Happy New Year!  I wanted to do one more final book update.  Unfortunately I fell short of my 52 books in a year goal but I am happy that I read as many books as I did.  I went through a little bit of a book drought recently but I did finish a couple of book recently that are worth sharing.

26.  – This book was pretty good.  I really liked the main character, Alice.  But it was long…I think almost 600 pages.  I actually read half of it and then it expired from the library so I had to re-request it but it was good enough that I wanted to finish it.

A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice Lindgren has no idea that she will one day end up in the White House, married to the president. In her small Wisconsin hometown, she learns the virtues of politeness, but a tragic accident when she is seventeen shatters her identity and changes the trajectory of her life. More than a decade later, when the charismatic son of a powerful Republican family sweeps her off her feet, she is surprised to find herself admitted into a world of privilege. And when her husband unexpectedly becomes governor and then president, she discovers that she is married to a man she both loves and fundamentally disagrees with–and that her private beliefs increasingly run against her public persona. As her husband’s presidency enters its second term, Alice must confront contradictions years in the making and face questions nearly impossible to answer.  ()

27.  by Sophie Kinsella – I love a good Sophie K book.  They are so easy to read and always end in a happy ending.  If you are looking for a light read, this is a good one!

Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill, but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!  ()

28. by Dan Harris – Derek read this book and highly recommended it.  I think Dan Harris is an effective storyteller and is very relatable.  I’m still working on consistently meditating but I do notice that when I’m practicing on the regular, life is just a little bit easier.  I’ve seen a few other people highly recommend this book too.  Tina from Carrot ‘N’ Cake wrote about how it changed her life in this post.  (Side note Tina’s blog was one of the first blogs I ever started reading!)

Winner of the 2014 Living Now Book Award for Inspirational Memoir After having a nationally televised panic attack, Dan Harris knew he had to make some changes. A lifelong nonbeliever, he found himself on a bizarre adventure involving a disgraced pastor, a mysterious self-help guru, and a gaggle of brain scientists. Eventually, Harris realized that the source of his problems was the very thing he always thought was his greatest asset: the incessant, insatiable voice in his head, which had propelled him through the ranks of a hyper-competitive business, but had also led him to make the profoundly stupid decisions that provoked his on-air freak-out. Eventually Harris stumbled upon an effective way to rein in that voice, something he always assumed to be either impossible or useless: meditation, a tool that research suggests can do everything from lower your blood pressure to essentially rewire your brain. 10% Happier takes readers on a ride from the outer reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news to the bizarre fringes of America’s spiritual scene, and leaves them with a takeaway that could actually change their lives.  ()

29.  by Jessica Knoll – If you liked Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train you might like this book.  It was similar but I’d say a little tamer than a Gillian Flynn novel.

As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.  But Ani has a secret.  There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.  With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that’s bigger than it first appears.  The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free? ()

Have you read any good books lately?  I right now I’m reading a Gretchen Rubin book and just checked Drew Barrymore’s book, Wildflower out of the library

Be Happy, Be Healthy!