Thursday Reviews: Birchbloggers Book Club

Happy Thursday! Can you believe July is here already? Summer is going by a little too fast. This post is going to be on two books I received through the Birchbloggers Book Club. I was a little behind on my reading and getting these reviews up but better late than never. Let's get into each book!

The great thing about taking the bus back and forth to work is that I have time to read. I got through both of these book in no time.

Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

I was so excited to get into this book. Just from the title, I knew it was going to be a very interesting read. The author got the inspiration for this book after a conversation with a friend. She wanted to get in depth about habits and understanding how we are with them. She also wanted to get in depth about how we are able to change our habits and stick to it. People are categorized under The Four Tendencies for how they respond to expectations of our habits. The Four Tendencies you can fall under are Upholder, Questioner, Rebel and Obliger. There is a quiz in the back of the book to determine which one you are. I fall under an Obliger, I meet outer expectations such as work deadlines but resist inner expectations such as finishing a 30 day fitness challenge. 

I have never looked at how my habits affect me this way before. Gretchen's thought process is pretty amazing and interesting. She really broke down everything in such great detail. It really makes you think about your bad habits and how they effect your everyday life. At first, all this information was too much but after processing it and having time to apply it to my life, it was so worth knowing. I really started thinking about how I can change my ways and habits to make things better in my life. I am the queen of doing things last minute and procrastinating. Most of the time, I'm running around like a crazy person trying to get things done. When I started my new work schedule it kind of forced me to change that. I had to be up earlier than before and it is process with getting two people ready in the morning. Slowly I started packing my lunch the night before, then setting out clothes and now it just becomes natural to do every night. It makes mornings go so smooth and I can take a little more time getting ready and not have to rush. It felt good to be forced to make this change because it just made things better. 

A line from the book that really had me like wow was "A finish line makes a stopping point, once we stop, we must start over and starting over is harder than continuing". That line just blew my mind and just had me thinking about when you set a goal for yourself and finish it. Do you really keep up with the finished results? That statement is very true. You work so hard towards a goal, finish it, you don't keep up and trying to do it for the second time is harder than the first. This book has just really changed my perspective of everything.

The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza

When I read the brief description of this book, I knew I was going to love it. I love reading anything that is fashion related and has some drama. I don't want to give too much of this book away because you just need to pick this one up lol. This is about a fashion editor in chief that is returning to work after a period of time to find some interesting changes. She feels out of place and basically fighting for herself. This book seems like if they made another Devil Wears Prada and Anne Hathaway's character came back to work for the magazine. I could not put this book down at all. It really kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to know what happens next. 

If you are looking for some new books to read this summer, I highly recommend both books. I enjoyed reading them and I think you will as well. What are you currently reading? How you read these books? If so, what were your thoughts? Hope you enjoy the rest of your week and see you tomorrow for Friday Favorites!

Check out my previous post on my May and June Beauty Boxes!!

~**Drea Notes**~

I finished with a C in my first class. I already started my next class and now know what to expect with the coursework.

It has been so busy at work, is it bad that I think about drinking wine at 10am??