January Book Review

The first book I read this month was I Got This by Jennifer Hudson. I liked it. She is a survivor and has a positive attitude that is truly admirable. I'm following Weight Watchers right now so it was fun to read about her WW journey. I was a little annoyed at how she kept saying how easy WW is. Yes, you can eat whatever you want. But it's so much more than that. It's will power and moderation. It's eating intuitively and conquering emotional eating. It's choosing the best food for you and it's dedication. Weight loss is not easy. Maintaining is not easy. Being overweight is not easy. 

I read Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and I was not a fan. I got about 100 pages in and just could not get into it. The main character frustrated me and the story was just too dark. I was depressed reading this and I just could not get into it no matter how hard I tried. If I feel yucky after reading a book it's just not the right book for me.

I read Stirring the Pot by Jenny McCarthy. Don't laugh. I love a good, easy, feel good read and this was just that. It was funny, quick and interesting. I enjoyed it. I adore Jenny's reality show so it was interesting to learn a little bit more about her. She even had some good advice sprinkled in so that was a bonus. It wasn't as personal as I expected a memoir to be, but a nice light read after the dark book above was nice.

My plan was to read one self-development book this month and The One Minute Negotiator by Don Hutson and George Lucas caught my eye at the library. It was a quick, easy read with a lot of valuable information in it. The most interesting fact I learned was that compromising is not a legitimate negotiation strategy. If you are buying a car and you just meet in the middle you will walk away wishing you had paid less and the seller will walk away wishing he had asked for more. The same goes for if you purchase a car and the seller asks $7,000 and you accept instead of negotiating. The seller will walk away wishing he had asked for more money and the buyer will walk way wishing they had negotiated and got at least $1,000 off the price. Interesting, right?! It was a good read about not being afraid of negotiation. To change your perception to viewing negotiation as a win-win and collaborative situation. To accept the invite to negotiate, assess the proper strategy, determine the other person's negotiation strategy, and engage a strategy you think best for the situation. Highly recommend!

What have you been reading? Any recommendations?