5 Non-Fiction Books I Want To Read In 2018!

Hello, everyone! I hope you're all having a great week so far! Mine has been a little busy so I apologize for not being active as of late but things are starting to calm down which is nice and means more blogging and Instagram time for me. I'm happy to finally be catching a break as Spring starts rolling around so I'm sending good vibes to everyone! Anyhoo, I want to get right into this post because it's a bit different.

I've been thinking about reading more non-fiction books especially since there are a few that have caught my eye in recent weeks that I would really love to read. I decided to write a post showcasing all the non-fiction books I plan on reading this year. I would love to read a non-fiction book every month but quite honestly, I don't have that many non-fiction books that I want to read. It's not my favorite genre but I do enjoy a good biography every now and again and I do have my favorites.

Anyhoo, here are the top five non-fiction books I really want to read in 2018!
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1. Columbine by Dave Cullen

Goodreads
Synopsis:
What really happened April 20, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we "know" is wrong. It wasn't about jocks, Goths, or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on scene, and spent ten years on this book-widely recognized as the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists, and the killers' own words and drawings-several reproduced in a new appendix. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers. They contrast starkly with the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors.

I really love stories about survival and redemption so this book caught my eye as soon as I found it at the bookstore one day. I know I'm probably one of the last people to read this book but I have good reason for it. The story of Columbine is one I've always been interested in learning more about and I've seen plenty of documentaries and specials on the subject. However, since the recent school shooting in Florida has dominated the news across the country, I think it's important that we start talking about the issues we face and finally take the first step into changing the way we do things in order to protect schools, kids, teens and young adults from having to face the fear of simply going to school. It's an incredibly important subject that the young generation refuses to sweep under the rug and I want to learn more about what I could possibly do to make myself more aware.

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2. Project Semicolon: Your Story Isn't Over by Amy Bleuel

Goodreads

Synopsis:

Sara Sargent at HarperCollins has bought Amy Bleuel's Project Semicolon: Your Story Isn't Over. This book from suicide-awareness organization Project Semicolon chronicles the global phenomenon of the semicolon tattoo, combining photos of individuals' tattoos with their stories about struggling with suicide and mental illness.

I just recently bought this book for no real reason other than that it looked interesting. I haven't heard many things about this book so when I researched a little bit about this book, I grew more and more excited to read it and see all that it contained. I love books about mental health, whether non-fiction or not, as it's also a very important subject that is continuing to be talked about more and more as the years go on which is great. I've always been a supporter of Project Semicolon so I'm excited to dive into this book.

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3. Shades Of Blue by Amy Ferris

Goodreads

Synopsis:

The silent epidemic of depression affects millions of people and takes dozens of lives everyday, while our culture grapples with a stigma against open discussion of mental health issues. Editor Amy Ferris has collected these stories to illuminate the truth behind that stigma and offer compassion, solidarity, and hope for all those who have struggled with depression.

Shades of Blue brings the conversation around depression and sadness into the open with real, first-hand accounts of depression and mental health issues, offering empathy to all those who have been affected by these issues.

It’s time to scream out loud against this silent annihilator: We are not alone.

This book was one I stumbled upon while researching the Project Semicolon book. This one I was very interested in reading and ordered online as soon as I read about it on Goodreads as it seemed like a book I needed to have in my library. This one is a bind-up of various stories by various contributors to create an anthology of discussion for those dealing with or wanting to learn more about depression and suicide. I think this book will end up being a favorite just based on the synopsis but I guess we'll see.

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4. What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen by Kate Fagan

 

Goodreads

Synopsis:

If you scrolled through the Instagram feed of 19-year-old Maddy Holleran, you would see a perfect life: a freshman at an Ivy League school, recruited for the track team, who was also beautiful, popular, and fiercely intelligent. This was a girl who succeeded at everything she tried, and who was only getting started. 

But when Maddy began her long-awaited college career, her parents noticed something changed. Previously indefatigable Maddy became withdrawn, and her thoughts centered on how she could change her life. In spite of thousands of hours of practice and study, she contemplated transferring from the school that had once been her dream. When Maddy's dad, Jim, dropped her off for the first day of spring semester, she held him a second longer than usual. That would be the last time Jim would see his daughter.

WHAT MADE MADDY RUN began as a piece that Kate Fagan, a columnist for espnW, wrote about Maddy's life. What started as a profile of a successful young athlete whose life ended in suicide became so much larger when Fagan started to hear from other college athletes also struggling with mental illness. This is the story of Maddy Holleran's life, and her struggle with depression, which also reveals the mounting pressures young people, and college athletes in particular, face to be perfect, especially in an age of relentless connectivity and social media saturation.

