Show Us Your Books – February Edition

Show Us Your Books – February Edition

Happy Tuesday! It’s been a few months since I’ve participated in the Show Us your Books link-up, so I’m glad that I finally finished a post on time! Can I get some kind of trophy for that?

 

Here’s what I’ve been reading recently:

 

As You Wish

Goodreads *Amazon

A while back I was discussing The Princess Bride with a friend and realized that I had never read the book. When I went to borrow it from my library (see below) there was a long wait list, but this was available, so I grabbed it! I listened to the audiobook, which is read by Cary Elwes, which definitely adds to the experience. It’s fun to hear his experiences making the movie, from learning how to fence to stories about how much Andre the Giant could eat. Check it out if you’re a fan of the movie!

 

 

The Princess Bride

Goodreads *Amazon

 

As always tends to happen when you finally read the book that a movie is based on, this gives a lot more depth to the story and characters that I never knew. Where the movie has the grandfather telling Fred Savage the story, the book is set up as the author abridging this old text that he found, so you still get the interludes. It’s a fun read if you haven’t already!

(It’s available to read for free if you have Kindle Unlimited! You can get a free month of Kindle Unlimited here.)

 

 

 

The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson

Goodreads * Amazon

I was super excited to find a new Bill Bryson book available on Netgalley for review! I love most of his travel books, but I didn’t make it very far through his last nonfiction. I’ve really enjoyed this one, though! It’s full of crazy facts about the body and medicine, and there’s a little bit of humor sprinkled in to keep it fun. It’s one of those books that makes you annoy your friends because you keep saying things like, “I’m reading this book about the body and I just learned that…” 

A couple of my favs:

*According to the USDA, about a quarter of all chicken sold in stores is contaminated with salmonella.

*”Giraffes, oddly, sometimes have gallbladders and sometimes don’t.”

*Loss of balance usually makes you nauseous because your brain doesn’t know what’s up and interprets it as you being poisoned. 

*Almost 3/4 of the prescriptions written in the US for antibiotics are written for conditions that can’t be cured with anitbiotics.

 

If you like reading nonfiction that gives you random trivia to spout off, this one is a lot of fun.

 

 

 

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottleib

Goodreads *Amazon

You’ve probably heard about this memoir by now. The author is a therapist who winds up seeking therapy after a breakup. The chapters alternate between her experience in therapy and her experiences with her patients. It’s one of those books where you laugh, cry, and have big “ah-ha!” moments. One that stuck with me is the idea that when we lose someone, whether through a breakup or death or whatever, we like to keep talking about them almost obsessively for an extended period because it’s a way of still feeling connected to them. 

People often mistake numbness for nothingness, but numbness isn’t the absence of feelings; it’s a response to being overwhelmed by too many feelings.

 

Side note – There’s an episode of the Armchair Expert podcast that interviews the author that’s worth checking out if you like the book.

 

Finish – Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff

Goodreads * Amazon

I am terrible at finishing things. As an example, I currently have 156 posts published on this blog, and 51 half-written posts sitting in the drafts folder. Some of those drafts have been sitting therefor YEARS. I’m great at starting, but definitely have issues around finishing things.     I listened to this as an audiobook (borrowed from my library) several months ago and really enjoyed it, but when I went to write about it here I couldn’t remember anything, so I got on the waiting list and finally got to listen again. Yay! However, even after listening again all I can tell you is that I found it to be good motivation – I can’t remember the other takeaways.

“The opposite of perfectionism isn’t failure, it’s finished.”

“You don’t just give time to something, you take it from something else.”

 

Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life by Amber Scorah

Goodreads * Amazon

I was browsing my library’s nonfiction e-books and found this. The description mentioned it being similar to Educated, which I loved, so I had to request it. The author grew up as a Jehova’s Witness and wound up moving to China with her husband to attempt to convert people. As you can imagine, living in a whole other culture opened her eyes to a lot of things she had been sheltered from. I can’t say that this was anywhere as good as Educated, but it is an interesting read.

 

Be sure to visit Life According to Steph and Jana Says to see what dozens of other bloggers have been reading and reviewing.