books Archives - Hannah With A Camera

what I’m reading: february/march 2019

March 28, 2019 No Comments

I used to read all my books digitally, but I’m on my computer so much lately that I can’t stand looking at my phone for much longer. I love having a physical copy of my book in my nightstand and at home so whenever I have downtime, I turn to reading instead of scrolling mindlessly through social media. Below are my favorite books I read through February and March!

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott – 2.5 stars

I’ve taken to describe this as “Fault in Our Stars but with cystic fibrosis” to my friends. The story is good, but the writing is very simplistic. I will say that the movie was one of the truest adaptations from a book that I’ve ever seen. I read the book a week before seeing the movie and several of the scenes were literally word-for-word what the book said. I almost NEVER say this, but I would recommend seeing the movie instead!

Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.

What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?

The Myth of The Nice Girl by Fran Hauser – 5 stars

So, so good – practically the career girl’s bible. I have recommended this book to just about everyone I know lately and I need to keep recommending it over and over! I cannot say enough good things about it. This book has amazing advice in it and I have been referencing it a ton, especially in my job search.

A candid guide for ambitious women who want to succeed without losing themselves in the process

In The Myth of The Nice Girl, Fran Hauser deconstructs the negative perception of “niceness” that many women struggle within the business world. If women are nice, they are seen as weak and ineffective, but if they are tough, they are labeled a bitch.

Hauser proves that women don’t have to sacrifice their values or hide their authentic personalities to be successful. Sharing a wealth of personal anecdotes and time-tested strategies, she shows women how to reclaim “nice” and sidestep regressive stereotypes about what a strong leader looks like. Her accessible advice and hard-won wisdom detail how to balance being empathetic with being decisive, how to rise above the double standards that can box you in, how to cultivate authentic confidence that projects throughout a room, and much more.

THE MYTH OF THE NICE GIRL is a refreshing dose of forward-looking feminism that will resonate with smart, professional women who know what they want and are looking for real advice to take their career to the next level without losing themselves in the process.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler- 4.5 stars

I love Amy Poehler so much. I ‘read’ this through audiobook while running. She’s so funny and since Amy read her own book, it felt like I was just hanging out with her on my runs! I even found myself laughing and smiling while running and that doesn’t happen often, haha. Would recommend for an easy read.

In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.

The Incomplete Book of Running by Peter Sagal – 4 stars

I love reading about people’s personal experiences with running and this is no different. I would say if you aren’t a runner, this might not be super interesting, but I liked it. Peter talks all about his relationship with running, including being a guide runner for a blind man during the Boston marathon bombing.

Peter Sagal, the host of NPR’s beloved show Wait Wait..Don’t Tell Me and a popular columnist for Runner’s World, shares his insightful and entertaining look at life and running that explores the transformative power of the sport.

Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza – 3.5 stars

This book was interesting at the start but dragged near the end. I enjoyed the premise but I honestly found myself disappointed by Charlotte’s actions at some points. However, I liked reading a book about a powerful woman and her path to success.

Charlotte Walsh is running for Senate in the most important race in the country during a midterm election that will decide the balance of power in Congress. Still reeling from a presidential election that shocked and divided the country and inspired by the chance to make a difference, she’s left behind her high-powered job in Silicon Valley and returned, with her husband Max and their three young daughters, to her downtrodden Pennsylvania hometown to run in the Rust Belt state.

A searing, suspenseful story of political ambition, marriage, class, sexual politics, and infidelity, Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win is an insightful portrait of what it takes for a woman to run for national office in America today. In a dramatic political moment like no other with more women running for office than ever before, Jo Piazza’s novel is timely, engrossing, and perfect for readers on both sides of the aisle.

What are your favorite books?

xo, Hannah

books

what I’m reading: january 2019

January 28, 2019 No Comments

I’m back (at school!) Coming off of winter break and back to starting school has me in that transition period of finding my routine again. Instead of having a normal syllabus week, we started with no school Monday for Martin Luther King Day and then a snow day on Wednesday, so this week is really my true first week of school. I meal prepped breakfast burritos and vegetables this afternoon, so I’m set for the rest of the week.

I always pick up a lot of books to read over the winter break and then end up reading more once I go back to school. The Libby app is my favorite – it connects to your library card and you can read books on the app. It’s super user-friendly and I like the interface. I love physical books from the library to read at night, but since I’m normally on the go, I tend to borrow most of my books in the digital format. I also have a really bad habit of not remembering to return my books on time, so digital is great because it does the work for you!

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi – 2 stars

This had really good writing, but I couldn’t get into the plot itself. I thought that it was okay until the two main characters started texting and the texts were written into the book. I understand that’s part of the whole premise, but it was really hard to follow which character was texting because the fonts/colors didn’t change at all. I couldn’t finish it before I had to return it to the library (and didn’t really mind not finishing it!).

For Penny Lee high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she somehow managed to land a boyfriend, he doesn’t actually know anything about her. When Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.

Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.

