READING IN 2017

I've heard, repeatedly, how doing the things you enjoyed as a child can make you happier.  Well, if there was one thing I enjoyed as a kid, it was reading.

I let my love of reading slowly dissipate over the last few years.  I never completely stopped reading, but I had turned into a sort of passive reader rather than an active one.  I was no longer seeking out books or making weekly trips to the library.  Basically, I had just decided that I didn't have enough time to be an avid reader and so I wasn't.

Thank goodness for a renewed desire to read, a goal and a plan.

I shifted my mindset and decided I do have enough time to read.   And with that, I was off.  And, oh what a joy it has been  - and is.  When I am between books (finished one and haven't yet started another), I sometimes still have to remind myself that I have time.  But once I get caught up in a story, it's not hard to make reading my choice over surfing the internet or checking Instagram or what have you.

Spending so many hours reading feels luxurious and nurturing.  It makes me feel more like the pre-mom version of myself.  I am learning more and my brain is hopping with new ideas and new stories.  Basically, it's fabulous.

So, let's get down to the details:

My reading goals for 2017 were to read 40 books, read the majority of them in book (not Kindle) form and to work from a book list.   

I have finished 20 books thus far, this year.  (Half way there and now hoping to end with more than 40.)  Three of those 20 were read via the Kindle App on my phone and the rest were book-books.  11 have been from my list.

In the order I read them:

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

*Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen

Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenrider

*The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

*Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

In This House We Will Giggle by Courtney DeFeo

Loving My Actual Life by Alexandra Kuykendall

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

*The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

*The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

Today Will Be Different by Marie Semple

*A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg

100 Days of Happiness by Fausto Brizzi

*Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

*The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

I have also started (and given up on) seven additional books.

Astonish Me, Hillbilly Elegy, The Fran Lebowitz Reader, Organized Simplicity, Here I Am, Traveling Mercies and Something New.  (And I think there may have been one or two more.)

I read one of these past the halfway point.  The rest, I abandoned within the first 50 or so, pages.  I don't think my abandonment rate is usually quite so high, so I'm not sure what's up.  But, I have really loved some of the books that I finished, so perhaps that makes up for it.  Plus, I am thankful to not be wasting my time with books that don't feel engaging for whatever reason.

Recommendations:

As I've shared before, I really don't care to write summaries or reviews about most things I read.  Still, there are some books that I would happily encourage others to read and others that I would say are not particularly worth reading - a basic "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" type of review, I guess.  So, the starred books above are the ones I would definitely recommend.

Overall, I am just so thrilled to be reading again and don't plan to stop anytime soon.