Books of January 2016

I skipped my December book recap in favor of my year-end review, but I'm back with a look at January. My goal for 2016 is to read 65 books and while I'm technically on track, I read a lot of fluff. I also tried to leverage my mid-week runs by listening to an audiobook.

Besides running and reading, January included some friend outings, a short trip to Chicago, and I signed up for Great Lakes Birdcamp. (If that doesn't mean anything to you, don't worry. I'll share more in August.) On to the books!

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Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

Review: 4 of 5

Another good story, though I think I liked #1 better. Scarlet and Wolf are good additions, but Cinder remains my favorite. Her mechanical ability and cyborg-ness make her a fun character. Iko and Thorne are also great. And of course Kai... 

Don't let the cheesy covers trick you. This is a fun series so far. 

Hit by Lorie Ann Grover 

Review: 3 of 5

I bought this for a $1 and read it in a day. It's a strange book. Fast moving with an interesting premise, but the dialog was so stilted and almost unbelievable. Apparently this is Christian YA and a morality tale, but the end result was a little odd with Haddings true feelings.

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

Review: 3.5–4 of 5

I did NOT like her last book. I read it around the time of Tina's and it did not compare. I remember being jealous that she was famous and got to write a witty book I could have put together (ha). Luckily (for me and Mindy), I enjoyed this one. I think the stories in this were better and more organized. I'm tired of random assortments of "essays" that do not flow. And I truly think it helped that I listened to the audiobook instead of reading it. It was a good book to run to.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Review: 5 of 5

Because it's such a quick, quality read, I think it's the perfect "introductory" feminist text to use when trying to convince someone to see the light. ;) It's a few years old, so I'm sure other articles have been borrowing from Adichie's speech, but she hits the main points and provides a summary for her argument. A key point that I think many folks don't understand: a feminist also supports men to be whatever they want. Not every man needs to be a hyper-masculine provider.

Jackaby (Jackaby #1) by William Ritter 

Review: 3.5 of 5

I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. 3 for plot, 4 for everything else. 

This is kind of a weird review because I liked the idea of the book, but the plot was a bit boring for having such an interesting premise. Jackaby and Abby are great characters. So are those in the supporting cast... even the duck. The story was also very well written, so I have no doubt that Ritter is a great writer. Unfortunately, it took me weeks to finish this because I never cared enough to read more than a chapter at a time. Heck, during the same time period I read a crappy book in one day because it was "unputdownable." 

Despite the great premise, writing, and characters the central mystery was just ho-hum. I DO think the books will get better as they reveal more details about Jackaby and encounter new supernatural mysteries. I'm not sure if I will continue reading or not, but these stories would probably make an excellent show.

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As always, these reviews were taken from my Goodreads. For past months, click here. 

What did you read in January?
What are you reading now?