When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory – 3 stars

This was super cute and a very easy and quick read. I liked it for a while but didn’t love the ending or how the characters acted toward their relationship in the end. However, it was easy enough for me to get through in a couple days. P.S. This isn’t the same story as the 2004 movie!

Photo by @thelittlebookshelf on Instagram

Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn’t normally do. But there’s something about Drew Nichols that’s too hard to resist.

On the eve of his ex’s wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend…

After Alexa and Drew have more fun than they ever thought possible, Drew has to fly back to Los Angeles and his job as a pediatric surgeon, and Alexa heads home to Berkeley, where she’s the mayor’s chief of staff. Too bad they can’t stop thinking about the other…

They’re just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century–or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want…

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory – 3 stars

Had to read the sequel…until I realized it wasn’t the sequel. My fault for not checking the summary in advance. Still, it was another cute, easy read. I liked The Wedding Date better! I don’t think I’ll read her third book, unless I need a beach read type of story.

When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn’t the hard part–they’ve only been dating for five months, and he can’t even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans…

At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik’s rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. He’s even there for her when the video goes viral and Nik’s social media blows up–in a bad way. Nik knows that in the wilds of LA, a handsome doctor like Carlos can’t be looking for anything serious, so she embarks on an epic rebound with him, filled with food, fun, and more. But when their glorified hookups start breaking the rules, one of them has to be smart enough to put on the brakes…

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks – 1.5 stars

Not a fan. It was just okay? Maybe I’d appreciate the movie more, but I thought I might like the story. It kind of fell flat for me. I can’t really discuss the main issue I had with the ending without spoiling it, so message me if you want to know my real qualms with it!

Photo by @abibliophilesbooks on Instagram

Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life – boating, swimming , and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies — he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, THE CHOICE ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks – 1 star

Not sure why I wasted my time on another Nicholas Sparks book after reading The Choice! This was so boring and another cookie cutter Nicholas Sparks plotline, not to mention it was all over the place. The ‘villian’ character was way too predictable and was so static. Some of his movies are great (I’m obsessed with The Longest Ride) but most of them fall short for me. I did just find out that Zac Efron stars in this one though…so I’ll probably end up watching it anyway.

When U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying the photo in his pocket. Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck—winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph—his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can’t seem to get the photo—and the woman in it—out of his mind. Believing that she somehow holds the key to his destiny, he sets out on a journey across the country to find her, never expecting the strong but vulnerable woman he encounters in Hampton, North Carolina—Elizabeth, a divorced mother with a young son—to be the girl he’s been waiting his whole life to meet. Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate and all-consuming love affair, the secret he is keeping will soon threaten to tear them apart—destroying not only their love, but also their lives.

Books I’m eyeing:

Normally I’m not big on reading romance books, so I was surprised to look back at my books this month. Below are some books that are definitely on my list to read next. I also have all my book picks to read on my Goodreads. I don’t rate books on there, but I like keeping track of the books that I’ve read and it’s an easy way to have a running list of books that interest me.

Sadie by Courtney Summers

I was initially super drawn in by the cover – I’m a sucker for good design. But this plot seems really interesting. I’ve listened to a few true-crime podcasts (Dr. Death, Dirty John) and really enjoyed them, so I’m curious to see how the podcast will play out in literary form.

A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serial―like podcast following the clues she’s left behind. And an ending you won’t be able to stop talking about.

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

I never got to read this at the height of its popularity because it was always taken at the library, but I want to read this before the movie comes out with Cate Blanchett! The movie comes out March 22nd and I hope it lives up to the hype of the book.

Bernadette Fox has vanished.

When her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces–which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. Where’d You Go Bernadette is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are and the power of a daughter’s love for her mother.

What books have you been reading lately? I’d love to know!

xo, Hannah

books

what I’m reading: december 2017 & january 2018

January 23, 2018 2 Comments

When I was home for winter break (seems so long ago but it was literally last week…), I did one thing that I don’t get to do often at school: read! I knocked out five books over the break and two of them I read all in one day. Check out what I recommend below!

Hannah's Book Club: December and January

Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway – ★★★★

photo by @overlookingcovers on instagram

I loved this book and read it all in a day! It’s definitely an easy read, but it was just a fun, feel-good book. I thought it would be more ‘deep’ from the book description, but it was pretty simple. However, it was still a fun story.

From Goodreads:
Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena – ★★★

This book was not my favorite, but the plot was interesting. It was very slow in the middle as they were trying to solve the mystery. I thought I guessed ‘whodunit’ but the ending totally shocked me! The author certainly led you to believe it was someone else throughout the whole book until just the last few pages.

From Goodreads:
Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind.

There’s a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.

The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good.

Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on with her life. Then she realizes something’s been moved. Something’s not quite right. Someone’s been in her house. And the police won’t stop asking questions.

Because in this house, everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet.

