My Favorite Summer Reads of 2019 So Far

Happy July! How’s your summer reading going? Is the pile getting any shorter or is it just growing as you add more books to it?

I’ve been reading like a maniac. This tends to happen when I’m in drafting mode for a book. After I dump all those words onto the page every day, I need my brain refilled with other people’s stories. I read 11 books in June, which is a high count for me, and I’m happy to report that there were some great ones in the mix.

So, I thought it’d be a good time to recommend my favorite summer reads so far. Also, if you like hearing my book recommendations, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter, which is usually filled with my favorite book recs.

Most Fun to Read

Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

I read all kind of books in the summer, so I don’t stick to only “breezy” books for summer, but if there was ever a perfect poolside read, it was this one. So funny and sweet and sexy. I gobbled this one up on my beach vacation and was left with a big smile on my face.

About the book:

A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends...

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

Most Clever Read

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

I mentioned this one in my last post, but this is a modern Pride and Prejudice retelling. The way the author worked in so many elements of P&P in a completely different set up was so smart and fun. I loved catching all the little references back to the original but loved that I also got a completely fresh story.

About the book:

This version of the Bennet family and Mr. Darcy is one that you have and haven't met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray.

Youngest sisters Kitty and Lydia are too busy with their CrossFit workouts and Paleo diets to get jobs. Mary, the middle sister, is earning her third online master's degree and barely leaves her room, except for those mysterious Tuesday-night outings she won't discuss. And Mrs. Bennet has one thing on her mind: how to marry off her daughters, especially as Jane's fortieth birthday fast approaches.

Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new-in-town doctor who recently appeared on the juggernaut reality TV dating show Eligible. At a Fourth of July barbecue, Chip takes an immediate interest in Jane, but Chip's friend, neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy, reveals himself to Liz to be much less charming. . . . And yet, first impressions can be deceiving.

Best Audiobook for a Nostalgic Summer Road Trip

Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen by Brian Raftery

If you are of my generation or near it, this will be such a fun listen. I was 19 in 1999 and so going back in time and hearing about all the great movies that came out that year wasn’t just a fun nostalgic trip, it was also fascinating. There was so much interesting backstory on each of the movies featured, and it made me want to watch the ones I hadn’t seen and rewatch the ones I had. Be prepared to greatly expand your movie streaming watchlist. Also, I’m sure this reads well in print too, but the audio was fantastic.

About the book:

From a veteran culture writer and modern movie expert, a celebration and analysis of the movies of 1999—arguably the most groundbreaking year in American cinematic history.

In 1999, Hollywood as we know it exploded: Fight Club. The Matrix. Office Space. Election. The Blair Witch Project. The Sixth Sense. Being John Malkovich. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. American Beauty. The Virgin Suicides. Boys Don’t Cry. The Best Man. Three Kings. Magnolia. Those are just some of the landmark titles released in a dizzying movie year, one in which a group of daring filmmakers and performers pushed cinema to new limits—and took audiences along for the ride. Freed from the restraints of budget, technology (or even taste), they produced a slew of classics that took on every topic imaginable, from sex to violence to the end of the world. The result was a highly unruly, deeply influential set of films that would not only change filmmaking, but also give us our first glimpse of the coming twenty-first century. It was a watershed moment that also produced The Sopranos; Apple’s Airport; Wi-Fi; and Netflix’s unlimited DVD rentals.

Best. Movie. Year. Ever. is the story of not just how these movies were made, but how they re-made our own vision of the world. It features more than 130 new and exclusive interviews with such directors and actors as Reese Witherspoon, Edward Norton, Steven Soderbergh, Sofia Coppola, David Fincher, Nia Long, Matthew Broderick, Taye Diggs, M. Night Shyamalan, David O. Russell, James Van Der Beek, Kirsten Dunst, the Blair Witch kids, the Office Space dudes, the guy who played Jar-Jar Binks, and dozens more. It’s the definitive account of a culture-conquering movie year none of us saw coming…and that we may never see again.

