I must think habits are the secret to everything we want to be and do! I have read my fair share of books about habits and I find everything about habits fascinating. I love reading about how habits are formed, how to break bad habits, how to develop new habits and how good habits can simplify my life!
Below are few of the books that I have read about habits.
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
This book was very informative regarding—you guessed it—the power of habit! This book is not about what habits can do for you and your life but rather about what habits have done for others. Duhigg talks about how habits have helped some individual surpass seemingly impossible odds and, conversely, he talks about how habits have destroyed the lives of others. There is also a lot of discussion about how habits are made and what goes on inside our brains. Duhigg also discusses how habits can be used corporately to turn around entire institutions. If you are looking for a book that is a breakdown of habits, and how habits can change your life, this is a great book. However, if you are looking for help to develop and implement habit into your life then this book will not do a lot for you.
My takeaway: Habit is a large part of our lives whether we realize it or not. Habits can make or break individuals and companies.
Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin
Ms. Rubin breaks down four tendencies that are habit-related: why habit matters, how habits are formed, and how to most easily and effectively implement new habits into your life. She especially focuses in this book on how habit can give us freedom in our lives rather than restricting us. Habits are what we do without thinking about it. Habit takes away the need to make decisions and frees up mental space to allow for us to concentrate our efforts on what matters most to us. If you have had trouble developing new habits in the past give this book a try!
My takeaway: I really enjoyed how Reuben takes a look at habit through the framework of the four tendencies, and how our innate tendencies can inform how we approach forming habits. (To read about the four tendencies check out that post here)
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This book examines the effect that small minute changes can have over a lifetime. Seemingly small inconsequential changes can add up and make a big difference over a lifetime. This book reminds me a lot of The Compound Effect as both stress the cup active effects of habit over a lifetime. Clear offers tips on how to develop and implement habits into your life, one little change at a time. He gives tips such as habit stacking, stacking a new habit onto an old habit, and the two-minute time cap—after two minutes of doing the new thing, you are done. This is how you can break down the obstacle of starting.
My takeaway: This book is full of tactical tools to help put new habits into place.
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
While not exclusively about habit, this book is great because it stresses the fact that it is not the big things in life that make the biggest change in our lives but rather it is the small things. The little minute changes that you make day after day compound and make a big difference over a year or more. A lot of books on creating new habits can be overwhelming, but since this book stresses the importance of small wins, you can come away feeling encouraged by a small change that you made! (I also talk about The Compound Effect in my post, Books to help you build the life you want in 2021 click here to read about those books.)
My takeaway: This book reminds you of what a difference a minute change can make over a year, or lifetime!
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Summer is here and that means longer days stretching out into beautiful evenings (we hope!). For me that sounds like the perfect reading paradise! If your reading list is a little lackluster this summer or, if you are like me, are simply looking for a new historical fiction title to add to your summer reading list, here are a few of my favorite historical fiction reads that I have recently enjoyed.
The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
If you read Ms. Cleeton’s other books you won’t be disappointed by this one either! Instead of Cuba, this historical fiction story is set in the Florida Keys right before a catastrophic hurricane that hit the Keys during Labor Day weekend of 1935.
This story follows three women, each from different walks of life. Helen, a Keys native, is in the late stages of pregnancy and has been married to an abusive husband for nine years. With the baby’s arrival so close at hand, Helen feels a strong desire to protect her baby and escape the abuse—but is now the right time?
Next we meet Elizabeth, the spoiled daughter of one of New York’s social elite but since the crash her family has fallen from the high-up social circles of the day. With Elizabeth’s father and brother gone, and her mother mentally unwell, it falls to Elizabeth to fix the family’s financial situation which includes debts to one of New York’s most notorious men. Trying to find a different option than the one readily in front of her, Elizabeth goes to the Keys to find the only person she has left—her older half-brother. If she can find him, he may be able to save her—but will she be able to find him?
Then there is Mirta, a Cuba native, who finds herself quickly married off to an American man who has many secrets. Mirta is trying to navigate what a marriage with this man will look like—will it look like her parents’ marriage or will it be different? And what of all his secrets? Is Mirta supposed to live in the dark her whole life or is it possible to have a marriage of equals with this man?
