Category: Reading

I usually have a strong start to my yearly reading, and this year was no exception. I’ll get right to it… this is what I read in January:

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (5 stars) – This book was recommended to me by friends as a “OMG, I can’t believe you haven’t read this yet!”. I would put this book into the same category as Educated and Hillbilly Elegy – stories of adults who grew up in extreme poverty with toxic and/or inconsistent parents, learned the lessons and broke the cycle. I appreciate the authors of all of these books for not only conveying the day to day life of these situations but also what it feels like, which is key for those of us from different backgrounds to gain understanding of what that life is like.

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle (4 stars) – This book was recommended by a PA superintendent during a webinar I was on in November. She mentioned it as being useful in uniting her board members. I’m pretty sure I ordered it on the spot, and I’m thankful I did. As a new school board president I’m encountering some challenges that this book gave me insight into how to steer us towards success.

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (4.5 stars) – I’ve had TJR’s books on my ‘to be read’ list & pile for AGES. I enjoyed the interview format of this novel, and the story was engaging the entire way through. It didn’t quite merit 5 stars because when I was done with it I knew I wanted to read more of her works but I didn’t finish this one with the big exhale that I typically have with a 5 star read.

Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Core by Patric Richardson & Karin Miller (4 stars) – I heard about this book from my favorite book podcaster, Anne Bogel. Not only does this book have great laundry tips (a tried and true stain guide for everything!) but offers engaging stories about the author’s history with clothing, laundry and his Southern family.

Currently Reading: Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman – I first found this work as the short series on Netflix when it came out in 2020. I thought the main character and her story was so engaging that I knew I wanted to read the source book. I found it on the shelf at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago (still one of my favorite places to pick up books!) so I grabbed it and dove in.

I read two books each in March and April, bringing my total for the year to 14! I’m already looking forward to warm summer days at the pool and lots of reading time! Here’s what I read!

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens – This story is told in “Sliding Doors” fashion which I love… present day happenings mixed with flashbacks to previous points in the characters’ lives. This was a quick, inviting read and a great choice for a light romcom novel. 4/5 stars

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb – I loved this book. I had it in my Kindle app forever and just like with Crawdads I’m sorry it took me so long to read it! A fascinating look at a therapist dealing with her patients, her own life issues and her journey through therapy. 5/5 stars

The Unlikely Thru-Hiker by Derick Lugo – This was a pick for a book club that’s an offshoot of my hiking group. Definitely an interesting story – Derick is a New Yorker who in a down moment in his life decides to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. The one thing that was missing for me was how he prepared for the journey. His account goes from making the decision to showing up on his first day with a perfectly outfitted pack. 4/5 stars.

Originals by Adam Grant – I discovered the work of Adam Grant in the last year through Instagram, and organizational psychology has always been my favorite niche in psychology. This is the first book of his that I’ve read, but I’ve also enjoyed his podcast and his appearances on other podcasts. In this book Grant breaks down what non-traditional processes have led to great innovations and groundbreaking thoughts (and there’s a section on how to raise children to learn these skills!). As someone who is an introvert and has always thought about the world a little bit differently and aspires to lead the best I can, I appreciated his insights and will work to incorporate them into my own practice. 4/5 stars

In other bookish news, the physical pile of books that I have in my house that I still have to read has grown a little unwieldy. I’ll be taking some time early next week to sort through them and make a priority reading list for this summer. I’ll update when I know what’s on it!

What have you been reading lately?

So somehow it’s the middle of March… but here’s what I read in February (in no particular order)!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – This book was incredible and I was actually mad at myself for not reading this sooner. This novel chronicles the untraditional childhood and early adulthood of Kya, known in her community as “The Marsh Girl.” She deals with an extraordinary amount of loss and parents herself from a young age. I was swept in by her strength and resilience and was so proud of the woman she became. I know a book is powerful when I need a little break before starting my next read (I call this a book hangover), and I had a big one after finishing this novel. (5/5 stars)