Most Life-Affirming and Thought-Provoking

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb

As some of you know, I was a social worker/therapist before I left to be a full-time writer, so I’m already a psychology nerd. But this book was so much more than a look at psychology. Gottlieb is an experienced writer and storyteller, so what could’ve been dry was a rich and heartfelt page-turner. I got attached to the clients she featured and was invested in her own story as well. I have so many underlined passages in this one, and it made me think deeply about big life issues like mid-life crises and how to deal with fear of death and so much else. This one is sad at parts but ultimately uplifting and life-affirming. I want to put this book in everyone’s hands.

About the book:

From a New York Times best-selling author, psychotherapist, and national advice columnist, a hilarious, thought-provoking, and surprising new book that takes us behind the scenes of a therapist's world--where her patients are looking for answers (and so is she).

One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.

As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients' lives -- a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can't stop hooking up with the wrong guys -- she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.

With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is revolutionary in its candor, offering a deeply personal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly revealing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them.

Best Sure Thing

An Offer From a Gentleman and Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Julia Quinn is one of those authors I can go to when I need a sure thing, when I don’t want to risk starting a book that might let me down. Her books are always fun, romantic, and bingeable. I know when I pick one up that I won’t be able to put it down until I’m done. And after I read these two, I heard that The Bridgertons series is going to become a TV show via Netflix and Shonda Rimes. SO. EXCITED. I can’t wait to continue on with the series.

About the book:

Will she accept his offer before the clock strikes midnight?

Sophie Beckett never dreamed she'd be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball—or that "Prince Charming" would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.

Who was that extraordinary woman? Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other—except, perhaps this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid's garb whom he feels compelled to rescue from a most disagreeable situation. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. Yet, if he offers his heart, will Benedict sacrifice his only chance for a fairy tale love?

Best Advice That Most of Us Need to Hear

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski

I think the title says everything you need to know. Great advice on how to relieve stress and deal with burnout.

About the book:

This groundbreaking book explains why women experience burnout differently than men—and provides a simple, science-based plan to help women minimize stress, manage emotions, and live a more joyful life.

Burnout. Many women in America have experienced it. What’s expected of women and what it’s really like to be a woman in today’s world are two very different things—and women exhaust themselves trying to close the gap between them. How can you “love your body” when every magazine cover has ten diet tips for becoming “your best self”? How do you “lean in” at work when you’re already operating at 110 percent and aren’t recognized for it? How can you live happily and healthily in a sexist world that is constantly telling you you’re too fat, too needy, too noisy, and too selfish?

Sisters Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski, DMA, are here to help end the cycle of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Instead of asking us to ignore the very real obstacles and societal pressures that stand between women and well-being, they explain with compassion and optimism what we’re up against—and show us how to fight back. In these pages you’ll learn

• what you can do to complete the biological stress cycle—and return your body to a state of relaxation
• how to manage the “monitor” in your brain that regulates the emotion of frustration
• how the Bikini Industrial Complex makes it difficult for women to love their bodies—and how to defend yourself against it
• why rest, human connection, and befriending your inner critic are keys to recovering and preventing burnout

With the help of eye-opening science, prescriptive advice, and helpful worksheets and exercises, all women will find something transformative in these pages—and will be empowered to create positive change. Emily and Amelia aren’t here to preach the broad platitudes of expensive self-care or insist that we strive for the impossible goal of “having it all.” Instead, they tell us that we are enough, just as we are—and that wellness, true wellness, is within our reach.

---

WRITING WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT

Fellow writers, my How to Write Love Scenes That Readers Won’t Skip class is now open for enrollment! Spaces are limited, so grab a spot if you’re interested. Click the link or the pic for more details.

---

What’s been your favorite summer read so far this year?

Romance Author Confession: I Had Never Read Pride & Prejudice (Until Now)

In the romance world, there are a few novels that are referred to as seminal works in the genre, but none are talked about more than Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. There are endless retellings and riffs on the tale, there are “sequels” (from sweet to the erotic), and there are debates about which movie/tv version is best (the BBC miniseries with Colin Firth is the winner here usually.) Mr. Darcy has become a romance character archetype that pops up again and again.

I’ve been writing in the romance genre for over a decade now and have been a reader for longer than that. Plus, I love modern historical romances. Pride and Prejudice should’ve been part of my reader life. However, though it’s been on my shelf for a long time, up until two weeks ago, I’d never read it. I’d seen the BBC miniseries and loved it, so I knew the story. But I’d never actually read the book.

