I honestly cannot remember what my goal was at the beginning of 2020 in regards to how many books I would have liked to read. I’m pretty sure I said twelve, but I also might have said 24…soooooo there’s that. 2020 has been a crazy year. We moved back to the states, a pandemic happened, Nathan started a new job, we had a baby and we moved across town. I feel pretty accomplished that I managed to squeeze twelve books in there (maybe more, 2020 isn’t over yet)

Here are the books that made the cut:

• Close to Home by Cara Taylor
• Clock Dance by Ann Taylor
• Labor with Hope by Gloria Furman
• Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
• Unplanned by Abby Johnson
• Super Mom Myth by Becky Kopitzke
• This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
• Before we were Yours by Lisa Wingate
  • Oooooh, this book was good. It’s a fictional novel but is based on real-life events. It was captivating and I felt like I couldn’t put the book down.
• Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg
  • This book is the second book in a trilogy by Elizabeth Berg. I read the first, The Story of Arthur Truluv back in 2019 and it was fantastic. These are easy reads that are funny, lighthearted and just kind of make your heart go “awww”.
• Confession Club by Elizabeth Berg
  • The third book in the trilogy.
• Missional Motherhood by Gloria Furman
  • This was my second time reading this book, I’ll probably read it more. It is great. I recommend.
• The Giver* by Lois Lowry
  • We listened to this as an audiobook during a trip back to Iowa. I had read it in middle school, but it was a fun little listen to kill some time during the drive.

Apparently all of the books that I really enjoyed were read towards the end of the year.

I always struggle with finding a balance of reading for fun, and reading to gain knowledge about certain topics. I have a hard time reading non-fiction books in the evening to relax, but I also struggle making time for it during the day. I do really enjoy reading fiction books, but I also want to spend time reading things that will help equip me for being a mom, a wife and a follower of Jesus. Someone that I follow on instagram mentioned that they usually will read a chapter of a non-fiction book and then spend the rest of their time reading in the evening with a fictional book. I’ve tried that the past few weeks and I’ve really been enjoying it. In light of a new year quickly approaching, I think my goal for 2021 will be 24 books. Two books a month seems doable, while also reserving time to do other things I enjoy doing (you know, like chasing my children and cleaning up the legos a million times a day). I also have a goal of reading through my Bible once, so that’s really only 23 books to go. I can do this! I can choose to say no to binging shows on Netflix and reading before I go to sleep. I think we all agree I could spend less time looking at screens and instead looking at books. Here’s to 2021 and here’s to 24 books! I’ll keep y’all updated.

What are your favorite books? What should I add to my 2021 list? Leave your recommendations and that way I will have a lot easier of a time picking out my next book!