January's Books 2022

I was very sad that last year I didn’t reach my goal... I read 22 books, but my goal was 24! I know, I know... I was close and I shouldn’t be too hard on myself because I have actually been very active and intentional with my reading. I had stopped for a while because I was so overwhelmed and honestly bored with all the readings for my Master’s program that I just didn’t find joy in reading anymore. It felt like a task. Reading is something I have enjoyed since I was little. It was a way for me to escape my reality and hide from the grownups. ​

I'm very happy that I have found my love for reading again... and this year I plan to be even more intentional about it and make more time for the things I love and fulfill me.

So... here is a recap of the three books I read this month.

Never Split the Difference
I think this book is AMAZING!!!…. I am honestly not the type of person to read non-fiction, I cannot keep my eyes open, so I decided to listen to this audiobook. The strategies the author shares work!! I started listening to this audiobook in hopes to prepare for serious negotiations with my car insurance. Someone had crashed my car (it was parked, I’m okay) and the 

insurance wanted to total the car and give me very little money for it. I am a very anxious person and sometimes I accept thing too quickly because I just want to get it over with… this time around I wasn’t gonna let that happen. My car looked brand new; I’d had it for 7 years, but it only had 40K miles and I knew that used car prices had gone up since COVID, so this was my opportunity to get some money back. The strategies were very helpful and preparing by listening to this book helped me feel a lot more confident. Needless to say, that I got what I wanted; way more than the original offer they made and about twice as much as I would have gotten if I had sold the car on my own. I swear this book is sooooo helpful!
Reviewing the actual writing, I didn’t get bored, I think it had a good flow and the strategies that were shared were intertwined with actual real-life stories that made it easier to follow with examples. I highly recommend this book.

The House in the Cerulean Sea
This book came to me because I was feeling stuck. I had been reading Harry Potter because my partner wanted me to and I hated it (Sorry to all the HP fans out there... it’s not my thing) To be honest, I have watched all the movies already, so I didn’t find anything intriguing or entertaining, and it definitely didn’t help me want to keep reading other books.
As I was sharing all my HP feeling with a colleague, she suggested I read this book and gave it to me on the spot! I was excited that I knew nothing about it and she said it would make me feel good… and I totally agree! It was very sweet and it made me feel all the good in the world. If you just need a break and want to feel all the good, warm feelings this is the book! The story is also very sweet and relatable to our current world, even though we don’t have people with powers. I definitely recommend this book for all teens, adults, and anyone who need a dose of love and positivity.

The Love Hypothesis
I do not understand why this book is such the hype! Except that is super spicy and I guess people like that?? I was honestly in sock that my students would recommend this book to me. It makes sense that teenagers explore their sexuality, but this was extremely explicit on the sex scenes. I think it went for too long to be honest. I also don’t see how a graduate student would act so childish, instead of having good communication skills and showing more emotional maturity. At the very being of the book the main character acts very childish, which I don’t understand. It also creates a false representation of what a real relationship is and how men act. We cannot expect another human to do everything for us, “save us”, or ask us every step of the way what we need. Would it be nice for people to act mature and have great communication skills?, yes!, but the reality is that we, as a society, are not there yet. We lack communication skills, vulnerability, and the understanding of our own being to be able to communicate properly at all times. We are human and we do not always know how to react, that is just part of humanity. We can strive to be better, but we will never be perfect. The narrative of books like this one, is toxic. It gives teenagers, who read these books, a false idea of reality and creates toxic expectations for their future.  Communication is an acquired skill and one that we must work on with our partner consistently; they won’t just “get us” all the time.

I hope you enjoyed this and if you have any recommendations for me, leave them in the comments! I'm always looking for something else to read. 

Un abrazo, 
Jimena