January 2022 Book Review

It’s February 1st which means it’s Book Review Day!! I read three books, plus one devotional, this month and I’m sharing a short summary (no spoilers, I promise!) and my genuine thoughts on each read. I’ve already rounded up some good ones for the month of February, but if you have any fabulous recommendations, drop a comment and share!

First up…

Going There by Katie Couric

I was really excited to dive into this one. I grew up watching The Today Show and remember being a little girl watching Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric on TV each morning while we got ready for school. She was always such a light and I just loved her witty personality. I felt like she was smart, bubbly, and a bulldog in interviews.

This book got into it. I mean, really got into it. Her story starts with her rise up through the ranks as she pushed, she finagled, and she won people over to get to her place at The Today Show. Some of the stories of her never letting up on a dream was so inspiring. She truly worked her way from place to place, report to report. And along the way, she met the love of her life. Beyond her professional life, Going There details losing that love at such a young age to cancer, leaving behind her and their two very young daughters.

Then finally, it goes into Matt. All the nitty gritty, dirty details of Matt Lauer and his demise after the sexual misconduct charges surfaced.

It’s real, it’s descriptive, and it’s such an easy, fascinating read. Truly, I just wanted to skip all the other stuff and just get to the Matt Lauer details when I started the book, but her life was extremely interesting and I found myself cheering her on and completely enthralled in her story. It’s really great from start to finish….not just the juicy details of The Today Show gone wrong.

One downfall from this book…I wish she would keep her political views to herself. I’m very tired of knowing who everyone is rooting for. Who is on every person’s ballot. I just want to go back to a time that talking politics was uncouth. And the places that she inserted her opinions were meaningless and did nothing to tell her story. I felt like I was giving 10/10 eye rolls each time she brought it up and it took a little away from her focus. For a book I loved so much, I wanted to give a fair warning that this irked me a bit while I was reading.

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

I loved this book from the very first chapter and it never, ever disappointed through the last. This book is a gem! I truly laughed out loud at some parts, had tears streaming down my face at others, and I was rooting for every character of this book at each turn. If you’re traveling this spring break, take this one along. It’s endearing in so many ways and you’ll gobble it right up and feel better about life after.

Patrick, a 40-something TV actor who has become quite a recluse in Palm Springs after his TV sitcom finished airing, gets word that his best friend and sister-in-law has passed away from cancer. He needs to get home for the funeral. Making it back to the east coast, he’s met by his brother who is grieving his wife, working through the funeral, and quickly informs Patrick that he’s been taking pills to cope with Sara’s battle and eventual death. Now he needs to head off to rehab to clean himself up before he can be the father he needs to be for his two children…and Patrick needs to take the kids for the summer while he goes. Enter: The Guncle, or as the kids like to call him, GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick).

There are lessons in grief, in unconditional love, on taking chances, on bettering yourself, and knowing that it’s never too late to make a change. This book is charming and I highly recommend it.

Find Rest: A Women’s Devotional For Lasting Peace In A Busy Life by Shaunti Feldhahn

A couple weeks ago, I shared some of my favorite Bible Studies and Devotionals and this one made the list. I feel like it could make the list every year, over and over again. This month, I finished the final day of the devotional and immediately purchased a new Shaunti Feldhahn devotional to get to my house the next day. The days are quick reads, relatable, and oh so comforting to all of us that feel a strong sense of success by being busy. It’s a daily reminder to focus on God’s will for you, to calm your wandering, anxious minds, and seek God for our acceptance and love. I looked forward to this devotional every single morning and I know this will be read again and again to quiet my mind and refocus myself before I let other influences get to my day first. I highly recommend this one!

The Therapist by B.A. Paris

You know how people will call a story “mind-blowing” and then you read it and you’ve figured out the twist before you get to it? Beyond frustrating, right? I didn’t get this twist. I never saw this one coming. This one blew me out of the water and I was truly on pins and needles right to the end. 10/10 recommend this thriller!

Alice and her boyfriend Leo move into a newly renovated, exclusive, gated community of homes in the heart of London, and quickly begin to make friends with the neighbors and start to put down roots. All until Alice finds out about a secret about their home and becomes obsessed with the previous owner, Nina. The neighbors all want her to stop digging, Alice begins to accuse nearly everyone of not telling the truth, and in the end, you simply can’t trust anyone.

I LOVED this thriller! It kept me up way too late, reading before the kids woke up, and carrying my Kindle with me everywhere. I gobbled this story up and couldn’t wait to find out just who wasn’t telling the truth. Fast chapters have you constantly saying, “Just one more.” Highly recommend this one! It’ll certainly pass those long February days!

Snow Storm 2022 is about to hit KC, so I’m ready to fire up the Kindle and dive into some new reads these coming days. So what are you reading this month?

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