Fall 2019 Book List

A few days ago my daughter asked me, “Why do you read so many books about dessert?”  I wasn’t sure what she was talking about until she pointed out the covers of several books I have sitting on my desk.

Hee-hee…maybe that’s why I always want a cookie (or a dozen) when I sit down with my book!

CHASING SQUIRRELS

For all my list-making obsession, there is one area where I constantly go “off-list”.  I can systematically work away at a chore list, a bucket list, and follow my meal-planning list without too much difficulty.  But when it comes to book lists, I am distracted by every bright, shiny book title that catches my eye.   Every book I read provides multiple book recommendations that make me race to reserve them at the library.  Every podcast I listen to introduces me to another author to check out, or “worse,” whole lists of books chanting “buy now…buy now”.   

When I start thinking about books, my brain feels like a pinball machine.  This one looks good; that one over there sounds amazing.  And so-and-so loved that book, so I should definitely check it out.  I almost think that the main reason I want to continue living on this earth for as long as possible is not because of a fear of death or a desire to make my mark in the world, or even to watch my kids grow up (kidding, of course), but mostly because I want to keep reading till I get to the end of the books. 

Now that summer is over and kids are back to school, I’m revisiting my annual “12 books” list. I’m going to tweak and update and add what I’d like to read by the end of the year.  Most years I easily complete my twelve books for the year.  The problem is that beyond those twelve, I get so excited about the possibilities that I bounce all over the place like a dog chasing squirrels.

What I’ve read so far in 2019

When I looked over my “12 months/12 books” list that I started in January (read that post HERE) there were two books on the list that I haven’t yet read.  I still want to read “The Care and Feeding of Ideas” by James Adams, but I am going to push that to my list for another year.  “The Well-Trained Mind” by Susan Wise Bauer I still want to read this year.  Here’s the list of books that I have gotten through so far this year. The first ten were from the twelve books I chose last December, and the remainder were books I randomly picked up based on a recommendation or simply a title that intrigued me.

1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
2. My Morning Routine by Benjamin Spall
3. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanathi
4. Light Up Your Child’s Mind by Joseph Renzulli
5. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
6. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
7. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
8. Make Your Brain Work by Amy Brann
9. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
10. Mrs. Dunwoody’s Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping by Miriam Lukken
11. Let It Go by Karen Ehman
12. Born for This by Chris Guillebeau
13. Make It Happen by Lara Casey
14. Rethinking School by Susan Wise Bauer
15. Girl Boss by Sofia Amoruso
16. Your Child’s Strengths by Jenifer Fox
17. Own Your Day by Aubrey Marcus
18. How Children Succeed by Paul Tough
19. Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey
20. Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser
21. The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
22. Poke the Box by Seth Godin
23. The Achievement Habit by Bernard Roth
24. The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau
25. Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister
26. Learn Better by Ulrich Boser
27. Flash Wisdom by Russ Kick
28. Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam
29. The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeurst
30. An Edited Life by Anna Newton
31. The Rhythm of Life by Matthew Kelly
32. The Essential Enneagram by David Daniels
33. Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
34. Do It Scared by Ruth Soukup
35. Bossypants by Tina Fey
36. What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam
37. It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again by Julia Cameron
38. Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt
39. 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam
40. The Hundred Horses by Sarah Lean (read with my girls)
41. Pippi Longstocking (read with my girls)
42. I Survived…The Great Chicago Fire, 1871 by Lauren Tarshis (read with my girls)
43. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (read with my girls)

I know some of you read this and think, “How in the heck can you read 43 books in 8 months? Do you just sit around and read all day like it’s your job or something?” Nope…but I dream about days like that. That is actually the thing I miss the most about having a newborn. I felt justified in reading a book for hours because I was snuggling a baby!

The truth is that I am a FAST reader first of all. Also, I read at every opportunity during the day. I read, or listen to audiobooks…
…while I eat lunch
…when I have to wait for a child at a class or event
…when I’m on vacation
…instead of watching TV in the evening
…on the treadmill
…waiting for an appointment
…while doing laundry, making dinner, washing dishes, etc.
…in the car (listening, not reading obviously)
…out loud to my kids
…sometimes into the wee, wee hours of the morning

I keep books downloaded on my iPad and sometimes the Kindle. There is a book in my car if I unexpectedly have to wait somewhere. I usually carry a book in my purse when I’m reading one small enough to fit. Basically, I choose to read whenever possible. It is a hobby that I am willing to spend time on, like some people might play co-ed softball or scrapbook. I’ve done both of those things for approximately one week, and one year, respectively, and they just didn’t stick. I’m the worst softball player IN.THE.WORLD. and while I did enjoy scrapbooking because I generally like crafty stuff, I came to the conclusion that I would rather be reading.

So here we go…my short list of books to finish out the year. If I complete all nine books on the list, I will have read 52 books in 2019! (Giving myself a premature round of applause right now.)

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Fall Book List – 2019

1. The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer
2. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
3. How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
4. We Have Met the Enemy by Daniel Akst
5. The Marshmallow Test by Walter Mischel
6. Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels
7. The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood
8. First Impressions by Charlie Lovett
9. Growing Kids with Character by Hettie Brittz

• The Well-Trained Mind is appealing to me because I am just dipping my toe into the world of home education with one of my kids.  She is doing an online school program this year, and technically I am not homeschooling, but I am very much interested in exploring the idea of homeschooling our kids.

• I read Anne Lamott’s Traveling Mercies, and have wanted to read Bird by Bird for some time now.  Really excited to get this one checked off.

• How We Decide, We Have Met the Enemy, and The Marshmallow Test are all books on the topic of self-control.  I am fascinated by this topic, so can’t wait to get into these books.  They all look pretty dense, though, so we’ll see if I can get through all of them before the end of the year.  (These are the books that led to my daughter’s question about my fascination with books about dessert!)

• Master Your Metabolism made the list because I overheard someone say that they had read this book a few years ago, and they wanted to read it again. I rarely reread a book, so when someone finds so much good stuff in a book that they want to reread, I take note. And obviously, if I keep reading books about dessert (see above), I will for sure need a book to help me figure out how to eat all the dessert and still fit into skinny jeans 🙂

• The One-in-a Million Boy and First Impressions are a couple of novels that I threw in there. I do enjoy fiction, and haven’t been reading much of it lately. I first saw these books recommended on modernmrsdarcy.com. The last fiction book I read was Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. Somewhere I saw that Viola Davis and Julia Roberts are going to star in the movie version.

• Finally, Growing Kids with Character is the parenting book I chose for the fall. Not really sure what to expect from this one, as I don’t know much about the author, but I like the premise.

That comes out to just over two books per month, September through December.  I feel fairly confident that I can get through that list. I do most of my reading in the evenings after the kids go to bed, but I also have bits of time during the day. Those little pockets of time can add up! Having a list tied to a period of time keeps me on track with reading books that have been on my “to-read” list for a while, but have not gotten to because of my tendency to grab whatever shiny cover looks enticing.

Let me know if you have any favorite books to recommend. I’ll be starting to put together my 12 book list for 2020 in a few months and I love recommendations.

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