Why?

I think what it comes down to is that I was scared I would’t be able to get into a classic, that it would be slow or hard to follow or dull. See, I took honors English classes in high school and some additional literature courses in college, and I was scared off from classics because what I had to read a) I wasn’t ready for or B) was utterly bleak and depressing. I remember long nights of slogging through Of Human Bondage, Beowulf, Great Expectations and Canterbury Tales. It made me dread the classics. There were a few exceptions. I enjoyed Shakespeare and more modern classics like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, but overall, I was completely turned off from classic literature. So when I dropped my English major freshman year (I had double-major in English and Psychology), I vowed only to read what I wanted to read going forward, not what I was supposed to read. And so it’s gone for the years since college.

But a few weeks ago, I was scanning my bookshelves for my next book to read and came across a copy of Pride and Prejudice that I had picked up on a whim at a used bookstore years before. Recently, I had seen that a few modern P&P retellings were about to be released and they’d piqued my interest, so I decided I couldn’t read a retelling until I’d read the source material. So, finally, I pulled it off the shelf.

Well, 24 hours later…the 500-page book was done. I devoured it, y’all.

All of my fears about it being slow or hard to understand were unfounded. This book is an absolute page turner, the super short chapters making it nearly impossible to put down. And it was such a fun, romantic, engaging read. I laughed aloud and fell for the romance like so many others have. I’m mad at myself for waiting so long. I promptly went out and bought more of Jane Austen’s books and read a retelling (more on that below.)

So why am I telling you all this? Why am I admitting my romance writer shame? ;) Well, I suspect that I’m not the only one who was scared off from classics by well-meaning high school curriculums. If you’ve suffered a similar readerly “trauma”, then maybe consider giving a book like Pride and Prejudice a chance. I promise it won’t feel like a homework assignment.

And then once you read the original, there’s an endless supply of retellings and re-imaginings out there. As soon as I finished P&P, I went back to my shelves where Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld had been sitting for literal years. I’d ordered it as an add-on through my Book of the Month club membership and then had forgotten about it. I raced through this modern take on P&P as well. It was fun to read them back to back because I could catch all the references to the original since it was so fresh in my mind.

Next up, I have Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin, which was one of the new release retellings that helped me decide to read the original first. I haven’t read this one yet, but I’m looking forward to it!

So, talk to me, how do you feel about the classics? Anyone else traumatized by high school reading assignments? And for those of you who read classics, what other ones should I seek out? Have you read Pride and Prejudice? Do you have a favorite retelling or re-imagining?

How to Read More Books This Summer: 15 Tips and Tricks

This weekend I came across a short documentary by Max Joseph (of Catfish fame) called Bookstores: How to Read More Books in the Golden Age of Content. First of all, it’s worth watching for the bookstores alone—so many beautiful bookstores are featured. *heart eyes* However, Max is trying to figure out how he can learn to read more because currently, he’s reading about one book a year. He goes on a quest to get advice, including tips on speed reading. But what I was struck by was that the book he wants to tackle first is Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. That book is a giant 1000+ page tome of literary fiction. And all I could think was, dude, you’re never going to become a regular reader that way.

If you haven’t developed a reading habit and aren’t a regular reader, jumping in to something so big and literary is just going to frustrate you. I think a lot of people go into the “I want to read more” project with this homework mentality or like you’re trying to fit more greens into your mental diet. Like reading is not worth doing unless you’re going to read something super difficult and “high-brow.” But for people who read all the time, reading is FUN. It’s not homework. We’re not doing it because it’s “good for us.” It’s what we do to get away from our work and enjoy ourselves. That doesn’t mean we can’t read literary books or difficult books or sad books. But just like with getting kids to read, if you want to read as an adult, you have to find things that HOOK you and won’t let go. Books that entertain you and make you want to turn the page and stay up too late.

Once kids develop a reading habit with books that are entertaining and fast-moving, then they eventually can develop the muscle to tackle harder books or classics later on. But if you just throw slow-moving literary classics at them first, then they think reading is a slog because they don’t have those reading muscles built up yet. The same goes for adults.

