Read: 10 Favorite Books (of 100!) Read in 2018

For the first time ever, I’ve read 100 books in a year! This honestly wasn’t my plan at the start of 2018, but as December began and I saw how close I was to this number, I knew I could attain this goal and I have!

Here’s the break down of my yearly reading statistics, along with my Top 10 books read.

Home library: 19
Public library: 48 (includes print, e-books, & audio)
Academic library: 10
InterLibrary Loan: 8
E-books: 23 (includes ones from the public library and digital ARCs)
Audio books: 25

Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks (February)

Two Across by Jeff Bartsch (February)

Ruth Reichl (all of her books read throughout the Spring)

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (June)

Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman (June)

Kind is the New Classy by Candace Cameron Bure (July)

Educated by Tara Westover (September)

I’d Rather be Reading by Anne Bogel (October)

The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King (October)

Make Something Good Today by Erin & Ben Napier (December)

 

This reflective list propels me into all that awaits for my reading journey in 2019. On my short list of books to-be-read in January (or soon in the new year) are:

• Becoming by Michelle Obama
• Dear Ally: How Do You Write a Book? by Ally Carter
• The Working Poor by David K. Shipler
• Beartown by Frederik Backman
• Less by Andrew Sean Greer
• Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
• The Black Echo by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch series)
• A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

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Do you have any recommendations to add to my new year’s reading list? And how about you? What books await you in 2019?

Read: December 2018

Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

When the month began I thought I would save this until the week of Christmas to read this sweet story that revisits now engaged Polly and Huckle, Neil the puffin, and a pregnant Kerensa in the cozy hamlet of Mount Polbearne. But this was the one Christmas book I was most excited about reading, so why not begin with it?! It kept me company during a weekend conference when traveling with The Optometrist and was a heartwarming way to begin the Christmas season.

Read via: home library

Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock

In this inspirational Christmas fiction story we meet cab driver and former chef Finn and up-and-coming lawyer Sydney. Their lives are brought together by Sydney’s ailing grandmother Callie when Finn becomes her unintended chauffeur. Woven throughout are themes of regret, second chances, answered prayers, sorrow, and finding love during unexpected times.

I received a complimentary (digital ARC) copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Because of Bethlehem by Max Lucado

A timely, devotional look at how the birth of Christ is at the heart of Christmas. Lucado’s quote, “Look for light this Christmas season…a reminder that the light of Christ is always with me” was particularly powerful, as was a quotation from Eugene H. Peterson’s A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, how “hope…means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do. It is imagination put in the harness of faith.”

Read via: public library audio Overdrive

A Stubborn Sweetness and Other Stories for the Christmas Season by Katherine Paterson 

This sweet collection of Christmas short stories were of varied length, depicted characters young and old, rich and poor, clergy and everyday folk, stories set in America and around the world. A pleasant surprise came in reading the introduction with the discovery that Paterson’s husband has been a minister and he often read her stories aloud from the pulpit during advent.

My thanks to Edelweiss for access to the digital ARC.

Make Something Good Today by Erin & Ben Napier

Although I’ve only seen a few episodes of Home Town on HGTV, I immediately took a shine to Erin and Ben Napier. Therefore, when I saw they had written a memoir about their lives, marriage, relationship with Christ, and leap of faith into stepping away from “predictable” jobs and investing their lives and careers into art and restoration of their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi, I was all in.

Read via academic library InterLibrary Loan

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

This was a charming middle grade story about a family of five children in Harlem who must band together to convince their grumpy upstairs neighbor and landlord to allow them to continue to live in their shared brownstone. It included delightful themes of family togetherness at Christmastime and the power of kindness and community.

Read via: public library Overdrive

Christmas in Plains: Memories by Jimmy Carter

Written and narrated by President Jimmy Carter, this was a wholesome look at the Christmas traditions of this remarkable man and his family in Plains, Georgia, and was a gentle way to end my year of reading.

Read via: Hoopla audio

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How have you wrapped up your year in reading? What are you excited to read in 2019?

Lean In: My 2018 word in action

About a year ago I felt promptings from the Holy Spirit that throughout 2018 I should look for ways to lean in.

Merriam-Webster.com defines lean as “to incline” or “to apply pressure to.”

One huge way I’ve done this is to begin journaling daily, a revitalized practice from years past, in which I’ve specifically documented ways I’ve sought to incline myself toward a more thoughtful practice. A few highlights include:

• Not being afraid to try new online technology tools.
• Expanding my horizons and participating in multicultural events on campus.
• Taking time to engage with students about coursework and faith intertwined.
• Noticing how my heart stirs during author visits and readings of their works in our library and/or on campus.
• Offering off the clock time to stay late during finals week to answer patron questions and assist our student workers.
• Knowing tasks needed to be done and asking for help to make it happen.
• Being intentional about sending cards or calling friends and family members on their birthday (the later is a hard thing for me because I do not like talking on the phone, nor have I ever).
• Not being afraid to spend time doing hard things – like attending a going away party for friends.

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Have you had a word for 2018? If so, how have you seen it bear fruit in your life? Are you, like me, already thinking ahead to a word for 2019?

100 e-books read on my Kindle!

So, confession, I’m a bit of a luddite. I was a very late adopter to transitioning to digital, handheld technology, but in March 2013 The Optometrist convinced me that I would benefit from a Kindle and he was 100% correct in this assumption. Side note: the Kindle  came into my life around six months before I bought an iPhone – how’s that for priorities!

At the time The Optometrist had a regular Kindle, but he thought I would benefit from a Kindle Paperwhite, and right he was. Once I discovered I had access to digital, pre-publication advanced reader copies (ARCs) as a librarian through NetGalley and Edelweiss, as well as Overdrive from my local public library, I knew I would use it often and I most certainly have. Therefore, while I buy e-books from Amazon on occasion, most of what I read are complements of a publisher (blogged about here), borrowed from the library, or free/in the public domain.

10 few take-aways after reading 100 books on my Kindle:

• Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson, checked out through Overdrive, was the first e-book I read on my Paperwhite.
• As you can see, I keep the organization of my books simple into three folders:
  • Fin – those I’ve finished
  • Free to Read – ARCs
  • More About Jesus – writings about the life of faith.
    Books I’ve bought or haven’t yet read fill out the other pages on the device.
• I’ve come to rely on the Kindle search feature so heavily I’ve caught myself wanting to press and hold a word in a print book to see where else it’s mentioned in the text. This is a handy alternative to flipping back in a traditional book and trying to remember where a significant word was featured.
• Highlighting passages and flagging pages is a convenient way to return to vocabulary words I don’t know or a memorable quote I want to revisit.
• The backlight is ideal for bedtime reading, keeping the brightness in check as I wake up early or am about to fall asleep.
• With that in mind, I tend to reach for it more in the fall/winter when it’s darker outside and I don’t want to have on a light in our bedroom to disturb The Optometrist. Spring and summer are when I find myself reading more paperback and hardback books.
• I almost always keep the progress bar turned off so I’m not in competition with myself to see how much farther or faster I need to read before finishing a book.
• Every now and then a hard reboot of the device is in order, but I’ve never lost any of my books/files in this process.
• The Send to Kindle app has been helpful in uploading PDF files to read on my Kindle at different times.
• (Sneaky tip from a fellow librarian) If you turn on airplane mode, the Kindle operates offline and you’re able to finish the last few pages of a library book before turning back on the wifi and the book being auto-returned on its due date.

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Do you have an e-reader on which you enjoy reading? If you have any tips for a Kindle Paperwhite reader, please share in the comments below!