I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman – Modern Mrs. Darcy included this book in her 2020 summer reading preview, and I grabbed it from my library’s new release shelf at the end of January. This story is told from alternating viewpoints of a single mother and her teenage daughter as they are part of a week-long college tour group. As someone who will parent teenagers in the coming years, I found the insights each character revealed as part of the mother/daughter relationship interesting. This was a quick, light read that I very much enjoyed. (4.5/5 stars)

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson – This book has been on my TBR forever and I promised myself I would read it before seeing the movie. The author is a young attorney who starts an organization to provide pro bono services for inmates on death row in Alabama in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. He profiles black inmates who were wrongfully convicted of crimes and those who he could not save from their execution. His first hand accounts are heart-wrenching and show just how complex the legal system in his state is and how complicated it is for someone to navigate. (5/5 stars)

Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld – I’ve never been a fan of the show Seinfeld, but I adore his standup. This book is the entirety of his standup bits divided by decade, and if you can picture him saying them it’s the best standup show ever. (4/5 stars)

In Five Years by Rebecca Searle – I had high hopes and it just missed the mark for me. I went in thinking this book would be one thing, and it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The main character of this novel travels through 5 years of her life after she has a dream that flashed her forward. What was disorienting at first plays out in perfect bits towards her living her life authentically. (3.5/5 stars)

Now that you’ve found a way to challenge yourself to read more, it’s time to find some books!

Podcast episodes – I found the podcast “What Should I Read Next?” about 2.5 years ago and it is incredible. Each episode has the same format – after a get to know you chat with the guest, the host Anne Bogel asks the guest to talk about 3 books they love, 1 book they don’t and what they’re currently reading. Then based on clues she gets from those selections, Anne gives the guest 3 suggestions of books he/she may enjoy. (Side note, she does this on the fly! She has shared on Instagram that she takes notes during the episode and cultivates a list of potential books for the guest during the course of the conversation) You can scroll through the episode descriptions and find guests who you think may have interests similar to yours – I tend to skip the episodes with guests who are heavy into fantasy and horror reading, but if there’s mention of a guest who likes modern fiction with a complicated family story, I’m all in!

Browse library new books section – My local library has a long case right off the lobby filled with new releases – fiction on one side and nonfiction on the other. I look at these shelves every time I go and will grab one or two that sound interesting or that I’ve heard something about.

Talk to your independent bookstore owner/librarian – Guaranteed the bookstore owner and librarian is a reader and a book lover, and will have recommendations for you! He or she is also knowledgeable about what’s new in the publishing world even if it’s outside of their personal area of interest.

Head to your local thrift store – One underappreciated place for finding books is your local Goodwill or thrift shop! One of my daughter’s dance classes is only 30 minutes long and there’s a Goodwill 2 doors down from her studio in the shopping center, so every few weeks I’ll wander in to see what they have. At that store most of the books are only $1, and I’ve picked up so many that have been on my TBR (to be read) list. Even if you’re starting from scratch with no TBR, cruise the shelves at your local thrift store and see what interests you.

Go back to those well-known book clubs and scan the lists of what they’ve read: Oprah, Reese & Jenna

Book of the Month – This subscription service (which I am *this* close to joining) sends you one of 5 new releases for just $10-15, and then you can add on additional books for $10. The monthly picks are from a range of categories so you can try different genres and see which one you like the best.

Goodreads – Goodreads is the Facebook of the reading world. You can connect with friends to see what they’re reading, but your news feed will also tell you what books are trending in different areas and you can look at other users comments on a particular book to see if it might be for you.

Social Media – There are active book communities on both Instagram and TikTok. Search #bookstagram on Instagram and #booktok to see what others are reading, what they love and what they don’t love. My list of books I’m interested in has grown so much since finding these communities!

Take cues from what movies/TV you enjoy –  See if your favorite series or movie is based on a book (Outlander, Crazy Rich Asians, heck, even Bridgerton!) and dive in! Or read the book before you see an upcoming movie release. I have been holding out on seeing the movie Just Mercy for ages because I hadn’t read the book yet (just finished it over the weekend!), but I also binged Firefly Lane on Netflix last week even though the book has been on my shelf for ages.

