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Without a doubt, buying a Kindle was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. Throughout the years I’ve gone through different phases with reading. For the longest time I hated reading (thanks to being forced to read things I didn’t like in school) then I read obsessively. The last two years my numbers have been pretty low but things have definitely taken a turn since buying a Kindle. I’m finally at a point where I feel like I’m reading the perfect amount for me!

I swear I read so much faster on my Kindle, and the fact that I’m never without a book kind of rules. I can’t tell you how many times in the past I’d be somewhere, finish a book, and not have a new one to start but still have to carry around the weight of the one I finished. Books obviously aren’t that heavy but in my mind as soon as I’ve finished it it’s just dead weight, ya know? Now I basically always have at least three new books ready to read as soon as I finish my current and it adds no extra weight to my bag! I really can’t say enough good things about the Kindle Paperwhite. If you’re on the fence just go for it, you’re going to love it!

What I’ve been reading… 
▴  Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud by Elizabeth Greenwood. Think the idea of faking your own death is exciting? Me too. That’s why I chose to read this book. Don’t worry though (Hi Mom!) this kind of changed my thoughts on the whole idea. In this book you read about lots of different people from the guy who helps folks fake their own death -for a handsome fee, of course – to the guy in charge of investigating whether or not someone is actually dead to the people who tried faking their death, and obviously failed for one reason or another. It was a super interesting read!

▴ Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty. For the longest time people have been telling me to read this book. I hesitated because I honestly couldn’t remember if I had read it or not already since I’d read so many books on the funeral industry. At some point they kind of all just blur together. I finally downloaded it on my Kindle and within a few pages I realized I definitely had not read it before. I was in love with her writing immediately. The book was filled with bits of morbid humor but also lots of interesting ideas that really make you think. While telling her story, which is interesting enough on it’s own, Caitlin Doughty makes so many important points about how our culture views, and essentially tries to hide death. If you read one book on the funeral industry, make it this one!

▴ Riding Fury Home by Chana Wilson. This is a memoir by a woman who had a really rough childhood. Her mother was suicidal and she basically had to become the parent since her mother wasn’t able to take care of herself any longer. Many years later she learns that her mother’s anguish was because was in love with another woman. This wasn’t exactly a time in history when coming out as a lesbian was accepted and her mom dealt with some really horrible things in mental hospitals because of it. That’s the first half of the book. The second half is the author’s relationship with her mother as an adult after learning her story. I enjoyed the first half of the book. It was a little depressing, of course, but otherwise interesting. The second half of the book kind of dragged on and on for me though.

▴ Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep by David K Randall. This book is a super interesting look at one of the most important parts of everyone’s life – sleep! I loved this book and came away with a ton of factoids to ramble at Jeff about. I would recommend this book if you’re a fan of Mary Roach. I mean, he’s no Mary Roach, duh, but I’d venture to guess if you like her books you might like this one too.

▴ Sex Object by Jessica Valenti. I had really high hopes for this book. Everywhere I looked I was being recommended that I read it. Basically every book I looked at on Amazon was like “Oh, you like this book? TrySex Object!” I’m not sure what I expected but I spent most of my time reading this wishing it was over because it made me feel uneasy. I probably wouldn’t recommend this one.

What have you been reading? 
xoxo 

Check out my ‘books‘ tag if you’re looking for more recommendations!