This book was one I currently plan on reading within the next few weeks and I'm really looking forward to reading it. This book was one I found just days after one of my favorite singers from one of my favorite singing groups had passed away from suicide. I was a really huge fan of his so the news really hurt at the time and still does, especially when I listen to his music. I guess you could say that I was wanting to better understand the thoughts of depression in young people since it's a subject that adults and parents are now having to learn more about. It's sad that it's a subject many people are having to become more aware of but I think the more we learn, the better we can understand and figure out better ways to keep more lives from ending too soon.

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5. Dare To Be Kind by Lizzie Velasquez 

Goodreads

Synopsis:

When Lizzie Velasquez was 17 years old, she came across a video online titled "The World's Ugliest Woman"--only to discover that the 8-second viral video featured her. Born with a genetic condition that makes it impossible for her to gain weight, Lizzie had always known she was "different," but after her online bullying went public she decided to stand up on behalf of victims everywhere. She also made it her mission to help create a kinder world.

Today, her popular YouTube channel has half a million followers and her massively popular TED talk has been seen more than 10 million times. In this daring and revelatory book, she draws on her experiences overcoming bullying--from the schoolyard to the Internet--to reveal the hidden forces that give rise to cruelty, and how we can redirect them to unlock empathy and kindness. Lizzie shows how each one of us can use everyday acts of empathy to create a kinder culture and a better world.

I've been a big fan of Lizzie for years so when this book came out I was really excited to read it. I've watched Lizzie's YouTube videos and have become a big supporter of her movement of just simply daring to be kind in a world that doesn't have nearly enough love. I've always believed that treating people with respect no matter where they come from or what they are or choose to be is the only way to treat people. I love people simply because they're human and deserve to be treated with love and respect, which is why Lizzie is one of my role-models. Seeing how she's changing the world in small ways by just encouraging people to be nice is really refreshing and I can't wait to read her book!

So those are all the non-fiction books, (well, five at least) that I REALLY want to read this year. If anyone has any suggestions on other non-fiction reads I should take a look at, please leave them in the comments! I would love any and all suggestions that anyone has for me! Read on, bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

The Review Chain: It's Not Your Journey by Rebecca Lombardo + GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

It's Not Your Journey by Rebecca Lombardo

Add It To Goodreads!

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Non-Fiction, Autobiography

Score: ❤❤❤❤❤

Page Count: 210

Publisher: Pubkick

Published: August 21st, 2015

In her first published work, Rebecca Lombardo collects her internationally followed blog into the pages of “It’s Not Your Journey”. The memoir candidly details Rebecca’s two year long chronicle of her struggles with Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, Self-Injury, and recovery from a Suicide attempt. Rebecca shares her very real, raw feelings on these subjects, as well as addressing other issues that have contributed to her downward spiral and eventual climb out of her own pit of despair. Issues such as the loss of her mother to lung cancer, the death of her brother, abandonment from friends and family members due to her hospitalization, and more.

Rating:

PROS:

1. So first off, I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review by the author so a huge thank you to Rebecca and Joe Lombardo for the review copy! This review is part of The Review Chain, which is made up of a few different bloggers from around the globe who read and review select books throughout the month. This month I'm reviewing It's Not You Journey and if you want to learn more about The Review Chain, be sure to check out the link HERE! Now onto the review!

2. I don't read a ton of non-fiction books but from time to time I do pick one up just to step out of my comfort zone and read something different if I think it might be of interest and worth reading. This book was something that caught my attention and I'm really glad I ended up reading this one. This book follows the story of Rebecca and her journey with living with mental illness that includes depression, anxiety, PTSD, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and Bipolar-Disorder. All of these are bad enough on their own but for them to all interact with each other makes for an emotional roller coaster ride and Rebecca tells her story. This book is such an eye opener into what it means to live with these mental illnesses and what really goes on in someone's head who deals with such things.

3. I loved that Rebecca made points to define what differentiates certain mental illnesses and also highlights that mental illness isn't something that people can just 'get over'. Mental illness is something that not many people actually understand and the author helps those to understand just how they affect people living with such things as depression and anxiety as well as PTSD, which is another form of mental illness that affects people who haven't actually served in the armed forces at all. I learned a lot about mental illness that I didn't know before and even found some chapters to be very helpful with understanding them.

4. It was also interesting to read about as Rebecca talked about in her book how she dealt with loss, grief, and self-harm and struggled to find people who she could actually trust. It was crazy to see how many people she thought she could trust ended up leaving her as she went through her darkest times and she learned the hard way that not everyone is worth having in your life. I think this book offers a lot of valuable lessons and insight on mental illness for people who don't fully understand how it affects people on different levels.