I encourage you to keep notes either in a book journal or in an online form like Goodreads as you’re working through finding what you like. Keep notes about what works and what doesn’t work so you can further hone in on a genre/story arc/character type that you enjoy the most.

And I’m going to repeat my caveat:

As with making any change, give yourself some grace. Life happens and missing one piece of your reading goal is not something to stress about. They don’t call it “reading for enjoyment” for nothing. Meeting your reading goal shouldn’t be stressful, it should be exciting. Along those same lines, if a book isn’t serving you or giving you joy, it’s ok to put it down. As you are discovering what you like to read, you’ll have some hits and some misses. If you know 75 pages in that something is amiss, don’t feel like you need to finish the next 200 pages. Put it down and make note of why that book wasn’t the one for you. All of these pieces of information will refine your reading preferences and help you be more accurate about your picks in the long run. I wrote about how I did that in this post. At this point, I don’t put books down often because I have a better sense of what I like and what I think I won’t like. Finding your preferences is a journey.

How to introduce more reading to your life and finding what to read seems to me like a chicken/egg problem. You’re not going to read more without having books to read but if you have books to read you also need a plan to get the reading done. So this is going to be a two part series and I’m going to arbitrarily pick which part to start with (the other part will come next Tuesday).

Part 1 – How to make changes to your reading life

I was the kid who always had a book in her hand. I would check out a stack of books from the library and tear through them after I got home. Libraries and bookstores continue to be a place of joy and excitement for me. But there was a period of my life when reading took a backseat (college, working, then working in Philadelphia and commuting 3 hours per day, and having small children). It got to a point where I knew that I missed reading and had to be mindful about how to incorporate it into my life again.

Here’s a list of ways you can be more mindful changing your reading life:

Set a goal – This goal could take any number of forms. Think about how you like to approach challenges and adapt that to your reading life. When I ran my first marathon, the thought of running 26.2 miles completely overwhelmed me. So my friend and I looked at the course map and broke it down to 7 milestones (places where I’d see my family, notable landmarks, etc). I could wrap my brain around just having to be 7 places much more easily than I could having to cover 26.2 miles. So if the thought of picking a “number of books” goal intimidates you, then choose something else.

A few examples of reading goals:
• Number of books – reading XX books per year/month
• Number of pages – reading XX pages per year/month
• Books on a topic – When I was in Key West a few years back visiting Hemingway’s house I had wished I had read some of his books and books about him before I went. What do you have coming up that you can read up on before you experience it?
• Back catalog of a favorite author – If there’s an author you enjoyed at one point, see if there are books of his/hers that you haven’t read yet.
• Number of minutes per day – Aim to read 5, 10 or more minutes per day. Use one of the strategies introduced by NAME HERE in Atomic Habits – attach that activity to one that is already a habit. For example, read 10 minutes right after you pour your morning coffee, or 10 minutes before your kids get off the bus.

Reading challenge – I’ve talked before about the Modern Mrs. Darcy reading challenges and the RAD Reading Challenge. I’m sure our friend Google would link you to many more options if you’d like to explore. I prefer a structure similar to this year’s RAD Reading Challenge because it encourages you to explore genres and types of books that may be out of your comfort zone. Last year I read 11/22/63 for this type of category in my reading challenge and LOVED it. I had always thought that I would never read a Stephen King book but I’m glad I pushed myself to try it.

Buddy read – I’m much more successful at reaching goals when I know there’s someone/something holding me accountable. Some days I’ll even text my to do list to a friend just to help keep myself on track. One way to do this with reading is to read the same book as a buddy or to just share your goals with each other and report in on them.

Book club – I know some of you are rolling your eyes right now at the words “book club,” but in the age of Covid they’ve taken on some interesting forms. Local book clubs may still be an option, but lots of businesses and organizations are offering discussion groups now too. Check your local independent book store, your college alumni association, and favorite magazine websites for read-together options. And on a much bigger scale there’s always our friends Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, and Jenna Bush Hager (from the Today Show) who have well known book clubs. Even some of my favorite bloggers and podcasters are hosting monthly reading groups. Lots of options!

