Books I never thought I’d read
Thank you, Amanda, for giving me the opportunity to share my current favorite books with this community.
I can’t believe this is almost my birthday already, it feels like the last one was a month ago. For the first time in my life, the end of the summer doesn’t rhyme with going back to school or to a beautiful office on 5th Avenue, New York.
Almost two years ago, I officially graduated, and earlier this summer I quit my job to pursue a career as a full-time writer and consultant. I left New York, my friends, and my beloved apartment to come back to my parents’ house in the French countryside.
As a self-development enthusiast, books have always help me figure out what to do next. Here are the ones currently on my bookshelf:
Previous read
I recently finished The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and thought this book deserved its own blog post. In her book, Rubin writes about her experience running what she calls a “Happiness Project” over the course of a year. The concept is simple: she takes some areas of her life that she wants to improve, and each month she focuses on one of them. Her goal? Become even happier than she already is. Why You Should Start Your Own “Happiness Project”
Gretchen Rubin gives you the tools you needmedium.com
This is one of the few books that really inspired me to take action — hence I felt the urge to share it around me so fellow readers could benefit from it. What I appreciated the most was the pieces of evidence Rubin used to illustrate her point. Plenty of facts and numbers prove that this whole happiness thing is not just words.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to live a happier, more fulfilled life without having to turn it around completely.
Current book
As a huge Harry Potter fan, I couldn’t ignore that one. All the Young Dudes is a story written by MsKingBean89 on Archive of Our Own, a website dedicated to… fanfiction.
The books (there are 3 of them) are available for free online, but my sister printed them out with nice covers and I borrowed the first volume. Let me be clear: I almost never read fiction — let alone fanfiction — because I’m more of a self-development nerd, but I don’t regret picking up this one.
J. K. Rowling is widely known for being transphobic and probably not a supporter of LGB+ rights either, as none of the characters from Harry Potter was ever openly queer.
In All the Young Dudes, the author explores the past of Hogwarts, diving as far as the time where James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black studied in McGonagall’s class. Not only does the writer offers credible alternative backstories for these characters, but also adds some much-needed queerness to the Harry Potter story.
It will take you some time to get into the story, but the writing is good and it’s definitely worth it. Give it a try!
What I’m bringing to the beach
I’m so excited about Make It Happen, by Jordanna Levin. As I wrote earlier, I am a HUGE self-development fan and I read dozens of self-help books every year. It’s a passion, okay? I especially look forward to reading this one as the reviews were so positive.
Next in line is Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers. This is basically a love story — don’t judge me for reading romance, please — between a woman and the stranger she married in Vegas when she was drunk. This is a romance between women, and I always like to read good lesbian romances — there aren’t many out there. Stories about Black lesbians are even rarer. The last love story I read was Bridgerton, and honestly… no need to comment. *sighs and rolls eyeballs*
Any good book you’d like to recommend to me?
Thanks for reading this week’s What We’re Reading Wednesday post! Don’t forget to give the author a follow, and maybe follow Your Book Friend as well!
Want your words featured in a future What We’re Reading Wednesday? Check out our call for submissions and let Amanda know.
Your Book Friend 