5. I myself deal with anxiety and while mine isn't anything crippling, it still affects me in a certain way and Rebecca's story helped me to personally understand my own anxiety. I think this book is definitely worth reading for those who also live with mental illness as it might help them to understand themselves a little better. This book doesn't only talk about her struggles with depression and self-harm but it also deals with such subjects as body-image, self-esteem, setting realistic goals for yourself every day and much more. I highly recommend this one if you want to learn more about these subjects from a real person and not just general information.

You Can Purchase The Book Here:

Amazon

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I'm 42 years old and I've been happily married to my best friend for 14 years. I've known that I wanted to be an author since I was very young. I grew up in Michigan with my amazing parents, and 5 older siblings. My husband and I don't have children, but we do have 5 cats that we adore. They are all rescues. I feel very strongly about being an advocate for animals. I enjoy watching movies, sports, and all sorts of television shows. I love to read when I can find the time, and I fancy myself an amateur photographer. I write a blog detailing the struggles I've endured in my life due to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. I have finally achieved my dream of writing a book. It's Not Your Journey is based on my blog of the same title.

Author Links:

Website

Facebook

Pinterest

Instagram

Google +

Twitter

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Review: The Only Pirate at The Party by Lindsey Stirling and Brooke S. Passey

The Only Pirate at The Party by Lindsey Stirling and Brooke S. Passey

Rating: PG

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography, Music

Score:

Page Count: 272

Stand Alone

Publisher: Gallery Books

Published: January 12, 2016

Electronic and dancing violinist Lindsey Stirling shares her unconventional journey in an inspiring memoir filled with the energy, persistence, and humor that have helped her successfully pursue a passion outside the box.

A classically trained musician gone rogue, Lindsey Stirling is the epitome of independent, millennial-defined success: after being voted off the set of America’s Got Talent, she went on to amass more than ten million social media fans, record two full-length albums, release multiple hits with billions of YouTube views, and tour sold-out venues across the world.Lindsey is not afraid to be herself. In fact, it’s her confidence and individuality that have propelled her into the spotlight. But the road hasn’t been easy. After being rejected by talent scouts, music reps, and eventually national television, Lindsey forged her own path, step by step. Here, for the first time, she shares every triumph and trial she has faced until now. Beginning in a humble yet charmed childhood, this book follows Lindsey through a humorous adolescence, to her life as a struggling musician, through her personal struggles with anorexia, and finally all the way to her success as a world-class entertainer. Lindsey’s magnetizing story is at once remarkable and universal—a testimony that there is no singular recipe for success. And a witness that, despite what people may say, sometimes it’s okay to be The Only Pirate at the Party.

Review:

PROS:

1. I've been a fan of Lindsey Stirling's since 2013 and have since fallen madly in love with not only her music but her amazing personality and ability to just be herself in the music industry. Since discovering her music, the first video I ever watched being 'Crystalized' when it was a small count of over 100,000,000 views, I have been able to switch many friends onto her music and it has been something we're able to bond over which is something amazing that music is able to do. Over the years, I've stayed up to date on her new music and videos and hope to one day see her live so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! When I found out about Lindsey's book, I was pretty dead set on reading it and now I've finally gotten around to picking it up, I'm so excited to review it for you guys!

2. The book obviously follows Lindsey from the time she's a child up until today as her career is in full swing and bigger than ever. It was such a nice inside look into the kind of person Lindsey was as a child and how she changed over the years for both the best and sometimes the worst. In the book, she doesn't hold back from pointing out her own flaws and mistakes that she uses as a reminder to never let little things get to her and not to live for people's approval. She talks about self-image and how it can play a role in building your confidence as well as how she let opinions of others affect how she lived her life, what she loved, who she was and ultimately how these things led to her low self-esteem and eating disorder and depression. I appreciated the honesty of this book and I think it's definitely a book that offers valuable advice on the long process that is building confidence.

3. Lindsey also talks about the struggles she had to face with making her music and all that went into not only learning how to play the violin but also working on original music, getting her name out there, focusing on her personal accomplishments as well as discovering where she really belonged in music. She talks about the kind of people that she met along the way, discusses the importance of staying focused on whatever it is your passionate about and how falling in love, making friends, having bad days and just going through the motions is all a part of this crazy thing called life. She provides a unique insight when it comes to the process of learning to accept who you are and knowing you might not be the best of something but as long as you're enough for yourself and the people who support you through and through, that's all you need to be the best.

4. Throughout the book, the common theme was simply hard work and having a passion for the thing you love you most. Whether you want to be a dancer, an actor, a musician or any kind of artist or any other kind of dream job you wish to achieve, Lindsey shines a light on the fact that it will come easy enough for some but won't come as easily for others. Her main point was to not give up as long as you know in your heart that what you want to do for a living and whatever dream you want to chase after is something you feel you need to go after. I think this book is one I'd recommend to anyone looking for some advice on going after your dreams, regardless if you're a fan of Lindsey Stirling or not.

