This post includes affiliate links which help support Autumn All Along. An * before the book title shows that I chose this book from a reviewing program to offer my honest opinion on the book.
I’ve done most of my reading this fall in the last month. This was partially due to my inability to sleep after they upped my thyroid meds again 😅. It is very easy to read a lot of books when you spend a week without an ability to sleep at night or take a nap during the day. In the past, I’ve scrolled through my phone mind mindlessly for hours and this time I decided to sign up for the free trial of Kindle Unlimited instead and read a ton. Hopefully my meds are sorted out soon, but if they aren’t, at least I have something better to do with my time 😉 .
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*Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back by Gretchen Carlson// 5 stars
It feels especially relevant that I’m writing about this right now. Matt Lauer was just fired from his job for the same kind of thing that Gretchen Carlson explains is rampant in the world place (especially in the media industry). Carlson does a great job researching, presenting facts, and presenting the human aspect between work harassment and how it impacts a woman’s career. I know from experience how degrading it can feel to be harassed at a job, but also how limited resources often really are to help with the situation without continuing to victimize the person. I feel Carlson creates an informative narrative for how to combat harassment, how to empower women without demonizing men, and how to teach children in your home how to respect each gender. I do wish that harassment in general was covered more, but the book is focused and that is why it is effective. I would recommend this book to anyone who might be experiencing workplace harassment to help them know they aren’t alone.
*Ensnared by Rita Stradling
I read this book as a review through NetGalley. I love fantasy, sci-fi, and re-told fairy tales and so I picked it up and quickly started reading. However, I had no idea this was an adult themed novel until there were two or three chapters OUT OF NOWHERE in the middle of the book that had some of the raunchiest material I have seen in a book. It felt really out of place for the rest of the book which had more of a young adult vibe and it ruined the last chapter of the book to me too. I honestly thought that I could just skip over that material and continue on to the plot, but the last chapter in the book was pretty smutty too and that ruined it for me. It felt really out of place and didn’t flow with the book; I don’t say this because I only enjoy reading family material, which I do, but I didn’t see the value in how it actually added to the story?? There was no warning that the content was so adult and I had to do some research after reading the book to find our it was 18+ recommended at the bottom of a GoodReads review. I am not the right demographic for this book and I cannot recommend it to other people. The plot was intriguing and very different with cyborgs and monkey robots, but no.
*Daily Kindness: 365 Days of Compassion by National Geographic // 4 stars
I chose to review this book because I really like 365 books where you can see something to help inspire you every day of the year and I think kindness is always a very pertinent topic. The quotes were thoughtfully chosen and the photos are absolutely stunning pictures of nature from all over the world; what else would you expect from National Geographic? I’ve reviewed several 365 books and this was the most hefty one- the book is at a good price point, but there aren’t any questions or an area for a work book to make you reflect more deeply on how it pertains to you. The book is organized by a monthly theme and each quote in the month pertains to that theme which I really liked. I would recommend this book to anyone child or adult alike and think it would be a great addition to your office or to your coffee table.
Cinder: The Lunar Chronicles #1 by Marissa Meyer // 5 stars
I haven’t read a good retold fairy tale in a long time and this one was so unique! Cinder is a cyborg with the absolute worse step-mother to grace a version of Cinderella. Cinder is pretty busy repairing robots and finding spare parts until the Prince comes and asks her to repair an android. Even though she looks forward to working with the Prince, Cinder’s step-sister and only human friend ends up becoming sick with the plague. Cinder’s stepmother volunteers her for research even though no one has survived. Will Cinder actually be able to fall in love with the Prince like I hope? Will her stepmother stop being awful? Will her sister live? Meyer was also really great at dropping breadcrumbs so I could guess what was happening. I should note that this is the first in the series so you aren’t going to finish being completely resolved. The next book has some waiting time at the library for good reason so it might be a little while.
How to Handle a Narcissist: Understanding and Dealing with a Range of Narcissistic Personalities by Theresa Jackson // 3 stars
I decided to read this book because I feel like narcissist is a book that is thrown around a lot now, but I don’t feel like I actually understood the disorder itself. Well, I read this book in a night and then I began to realize that: yes, I actually do know people who are narcissists (and honestly, you probably to too). This book explains what experiences you might see by interacting with a narcissist and then teaches you how to move forward after interacting with this person. I felt this book was really helpful in explaining the difference between having some traits or a disorder and having a disorder; this was something I encountered and had to explain a lot when I taught Special Education. I feel this book also does a great job at explaining why this person behaves the way they do and also in explaining the difference between a grandiose and vulnerable narcissist.
Unmasking Narcissism: A Guide to Understanding the Narcissist in Your Life by Mark Ettensohn // 5 stars
I felt the previous book on narcissism was lacking because it only covered very generals about the disorder, but I wanted to learn more about how to deal with narcissistic people (which is often really difficult since their behaviors aren’t predictable). This book was really a great second book to read after How to Handle Narcissist by Theresa Jackson because I felt like it was more of a continuation on the topic, expounded on previously read topics, but really gave me something to work with. What I loved most about this book is that it really just had wonderful strategies that I feel would be helpful just to deal with difficult people, period. The book does an excellent job discussing trigger topics and how to prepare yourself when they are pushed as well as exercises to help you ground yourself. I made over 20+ notes in my phone on this book along about things for me to remember. My favorite quote: “just as locking the front door protects the people inside, setting boundaries is all about protecting what is important to you.”
