I Am No One By Patrick Flannery

I Am No One by Patrick Flannery is at it's most basic level a novel that brings to life the fears of most of us in the 21st century: having our lives on digital surveillance. Paranoia, self-identity issues and suspense abound.

While the premise of the novel revolves around Jeremy, an Oxford academic, who relocated to New York City, it is also a story that haunts at a deeper level. Remember when "big brother" was always watching? There is no denying that the digital age has upped the ante on what big brother can watch. A reasonable fear indeed.

I did find the flashbacks a bit tedious and the book a little too heavy to read leisurely (not a beach read, in my opinion), I cannot deny that Patrick Flannery has some amazing writing chops. In all honesty, even when my attention drifted from the story his writing kept me coming back to finish it.


Blogger Note:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This review is entirely based on my opinion.

Eating Well Made Easy: Good and Simple Hemsley Sisters Show Us How

Eating well is hard (and expensive!). Anyone looking to start on a healthier eating journey should look no further than Good and Simple: Recipes to Eat Well and Thrive by Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley.

Photos of the food are appetizing and mouth watering and lots of great tips about how to eat well and a wide assortment of recipes to meet every need and satisfy every taste bud. Do not pass up the Cajun roasted cauliflower (my favorite in the book).

Blogger Note:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This review is entirely based on my opinion.

Arianna Huffington Wants Us All to Sleep Better Because Science Says So

The Sleep Revolution was the first of Arianna Huffington's books that I read, probably because it was the first one that sought to address an issue that was relevant to me. I don't know any adult with a career and children and a spouse and etc...that can honestly admit to getting enough sleep on any given night. I was interested in how this book played out so I read with enthusiasm.

The book started out well enough, even if it was rehashing the same tried and true basic notions that getting sufficient sleep was a vital part of being healthy. I found the examples and studies interesting and felt that the book was well-researched. (Which was it's downfall, truthfully, as well.) While I appreciated all the studies and scientific facts presented, it slowed the pace of the book down for me and I found myself tuning out.

I was hoping for some tips that would help me achieve a better night's sleep and while this book offered a lot of them, none were really new or anything I hadn't already tried.

All in all, this book is an interesting read if you want a basic overview of sleep but for me it just didn't provide any really useful practical information.

Blogger Note:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This review is entirely based on my opinion.

Finally, a FUNNY Book About Depression courtesy of Jacqueline Novak

Depression is not funny. It's not supposed to be. But maybe by taking a little of the pressure off us depressos (my favorite term coined/stolen from Jacqueline Novak and her book How to Weep in Public) wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. That's where this book comes in. How to Weep in Public reads like half a memoir and half a shared conversation with a friend about being depressed but in the lightest way possible. No self-help material here (thankfully!).

Be prepared to laugh at your depression in all it's many forms. Mostly, just feel okay about it and like someone else is in on it with you. I also have to commend the author because despite the fact that this book is meant to be light-hearted and funny, there is a note in the introduction that includes the number for the National Suicide Prevention hotline. For the times when depression isn't that funny after all.

Blogger Note:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This review is entirely based on my opinion.

Chrissy Teigen's Cravings Hit All the Right Spots

Who doesn't love Chrissy Teigen? She is absolutely adorable and funny and down-to-Earth, or at least that's how she comes across to her followers on Twitter & Instagram. Continuing her trend of inviting us into her life, Teigen has given us the cookbook that we've all been waiting for, perfectly titled Cravings.

Teigen completely embraces her authenticity in this book. From candid shots of herself beside hubby John Legend, to her famous food photographs, this book is the perfect hybrid cookbook slash coffee table book.

You get a sense of how important food is to Teigen through this book and it translates over into the recipes she's included. She is most known on Instagram for her food that is both man-friendly (read: meat and potatoes) and perfect for indulging in and her book hits all those marks perfectly, but also goes beyond that.

While there are plenty of recipes that you'd expect her book to contain (Frito Pie, Stove Top Stuffing crusted pork chops, Wings (!!)) there are also plenty of healthier fare to balance it all out.

If you like Chrissy Teigen in anyway, this book will not disappoint.

Blogger Note:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This review is entirely based on my opinion.

What I Read in 2015

So I started this year ambitiously enough with the intent of completing the PopSugar Reading Challenge. Turns out, I don't read things in order to fulfill a list of themes but I do better free-flow reading (I just kind of coined that term) and basically just reading what feels right. With that being said, here is my 2015 reading list.  Courtesy of the handy year end recap over at Goodreads.

I feel 10 books short of my goal of 50 books but I think I ended up going to quality over quantity this year, as evidenced by the fact that I gave up a lot of books that I just couldn't get into.

Happy Reading into 2016!

Wreck and Order by Hannah Tennant-Moore: A Book About Putting Yourself Back Together After Falling Apart

Wreck and Order by Hannah Tennant-Moore is a book that reads like a memoir in all the best possible ways. Right off the bat, I enjoyed this book and connected with it (mostly). I felt like the narrator, Elsie, was able to represent an accurate depiction of an almost-thirty year old woman from a (dare I say) feminist perspective. Elsie longs to do something with her life that matters by way of incompatible and toxic relationships, traveling to Paris and Sri Lanka and a long-term project of a French translated manuscript about cats. 

Wreck and Order by Hannah Tennant-Moore, Penguin Random House

This was the Eat, Pray, Love for the modern twenty-something. Honest, unapologetic and full of promise. It's rare to read a book that unintentionally speaks for young women's yearnings to belong in the world and have something of their own. In lieu of bad relationships and a product of the 50% divorce rate, Elsie wants to have her own legacy and own meaningful life project, which to her comes in the form of an ambitious and sometimes a lost-cause translation endeavor. I dare you to show me a young woman who doesn't long to find herself apart from who she is as a daughter or in the confines of a relationship. These relationships, while wrecking her, also give her the desire to fully live a life of new experiences.

Her travels, while being the most unrealistic part of the novel (really how many almost thirty-year olds do you know whose fathers foot the bill for not only Paris living, but also a sojourn to Sri Lanka?) also echo the general notion of loosing oneself in order to discover a better understanding of oneself.

An enjoyable novel that left me with a slight case of wanderlust and hungry for the next serving by Tennant-Moore.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.