The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
This book was so well done! Indigo Girl is the true story of Eliza Lucas, a 16 year old girl left to run her father’s three plantations in South Carolina in 1739. The family’s finances are not looking good, her father has borrowed against their land to advance his military career, leaving Eliza with a mess on her hands. She needs to find a cash crop quickly or risk losing her family’s land—and her freedom when she is forced to wed to relieve the family’s financial burdens.
Growing up in Antigua, Eliza has seen the process of indigo making and knows it to be a very tricky process, but it could be just what she needs to save herself and her family. Will she be able to pull it off in time? Fans of America’s First Daughter and My Dear Hamilton will love this historical fiction work .
Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi
This story kicks off in Grand Bahama where the main character, Frannie Tasker, has grown up. She has been living there under the hand of her cruel stepfather, and has been dreaming of a chance to escape. Then one night the opportunity comes in the form of a shipwreck and a stolen identity. Before Frannie can second-guess herself she goes for it, escaping to America.
Never one to simply sit around, Frannie, now known as Emmiline Coats, soon covertly joins the Rebels’ side as a spy for Washington. Based on the little known facts of the true lady agent in the Culper spy ring, who was known as 355, this book takes a rather imaginative look at the possible identity of Agent 355. You will learn the events of the Revolution that Agent 355 is credited with stopping—events that if they had gone differently could have changed the outcome of the war.
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
I read The Alice Network and really was not impressed, therefore I was unsure about picking up The Rose Code, but I am so happy I did! This piece of World War 2 historical fiction rotates between three friends who were all working on different aspects of the operation to break the Enigma. We meet Mab, who is a firebrand and has secrets she desperately wants to keep hidden. We meet Beth, a mousy little thing, who is used to living under her mother’s thumb but who has an incredible mind. Lastly, we meet Osla who is sick of being treated like a silly debutante and wants to use her language skills to help her country.
The story opens with Beth in a mental institution. How did someone like her end up in a place like that? And worse, what if she can’t escape before an experimental procedure is done on her brain? The story alternates between that point and five years earlier when they are working day in and day out to break the code in order to beat the Nazi’s and every decoded message could mean life and death to thousands of people.
Summer of ‘69 by Elin Hilderbrand
I talked at length about this book last year (see the full post here) but here is a quick overview of this historical fiction novel. This is a story set in Nantucket in the turbulent year of 1969. Ms. Hilderbrand does a great job of bringing the sights and sounds of Nantucket to life so that you can just about feel the sand under your feet! This story rotates between the four women of the family. I connected quite quickly to each of the characters in this book, and the struggles each of them face—unlike some books where I feel like I am just getting immersed in one person’s world when the narrator changes. Mrs. Levin struggles with the worry of a mother as her son is overseas fighting in Vietnam. Blair, the eldest daughter, is pregnant and struggling with loneliness as she must remain close to home this summer when usually she is at the seashore. Kirby, the middle daughter, is swept up in the civil rights and women’s rights protests of the day, which brings her close to some events that occur at the end of summer—an event we have come to know as Chappaquiddick. Last but not least, we meet Jesse, the youngest of the family who feels very much lost in the shuffle in light of everything her siblings have going on. Follow the Levin family on a summer that they, and America at large, will not soon forget.
I had heard a lot about Next Year in Havanaand I am always a bit skeptical about reading a book that there has been a lot of hype around, however I decided to check it out. The cover looked great (I most definitely do judge a book by its cover) and, as it is historical fiction set in the 1950s, I figured it couldn’t be too bad!
Next Year in Havana is about a fictional family forced to flee to America from Cuba as Castro takes over the country. The story alternates between 1950s Cuba told from the perspective of Elisa, the middle daughter of a sugar baron, to 2017 as told by Marisol, Elisa’s granddaughter, after the death of Elisa.
