less reading: a month long challenge

I’m a reader and I read a lot. The year ends today and I’ve read 79 books this year.

Starting January 1st, I’m going to try something new.

Reading brings me a lot of joy and is a beautiful thing. But, I’ve wondered before and am currently wondering again, what would change in my life if I took a break from reading?

Here’s what I think might happen.

1. I think I might be more productive. I (completely) realize that productivitiy is not the goal of life. Still. Sometimes I let reading take over my time and have trouble getting tasks done until I get to the end. It’s one of those “must finish this chapter!” that turns into “must finish this book!” kind of things.

2. I think I will have to listen to my own thoughts and feel my own feelings more. This one’s harder to admit, but I think that I sometimes read to fill my brain space. It sometimes feels like an easy way out. I’m intrigued with what my brain will find to ponder when it isn’t filled with the information or story that someone else has written.

3. I think not reading will be particularly challenging when we go on a mini vacation mid-month. Reading on vacation is one of my favorite things. I don’t know what I will do instead, but I’m curious to see.

4. I think I will have to find something new to do with my time. Reading is basically my default mode. It’s what I do when I have an extra five minutes or an extra two hours. Beyond that weekend vacation, what will I do with my free time the rest of the month? Beyond painting what will I do that will feel both fun and productive?

Writing that last sentence just made me realize another reason I likely read as much as I do. It feels both fun and productive. This might give you a little insight into my personality. …heaven forbid I do something just for fun.

As I write this, it all sounds like a good idea. But, honestly, it sounds like a good idea for a me that isn’t me. I want to put it off. I’m already thinking of all the books on my holds list that will come available this month and how hard it will be to wait to read them. I’m already thinking about all the books I currently have in process and I want to say, “I’ll start this challenge after I finish this stack.” But, I think tomorrow needs to be the day.

The books will still be here for me to finish later.

It’s time to learn something new about myself and see what my life is like without a seven books a month.

A few parameters / exceptions:

I am allowed to finish the book that I have started / will discuss on January 11th with one of my book clubs.

I am allowed to continue doing read aloud time with my kids. We usually read together after school and / or before their bedtime - approximately 15 to 30 minutes a day.

I will still read my Bible and devotion books - usually 15 to 30 minutes a day.

Wish me luck, friends! Here we go!

2020 Book Report

Note: Many links in this post are affiliates. If you make a purchase through the link, I may receive a small monetary return.

With just a couple days left in 2020, I’m at 64 books completed and 2 more in-process. It’s been a good year of reading, for me.

I rate my completed books on a scale of 1-5 stars with half points allowed (example: 3.5 stars) and ended the year at a healthy per book average of 4.4 stars. This is skewed heavily, of course by the fact that I abandon books if I’m not loving (or at least liking) them.

Here are my sixteen 5 star reads from 2020, with the first shared being the one that stuck with me the most:

1. The Song of Achilles. My kids have a children’s book version of the Trojan War (this one) that gives a nice overview of the Trojan War. We read it quite regularly and doing so had peaked my interest in the story. The Song of Achilles felt like a beautiful immersion into the story. I think the best adjective for this book is rich.

2. O Pioneers! I grew up and live on the plains of Nebraska - where the author lived for many years and where this story is set. This is the story of a quiet, strong and honest woman and her love of the land at the turn of the 20th century. It is a quiet, but powerful book.

3. The Dutch House. A strong story of a broken family and all their pieces.  This book  felt something like a modern day fairy tale.  May I recommend that you listen to this one as an audiobook? It is read by Tom Hanks and who doesn’t want to listen to “Woody” bring a story to life? 

4. Little Bee. This book covers immigration and racism in an achingly beautiful way. The narrator was precious in both her innocence and strength. This was a re-read for me and I loved it all over again.

5. The Invention of Wings. A story of slavery (and later abolition) that alternated narrators between a young enslaved girl and her equally young owner. This book was partially based on true events and enlightened me on some aspects of slavery and particulars of events to which I had previously been ignorant.

6. Big Dreams, Daily Joys. The title of this is fairly self evident and I have followed this author on social media for many years, so the meat of this book was not a surprise. Still, I found so many little tidbits of wisdom and practical advice that I have returned to sections of this book more than once in the last year. I really appreciated the format of this book as everything is broken down into very digestible sections.

7. Discerning the Voice of God. I read through this fairly quickly and think it deserves a slower re-read. I loved learning more about the ways God speaks to us and more about the ways I can listen for his voice.

8. The Vanishing Half. A beautifully written story on race and race relations. This book was thought provoking on topics of identity, the way we know and love one another and the ways we see ourselves.

9. Prodigal Summer. This novel took me right into Appalachia and told three adjacent stories that slowly weaved together people, place and nature in a way that was captivating, but quiet.

10. Silas Marner. This is the story of love blossoming a heart and changing a life. I did not expect to love this book, but I did. When I reached the last chapter, I wished for there to be more.

11. The Book of Longings. Any well-written historical fiction written around the time of Jesus’ life on earth is intriguing to me. This one was no different and I read it very quickly. While I did not quite “ go for” much of this story - some parts felt forced and some (much?) of it veered from Biblical teaching - I was totally engrossed in the story and loved learning more about life in that time period.

12. Being Lutheran. A deep dive into the theology of Lutheranism and what it means to be a Lutheran - without being overly scholarly. This book brings together the beliefs of Lutheranism and what that means / looks like in life.

13. The Tattooist of Auschwitz. The terrible world of European life during WWII - and, particularly, inside concentration camps was brought to life on these pages and, somehow, love, hope and courage shined through.

14. Winter Garden. Another hard-topic book - alternating between a present day family and the mother’s WWII experiences. One of my favorite WWII books is The Madonnas of Leningrad and this book took me back to that same setting.

15. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. Set in a remote village in China, this novel keeps coming back to the relationship between mothers and daughters. As I read this book, I had to continually remind myself that the narrator was my contemporary - as it felt not just last century, but several centuries back. …definitely led me to some googling about the culture of the narrator.

16. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I’m sneaking this one in, even though I haven’t quite finished it. This book is centered around the premise of a young woman making a deal with darkness that allows to her to live indefinitely, but with no connections to the people around her. The story leaps back and forth through centuries, is well written and, to my delight, has strong and unique ties to the arts.

I’m moving into 2021 with no set reading goal, but high hopes to read again so many good books!

If you need more suggestions, my bookshop page includes more of my favorites.