So, I have decided to do something a little different this month.

I keep a running list of all of the books that I have read in service on this blog. It’s a way to help myself keep track of everything that I have read and how many books and pages I have read so far.

This month, I have decided to write little mini reviews for each book I have read, just to give more insight to what I am reading. You might love it, you might hate it, you might even just like it, but it’s something I want to try!

And if I enjoy it/if I remember, I may do it for next month as well!

1. The Haters by Jesse Andrews

I started this book on the plane back to Namibia from my trip home to the US. Jesse Andrews is the author of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, which is a great book and the base for one of my favorite movies. So, I thought this book was going to be awesome. It was…alright. I felt like it was written for people who already had an extensive background knowledge in music, particularly jazz. Also the characters were whiny and a lot of the time I was slamming my face into the palm of my hand thinking “oh come onnnn you’re so stupid!” Great little niche portrait of growing up and coming into your own, with a lot of heavy references to jazz.

Rating: 3/5

2. Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human by Richard Wrangam

This was a very random book for me to pick up. It came from me telling myself that I need to try and read more non-fiction and research based books this year. Because intelligence. And it never hurts to learn a new thing. I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting it was. The thesis of the book is that cooking was a huge evolutionary step for us, and now it harder for humans to survive without eating some form of cooked food. It’s how we get a lot of our nutrients (I know, salad, but this is most other nutrients). I recommend it for someone interested in food/wonders about why humans are the way we are when it comes to food.

Rating: 4/5

3. Songs of Experience by William Blake

I don’t have much to say except I was in the mood for a quick read, I like poetry, and you can never go wrong with some classic William Blake.

Rating: 5/5

4. Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden

I realize that this book came out in 2017 but it took me a long time to be emotionally ready. I’m serious. I got the audiobook version, because that’s the only way to go. Especially since it’s read by Joe Biden, himself. I started and stopped this book a lot because Joe has a great way of drawing you into the story. So I definitely cried. I finally committed to listening to it all the way through this month and wasn’t disappointed. Also, the Audible version has an exclusive interview with Biden that I have already listened to several times.

Rating: 5/5

5. Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

This is a book series that I had never heard of before until a couple of weeks ago when I found it on a random list of good books. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s Harry Potter meets Rivendell from LOTR meets a good old fashioned mystery. The basic synopsis is that a young girl Sophie Foster finds out that she’s actually an elf and is taken away to another realm (The Lost Cities) to train as one and hone her special talents at a magic elf school named Foxfire. The characters are great and although I still have several questions about many elements of the plot, I am looking forward to reading on to see if and when those questions get resolved. It’s a middle grade book that can be enjoyed by literally anyone.

Rating: 5/5

6.  The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish

I am not super familiar with Tiffany Haddish, although I’ve watched a few interviews with her that always end with me snorting with laughter. So I decided to give her book a listen (I always opt for the audiobook when it comes to autobiographies and memoirs especially when they are read by the author) for a laugh. I did laugh, but it some parts definitely missed for me. There was a part in it in which she made fun of a previous co-worker who is disabled. She had good things to say about him, but it was also extremely inappropriate at first. She also used the word “retarded” as an adjective a few other points in time about other people, and that’s something that doesn’t settle well with me. Read at your own risk.

Rating: 2/5

I’m currently in the middle of a couple more books, but the last week of the month got busy, so I wasn’t able to finish them when I wanted to.

I hope y’all enjoyed! Happy February!