WHAT I READ IN JANUARY 2023

I am really proud of my reading this month because I did something I have been putting off for years. I finally read A Little Life! (My review below…) But I had been putting it off for really one reason, which I’m not proud to admit but here it goes anyway. I didn’t want to commit to reading a really long book because I thought it would mean I read fewer books for the year. I know, I know. Send me to literary jail or whatever.  Guilty as charged. At the beginning of the year though, I thought, “Why am I doing this? You want to read the book, read the book.” And I did and not only that, but I’m glad I did. Anyway, if you need a sign to pick up the book you’ve been putting off for whatever reason, here’s your sign to pick it up and dive in.

TRUTH & BEAUTY by Ann Patchett

5/5 Stars

In December I read Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy and I wanted to follow it up with Truth & Beauty, which is Ann Patchett’s memoir about her friendship with Lucy. I think to get a full picture, you need to read both books… I’d be curious what I would have thought about Truth and Beauty had I read it first. I think I had a much better appreciation for Lucy and why Lucy was the way she was because I had read her memoir first. Female friendships are always so interesting to me and I appreciated Ann Patchett’s candor about her unique, beautiful, and challenging relationship with Lucy. I love Ann Patchett– she’s my favorite author– and I just love the way she writes. This was no exception.

SOLITO by Javier Zamora

5/5 Stars

This is already a front runner for best book of the year. (In fact, I will be shocked if it isn’t my #1 book come December….) Absolutely phenomenal. In Solito, Javier Zamora details his journey as a 10-year-old boy migrating from El Salvador into the United States to reunite with his parents. I truly have no words for how incredible this book is. When I read that Javier Zamora is a poet, it didn’t surprise me. The book has a natural rhythm and the cadence naturally changes as your follow his harrowing journey. I simply could not put this down.

THE GOOD LIFE by Robert Waldinger + Marc Schulz

4/5 Stars

January felt like a good time to read about how to have a good life. This is a self-helpish book about the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness. I am glad I read it and learned some new things, though as a frequent reader of books like this, not everything felt like brand new information. You could probably read a summary of the book and feel just as content, but I’m still glad I read the whole thing. The chapters that stuck with me the most were about relationships– it made me rethink some things within my own marriage (in a positive way, haha that sounds a little grim!) and also with friendships. Who am I spending time with, what am I receiving from each relationship, how can I deepen relationships with the people who matter most to me.

A LITTLE LIFE by Hanya Yanagihara

3.75/5 Stars

I see this book pop up all the time from readers. I had heard it’s tragic and devastating to read…. and with the various trigger warnings I had seen (of which there are many and I almost think you need to assume there is a trigger warning for just about everything), I had a general idea of what to expect going into the book. I have a lot to say about this book and also, now that I’m finished with it, I want to say nothing about it, too.

The major positive for me: It was highly “readable.” I think I assumed that since it was super long, it would be a more difficult book to get through. It was difficult content-wise, but the writing was great and I found myself almost immediately swept up into the novel. At times, I actually couldn’t put it down. I read the book way faster than I anticipated, mostly because I was reading it in hour-long chunks because I’d get so engrossed in it.

The negatives? It was longer than it needed to be, in my opinion, and felt more like trauma porn than an interesting novel. There’s a lot of suffering for the sake of suffering (and then even more suffering) and I just didn’t find the story remotely…. believable? I also grew incredibly frustrated with the various supporting characters, who despite a lot of airtime, never quite felt more than two-dimensional to me.

With that said, I’m glad I read it if only to say that I read it and so that I know what people are talking about when they said they read it. Again, go ahead and send me to literary jail… guilty as charged.

THE MEASURE by Nikki Erlick

3.5/5 Stars

The Measure opens with everyone in the world receiving a box with a string inside. The string length indicates how long you will live. The world finds itself divided between “long-stringers” and “short-stringers.” Should you look and see how long you’ll live? Or should you not open the box? What happens if someone in your life looks at your string without your knowledge? Would you change your big life decisions if you knew you would die soon… or what if you knew you wouldn’t die soon? I found the story both boring and thought provoking. The premise was interesting and could lead to good in-depth conversations (would be good for a book club!), but the actual characters and plot kind of left something to be desired to me.

HAVE I TOLD YOU THIS ALREADY by Lauren Graham

3/5 Stars

I really liked Lauren Graham’s other memoir Talking As Fast As I Can and I also really loved her novel. This one though…. it didn’t do it for me. I almost think the best chapters could have just been folded into her other memoir or something. Or shared in a podcast interview… or written in an Instagram caption. Not sure if it was worthy of a whole book. BUT, if you’re a Lauren Graham fan you might still love hearing her voice and some of her fun stories again.

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