Warmest hugs to you my wonderful readers. It has been ages and oh! how I miss writing and connecting with you all. It’s been too long already and I do hope that today’s post finds you all in good health. I’m doing quite well myself.
As the title suggests, today’s post is going to be about the books I’ve read in the course of the year. Similar to last year’s “my year in books” post. If you’re wondering whether to expect a post like this each year then the answer is yes..
Reading, for me, is not only a form of leisure but a necessary escape from reality as often as is possible. It is vital to my very existence.
I’ve read a total of about thirty books this year and I wish I could talk about each and every single one of them but that’ll only make this a very long and boring post plus, I doubt I’d be able to do them much justice. I have, however, chosen to give a review on three of the books that had the most impact on me and list the rest by their titles and authors.

Becoming (Michelle Obama)
I had the most fun reading this book mainly because of how I read it. So a friend requested that I record an audio of myself as I read the book so it’d be like an audio book for him to listen to. Initially I thought it was a crazy idea and there was no way in hell I was going to do that but eventually he convinced and encouraged me and I was glad for the experience.
I read the first few chapters of Becoming towards the end of last year and so it was the first book I finished this year. I love the content of this book for many reasons. In essence, the title is the perfect summation of the content of the book.
What I learnt from the book is the fact that you never stop “becoming”. That so long as you have life, you can continue dreaming and looking forward to the next thing, adventure, experience etc.

“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end. I became a mother, but I still have a lot to learn from and give to my children. I became a wife, but I continue to adapt to and be humbled by what it means to truly love and make a life with another person. I have become, by certain measures, a person of power, and yet there are moments still when I feel insecure or unheard.
It’s all a process, steps along a path. Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor. Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to be done.” Michelle Obama, Becoming.

You would think that after becoming the first black First Lady of the United States, she would just fold her arms and call it a day, after all it doesn’t get bigger or better than that. But no, she wrote a book, started projects and is still looking forward to others. Reading this book felt like having a heart to heart chat with my girlfriend; honest without being intimidating, inspiring without being unrealistic and all in all very relatable.

“I’m an ordinary person who found herself on an extraordinary journey. In sharing my story, I hope to help create space for other stories and other voices, to widen the pathway for who belongs and why.” Michelle Obama, Becoming.

I highly recommend this book, not because of the hype but because it has great content and is truly a good book.

The Five Languages Of Love, Singles Edition (Gary Chapman)
Growing up, I’ve always been very idealistic about how love should or shouldn’t be and what one needs for a successful relationship. And yet guess what? All I’ve got is a trail of failed relationships to my name.
I love love, especially the lovey-dovey feelings that characterize the initial stages of a relationship but I could never see beyond that. After yet another unsuccessful attempt, I was ready to admit I knew nothing of worth when it comes to love and sustaining a healthy relationship. The choice to read this book was a step towards my decision to intentionally learn more on the subject in order to do better, and learn more I did. With each chapter came the deeper realization that I really knew little to nothing on the subject. Like many people out there, I’d also heard about the five languages of love and could state and vaguely describe them. By reading this book, I had the opportunity to better understand each language and appreciate just how vital it was to express love in the language of the recipient as compared to loving them in my own language. Although the primary focus of this book is for the relationship between two people, I soon realized that I got to know and understand myself more as I read the book. Afterall, if you can’t love yourself, how can you love anybody else?
I find that it is very easy to express love to others in our own love languages, but it is more fulfilling to love others in their own language because then you’ll be filling their love tank. The authors also bring up very interesting topics that I believe are essential for everyone, both singles and couples, to discuss.
To anyone who wants to better understand their love needs, to the one who wants to intentionally build a solid and healthy relationship, to the one who just loves love and relationships, this book is definitely for you.

Unapologetically Ambitious
This book tho!!! I didn’t expect to like this book because I find self-help/motivational books quite boring to read,but once I started reading this one I couldn’t put it down. I recall sharing the e-book with about five or more of my whatsapp contacts because I couldn’t stop raving about its contents on my status. Although I do not believe my words will do much justice to the content in this book, I’ll still try my best to sell it to you guys.
First of all, yes! it is a motivational book… unapologetically so. However, this is not your ordinary motivational book. This book isn’t about what time to wake up or sleep, neither is it about how long one should spend working or meditating in order to be successful.
What I love about this book is the fact that it touches on all the dynamics of life without being the least bit boring or unrealistic. You’ll read about a young woman from a humble home who navigates a world predominated by men and makes it to the top. You’ll also read about a career woman married to a man many years ahead of her and how the two of them manage to raise their family with the wife as the sole breadwinner. You’ll read about imposter syndrome and how to function in spite of it. And what I find most beautiful about this book is how you eventually find yourself reading about a love story, one that manages to leave you a little heartbroken in the end but then you realize you desperately want to be loved that way. I will say that every single person needs to read this book but most especially for anyone who wants to be intentional about their life choices, for anyone who wants a really good motivational book to read, for every single person who works in the corporate world and for the one who is unapologetically ambitious.
……

Below is the list of other books I’ve read in the course of the year and which I’ll totally recommend to anyone who enjoys a good read;

• Thirty things every woman should have and should know by Pamela Redmond Satran
•  The Mothers by Britt Bennet
•  Ties that tether by Jane Igharo
•  Home body by Rupi Kaur
•  Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
•  We were liars by E. Lockhart
•  Red at the bone by Jacqueline Woodson
•  The gilded ones by Namina Forna
•  Ghana must go by Taiye Selasi
•  Love in colour by Bolu Babalola
•  Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

•  His only wife by Peace Adzo Medie
•  The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
•  Half of a yellow sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
•  The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
•  The bride price by Buchi Emecheta
•  How the one-armed sister sweeps her compound by Cherie Jones
•  I’ll fly away by Rudy Francisco
•  Off the record by Camryn Garett
•  A song below water by Bethany C Morrow
•  A chorus rises by Bethany C Morrow
•  Hurricane summer by Asha Bromfield
•  Grown by Tiffany D Jackson
•  Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo
•  Love is a revolution by Renee Watson
•  Genuine fraud by E. Lockhart
•  The guest list by Lucy Foley
•  The inheritance of Orquida Divina by Zoraida Cordoya
•  Malibu rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body” Joseph Addison. What have been some of your favorite reads this year? Please do share with me. Until we meet again in my next post, Merry Christmas to you all!!!

Xoxo,

Yarh.