Archives for January 2016

I wrote a blog post earlier this year about my affinity for travel, and I shared a favorite quote:
You will be the same person you are now in five years except for the places you go, the people you meet, and the books you read. 

One of my new years resolutions at the beginning of 2015 was to read a book a month for a total of 12 books this year. As I closed the year out, I am proud to say that I saw that goal and raised it. I finished 28 books in 2015 (not including books of the Bible), thanks in part to my recent addiction to audiobooks. There’s nothing like sitting down to physically read a book cover to cover, but in the craziness of life, sometimes an audiobook is just the thing! This year, I have kept two books going at once: one in print and one in audio format.

I have found that I prefer fiction on tape because it doesn’t require as much active processing. I can simply listen and enjoy the story. I prefer to visually read non-fiction books for the sake of my own comprehension as a visual learner.

I have borrowed all of my audiobooks for free thanks to my local Nashville library and both the Overdrive app and Hoopla app on my phone.

So, for those of you that have any interest in a booklist and recommendations, and for my own documentation, here is my reading list of 2015 as well as my rating (on a scale of 1 to 5) (* = audiobook).

First off, my top 3 recommendations from the year:
1. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Historical fiction. Takes place in France during WWII. So beautifully written and a wonderful story.
2. Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull. Memoir and business book by one of the men who runs Pixar and now Disney Animation Studios. Great for creatives, but good for everyone!
3. The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. I read this at the top of the year, and it really shaped and grew my prayer life. 

     NON-FICTION

1. The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson – 5
2. For The Right Reasons by Sean Lowe (Don’t judge) – 3
3. Create: Stop Making Excuses and Start Making Stuff by Stephen Altrogge – 4
4. Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist – 3
5. Scary Close by Donald Miller – 2 (I know this book is wildly popular; it just didn’t click with me.)
6. When God Doesn’t Fix It by Laura Story – 4
7. The War of Art: Break Through The Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield – 3 (First 2 sections were definitely a 4/5, but the last section took the rating down significantly for me).
8. Shattered Perspectives by AJ Luck – 3
9. Call The Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth* – 4
10. Call The Midwife: Farewell To The East End by Jennifer Worth* – 4
11. Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull – 5



12. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo –FICTION
    
13. Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers – 5
14. Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers – 5
15. As Sure As The Dawn by Francine Rivers – 5
16. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – 4
17. The Help by Kathryn Stockett* – 5
18. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers – 5
19. The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley* – 4
20. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter* – 2
21. The Prince by Francine Rivers* – 4
22. All The Light We Cannot See* by Anthony Doerr – 5
23. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee* – 5
24. Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery* – 4
25. Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery* – 4
26. Anne’s House of Dreams by Lucy Maud Montgomery* – 4
27. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee* – 3 (As a long time lover of To Kill a Mockingbird, I was disappointed by this long-awaited followup!)
28. The Christmas Angel by Jane Maas* – 5

I’ve only finished one book so far in 2016! I guess I better get to work!