So if you’re looking to read more, stop dismissing genre fiction like suspense, mysteries, horror, fantasy, romance, and young adult books. You don’t have to seek out “important” books. I think all books can be important. If a book makes you think about what it means to be human, or stirs up emotions, or makes you think about love or fear or family, if a book can make you laugh or cry or feel that rush of satisfaction that comes with a happy ending, all those are valuable experiences. And if a book simply sweeps you away from your daily stress for a few hours, that can sometimes be more important than anything because it’s an act of self-care. So stop putting pressure on yourself to read the “right” kind of books and just read whatever sparks your interest and makes you turn the pages.

But if you’re not hung up on the type of books you read and are still having trouble finding ways to fit reading into your life or you want to up your reading game this summer, I’ve gathered fifteen tips to help you out.

15 Ways to Read More Books This Summer

1. Quit books you don’t like.

   Seriously, life is too short to read bad books and summer vacation is DEFINITELY too short to read bad books. If a book hasn’t captured you in the first couple of chapters, you have permission to move on. Otherwise, your reading will come to a halt because you’re not finishing the book and don’t want to move on until you do, creating a vicious cycle that will make you dread reading.

2. Keep a list of what you want to read.

   You can do this on paper or on an app like Goodreads or on an Amazon wish list, but it helps when you have a list to go to when you finish a book and know where you want to go next. This also provides a place to capture books from random recommendations from friends, websites, or podcasts.

3. Put your ebook app in the spot on your phone where you favorite social media app usually resides.

   We think we don’t have time to read, but that’s often because we squander our reading time by mindlessly scrolling through our phones. I’ve taken the social media apps off my phone (except for instagram which I put on the last page) and I have my kindle app on my main screen. That way, when I’m stuck in the grocery line or in a waiting room, I can read instead.

4. Always have a book with you.

   This is sort of related to #3 because if you have an ebook app, you always have access to books. However, our phones can be such a black hole of distraction, that I’ve come to prefer paper books over the last few years because I can’t click out of those. So, I’ve made a point to buy a big enough purse to fit a book. I also bought a Book Beau sleeve to keep in my purse so that my book is protected. It’s become a habit to slip a book in there before I go out because I never know when I’m going to get stuck waiting somewhere. Easy access makes all the difference. And if you’re going on a summer vacation, pack a few books because you may not like one or you may like one so much you finish it super quickly. Have a back up. (My husband teases me because I’ll bring like 3 books plus my Kindle on a 3-day weekend trip and he’s like, “I know you read fast but…” I like to be prepared for all scenarios.)

5. Audiobooks count as reading and are awesome for commutes, chores, and summer road trips.

   I’m relatively knew to the audiobook world, and I will say that I’m still not big on fiction audiobooks. However, I ADORE non-fiction audiobooks. I always have one going so that I can listen to a book in the car while I’m driving. I also listen a lot when I’m washing dishes or cooking dinner. It’s like listening to a really long, in depth podcast. And don’t let anyone tell you audiobooks don’t count as reading.

6. Book review blogs and bookish podcasts can keep your list growing and your excitement about books stoked.

   There are a ton of book bloggers, book review sites, and bookish podcasts out there to keep you busy. Find the ones you like and you will have a steady influx of “ooh, I want to read that” which keeps you excited about reading. These are great to listen to on road trips too.

7. Turn off phone notifications

   I know I’m always preaching about how to tame digital distractions. But if you’re trying to read and Facebook and Twitter notifications keep dinging, you’re never going to sink into the story. Don’t let your phone dictate your attention.

8. Do a summer reading challenge (or a yearly challenge)

   Some of us love to check off a box on a To Do list. I am wholeheartedly one of those people. So reading challenges work for me. That’s why I create my own each year (this year it’s the Read Wide challenge.) But if you don’t want to create your own, just google reading challenges and you’ll find all kinds of fun ones you can join. Modern Mrs. Darcy does a great summer reading challenge/guide each year as well.