The story is gripping and we learn about the events leading up to Castro’s takeover. We look back on the very beginning of these totalitarian regimes and wonder how they ever came to exist. What I love about historical fiction is that a good author will show you how. Today’s issues aren’t black and white and neither is history. I enjoyed the peek into what life was like leading up to Fidel’s takeover.
Having read and really enjoyed Next Year in Havana I was eager to pick up When We Left Cuba, a stand-alone sequel to Next Year in Havana. The story is told by Beatriz, the older sister of Elisa who we met in Next Year in Havana, as the family tries to temporarily settle into life in America after fleeing Cuba—just until they can go home. As the months stretch on, the family starts to realize that they will not be returning to Cuba, something Beatriz can’t abide. How can she sit by when so much is at stake in her country? She must do something.
Meanwhile, Beatriz has fallen for a young, handsome U.S. senator, a relationship that will test her allegiance to her country and her love for this man—does she love her country or her man more? As events unfold, she starts doing some spying for the U.S. government to help the overthrow of the Cuban government.
This book offers a peek into what life was like for the Cubans who fled to America from Cuba and then had to start over, as well as what it was like to be a Cuban living in America during the Bay of Pigs, an event in history I never had learned a whole lot about.
Both of these books were gripping and I couldn’t put them down! They illuminate a lot about Cuba’s takeover and I felt both were very well rounded as far as the motivations for each of the characters. Readers should be advised there are a few PG-13 moments in each of these books—especially in When We Left Cuba. While not terribly explicit, be prepared that these are not totally clean historical fiction; however, I would not let that stop you from reading these books and you won’t miss anything by skipping these parts. I believe they tell an important part of not-so-distant history and there are lessons within their pages that we can all learn from.
Recently, I fell down a rabbit hole of spy books about the revolutionary war, and it was not just any spy books. They were ones about female spies and they are all based on real women! I have been in heaven reading these books! I love historical fiction—especially when it is fast paced and reads more like a thriller. I hold the view that the events and people of the past are as exciting as anything that can be imagined- perhaps even more so because these things actually happened. Imagine being an untrained spy and the enemy is boarding in your home with you. To add more suspense to the situation, the particular enemy boarding with you in your home was sent to ferret out the spies that they know must be living in the area. They are hunting you as you are spying on them! This stuff actually happened! This is what history is, and a good author will take you there and make your palms sweat. This is what the following 3 books about the female spies of the American Revolution did for me!
Before I launch into discussing these three books about some of the lady spies of the American Revolution, I want to give you some context for the setting of each of these books. A few years into the American Revolution, things were not going well for us Americans. Washington was in trouble and he knew he had to outsmart the British as there’s no way our little American army could over power them. He, therefore, set up with the help of one of his military men- Benjamin Tallmadge- a spy ring. There came to be 6 members of this spy ring known as the Culper Spy Ring, and without them the outcome of the American revolution could have had a very different outcome. Of these 6 agents, one of them was called 355 and the only name given her in the code book was “Lady,” rather than her real name. The term lady denotes a woman of high status. I won’t give away any spoilers as to the fate of this lady, 355, but rest assured she did exist and she did help turn the tide of the American revolution. There is much room for speculation as to this lady’s true identity. If you want a compelling but factual read about the Culper Spy Ring, I suggest George Washington’s Secret 6 by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yager. Now, onto the lady spies!
355: A Novel, The Women of Washington’s Spy Ring, By Kit Sergeant
This book is probably the most factual out of the three books I am discussing today. It follows 3 women who played a part in spying in the American Revolution. All 3 of the women portrayed in this book were actual people. They lived and did the things (at least to a certain extent) told in the book. While I really enjoyed this story, there were a few things I would like to mention:1) the book is called 355, yet none of the characters in this book quite fit what we know about the actual lady agent known as 355 in the Culper Spy Ring of New York. That doesn’t mean that these women didn’t do great things for the American revolution. Neither does it mean that none of them could have been agent 355. To this day, the identity of agent 355 still remains a mystery, but none of these women quite seem to fit the bill so if you are picking this book in order to learn specifically about agent 355 you may be a little disappointed. 2) The book came to a rather abrupt ending. I respect and value when an author stays as true to the real history as possible, and as real life doesn’t have neat little endings tied up in bows, neither does this story. The story in this book was good. I felt that the characters did come to life for me by sticking closely to the history that is known about these women the author did well, but I would say this is more of a portrayal of events told, well, than a story with a plot. Read it and judge for yourselves- I’d probably say this is a 4 star rating as far as the story goes, but 5 star if you are reading to learn the history!
