“Whatcha readin’?” Remember a time when you’d go into a doctor’s office or on a bus or airplane and that’s what you’d use as a conversation starter? Because that’s what you would see – people reading books. I know some are still reading them but most of those are on digital devices, so we can’t be as sure. I love reading on a long flight or when I was nursing my babies or before I fall asleep at night. Now, it’s a concerted effort to put down my glowing device and pick up those pages instead.
This year, I’m hoping to be more consistent in many areas of my life, and reading is one of them. In 2017, I read at least one fiction book a month thanks to my book club group (I wrote about this here). This year, I want to add to that by reading more non-fiction and reading more with my kids. At twelve and fourteen, gone are the days when I read them a book at night before bed. Now they are studying and reading their required books. So I think I’m going to start there and try to read when they’re reading.
My list last summer was mostly fiction, so I thought I’d mix it up for this one.
MY 2 LOCAL AUTHOR PICKS
1.
Hello Mornings
by Kat Lee
“Don’t worry; you don’t have to be a morning person to start each new day well. Join Kat Lee and thousands of women from countries around the world who have learned to maximize their mornings. In Hello Mornings, Kat introduces a simple yet powerful three-minute morning routine that integrates Bible study, planning, and fitness into a foundational morning habit that fits into every schedule. She then helps you build each of these core habits for life-long growth.
Everyone can find three minutes. And instead of adding one more thing to the list, Hello Mornings lifts the weight off women by revealing a grace-filled way to establish a powerful morning routine that offers a simple way to incorporate the most-sought-after daily habits into a simple morning routine: God. Plan. Move.
the latest research on habit formation and development
practical tools to help readers develop and grow their own personalized, adaptable plan for mornings – stories of transformed mornings from women in every season and stage of life.”
I already follow Hello Mornings on Instagram and have listened to a podcast or 2 and love the encouragement found there! Don’t we all need a little revamp of our morning routine this year?
2.
Mending Broken Branches: When God Reclaims Your Dysfunctional Family Tree
by Elizabeth Oates
“Through introspective and probing questions, Mending Broken Branches guides the reader to accept her past, understand her present, and find a vision for her future. The interactive design includes space to work through the journaling prompts provided, as well as extra-wide margins for notes of reflection while reading.
With the gentle voice of a trusted mentor, Elizabeth encourages and equips women to cultivate strong, flourishing, God-honoring lives, and to break the cycle of dysfunction.”
Sounds like not just another self-help book. Love the interactive aspect of journaling as you read! Elizabeth has a great personal story, and I’ve read her other book If You Could See As Jesus Sees, so I know this will have great insight into what to do when our lives are a little “messy.”
MY OTHER NON-FICTION PICK
3.
You Are Free: Be Who You Already Are
by Rebekah Lyons
“Have you bought the lie? Many of us do. We measure our worth by what others think of us. We compare and strive, existing mostly for the approval of others. Pressure rises, anxiety creeps in and we hustle to keep up….Freedom is for everyone who wants it—the lost, the wounded, and those weary from all of the striving. It’s for those who gave up trying years ago. It’s for those angry and hurt, brilliant and burnt by the Christian song and dance. You are the church, the people of God. You were meant to be free.”
I read Rebekah’s book Freefall to Fly years ago. It was a great look at what to do with anxiety. This year, I’m ready to live in freedom and reflect a more realistic me to those around me – whether that’s in person, on social media, or in my blog posts. I want to be who I already am!
MY FICTION PICKS
(oldie but goodie, maybe even a family read?)
4.
A Wrinkle In Time
by Madeleine L’Engle
“It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.
“Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger told them. “I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract”.
Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?”
I love reading or re-reading books that are about to come out to the theater (March 2018)! We’ve been watching a lot of time travel related tv shows too (“The Flash”). Everyone needs a little science fiction now and then, so why not include it as a family read?
Fun Read
5.
True Colors
by Kristin Hannah
“True Colors is New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah’s most provocative, compelling, and heart-wrenching story yet. With the luminous writing and unforgettable characters that are her trademarks, she tells the story of three sisters whose once-solid world is broken apart by jealousy, betrayal, and the kind of passion that rarely comes along….With breathtaking pace and penetrating emotional insight, True Colors is an unforgettable novel about sisters, rivalry, forgiveness, redemption—and ultimately, what it means to be a family.”
I have 3 sisters, so I picked this one anticipating I’ll be able to relate to the family dynamics. Kristin Hannah is always on my “to-be-read” list, so I figured this is as good a time as any to finally check one off the list!
I hope you’ll all find something to add to your nightstand this season. 2018 is begging for you to read more and scroll less, right? I’d love for you to share what you’re reading (even if it’s not something on my list)!
*All book images and quotes are from the goodreads website!
**All book purchase links are Amazon
