So, I didn't start 2018 out as great as I did 2017. I got through six books in January, compared to nine in January of 2017. The reality is, I honestly spent more time hanging out with the hubby - watching tv or whatever, and I'm totally okay with that. If I can keep up with six books each month, that would totally work. My goal for 2018 is 65 books and six a month will get me there. I'll continue to prioritize reading, while also making the most of other things I want to participate in.  

The great news is that I read some great books during the month. The second half of 2017 was pretty rough in reading - there were a lot of books I read that were just blah to me. But most of what I read the first month of 2018 was pretty high quality stuff.



*The Woo of Poo: Change Your Life in the Time You Take a Sh*t by Suzy Batiz ★★★☆☆
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: N/A
Brief synopsis: From the founder of before-you-go spray, Poo~Pourri comes this fun self-help book that's unlike any self-help book you've ever read before. Full of great advice, with a spritz of poo jokes, The Woo of Poo will have you giggling throughout. While the advice is sound, and the poo jokes had be laughing out loud, I have a hard time rating self-help books. So don't take the three stars as a bad thing - it's more of a neutral feeling.
See full review here.



The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker ★★★★★
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book by an author with the same first or last name as you. 
Brief synopsis: Sharon gets out of small-town Kentucky on a scholarship to study art in New York. There she meets Mel. From there, the story truly begins. Mel and Sharon get along together as partners creating animations, and after their first big feature film lands them a grant, events start to really turn their world around. Those events land them back south, where forces threaten to tear them apart.
See full review here.



The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn ★★★★☆
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book with alliteration in the title.
Brief synopsis: Dr. Anna Fox is agoraphobic. She's also a child psychologist. She and her husband are separated. While her husband and daughter are away, she stays in their townhouse in Harlem. Unable to leave the house, Anna spends her days helping other agoraphobes via an online chat room, playing online chess, oh, and spying on her neighbors. When she sees something terrible happen next door - will anyone believe her, or will it be attributed to the fact she hasn't left the house in almost a year, or maybe the pills she's mixing with alcohol.
See full review here.



Ready Player One by Ernest Cline ★★★★★
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A cyberpunk book.  
Brief synopsis: When the multi-billionaire creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves his fortune to the first person who can find the Easter Egg hidden within the OASIS system. Through a series of virtual reality video games based off 80s pop culture, millions compete to win James Halliday's fortune. So, how does a teenager (Wade Watts) come out on top? This is his story.
See full review here.



*The Vain Conversation by Anthony Grooms ★★★★☆
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book by a local author. 
Brief synopsis: Set in rural Georgia during and after WWII, this novel follows Lonnie (son of a war veteran), Bertrand (a war veteran and friend to Lonnie's father), and Jacks (farm owner and neighbor to Lonnie). When Lonnie accidentally sees a group of Black individuals (Bertrand included) get murdered, his entire world is turned upside down. This novel recounts the story leading up to the murders and the consequences twenty years later.
See full review here.



After You by Jojo Moyes ★★★★★
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book about death or grief. 
Brief synopsis: After losing the man she loves, Louisa Clark has to figure out the best way to live her life from here on out. Left with a bit of money, she buys an apartment, works at an airport bar, and has lost most communication with her family. But when an unexpected visitor appears at her front door, her life becomes a bit more chaotic. She then has to learn to choose between what's right for her, and what's right for those she loves.
See full review here.





















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