Current Quarantine Reads (and my all-time favorite books)

To be honest, I’ve spent most of my free time surfing the internet and watching TV but I do have a couple books I’m reading currently and on my radar and a few books that I LOVE and highly recommend for our time at home right now.

My book preferences are biographies, memoirs, history and collections of short stories–and self-help type of books. I truly hate adjectives so reading fictional stories where they describe the landscape or someone’s breath is a waste of my time so here you go.

Currently Reading & What’s Up Next

I’m currently reading Atomic Habits. This book is a little dry which is why it’s taking me so long to read, BUT it has a ton of interesting and helpful information on how we form habits–how to break them or change them. Every time I pick it up, I take away a solid nugget of information (and then I put down for another day.)

Before starting Atomic Habits, I read Jessica Simpson’s memoir Open Book. It was a good, quick read but it wasn’t my favorite book and wish I didn’t spend $30 on it. I think it’s been a little overhyped so my expectations were high–like startling new secrets were going to be uncovered, but instead I got unwanted adjectives describing her sister and John Mayer.

Next, I’d like to read Educated, Negroland and Country Girl (all memoirs.)

All Time Favorite Books

My favorite memoirs include the Glass Castle, Rabbit, Hillbilly Elegy and the Color of Water.  All of them can be hard to read and triggering if you’ve ever struggled in childhood, but worth the read and Glass Castle and Rabbit remain two of my all-time favorite books. These books take you through the traumas of the authors’ childhoods and how it shaped who they are now.

I also love war history books and for several years, I was consumed by more recent war time and military documentaries and books–so these are just a few to name.. One of the ones that come top of mind is Horse Soldiers, a story about a small band of military secretly entering Afghanistan following 9/11 and fighting on horseback against the Taliban–and winning. And Lone Survivor is a memoir detailing how a Navy seal was the only survivor following a mission in Pakistan. And American Sniper–a memoir about a Navy Seal recounts battlefield experiences, how war affected his life and family.

For something lighter, Amy Poehler’s Yes Please memoir was one I had low expectations for, but was surprisingly delighted by the writing, humor and storytelling. I also loved reading Michelle Obama’s Becoming memoir. It was so interesting to read about her childhood, how she met President Obama and their love story.

And David Sedaris may very well be my most beloved authors. His sense of humor, transparency and storytelling make for captivating and hilariously funny reading. Me Talk Pretty One Day was the first book of his I read, but not the first he wrote and I’ve read them all now and cherish them all.