We are nearly there! The most dramatic year ever is heading to a close…

Hopefully you are able to take a bit of a break to relax and unwind. One of the most relaxing thing to do during your break is to sit back and read a good book.

A few weeks ago I shared some of my book recommendations for a good holiday read and I also promised a part 2..

So here we are… I’m sharing a few more good reads to add to your list!

My 2020 Holiday Reading Guide – Part 2

1. Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

I am currently reading this one and I got to tell you … it’s full of laughs.

If you love shopping and can’t resist a good bargain, then you’ll definitely relate to this one.

Its a really fun and festive read, with the main shopaholic character, Becky, giving you lots to laugh about. I can see myself reading this one every holiday season!

The book is available at all major book stores including Loot.

2. A Promised Land by Barack Obama

I remember a few holiday seasons ago while we were on holiday, there were so many people lounging around reading “Becoming”
by Michelle Obama and I can see the same thing happening this year with her husbands recently released book.

I was sent over a copy by Penguin Books and I’ve slowly started reading it.

It is indeed a deeply personal account of history in the making – it is a riveting presidential memoir from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy.

It is beautifully written and I love the memories that he shares of living in the white house with his family.

An absolute must – read!

3. The last days of John Lennon by James Patterson

The Last Days Days of John Lennon is the the amazing amazing story of John Lennon’s career, from his earliest days up to his last seconds It tells the story of the most profound rock-and -roll genius of all time-and of the consummate NowhereMan who took took him from from us.

I’m looking forward to reading this one from Penguin books. (gifted)

You can find the book here.

4. Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella

Who doesn’t love a Sophie Kinsella novel?

Well you’re going to love this one if you’re a fan!

I love you . . . but what if I can’t love your life?

Ava is sick of online dating. She’s always trusted her own instincts over an
algorithm, anyway, and she wants a break from it all. So when she signs up to a semi-silent, anonymous writing retreat in glorious Italy, love is the last thing on her mind. Until she meets a handsome stranger. . . All she knows is that he’s funny, he’s kind and -she soon learns -he’s great in bed. He’s equally smitten, and after a whirlwind, intoxicating affair, they pledge their love without even knowing each other’s real names.

But when they return home, reality hits. They’re both driven mad by each other’s weird quirks and annoying habits, from his eccentric, naked-sauna-loving family to her terribly behaved, shirt-shredding dog. As disaster follows disaster, it seems that while they love each other, they just can’t love each other’s lives. Can they overcome their differences to find one life, together?

The book is available here.

5. The Magpie Society by Zoe Sugg and Amy McCulloch

Fans of Influencer Zoe Sugg have been waiting for this one!

Illumen Hall is a boarding school of tradition and achievement. But tragedy strikes when the body of a girl, a student, is discovered-on her back is an elaborate tattoo of a magpie….

Welcome to the Magpie Society… if you’re intrigued – you can find the book here.

6. The promise that changes everything by Nancy Kline

For the past few decades, Nancy Kline has been investigating the optimal conditions that lead to independent thinking. Building on her ‘thinking
environment’ framework, here she reveals the many ways in which the pressures of conformity, inequality and technology prevent us from having meaningful, life enhancingconversations.

Guided by the science of attention, she shares exercises and case studies of students and employees who have improved their performance through guided thinking sessions as well as families and couples who bonded after making -and enforcing -the promise.

This is a practical and systematic guide to how promising to reduce interruptions will lead to better relationships and calmer lives.

You can find the book here.

7. The Searcher by Tana French

Love a thrilling novel?

You’re going to love this one!

Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a remote Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force, and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens.

But then a local kid comes looking for his help. His brother has gone missing, and no one, least of all the police, seems to care. Cal wants nothing to do with any kind of investigation, but somehow he can’t make himself walk away. Soon Cal will discover that even in the most idyllic small town, secrets lie hidden, people aren’t always what they seem, and trouble can come calling at his door.

Our greatest living mystery writer weaves a masterful tale of breath-taking
beauty and suspense, asking how we decide what’s right and
wrong in a world where neither is simple, and what we risk if we fail.

Find it here.

8. We’re going to need more wine by Gabrielle Union

I’ve been saving this one for the holidays! It’s been on my bookshelf for a while and based on reviews, I know its’ going to be something I will enjoy.

What’s it about?

n the spirit of Amy Poehler’s Yes Please, Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl, and Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist, a powerful collection of essays about gender, sexuality, race, beauty, Hollywood, and what it means to be a modern woman. One month before the release of the highly anticipated film The Birth of a Nation, actress Gabrielle Union shook the world with a vulnerable and impassioned editorial in which she urged our society to have compassion for victims of sexual violence.

In the wake of rape allegations made against director and actor Nate Parker, Union-a forty-four-year-old actress who launched her career with roles in iconic ’90s movies-instantly became the insightful, outspoken actress that Hollywood has been desperately awaiting. With honesty and heartbreaking wisdom, she revealed her own trauma as a victim of sexual assault: “It is for you that I am speaking. This is real. We are real.” In this moving collection of thought provoking essays infused with her unique wisdom and deep humor, Union uses that same fearlessness to tell astonishingly personal and true stories about power, color, gender, feminism, and fame. Union tackles a range of experiences, including bullying, beauty standards, and competition between women in Hollywood, growing up in white California suburbia and then spending summers with her black relatives in Nebraska, coping with crushes, puberty, and the divorce of her parents. Genuine and perceptive, Union bravely lays herself bare, uncovering a complex and courageous life of self-doubt and self-discovery with incredible poise and brutal honesty.

You can find the book here.

Happy Reading

xxx

Hayley