! I just hit a turning point, though, so I’m interested to see where the second half of the story goes.

Affiliate Link: Pre-Order from Amazon

I tried, but wasn’t feeling…

I’m on the hunt for candidates for my 2018 Summer Reading Guide (coming in May), so I’m being very quick to put books aside.

High Season

 

The High Season by Judy Blendell (May 22, 2018)
DNF at 20%…too heavy on the ritzy museum board politics (just like Big Little Lies was too heavy on the mommy politics for me). 

Upcoming reading plans…

Sometimes I Lie

 

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney (March 13, 2018)
Tara at Running N Reading included this thriller on her Best Books to Read on Spring Break 2018 list and I’m hoping it will be a good addition to my “Fast-Paced/Intense” Summer Reading Guide category!

was reading…

One Year Ago: I was reading a read-alike for The Secret History.

Two Years Ago: I was reading a book lots of others loved, but I didn’t.

How was your reading week?

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24 Comments

  1. Wendy wrote:

    I just finished The Wife Between Us and I think I’m done with thrillers for a while. Ugh. What is it with all these controlling husband characters? Are there really that many controlling men out there? I downloaded Educated and I think that will be the perfect palate cleanser.

    Posted 4.16.18 Reply
    • Michele wrote:

      I enjoy thrillers while I’m reading them because I want to know what happens, but ultimately I’m always disappointed at the end. They are not very fulfilling reading.

      Posted 4.17.18 Reply
      • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

        This has been happening to me more and more lately. Really hard to get a good thriller ending that’s surprising, yet still makes sense with the story.

        Posted 4.22.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Well….if you’re looking to get away from controlling men, Educated is probably not your best choice…haha! And, yes, that’s why I have such trouble with thrillers…they all seem more or less the same to me!

      Posted 4.22.18 Reply
  2. I’ve got to get my hands on The Female Persuasion.

    Posted 4.16.18 Reply
    • Michele wrote:

      I loved the book!

      Posted 4.17.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Yes, yes…

      Posted 4.22.18 Reply
  3. I have to admit it, I’m a little jealous of your warm weekend!

    I’m so glad you liked Educated and I’m glad to see you’re reading Social Creature. I’ve been back and forth on that one, so look forward to hearing your final thoughts on it.

    Posted 4.16.18 Reply
  4. I loved Sometimes I Lie…and I’ve requested Educated from the library. It will be a long wait, but in the meantime, I have The Female Persuasion to savor. I am so looking forward to it!

    Thanks for sharing…and enjoy your week. Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

    Posted 4.16.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      And Female Persuasion is definitely one to savor!

      Posted 4.22.18 Reply
  5. I’m looking forward to reading (maybe listening to) Educated!

    Posted 4.16.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’ve heard it’s great on audio and was considering listening to it, but my e-book came in from the library first 🙂

      Posted 4.22.18 Reply
  6. Madeline wrote:

    I like pysch thrillers, but “Sometimes I Lie” ran off the rails for me. I look forward to your thoughts on it.

    Loved “Educated.”

    Posted 4.16.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Well, I DNF’d it, but now people have been telling me I didn’t stick with it long enough…might try it again depending on how my next few books go.

      Posted 4.22.18 Reply
  7. Kathy Martin wrote:

    Nice bunch of books. I keep seeing the ad for Educated every time I turn on my Kindle. One of these days I have to read it. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

    Posted 4.16.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      It’s one of the rare books that pops up in your ad feed that you should definitely make time for!

      Posted 4.22.18 Reply
  8. Allison wrote:

    We had a warm weekend too, which felt weird when half the rest of the country was buried in snow.

    I’ll be interested in your review of Social Creatures–I tend to like NYC friend stories.

    I’ve also been curious about your thoughts on Tim Ferriss. Is he very present in the book, or is it mostly focused on the people he’s interviewing? I know he’s polarizing and can come off as..kind of a tool…but he also has a lot of fascinating ideas.

    Posted 4.16.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Haha – “friend” is definitely a stretch in this case.

      So Tim Ferris – Tools of Titans is mainly focused on the people he’s interviewing. He’ll interject his own thoughts here and there and there are occasional chapters by him, but overall it’s much more focused on his interviewees. And, yes, he does come off as a tool sometimes – haha! And, I also wonder how he actually does all these routines he says he does…how does he have the time? And, a lot of the things he says to do are kind of unattainble for someone with kids.

      Posted 4.22.18 Reply
  9. Kay wrote:

    I’m listening to Sometimes I Lie right now. Only a bit into it, but we’ll see how it goes. The narrator is good. Will be curious to see if it passes your ‘test’. LOL

    Posted 4.16.18 Reply
  10. Beth F wrote:

    I started Sometime I Lie and then put it down. I’m not sure why. I’ll have to give it another try. Thanks for the warning about High Season, I was on the fence, so now I won’t rush to read.

    Posted 4.16.18 Reply
  11. renee wrote:

    The High Season was a DNF for me too. I was bored with the museum storyline, It seems like the author could’ve focused less on that to keep us interested because I thought the setting was great, especially for summer. Quite a few of my potential summer reads are turning into DNF’s, I hope that pattern changes soon!

    Posted 4.17.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      OH good – glad to get a second opinion on that. How far did you get? It’s a shame b/c it is such a great setting. Sort of drowned in silliness.

      Posted 4.22.18 Reply
  12. I really enjoyed the mommy politics of Big Little Lies and books about political intrigue in general, so I may have to give The High Season a try and see if it works better for me 🙂

    Posted 5.1.18 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Haha – you might like it better. Maybe b/c all the mommy politics is something I hate in real life…I didn’t feel like reading about it?

      Posted 5.1.18 Reply

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