Agent 355, by Marie Benedict
This is a short little story (currently only available via audio book) about agent 355 of the Culper Spy Ring in New York. Again, agent 355’s true identity remains a secret but there is a case to be made that the woman in this story is a possible candidate. The woman in the story was a real person, and she could have easily been agent 355. While short, this was a great telling of the events that the true agent 355 is suspected have had a hand in during the revolution. This woman moved in the circles with the social elite of New York during the British occupation of New York in the later years of the American revolution. She had a chance to be a fly on the wall while the British superiors spilled their intended battle plans right in front of her. There is also the social constraints of the day in which a single woman did not wander about the city unchaperoned— Agent 355 therefore would have then had the additional obstacle to face of how to get her information to another agent who could then relay the information to Washington without incriminating herself in the process. Agent 355 was a 5 star rating for me in every sense- compelling plot, lots of history, staying true to the event of those fateful years. My only complaint was that this book was simply, too short!
Rebel Spy, by Veronica Rossi
I couldn’t put this book down!! Out of the 3 books I’m discussing today, this one definitely had the most compelling plot that kept me on the edge of my seat through the whole book! Soo good! While this book also discusses the event that agent 355 is supposed to have had a hand in, the rest of this story is highly fictionalized. This makes for a very engaging read, but not quite as great of a history lesson. If you are reading this to learn about the events 355 played in the revolution read it, absorb the events, but be prepared for the fact that someone like this woman likely did not exist. However, if you are just looking for very compelling and entertaining historical fiction read it and enjoy every minute of it!
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I always hear about “life changing books” and maybe I’m just a skeptic but, while I find many of these “life changing books” to be thought provoking and inspiring, I very rarely find it to be life changing. However, I think I might have just found such a book titled, Rest, of all things.
I came across the book, Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, and my interest was quickly piqued by the title and am I glad that I did! The book starts by discussing the great thinkers and change makers from the late 19th century and early 20th century and their work habits. The author discusses how these people approached work and the lines they drew between work and their personal life. The author challenges that rather than working all the time in order to win a badge of honor, as it were, these people separated work and their personal life in order that they feel truly rested when they returned to work, thereby increasing their longevity and effectiveness in their field.
The chapter I found most interesting was about the people who were most prolific and well-known in their respective fields, people like Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens, were not people who worked 60-80 hours a week, but rather ones who focused on dedicated work for 20-30 hours a week. (Read more about Charles Darwin and his devoutly Christian wife in my post “Charles and Emma” here). The most influential people of the 20th century rarely broke a 40 hour work week. They didn’t work long, but they did work hard. The author stresses the importance of workflow habits to produce really focused work and, therefore, effective and prolific work. Truly focused work can be draining and because of this many of these people worked in 90 minute bursts with a short break in between, followed by another 90 minute session. Usually after a large break in the day, one last work session in the afternoon would follow. This was very interesting to me! Think about all the side hustles out there today. There is no limit to what one can do in this day and age. But when to do it? If the greatest minds of the last century (and the author did give examples of non-geniuses who followed this work model), could do all that, what could we do with a small amount of truly focused work each day, day after day?
The other chapter that really stood out to me was about deep play. Deep play is something you do that you enjoy and that you lose yourself in entirely that you lose track of time. The benefit of deep play is that it gives your mind a chance to rest, to wander a bit as you tinker, to rest, and will perhaps offer the side benefit of helping you solve a problem on which you were previously stuck.
Other chapters in the book dwelt on the importance of sleep, what walking can do for our creative problem solving skills, and how exercise can help improve longevity in careers. While none of these topics are new, I did appreciate the nuanced approach offered in the book and found it to be very thought provoking.
