books I’ve read lately – The Fitnessista

Sharing a roundup of the books I’ve read lately and whether they’re worth adding to your collection.

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you had an amazing weekend. We just got back from the best Disney cruise on the Treasure (full recap coming soon!) and I’m getting back into the swing of school, work, and life. It’s a real struggle not having twice-daily cleanings and food at our disposal at all times lol.

For today’s post, I wanted to share a roundup of the books I’ve read lately and whether they’re worth adding to your collection. I’ve read some great ones over the past month and am always looking for new additions to the TBR stack. If you’re reading anything you love right now, especially historical fiction or fluffy fiction with witty banter, please send your recommendations my way!

Books I’ve read lately

Dolly All the Time

I read this entire book on the cruise, and it was the perfect cupcake of a book. Not too heavy, just the perfect lil sweet bite.

The story follows Dolly, a single mom who works at her family’s fish market and ends up helping the richest man in town do some damage control by pretending to be his girlfriend. It’s very Cinderella meets Pretty Woman, and I.ate.it.up.

I’ve read a couple of books by Annabel Monaghan, and I highly recommend Nora Goes Off Script, too. If you’re looking for a bit of fluff in the absolute best way, read this one. 9/10

From Amazon:

If they start by pretending, can they end with something real?

Dolly Brick has never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Not when her mom left when she was twelve, and not at thirty-nine when she moves with her son back to Whitfield, Rhode Island, for the summer to keep her dad and brother from losing the family home.

So when she comes across Stewart Whitfield—annoyingly handsome scion of the Whitfield family—with a flat tire and at the wrong end of a very public, very humiliating breakup, it’s in her nature to help. But Stewart’s proposed arrangement ends up being more than either of them bargained for, because as public dinners and high-society benefits turn into sunset boat rides and kisses that hit her bloodstream like a ghost pepper, Dolly starts to feel something more than helpful. She’s never relied on anyone besides herself—can she really start now?

Countdown to Riches

The author of The Secret (an OG!) takes you through 21 days of practices designed to help you shift out of a scarcity mindset and create a more abundant relationship with money.

I’m a huge manifestation fan, and I’ve been working through the audio version of this book. I definitely think it’s worth a listen if you enjoy guided practices and meditations, especially the nighttime meditations. I’m not finished with it yet, but I’m really enjoying it so far. Rating so far: 8/10

From Amazon:

Financial struggle is caused by one thing—our thoughts. To have a rich life, you have to use your mind, the very thing that has previously kept money from you. You must free yourself once and for all of a scarcity mindset, which unfortunately plagues the majority of people. When your mind becomes wealthy, YOU become wealthy.

Countdown to Riches reveals simple, proven wealth-attracting practices that are easily incorporated into daily life, and that will rapidly change the financial circumstances of anyone who applies them.

Daughters of the Sun and Moon

I’ve read so many books by Lisa See, and this one absolutely tops the list.

It follows the stories of three Chinese women who arrive in Los Angeles in 1870 for very different reasons. One is the wife of the only Chinese doctor in town, one is a new bride and prized possession of a wealthy older man, and the other is sold by her family and forced into sex work.

Just like all of Lisa See’s novels, this book is gorgeously written with deep character development. It also contains ALL the triggers, just a heads-up, and it’s basically tragedy after tragedy. I don’t recommend it if you’re looking for something light.

If you’re looking for historical fiction with themes of resilience and the power of friendship among women, I highly recommend it. Many aspects of the story are based on real people and events in Los Angeles during that time, including the horrific anti-Chinese massacre of 1871. I had never learned about this part of history, and while it was devastating to read, I’m glad Lisa See brought these women and their stories to life. 9/10

From Amazon:

In 1870, three Chinese women arrive in the small, dusty, and violent pueblo of Los Angeles. Dove, the bound-footed daughter of an imperial scholar, is entrancing and innocent. These characteristics should bring her great rewards, beginning with her arranged marriage to a much older merchant. Petal, the big-footed daughter of peasants, has grown up hungry and with dirt between her toes. In a moment of desperation, Petal’s father sells her to buy money for rice seed, and she is loaded onto a ship to the Gold Mountain—America—where she is once again sold. Moon is married to a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. She is educated, speaks fluent English, and has been endowed with a face of great beauty, yet her failed footbinding as a child has left her with a limp that lessens her value in the eyes of many.

Each woman has her own desires. Dove wants to love and be loved, Petal desires freedom, and Moon seeks justice. Together they face a larger society that wishes them not one ounce of good will. Anti-Chinese sentiment is strong in Los Angeles, and this eventually leads to the Night of Horrors during which all three women are challenged in ways they could not have imagined. Brought together by hardship and heartbreak, they must use their bravery, endurance, and ability to “eat bitterness” to discover their voices, find freedom, and connect through solace and friendship. Together they are daughters of the sun and moon.

Never Split the Difference

This book is all about negotiation techniques, which can seem like a strange topic at first… until you realize how much of human interaction involves negotiation.

Getting a 10-year-old to go to bed. Making plans with your teenager. Working in sales or customer service. Navigating business decisions or dealing with conflicts of any kind. These skills definitely come in handy.

Chris Voss was a lead FBI hostage negotiator, and he teaches his strategies using examples from his career, including high-stakes hostage and kidnapping negotiations. It’s fascinating, practical, and surprisingly applicable to everyday life. This was a great book, and I can already tell I’ll come back to it again.  9/10

From Amazon:

Life is a series of negotiations, and negotiation is at the heart of collaboration—whether you are a business executive, a salesperson, a parent , a community leader, or a spouse. As a former FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss gives you the negotiation skills to be effective in any situation: negotiating a business deal, buying (or selling) a car, negotiating a salary, acquiring a home, renegotiating rent, deliberating with your partner, or communicating with your children. Taking the power of persuasion, tactical empathy, active listening, and intuition to the next level, Never Split the Difference gives you the competitive edge in any difficult conversation or challenging situation. This book is a masterclass in influencing others, no matter the circumstances.

After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference distills the Voss method, revealing the skills that matter most when it comes to achieving your goals in both your professional and personal life.

That’s everything I’ve been reading lately! My recent stack has been a very random mix of rom-com fluff, manifestation, devastating historical fiction, and hostage negotiation. We’re all about balance over here.

What’s the best book you’ve read lately? Please share the goods in the comments! I’m always looking for something new, especially historical fiction or a smart, funny romance that doesn’t make me cringe.

xo

Gina