Books I Read In February

I’ll be honest – February kind of kicked my reading ass, so the Books I Read In February list is going to be…not quite as fun as I had hoped. I only read two and a half books this month, but I have a full breakdown for anyone who might be interested in following along!

If you’re new, start here: Books I Read In January

The Couple Next Door by: Shari Lapena – 5 out of 5 stars

If you like Gone Girl style novels, this one is for you! The Couple Next Door begins with Anne and Marco Conti at a dinner party where they take turns going back and forth home to check on their baby, Cora. Why did they leave Cora at home alone while they went to a dinner party? You’ll find out in this page turner as Cora being home alone turns into Cora being missing. I read the book in two days and it’s definitely my must read of the month!

Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert – 2.5 out of 5 stars

This book was recommended to me by a friend who actually loaned me her copy. I was high off the goodness of The Couple Next Door, so I hungrily dove right in. I was quickly reminded why I didn’t enjoy Eat, Pray, Love. This book was a follow-up to sort of…what happens after she finds love in Bali in that book. I was eager to see her thoughts on marriage after divorce and her perspective. Elizabeth Gilbert’s writing style in this book (and others) is as if she’s conversing directly with you, which I love. But I was hoping for more of her story and less of her waxing poetic about what the meaning of marriage is. Maybe it’s just me and my preferences, but this book fell flat in many ways for me. In fact, I didn’t even bother finishing the book because I just found it to be annoying after awhile. What am I missing here Elizabeth Gilbert lovers?!

Secret Service Dogs by: Maria Goodavage – 4 out of 5 stars

Dane came home with this book for me as a surprise one day and I was shocked! I had been eyeing it at my favorite store (Costco) and I jumped right into it. Secret Service Dogs catalogs all the courageous canines who protect the President and First Family. I’ll be the first to tell you that if you’re not into the whys and hows of animal training and/or working animals – this is not the book for you. I’m very interested in that topic, but there were times were even I was like…get on with it! I took off a star for that reason and the lack of photos (understandably so for security reasons), but…I just like photos for referring faces to names, particularly in non-fiction.

What have you been reading?