[The Taboo Text]book Club: November Reads

I realize book reviews are a pretty specific niche in the lifestyle blogging world. I also see on my analytics that my readers pay less attention to book reviews.

Buuuuuttttt, I freaking love reading and I have to put these thoughts somewhere. 

Anyway, here's what I read during the month of November:

Girl Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Success, Sanity, and Happiness for the Female Entrepreneur by Cara Alwill Leyba

Cara is an entrepreneur, blogger, and total girl boss. I've been listening to some of her Podcasts recently and decided to pick up one of her books. On her Podcast, she shells out super helpful tips for Instagram strategy, audience growth, and general self care, which I really luuuurrrve. But, um.......the book was just okay. It had a bit too many positive mantras and inspirational quotes for me. However, one takeaway I appreciated was Cara's suggestion that there is room in the world for everyone to succeed, especially women, and we should focus on community over competition. C-

Lifestyle Blogging Basics: A How-To for Investing in Yourself, Working With Brands, and Cultivating a Community Around Your Blog by Laura Lynn

In a second attempt to try to read up on blogging and audience growth, I stuck my nose in Laura Lynn's recent book. It was super short, double-spaced, and aimed at someone who is thinking about starting a blog but doesn't know where to begin. (In other words: the audience was not me.) I've already covered most of the blogging bases she outlines in the book. However, I did jot down a few items to add to my to-do list, like getting a real logo designed, creating a media kit, adding a "Collaborate" page, and nailing down a "Why" statement. I'm slowly getting to these things, so bear with me. B-

Techbitch by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

This novel is by the same authors and BFFs as Fitness Junkie, which I read last month and LOVED. It's about a woman in her 40s who takes some time off from the fashion magazine she works at and comes back to an unrecognizable millennial-run office. Naturally, this makes her feel old and totally out of the loop. I like the concept of the book a lot, and the commentary about the creative millennial workforce was pretty relatable. But......I'll be honest: I didn't finish it. Although I appreciated the idea, I didn't really enjoy the execution of the writing. Sorry gals, I couldn't do it. Not finishing a book may be blasphemy to some people, and I used to kinda feel that way too. But these days, I'm just not about doing things I don't wanna do (especially recreationally). There's only so much time in the day, you know? C-

The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

Oooookkkkayyyy guys. Well, November's reading list started out a little rocky, but it really went out with a bang! I just finished reading The Thousandth Floor, a young adult novel that I fully expect to be the next Hunger Games. It's set in a (you guessed it) 1,000-floor tower in 2118 Manhattan. It's kinda like if Black Mirror did a Gossip Girl episode. Or vice versa. Either way, it's utterly delicious and would make an excellent show or movie franchise. Wanna know something funny? I ordered this book from Amazon a couple weeks ago because it has a black cover and I thought it would like nice in an Instagram post. Lucky for me, it ended up being one of my favorite books ever. It's set to be a trilogy and I already have the sequel queued up for my next read. A+

Speaking of Black Mirror, have ya'll seen the trailers for the new season? I. Can't. Wait. 

What books have you been reading lately? I'm down with all the genres, so any recommendation is welcome. 

Happy almost-December!