9. Review books yourself

   You can do this publicly on sites like Goodreads or you can keep a private reading journal like I do, but I find that recording my reading makes me more likely to read. I enjoy writing down that I completed a book and then scribbling down my opinion about it. It can enrich the experience. Plus you can jot down fun memories like “read this on the beach in Florida.” (I have a free romance reading journal download if you don’t want to make your own.)

10. Read whatever the hell you want and not what you feel you “should”

    I already talked at length about this above, but I’m including it here for those of you who skip the blog content and go straight to the lists. I see you, skimmers. ;) Read what you want without shame. Read what you enjoy, what sweeps you away, what makes you turn the pages.

11. Start your day with reading

    Instead of scrolling through your phone first thing, keep a book on your bedside table and read for fifteen minutes after waking up. It’s a much calmer way to start the day—whether at home or on vacation.

12. Develop a daily time/habit for reading.

    We don’t do what we don’t make space for. Look for the pockets of time where you can read. Do you get a few minutes to yourself after dinner? Or after the kids go to bed? Is the morning your only quiet time? Maybe during your lunch break at work or on your commute? Find a slice of time that you protect for reading and then work on creating a habit of using that time just for that.

13. Create a distraction-free reading nook.

    This may mean you simply leave your phone in another room and keep the TV off. But if you can find some little space where you aren’t going to be fighting distractions while you read, it can make the reading time feel extra special and renewing. And if you’re going on a summer vacation, create a reading nook wherever you’re going—on the beach lounge chair, by the pool, on the hotel balcony.

14. Figure out your reader preferences

    If you’re new to this or just getting back to reading after a long break, you may not know what you like yet (or anymore.) Be willing to explore and see what catches your attention (including the middle grade and young adult sections if the spirit moves you.) Go wander the library and pull books off the shelves to see what catches your eye. If you’re on vacation, wander a local bookshop. There will be trial and error involved but that process can be fun. Make no apologies for liking what you like or disliking what some other people may love.

15. Branch out if you’ve gotten in a rut.

    Sometimes we may be avid readers but we get in a rut. For me, this usually means I need to shake up what I’m reading. That’s one reason why I love the Read Wide Challenge. It forces me not to stay too long in one lane. So don’t be afraid to pick up something out of your normal reading zone and change it up. You may discover a whole new area you like. Or maybe you read heavier books during the year and want something lighter for summer (or vice versa.)

And remember to have fun! Reading can be a great joy in our lives. I know it is in mine. But if we turn it into homework or a self-improvement exercise, we’re just going to run away and scroll through Instagram or binge watch Netflix instead. Find what you love to read. Don’t apologize for it. And give yourself the gift of getting lost in a story.

Happy summer reading!

Roni Recommends - Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day

I know it’s going to come as no surprise that I love reading productivity books, but because I read so many, it’s often hard to find one that stands out. A lot of them are just more of the same. This is actually why I didn’t buy the book I’m recommending today when it first came out. The summary looked a lot like other books I’d read and so I passed it by. However, when I saw it recommended somewhere else, I decided to give it another look. I’m so glad I did.

Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky was a delight to read. First off, it’s just a really nice physical book. Book nerds (like me) will appreciate how thick the paper is, and the layout and design of the pages makes it super easy to read. There are also a lot of fun little illustrations. It almost feels like reading a really great blog on paper. So, though I have nothing against ebooks, you might want to spring for the hardcover on this one.

As for the content inside, the book focuses on how to make time using a simple paradigm which involves choosing a highlight for the day, learning how to laser focus on it, reflecting on how it went, and also making sure you have enough daily energy to get things done. Sounds simple enough, but what I enjoyed about the format of the book was that the authors take each of the four areas in the paradigm and give you a bunch of different tactics to choose from to help implement it.

For instance, in the Laser section, there are over 40 separate tactics they describe that can help you focus better. Things like how to make your phone screen distraction free. (I’m trying a version of this, see pic) or how to wrangle TV time or finding a soundtrack for “flow.” It’s a choose-your-own-adventure style. They’re not saying “do all these things.” They’re saying, here are a bunch of ways you might try. Experiment with combinations and see what works for you.

I found the Highlight, Laser, and Reflection sections really helpful and thought-provoking. I wasn’t as into the Energy section just because I’d rather read advice on eating, exercise, etc. from experts in those particular fields. (Though I did enjoy the tactics about caffeine.)