5. Overall, I will totally be reading this book again in the future whether it's from the first page to the last or simply opening it up to a certain passage for some advice. This book is in hindsight a success story but Lindsey Stirling also makes a point on what success really is in her personal opinion: if you're enjoying what you're doing, happy with where you are and determined to continue to improve and become better at your craft and you realize your own talents for what they are, that's success ten times over. There's nothing wrong with being a little different and sometimes, as Lindsey put it, it can be cool to be the only pirate at the party.

I hope you guys enjoyed this book review! What's something you're passionate about and a dream you hope to achieve? Let me know because I would LOVE to see what your dreams are! Read on, bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

Most Anticipated Book Releases of 2016!

So, with this new year upon us only means two things for me: lots more coffee in my future and plenty of new book releases just waiting to happen. I've seen quite a few people talk about their highly anticipated books of 2016 and I thought I would join in on the conversation. Here are my most anticipated releases of 2016 and I'm dying to get my hands on all of them!

PREQUELS AND SEQUELS:


I am so excited for the new sequel to the prequel of The Maze Runner series by James Dashner! This series is one of my all-time favorites and I can't wait to get back into the world of my beloved characters and find out what goes down in The Fever Code which takes place before the first book.

I'm also dying to get my hands on the third and final book in The Young Elites series by Marie Lu, who is one of my favorite authors and I love her books so much. If you haven't yet read her new series then I highly suggest checking it out if you love a good villain story! Like seriously, I'm obsessed with it. The third book is currently untitled and there isn't an official release date but I'm still so excited about it!



Even though I didn't absolutely love Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, I'm still excited to see what happens in the second book in the series in Glass Sword. I thought the first book was a promising start to a new dystopian series even though it wasn't all that much of a unique story. I thought it was a fun read and it did end in a bit of a cliff hanger which is so not cool with me.

The last sequel that I'm excited about is the last book in the Selection series which is The Crown. This book is the sequel to the The Heir which is technically the first book in a spin-off duolgy but is considered the fourth book in the series and both are counted as still being part of the main Selection series. Yeah, it's complicated but just roll with it. I don't want to spoil anyone on what this book is about so just read the series yourself.

STAND ALONES:


Since I really loved The Selection series, I'm so excited to get my hands on The Siren which is Kiera Cass's new book that actually comes out in just a couple of weeks and I'm really looking forward to it. I haven't run into many books about sirens so I think this one sounds pretty interesting, not to mention the gorgeous cover!

And of course, we can't forget about the amazing Marissa Meyer whom has become such a huge inspiration to me as an author. I absolutely adore The Lunar Chronicles series so I'm SUPER PUMPED about her new novel 'Heartless' that is a retelling of Alice In Wonderland. Marissa Meyer is probably the queen (no pun intended) of fairytale retellings so I know it's going to be a good one!

NON-FICTION:


I usually NEVER read non-fiction books but a couple of them have surfaced that I so need to get my hands on this year. The first is 'The Only Pirate At The Party' which is the story of one of my favorite music artists Lindsey Stirling in which she talks about her road to success as an electronic violinist and how she had to struggle not only to get where she wanted to be in the music industry, but also how she struggled with doubts, pressures, anorexia and rejection. I've actually already pre-ordered so this book so yay me!

The second book in non-fiction that I'm super excited about is again by one of my favorite music artists Lecrae. In his book 'Unashamed', he talks about his remarkable story from being a young kid growing up in a harsh neighborhood to winning two Grammy's and touring the world and spreading messages of hope through his music. He talks about his struggles with suicide, child abuse, addiction and much more and his road to redemption and how he was able to turn his life around and begin reaffirming his faith in God and living a better life.

LINDSEY STIRLING

LECRAE

MISCELLANEOUS: 

Now we're down to the novella bind ups that I'm excited about. I obviously need to get the Stars Above bind-up that includes all previous and brand new short stories from The Lunar Chronicles series. I'm particularly excited to read a certain short story that has to do with the 'wedding of the century' and I'm DYING to find out what happens in that story!

Lastly, we have the bind-up of the novellas from the Asylum series by Madeleine Roux which is a series I love very much. I've never read any of the short stories from the series so I'm excited to get my hands on the bind up to change that. I'm so stoked about getting to read more from the world of this series and revisit it in a somewhat new way. 

So those are all the books I'm most anticipating for this year! What book(s) are YOU most excited about? Let me know in the comments because I would love to see what books you want to get your hands on. Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!