Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Second Annual Books-I-Read-Last-Year Post

Here's a picture of all the books I read in 2014.  Last year, I rated them all, but this year I'm switching it up and doing a series of Top 5 lists (below the picture):

The Children Act
The Rosie Project (Don Tillman #1)
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
Walking with God through Pain and Suffering
How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food
The Light Between Oceans
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder
Lila (Gilead, #3)
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
The Invention of Wings
Wonder
Ready, Set, Potty!: Toilet Training for Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disorders
The Valley of Amazement
Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
The Vacationers
MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
The Metaphysical Club
The Headmaster's Wife
Americanah
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency  (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #1)
Dad Is Fat
The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals
Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table, with Recipes
The Husband's Secret
Someone Else's Love Story
The Luminaries
The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion
The Secret History
The Book of Jonah
Life After Life
Stitches : a handbook on meaning, hope, and repair
Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America
The No-Cry Potty Training Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Child Say Good-Bye to Diapers
The Everything Potty Training Book: Professional, Reassuring Advice to Help You and Your Child Through This Challenging Time
Sun Shine Down: A Memoir
Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do
One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are
The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow


























































































Five Books that I'm still thinking about:
1.  The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
2.  Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss
3.  Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
4.  Wonder by R.J. Palacio
5.  All books in the spiritual formation category (below)

Top Five Novels:
1.  Lila by Marilynne Robinson
2.  Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3.  Where'd you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
4.  The Secret History by Donna Tartt
5.  The Children Act by Ian McEwan

Top Five for Spiritual Formation:
1.  Prayer by Tim Keller
2.  Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering by Tim Keller
3.  Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright
4.  One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
5.  Seven by Jen Hatmaker

Top Five that Exceeded Expectations:
1.  What I Talk About When I talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
2.  Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
3.  The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
4.  Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist
5.  The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Five that you should skip:
1.  Blue Mind
2.  Someone Else's Love Story
3.  The Book of Jonah
4.  Stitches (i LOVE some of Anne Lamott's other books, but this one just did not do it for me)
5.  The Headmaster's Wife
*BONUS* category of book that you should skip:  all potty training books ever written.  They will not help.  

Last year, a few people saw my reading post and asked me how I managed to read so many books.  The short answer is that I probably have more time than many of you since I don't work outside the home and my kids are usually in bed by 8:30 pm.  (For those of you who are in this same stage, I'm not meaning to say that this stage is easy - I'm usually tempted to go to bed at about the same time as my kids - just that this is where I find the time.)  But in the spirit of The Top Five, here are my five tips to fit more reading into your life:

1.  Find good recommenders - whether it's friends or the New York Times or cruising around Barnes and Noble display tables, find reliable sources that can help you pick out good books.  Text yourself immediately when you see a good book so you can remember for later.  Keep a list of books you want to read.  Goodreads.com is a great place to do this.  There is nothing that motivates reading like having a book on your nightstand that you actually want to read.
2.  Use the library's online hold system.  It saves money, it keeps you stocked with books you want to read, and it gives you a 3 week deadline to finish the book.
3.  Keep a book with you all the time.  There are all these moments of the day that you spend waiting:  at the doctor's office, when your gas tank is filling up, when you get to the school five minutes early - these moments are all a good chance to get in a couple minutes of reading.
4.  Switch it up - if you usually read fiction, throw in some non-fiction.  Mix heavy reads with light reads.  Try something in a genre you would usually not try.  I feel like this energizes all my reading, both in and out of my comfort zone.
5.  Join a book club - there's nothing like monthly peer pressure to help you get through some additional books.  I do a virtual book club with my mom and sister and it's been really fun for us, and also a good way to try out books that I would otherwise never think to read.  

What books did you read in the last year that you would recommend (or recommend skipping)?

No comments:

Post a Comment