To ease back into reading for pleasure I set the bar low the last two years with a goal of reading 5 books. I hit that goal each year and I loved it! I have seen many people post the books that they read in 2019 and what they want to read in 2020. I didn't track my 2019 books, but have added this to my planner to track in 2020 and beyond. I also didn't make a reading goal for 2020 or a reading list because I didn't want to cause myself that pressure or sway from the freedom of wanting to read whatever spoke to me at the time I needed to start a new book.
The more I thought about tracking books read, the more I knew this was something I wanted to do to shed light on that phase of my life. It's like the books that I read at that time tell a story of their own about that season of my life. Today I sat down and made my list of books that I read/listened to in 2019. I hope I got them all!
In this blog post I will share my approach to books, my completed list for 2019 with short comments, and my rough idea of the books I want to go through next.
How I "do" Books
My top Gallup StrengthsFinder theme is Input. The description for this strength explains that I collect books and reading about topics that interest me should be a factor in my "quality of life equation". In fact, you may have seen my Facebook post earlier this month about the 5 things that make me feel great and help me know I am living my best life. Guess what? Reading is on there! In addition to that, the S.A.V.E.R.S. acronym that was made famous in the book The Miracle Morning includes reading as the "R" in the list of daily practices. My top strength also comes into play in how I "do" books throughout the year. This excerpt from my strength's description is spot on for me: "Instinctively, you tend to read several books or publications at the same time. Without confusing yourself, you can peruse--that is, studiously examine--one for a while, then put it down, pick up another, and continue reading where you left off the last time". This definitely isn't for everyone! But you'll see how this is SO true for me. I love having physical books. Having the pages and the feel just adds to the experience! However, I also love my old back-lie eReader because it is light-weight, backlit, portable, and evenly weighted. Audiobooks are also great for when I am driving! At any given time I am in the middle of 5 books:
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2019 Books
- Fiction
- Messenger by Moonlight by Stephanie Grace Whitson
- She is one of my favorite authors! Loved this heart-warming, NE-based historical fiction about the Pony Express.
- All the Weyrs of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
- I finally finished! This was a longer book, but so good. I love her concept of dragons and the telepathic relationship with their riders. This book is further along in her series and ties together the separate plot lines well.
- When the Future Comes Too Soon by Selina Siak Chin Yoke
- To be honest, this was never a book I would have chosen for myself. This is a sequel of a book I listened to years ago because it was free. It is a longer historical fiction about Southeast Asia and the Malaysian/Chinese culture. I really enjoyed the first one and knew I needed to go through the sequel as well.
- Messenger by Moonlight by Stephanie Grace Whitson
- Non-fiction
- Presence by Amy Cuddy
- I loved the lessons in this book that are based on science and applicable to everyone's daily life! Highly recommend!
- The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith
- I was surprised by how timeless this book is! The Old English isn't too bad, but the lessons are absolutely worth it!
- The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
- This was a great book to explain the depths of the Konmari method. I even donated a lot of books! The picture above is my bookcase post-Konmari-ing.
- Spark Joy by Marie Kondo
- This is the illustrated sequel. It gets into more detail and is inspiring. If you are intimidated by folding, this is for you!
- Do It Scared by Scott Alan
- I listened to this one twice! It was inspiring and helpful. If you want to go for your goals, this is a great one!
- The Miracle Equation by Hal Elrod
- Narration by Hal includes a contagious passion! This book will motivate you to create miracles by having unwavering faith and putting forth extraordinary effort to make the seemingly impossible goal become inevitable.
- Presence by Amy Cuddy
- Horse-related
- Lady Long Rider by Bernice Ende
- I HAD to read this book after being able to spend some time with Bernice in the spring. It was great to hear her tales of her long rides around North America. She is truly inspiring.
- Know Better to Do Better by Denny Emmerson
- This was a great book for horselovers that want to learn from an experienced master
- Dressage the Cowboy Bay by Eitan Beth-Halachmy
- I loved reading this to dig deeper into my discipline and learn a lot of technical riding wisdom
- Cavaletti for Dressage & Jumping by Reiner & Ingrid Klimke
- This focused more on jumping than I expected, but was still good to learn about "gymnastics"
- Lady Long Rider by Bernice Ende
Next up on my list
- Fiction
- Daughter of the Wilds (I actually just finished this book by my friend last night!)
- The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall (my current fiction eBook)
- Heed the Wind (a historical fiction by one of my great friends!)
- Sixteen Brides
- Nonfiction
- Chase the Lion (my current physical book with my mentor)
- Do It Scared by Ruth Soukup (my current audiobook)
- What the Bible Says About Animals (written by a fellow NE Cowboy Dressage rider!)
- Outer Order, Inner Calm
- Your Best Year Ever
- Free to Focus
- The Happiness Project
- Girl, Wash Your Face
- Girl, Stop Apologizing
- The Alter Ego Effect
- Present Over Perfect
- Dare to Lead
- Horse-related
- Training with Cones & Poles (my current physical book on my own)
- Softness (my current thought-provoking eBook)
- Centered Riding 2
- Dressage Training In-hand