What other strategies can we add to this list? I’d love to do a part 2 with your input!

And a caveat:
As with making any change, give yourself some grace. Life happens and missing one piece of your reading goal is not something to stress about. They don’t call it “reading for enjoyment” for nothing. Meeting your reading goal shouldn’t be stressful, it should be exciting. Along those same lines, if a book isn’t serving you or giving you joy, it’s ok to put it down. As you are discovering what you like to read, you’ll have some hits and some misses. If you know 75 pages in that something is amiss, don’t feel like you need to finish the next 200 pages. Put it down and make note of why that book wasn’t the one for you. All of these pieces of information will refine your reading preferences and help you be more accurate about your picks in the long run. I wrote about how I did that in this post. At this point, I don’t put books down often because I have a better sense of what I like and what I think I won’t like. Finding your preferences is a journey.

This year I broke my trend of setting my book goal as the last two digits of the year (so in 2021 it should have been 21 books). I have outpaced that goal for the last couple of years and set my 2021 reading goal at 40 books. I’m also participating in a couple of reading challenges this year, and using a reading bullet journal for the first time (which I’ll save for a later post).

I enjoy challenges because they force me to be more mindful about the books I’m choosing and stretch me outside of my reading comfort zone. The Modern Mrs. Darcy Challenge for 2021 is much different than the past few years. She asks readers to evaluate their reading life and goals and to shape their own checkpoints for the year. I’m going to save mine for a mid-year check in on my reading. I wrote a few ideas down, but I want to see how this year progresses. The RAD Reading Challenge only has 9 topics and is great for those of you who are new to reading challenges.

I read 5 books in January, and did something with a 6th that I usually don’t do. I put it down without finishing it. In no particular order, here’s my take on each of those 6 books:
The Crown: The Official Companion by Robert Lacey – I love, love, love The Crown series on Netflix. I can’t remember where I heard about this book but it was part of the pile of books that my mom gifted me for Christmas. The author gives what actually happened in each episode of the first season and gives quick looks into the real lives of some of the characters. The book was interesting, but felt disorganized to me. I don’t love when the text of chapters are interrupted with pages of sidebar information. 3/5 stars.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah – This book was fascinating! I honestly didn’t know much about South Africa or Trevor Noah, but he fully immerses the reader in his life growing up there as the child of a black mother and white father. He does a wonderful job of explaining the cultural and racial landscape and how his mixed race affected him in various situations. 5/5 stars.

Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller – This book was recommended by members of my Rising Tide group, Tuesdays Together during our October meeting that focused on social media. It’s a bestseller for a reason – the author lays out a step-by-step process to refining your business’s or organization’s brand and how to convey that information through social media. 5/5 stars.

Educated by Tara Westover – Wowza. This book has been on my TBR (and my shelf) for a long while. The author grew up on a mountainside in Idaho with very non-traditional Mormon parents who didn’t believe in any government intervention in their lives – including sending their children to school. Westover shares her childhood and educational path through a wealth of stories – it’s a mentally and emotionally difficult read but well worth the time investment. 5/5 stars.

Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems before They Happen by Dan Heath – This book was recommended in the latest newsletter from the PA School Board Association, and I was delighted to find it in my local library. The author provides a great framework for looking at issues that may require systemic change or a creative view to solve. He identifies the roadblocks typically encountered in identifying these issues and a list of key questions to ask to solve them. This is a great read for anyone involved in any kind of business or organization! 5/5 stars.

And the one I didn’t finish…

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward – I started this book months ago, misplaced it for a little bit, and then picked it up again in January. The book just wasn’t sitting right with me at this time. I could have forced my way through it, but I’d rather wait and pick it up again at a later date. I feel like there is a stigma associated with putting unfinished books down. I believe that reading should be enjoyable (and yes, even difficult reads can be enjoyable), but forcing myself to read something isn’t worth my time.

What’s the last book you put down without finishing?

(Disclaimer: All links to books are Amazon Affiliate links, so Gingersnaps Bows will make a small profit off each book ordered from that link.)