While some of the advice and models set forth in the book will not work for everyone—hourly workers do not have the luxury of working a 30 hour week—there are nonetheless, little nuggets to be gleaned from this book that I think just about all of us could benefit from. If you are struggling to start a side hustle, know that you don’t have to pour endless hours into it in order to make it successful. You can effect a big difference by truly dedicating a few intense hours to it each day. If you know you need to exercise but are afraid of the time it will take away from your job, read this book and see the evidence of how it could help improve your performance and expand your career life. Lastly, if you are needing permission or a gentle nudge to pick up that hobby, go for it—there will be more benefits from it than you realize.
I’m sure there are people who will not be impressed with this book; but, if you are one of the many people who feel the constant need and pressure to operate at full capacity and never take time for the things that matter to you, I urge you to give this book a go, and see what you think!
If there is one area of my life where I could possibly be a minimalist, it is in my clothing. I love the thought of looking at my closet and seeing only the things I absolutely love! I crave guidelines for curating my wardrobe to be full of pieces that I am excited to wear and am always on the lookout for new outfit “formulas” to fall back on for days when I am rushed or feeling uninspired. Culling through my wardrobe and fleshing out much needed pieces to make my wardrobe better suited to my life is what, The Curated Closet, by Anuschka Rees helped me to do!
The Curated Closet isn’t just another style book, or a book alerting you to the newest trends, instead this is a book about identifying your personal style and building a wardrobe that is timeless to you, built around your style, and usable for your everyday life.
Identifying Your Style
In the first part of the book, Ms Rees takes you through an in-depth study of your own style. She gives you assignments to complete that delve deep into finding and honing in on your specific style. She doesn’t just suggest looking on Pinterest for 20 minutes, rather gives you a step by step guide of where to look for style inspiration and gives you a guide for what to look for in order to identify your personal style. Then Ms Rees then walks you through step by step, how to do a complete overhaul of your closet.
Curate
Ms Rees helps you clarify what you need in your closet; if you work from home everyday you don’t need as many formal pieces, if you hardly ever get dressed up you don’t need a million different pairs of heels. This helps you look at your closet with a critical eye and see the holes in your wardrobe. Ms Rees stresses the importance of taking time to build the core of your closet around quality pieces- and not just rushing out to buy the item to fill the hole. You want the core pieces to be ones that last you because you have spent the time to make sure they are really pieces that you love, then you can spend less on pieces that aren’t essentially to your wardrobe.
Simplify
I started implementing the advice in The Curated Closet early last year, and looking back now I am pleased with how my wardrobe has evolved. I now have several good quality core pieces that I know I can fall back on to build an outfit. I have invested in a few better quality pieces that I know I will have for a long time, and while there are still a few more core items that are on my list that I would still like to get soon, I also know that taking my time to find them will pay off because taking extra time now will give me more time to mull over the decision and help eliminate buyers regret- I haven’t had any buyers regret over the core pieces I have purchased to date!
Ms. Rees also sets forth several different methods to simply your wardrobe and make getting dresses easier. For example: how to build a color palette for your wardrobe, how to implement and use outfit formulas, and how to identify the quality of an item, (Hint: Quality has little correlation with price) and she provides a troubleshooting guide for common clothing issues and how to fix them- I loved this one!!
My Takeaways
These were my big takeaways from The Curated Closet, but another area that Ms Rees spent a lot of time covering is how to stop overspending on clothes- especially clothes you seldom wear! This section got a little bit lengthy for me and since I really don’t shop for clothes that often and therefore do not tend to overspend. I ended up skimming through that section of the book for the most part. I really appreciate the valuable information in this book and I think there is most likely at least a few nuggets of information that would be valuable for anyone- I even suggested to my husband that he might benefit from reading the section on building and identifying holes in your wardrobe!
If you are someone who struggles to find clothes that feel like you, or if you are someone who wants to simplify your wardrobe then I think there is a lot of valuable information tucked within the pages of this book, The Curated Closet, that you will benefit from reading, and if you do decide to read it let me know what you end up thinking of it!
