Books I Read in February

I somehow managed to read four actual books - well, maybe only three. I read one children's book, and a book of poetry (which I sometimes feel doesn't count? Maybe it does, I don't know), and then three "traditional" books. For a short month, I'm pretty happy about that!

Dear Girls by Ali Wong

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Comedy, Memoir-Biography

Review: I like Ali Wong's comedy, and have enjoyed what I've seen of her, so I went into this book knowing she could be raunchy and knowing I would likely have to navigate that. While I wasn't sure how to feel about the book through the first half, after reading her chapter on studying abroad and getting glimpses of a more compassionate side of her, I started enjoying it more. She manages to tackle serious, important topics without losing her sense of humor and self.

It's a book directed to her two children, but just as other reviews and quotes say, there are some helpful nuggets in the book no matter who you are. I'm glad I read the book - it wasn't all I had hoped it would be, but I did enjoy it, mostly.

What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Poetry, Favorites

Review: I'm not an avid poetry reader, sticking with more popular authors and only reading classic poetry around my college years, so this book felt refreshing. The only other poetry I've read recently are from women around my age or younger - single, childless, etc. - and so, reading these poems about a husband, children, family, and the struggles being a mother and a wife and a committed friend felt warm and familiar. I'm not a mother, but I am married, and have experienced the euphoria and heartbreak that marriage brings. Reading about other concepts other than heartbreak, getting over an ex, finding (what sometimes feels like) shallow empowerment was wonderful.

The mental pictures of pulling weeds, zinnias blooming in the summer, and having a heart-to-heart with your girlfriends felt more relatable.

While I don't consider myself a big poetry expert - most of it feels overly dramatic to me - I did really enjoy reading most of these poems. It felt like having coffee with a friend who actually sees who you are and the struggles you're going through, and wrote it all down for you to carry and remember.

The Big Snow by Bertha and Elmer Hader

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Children's Lit, All-Time Favorites

Review (dated Feb. 17, 2021, before a big snowstorm): After feeding the birds this evening in anticipation of a big snowstorm, it made me think of this book, which I've loved since I was a kid. Feeling nostalgic, I reread it tonight and loved it just the same. It takes the perspective of woodland creatures as winter approaches and a big snow comes through. I have always remembered the old woman putting out food for all the animals and told myself as a kid that I would do that whenever it snowed.

It feels like a little part of my four-year-old self would be proud that I actually do that as an adult ❤️ loved re-reading this and looking forward to our big snow tomorrow!

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Memoir-Biography, Book Club, Favorites

Review: I really loved this book. I've read a lot of biographies and autobiographies, and feel like this is one of the most well-written ones I've read. I only comment on that because it reads like a novel, with its descriptive writing well-balanced amid a personal narrative. Last year, I read several auto/biographies that left me wondering who on earth edited them and how they got published, but this was lovely.

I grew up in a mostly conservative Republican upbringing, the 2008 election being my first time voting while I was in college. In both Barack Obama elections, I voted for his opponents, and it's only been in my adulthood that I realized I would have loved him as a president had I just paid more attention. The narrative by Michelle not only was a lovely telling of her own life, but a beautiful, real look at the character of her husband. They truly seem to care for the people they meet, and the lives they lead. The line about her getting chastised for touching the Queen's shoulder during her first meeting really stuck out: something along the lines of maybe she wasn't doing the proper thing, but she was doing the human thing. Loved. It also pointedly mentioned her feelings on politics, with multiple times in the book expressing her disapproval of the whole system. Initiatives to create jobs during one of our worst economic recessions shut down by Republicans just because they were against Obama being in office, gun laws not able to be passed without a true care of protecting the lives of citizens, billionaires not contributing to serious national crises because "Democrats increase taxes on us," and fights with major food and drink corporations because of their billion-dollar industries' influence. It's disheartening, but amid all of that, she managed to infuse the love and sincerity that this First Family seemed to bring during their eight years on Penn Ave.

After a traumatizing four years under the reign of Donald Trump, I needed this book. It was beautiful, comforting, inspiring. I would highly recommend giving it a read (although, I feel like everyone I know has already done that!).

Train Happy: An Intuitive Exercise Plan for Every Body by Tally Rye

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shelves: Health, Self Help

Review: This book was fine. It provided a lot of information I had already heard or read before, especially having read about intuitive eating. I was excited to read about how intuitive exercise could be useful as someone who has suffered from dieting and exercising, restricting and losing a lot of weight a few times in my life.

The most revolutionary things came down to two concepts (for me): (1) body neutrality (not focusing on body love or body loathing - just choosing not to think about how your body looks at all), which is a relief after being told I *have* to love my body, love my body, love my body. As someone who struggles with body acceptance, it was a relief to hear that it's okay if I just choose not to focus on how it looks at all. Focus, rather, on how my body feels instead. "The body you inhabit is merely a home for the other gifts that you possess – things like personality, kindness and intelligence." And (2) going back to movement that I enjoy without feeling a need to track it in any sort of way. For me, that means swimming, biking, volleyball, hiking, tennis, kayaking, and yoga. Not worrying about how many calories my watch says I've burned or where my heart rate peaks, or whether or not I closed my rings. Just moving for the sake of moving, and making it fun, because activity is healthy. It doesn't matter what I look like, or whether I'm losing weight. Am I having fun? Is my movement joyful? If yes, then that's all that matters.

It was worth skimming through the things I've already heard for those two concepts. However, if you feel new to this idea and totally lost, she offers a 10-week workout plan at the end of the book as well that might be useful.

Overall, though, I skimmed more of this than I read. I found a lot of useful nuggets, but this wasn't groundbreaking work. It was *shrugs* fine.