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware – ★★★★

photo by @reesesbookclubxhellosunshine on instagram

Loved this one! It’s an intense mystery that didn’t feel slow to me at all (which is my biggest problem with mystery novels). I found this from Reese Witherspoon’s book club and anything Reese recommends is typically five stars in my book. This didn’t disappoint. The author, Ruth Ware, has been called “the Agatha Christie of our time” which is high praise! I liked this the most because there were several different subplots running throughout the main plot that kept you guessing. There was just about everything in this–romance, mystery, nostalgia–and that kept my attention. (The Woman in Cabin 10, her other popular book, is next on my list!)

From Goodreads:
On a cool June morning, a woman is walking her dog in the idyllic coastal village of Salten along a tidal estuary known as the Reach. Before she can stop him, the dog charges into the water to retrieve what first appears to be a wayward stick, but to her horror, turns out to be something much more sinister…

The next morning, three women in and around London—Fatima, Thea, and Isabel—receive the text they had always hoped would NEVER come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate, that says only, “I need you.”

The four girls were best friends at Salten, a second-rate boarding school set near the cliffs of the English Channel. Each different in their own way, the four became inseparable and were notorious for playing the Lying Game, telling lies at every turn to both fellow boarders and faculty, with varying states of serious and flippant nature that were disturbing enough to ensure that everyone steered clear of them. The myriad and complicated rules of the game are strict: no lying to each other—ever. Bail on the lie when it becomes clear it is about to be found out. But their little game had consequences, and the girls were all expelled in their final year of school under mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the school’s eccentric art teacher, Ambrose (who also happens to be Kate’s father).

Hanna Who Fell from the Sky by Christopher Meade – ★

I read this book in a day, but I actually hated it! I thought this was meant to be a dystopian novel sort of like Handmaid’s Tale, but it actually had a weird supernatural element that didn’t make any sense to me. The beginning half of the book was intriguing and I was liking the idea of the plot, but once the supernatural element was introduced, it totally ruined the book for me. I can’t really say much more without ruining the story, but I don’t recommend this.

From Goodreads:
Hanna has never been outside her secluded community of Clearhaven. She has never questioned why her father has four wives or why she has fourteen brothers and sisters. And in only one week, on her eighteenth birthday, Hanna will follow tradition and become the fifth wife of a man more than twice her age.

But just days before the wedding, Hanna meets Daniel, an enigmatic stranger who challenges her to question her fate and to follow her own will. Then her mother tells her a secret–one that could grant Hanna the freedom she’s known only in her dreams. As her world unravels around her, Hanna must decide whether she was really meant for something greater than the claustrophobic world of Clearhaven. But can she abandon her beloved younger sister and the only home she’s ever known? Or is there another option–one too fantastical to believe?

The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines – ★★★★★

photo by @hannahwacamera (me!) on instagram

I loved this! I am way late to the game in reading this book but loved it nevertheless. It tells the story of Chip and Joanna Gaines and how they’ve built up a whole business around their design skills and thinking. I’ve had the opportunity to go visit Magnolia Silos in Waco, Texas and liked it a lot, but didn’t understand the full extent of what the Gaines have put into their business. This gave me a new appreciation for the two of them and I want to watch this last season before their show goes off-air. I also want to read Chip’s book, Capital Gaines, to learn about his entrepreneurial thinking.

From Goodreads:
The Magnolia Story is the first book from Chip and Joanna, offering their fans a detailed look at their life together. From the very first renovation project they ever tackled together, to the project that nearly cost them everything; from the childhood memories that shaped them, to the twists and turns that led them to the life they share on the farm today.

Currently reading: Galloway’s Book on Running by Jeff Galloway…stay tuned for that riveting review 😉

xo, Hannah

books

Summer Reading List

June 8, 2016 2 Comments

I’ve been a reader ever since I can remember, and recently I’ve gotten more back into the habit of picking up a good book to spend time instead of going straight to social media. I also updated my Goodreads profile lately–if you’re on it, send me a request so I can see what you’re reading! For these recommendations, I picked mainly romantic beach reads. I’m definitely into the dramatic thrillers and the historical novels though too, so let me know if you’d like to see a list with those kinds of books.

summer reading list | Hannah With a Camera

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

First Love: When Axi spontaneously invites Robinson to come with her on an impulsive cross-country road trip, she breaks the rules for the first time in her life. But the adventure quickly turns from carefree to out of control after the teens find themselves on the run from the police. And when Robinson suddenly collapses, Axi has to face the truth that this trip might be his last.

Just One Day: Allyson Healey’s life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.

Me Before You: Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick. What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane. Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that. What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

Tales From the Back Row: In Tales from the Back Row, Cosmopolitan.com editor Amy Odell takes readers behind the stage of New York’s hottest fashion shows to meet the world’s most influential models, designers, celebrities, editors, and photographers.

First Comes Love: Growing up, Josie and Meredith Garland shared a loving, if sometimes contentious relationship. Josie was impulsive, spirited, and outgoing; Meredith hardworking, thoughtful, and reserved. When tragedy strikes their family, their different responses to the event splinter their delicate bond.

I’d love to know if you’ve read any of these!

xo, Hannah