Reading Lately #6 (+ what I read in Cabo)

I recently finished four more books—two of which I read during our week in Cabo! I actually had a goal to read a book a day in Cabo (so, six books)…and that plan failed miserably, ha. I ended up only getting through two, but that’s okay! I had a lot of fun with Korri and his parents and my parents, and I also spent a lot of time sleeping, which was much needed.

In a fun turn of events, all of the books I read since October were either borrowed from my public library or from Amazon! I had Beach Read on hold at the library and wasn’t expecting to get it until 2022, so it was a nice surprise when it became available right before our trip. I also recently started using StoryGraph to track my reads and TBR list! Add me as a friend: cottoncashmerecathair!

Browse all of my Reading Lately posts!

For ease, and especially for my fellow Kindle readers, all of the links below go to Amazon. If you are able, please support your local bookstores right now (and always)! Bookshop.org donates a percentage of sales to local bookstores, and if you’re local to me, check out Rediscovered Books—I buy physical books there. There are also a number of Black-owned bookstores that need support. Find one near you in this list of over 50 Black-owned bookstores arranged by state (all have online stores and a couple are online only).

Book recommendation: The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair
Book recommendation: The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah Crane | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair
Book recommendation: Beach Read by Emily Henry | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair
Book recommendation: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett | Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

RECENTLY READ: November—December 2021

  • The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (borrowed via library): This is the second book in the series and the first book I borrowed from the library in a long time! My library only loans e-books out for up to 2 weeks, and I ended up making it only about halfway before it was returned. About a week or so later, I was able to borrow it again for 2 more weeks to finish it up! This is the sequel to The Rosie Project, which I reread a couple of months prior. Warning: Spoilers ahead if you haven’t read the first book! Don and Rosie are now married and living in NYC, where Don is a professor and Rosie is a dual MD and PhD student. Rosie becomes pregnant, and hilarity ensues as Don wrestles with becoming a father. At times it was a little bit frustrating for me because I hate it when characters put themselves in precarious situations (this is why I don’t like the Harry Potter series…), but it was still enjoyable overall! And it ended in a positive way, which I wasn’t sure it would, and I was going to be upset if not ha. Onto book three!

  • The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah Crane (borrowed on Kindle): I borrowed this book via Prime Reading a couple of years ago and tackled it first when we were in Cabo! This YA book follows a lone survivor following a plane crash in Ireland. The survivor, a teenager, decides she needs to run away from her old life waiting for her at home with the help of someone she meets at the hospital. This story is sweet and romantic, and it wrapped up really nicely at the end (I definitely did not predict how all the “loose ends” would tie up haha).

  • Beach Read by Emily Henry (borrowed via library): I’m so thrilled I was able to read this book while on the beach in Mexico! I had heard such good things. An author inherits her father’s beach house after his death and finds herself next door to her attractive college enemy (frenemy?). You can probably guess where the story goes from there! 😉 It’s a fun rom-com, and yes, definitely a fun read for the beach!

  • The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (borrowed via library): Everyone has been raving about this book, and somehow I managed to snag the e-book from the library over the holidays (I guess everyone on the wait list passed?!). This book follows the lives of twin light-skinned Black women, one of which lives as a Black woman and the other who decides to pass as white, and their respective families. I found it super fascinating and could not put it down in spots! I will say that it could get confusing with the third-person perspectives changing fairly often, so I don’t think I could have followed this in audiobook form (and others told me they DNFed the audiobook) but reading it was fine! I thought it was fabulous.

CURRENTLY READING

  • Built to Belong by Natalie Franke: This book was under “Currently Reading” last time, so I thought I’d have it finished by now, but it was put aside while I read my library loans! I’m now about halfway through this book and really enjoying it. It’s one you probably need to read if you struggle with feeling like you don’t belong, especially if you’re also in the weird entrepreneur/blogger/influencer/online space.

  • Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (Kindle): For some reason, this was a book I was saving…for what, I don’t know. The right moment, I guess? Whatever that means. Becca of Bad on Paper Podcast reads it every January, so I decided to finally read it for the first time now that it’s January! I’m about a third of the way through and it’s making me think about creativity in ways I never have before. Excited to see how the rest unfolds!

TO BE READ

These are all the books I have in my possession and plan to read! (One book is technically Korri’s but it lives on the shared bookshelves so that basically means it’s mine, too, right?!) I arranged them in alphabetical order by book type (physical, Kindle, or one of Korri’s). I read one book and added five new books since the last Reading Lately update. Check out my entire growing TBR list (which also includes the books on my wish list through the library) on StoryGraph!

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