Normally my New Year’s resolutions are things masked as self-care but are actually designed to punish me. For example, going a month without wine for dry January or declaring “this is the year I become a runner” and suffering through a couple jogs before remembering I hate running more than Britney Spears hates making sense on Instagram (#FreeBritney).
However, on the heels of the nightmare that was 2020, my New Year’s resolutions are much kinder on myself because frankly, I made it out alive and I deserve it. Instead of telling myself to embrace something I hate under the guise of claiming it’ll make me healthier knowing I’ll give it up by February, my resolution is to do more of what I love. And what I love most is reading, so I’m aiming to read 60 books in 2021 AKA 5 per month. The silver lining of the US’s completely incompetent roll out of the vaccine means I will likely be locked in quarantine till 2022 leaving me plenty of time to hit my goal.
To hold myself accountable, I’ll be publishing a blog each month recapping what I read and giving my review of whether or not you should read it too. If you catch me not publishing one by the first week of each month, feel free to shoot me an email with the subject line “TURN OFF HOUSEWIVES AND PICK UP A BOOK LOSER.”
The Good
- The Night Swim by Megan Goldin: this was one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time. The book follows a true crime podcast host covering a controversial trial who finds herself drawn deep into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime that took place there years before.
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett: SO GOOD. If my endorsement isn’t enough, Barack Obama also named this as one of his favorite books of the year. This stunning novel is about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white.
- Deadly Cross by James Patterson: every thriller fan knows that James Patterson is the go-to for a solid beach read, and this one is no exception. Finished it over a weekend and was hooked the entire time.
- The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan: The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes is a page-turning peek inside the glamour and brutality of life as a pop star. Sloan takes us on a wild ride through the world of music video shoots, expensive hotels, and arena tours—showing us the darkness that threatens just below the surface. As a 90’s kid, I grew up idolizing popstars (and am still ride or die for Britney Spears #FreeBritney), so naturally I loved this book.
The Bad
- The Wrong Family by Tarryn Fisher: not only was the plot stupid, but it was also pretty depressing. Skip.
- All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny: to paraphrase Fran Lebowitz (because I’m apparently too lazy to google her quote but not too lazy to read 5 books in one month), it’s better to quit a book halfway through because you hate it so much, than to quit a book halfway through because you forgot you were reading it. That was what happened with this one. I put it down one day and it left my mind entirely. If something is that forgettable 200 pages in, it’s likely not worth the time to finish it.
