Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. I initially started this through my ebook library in January and got distracted while it was on hold. Brene Brown uses anecdotes and her research to explain why we shame, feel shame, and do everything in our power to avoid vulnerability. I had one of my aha moments last year when I realized that I was holding back in many areas of my life because of my fear of intimacy and vulnerability. I've been on a self-help kick and some are great while the majority are just saying the same things over and over without helping me learn in a new way. Brown includes a few sentences someone said to her in passing and they floored me. And I think that was one reason this book was successful for me. Sure there were life-changing quotes from renowned figures like Roosevelt, but there were anecdotes from speaking events that were more effective.
I received great reminders and lessons in dealing with shame and vulnerability, as well as ideas to remember while parenting my own children without passing my shame on to them. This is a great book if you deal with similar issues like most of us.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt
★★★★★
Elevation by Stephen King. This was a quick audiobook listen. I had a lot of mixed feelings about this one. It was a heartwarming story overall, even making me well up at one point, but it's downfall was being very of-the-time. A few jokes and ideas fell a little flat to me and the political statements, while good, were a little heavy-handed at times. This could totally change for future generations who aren't constantly drowning in the dumpster-fire that is current America.
It had important values and an interesting plot. It's definitely worth the short amount of time it takes to read.
★★★
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. My first Joe Hill. I saw the mixed reviews and understood better when reading (Listening.). We follow Judas Coyne, aging rockstar whose inclination for collecting all things strange and sick take a turn when he purchases a dead man's suit, and possibly his ghost.
This is an impressive debut novel and I can only imagine the pressure that comes with being King's son. Regardless, I had definite problems. Unreliable or unlikable protagonists walk a fine line for me. Sometimes it really works and is fascinating, and other times I'm just ready to get out of this asshole's head (Or out of their story, in this case.). Sometimes the need to be "Edgy" was a little too apparent, and the hardass dialogue was laughable at times. The story was also a little predictable. That being said, it was still interesting to follow and had promising moments. I'm intrigued to read more of Hill's work.
★★★
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time # 1). The start of a large series is always intimidating, but I love them so it's equal parts exciting for me. I went into this pretty blindly. I'd seen bits and pieces about it, but knew nothing about the story, characters, or world. I knew a little bit about the magic system which intrigued me enough to give it a try. I also saw some reviews. People seemed to love it or hate it. One reason for hating (Or loving) it was apparent very early on. It's highly inspired by Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. This isn't rare in the fantasy genre, obviously, but it scared me and hindered my experience when I couldn't help noticing a similarity. I decided to stay optimistic because, at a whopping fifteen books, it has to veer off at some point. I heard that the books only get better after the first. I don't know much, I'm still trying to keep my reading blind, but I'll find out. I like to have a certain amount of reassurance before this kind of commitment.
But anyway, I enjoyed the first entry despite its flaws. Two aspects I liked but hope are improved is world building and character development. There was a lot of world-building, but with many aspects being similar to LOTR, I hope he had more confidence to branch out on his own ideas moving forward. Character development has been a gamble in fantasy I've read thus far. Going on life-threatening quests with your childhood friends, love interests, and scary characters should provide a lot of fodder for growth and I personally like to be reminded of that. I understand it's harder to develop without every character's inner monologue, but there are other ways to make this happen. I liked the subtle hints that grew into more obvious feelings for certain characters, I just hope that grows. I love character development and need it to care enough to follow them for fifteen books. I'm going to start The Great Hunt next, so I'll let you know how it develops.
★★★★
Mindhunter by John Edward Douglas. This was another instance of needing to return the library book and my interests moving elsewhere. I was enjoying it and will probably check back in with it later.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. We have the ebook that combined the trilogy as Tolkien initially intended. I read the Fellowship of the Ring portion and decided to come back later for the Two Towers. So both of these aren't necessarily ones I'll never read, just putting a pin in.
Now that I'm back into the swing of reading I don't want to inhibit myself but I want to explore a little bit. I want to actually have a TBR list reading for the upcoming month so I have things I am ready to pick up when I finish a book. As usual, I want to push myself a little this year with themed TBRs, genres I don't normally gravitate to, and challenges I've always been scared to take part in. I have an idea for next month that I will have a whole post of. Let me know if there are any challenges, books, or ideas you have been loving when it comes to your reading. Have a great weekend!
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