The 2019 year of reading is off to a great start! This year, my goal is to read 52 books, and in January, I completed 6 books. Of these books, I would recommend 4 of the 6. This is a much higher than average number, so I'm pretty happy with my choices.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

My first experience with Maureen Johnson was 13 Little Blue Envelopes, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This new book was equally entertaining with an entirely different vibe. The plot for Truly Devious involves a private school for the brightest thinkers, riddles, and a murder mystery cold case. I really enjoyed the storyline and the fact that I couldn't guess the ending. I tend to watch a lot of crime shows, and it's gotten to the point where I can usually see exactly where a story is going. Not true in this case. Also, for the past couple of years, I really haven't enjoyed books where the main characters are younger than 18. This was an exception. I'd highly recommend it. This is book 1 of a trilogy. The second book was released in January and I look forward to reading it in February.

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

This book tells the story of a sexual assault mostly from the perspective of the accused boy's mother and the victim's father, with a splash of the victim's point of view too. It was honestly not a story that I expected to enjoy. I think it provided an incredibly unique perspective of this kind of event. I especially enjoyed the dynamics between the relationships of the characters. I would highly recommend this story.

This is Marketing by Seth Godin

I think that I stay away from anything involved with marketing because I just associate the term with salesy and slimey tactics. This book wasn't like that at all. It was about how to build trust in your market. One thing I will mention, is that I don't think that this book should only be read in a couple of sittings. It is so packed with information that I don't feel like I got all I could out of it. I'm planning on buying it and reading it again at a slower pace. If you're like me and have been avoiding anything involving marketing, I think this is a good book to dip your toe in.

The Million-dollar, One-person Business by Elaine Pofeldt

This is one of the two books that I read this month that I wouldn't recommend. It felt more like a fluff piece that didn't introduce any new ideas or actionable items. I enjoyed reading about some of the stories of the one-person businesses they featured, but other than that, most of this book just felt like it was repeating the same information over and over.

It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

I checked out this book from the library, and within the first couple of chapters, I ordered it off Amazon. Written by the founders of Basecamp, this book is filled with great tips and information on how to lead a healthy environment at work. I'd suggest it to any manager. Unlike the book above it, I felt like I was reading new information in every chapter. I will be reading it again while highlighting and taking notes now that I own it. I'm looking forward to applying the things I learned from this book to my position. Look out for an article on the specific tips I used and how it turned out in the future.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

This is the second of the books that I wouldn't recommend. I'm not sure why I finished it. None of the characters were likable and the storyline felt pointless. It was just a constant stream of which drugs the main character was popping to sleep, the stories she was giving to get the drugs, and her complaining about how much she disliked everyone else. There was zero character growth. By the end, I was just frustrated that I wasted so much time reading it.

So that's it! I hope you check out the books that I described that spiked your interest. Let me know in the comments whether you read any books this month that you recommend.