Overall, this was a quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed and will keep on my shelf. I love that you can just flip to a tactic for a refresh. It really is like having a helpful blog bound into a book. So if you’re looking for a productivity book that is fast-paced, fun, and helpful, you might want to give this one a try.

Here is the official description:

From the New York Times bestselling authors of Sprint, a simple 4-step system for improving focus, finding greater joy in your work, and getting more out of every day.

Nobody ever looked at an empty calendar and said, "The best way to spend this time is by cramming it full of meetings!" or got to work in the morning and thought, Today I'll spend hours on Facebook! Yet that's exactly what we do. Why?

In a world where information refreshes endlessly and the workday feels like a race to react to other people's priorities faster, frazzled and distracted has become our default position. But what if the exhaustion of constant busyness wasn't mandatory? What if you could step off the hamster wheel and start taking control of your time and attention? That's what this book is about.

As creators of Google Ventures' renowned "design sprint," Jake and John have helped hundreds of teams solve important problems by changing how they work. Building on the success of these sprints and their experience designing ubiquitous tech products from Gmail to YouTube, they spent years experimenting with their own habits and routines, looking for ways to help people optimize their energy, focus, and time. Now they've packaged the most effective tactics into a four-step daily framework that anyone can use to systematically design their days. Make Time is not a one-size-fits-all formula. Instead, it offers a customizable menu of bite-size tips and strategies that can be tailored to individual habits and lifestyles.

Make Time isn't about productivity, or checking off more to-dos. Nor does it propose unrealistic solutions like throwing out your smartphone or swearing off social media. Making time isn't about radically overhauling your lifestyle; it's about making small shifts in your environment to liberate yourself from constant busyness and distraction.

A must-read for anyone who has ever thought, If only there were more hours in the day..., Make Time will help you stop passively reacting to the demands of the modern world and start intentionally making time for the things that matter.

Buy the book

Roni Recommends: No Exit by Taylor Adams

I haven’t been doing a lot of book recommendations lately because it’s RiTA award judging season. That means I have seven books to read and judge in the span of about six weeks, and I’m not allowed to share what they are. So, I’ve been reading, but I haven’t been able to talk about what I’m reading, which is hard! : )

However, I took a break from RITA books this week and picked up one of my recent Book of the Month Club books. I chose No Exit by Taylor Adams because it’s winter, and a thriller set in a snowed in rest stop seemed to be the perfect pick.

This book is billed as a thriller because I think “horror” is not as marketable a word for books these days unless you’re Stephen King. However, I feel like this book is solidly horror. There is no supernatural evil, but if this were made into a movie, it would be a horror movie. It has a lot of the tropes I love in horror. The tough, resourceful, pissed off heroine. The relentless villain. The over the top clashing of the two. The claustrophobic, trapped feeling.

So, before I get to far along in this review, here’s the official description:

A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?

On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers. 

Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate. 

Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?

There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one? 

Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape. 

But who can she trust? 

With exquisitely controlled pacing, Taylor Adams diabolically ratchets up the tension with every page. Full of terrifying twists and hairpin turns, No Exit will have you on the edge of your seat and leave you breathless.

There are twists and misdirection in this story, some I saw coming, some I didn’t. But if you’re expecting a super-layered, multiple subplot type thriller, this is not it. It’s not supposed to be. The entire book takes place over the course of about ten hours, and it has a relentless pace. That’s why I think the horror movie analogy is more apt.

I looked at some of the negative reviews on Amazon, and the people who didn’t like it seemed to be people who were looking for a more traditional thriller. Lucky for me, I tend to prefer horror to thriller. The best way I can describe this book is take the claustrophobic, trapped feeling of The Shining (minus the supernatural) and mix it with a villain who just won’t stop like Michael Myers in the Halloween movies, and this is what you get. It requires some suspension of disbelief because it’s over the top. I also laughed a few times because there were moments of dark humor, which I love in this kind of story. And if you’re easily grossed out, maybe pass on this one because it has some brutal parts. But, if you’re a horror movie fan, give this one a try!

Buy the book: Amazon | B&N | Apple | Kobo