38 Books in 2018: Progress Check

At the beginning of the year, I shared 38 books I wanted to read in 2018. I did this for a number of reasons, but the main one was I have too many books.

Now I’m not really complaining about that, I love books and one day I imagine I will die a tragic, untimely death when a bookshelf I’ve crammed with too many books tips over and crushes me. But I was starting to accumulate too many books I hadn’t yet read. And that is a problem. This week I rearranged my office and moved books around, and I have at least 50 to-read books, not counting the ones I started this 2018 list with. So I’m working really hard to stop buying books and read through the ones I already own.

Hence the 38 books I wanted to read this year.

Shocking announcement: did you know the year is half over?? I know. Sit down if you need to. I can’t believe it either. But since it really is, I thought I’d check in on my book progress. I’m no math scholar, but if my calculator is correct, I should be done with about 19 books at this point to stay on track to be done by the end of the year.

Let’s see where I’m at…

Parenting books
Battlefield of the Mind For Kids by Joyce Meyer
Bringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid’s Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World by Marybeth Hicks
13 Things Mentally Strong Parents Don’t Do: Raising Self-Assured Children and Training Their Brains for a Life of Happiness, Meaning, and Success by Amy Morin
Bringing Up Girls: Practical Advice and Encouragement For Those Shaping the Next Generation of Women by Dr. James Dobson

-GUYS. I haven’t read ANY of those books! I’m a failure. This post was the worst idea of all time. I need to quit writing and go read books immediately.

Enneagram books
The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth by Christopher L. Heuertz
The Road Back to You Study Guide by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile (I read the book last fall, but my friends and I are going through it together and we’re using this guide.)
The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert

-I finished the study guide with friends a few months ago. I don’t know about other people who study and learn about the Enneagram, but for me, I read and re-read the same books over and over to let them sink in. Technically I read the Rohr book already but I want to re-visit it again and again.

Quiet time books or studies
(I’m finishing The Daily Bible by the end of January. Yes, I am taking thirteen months to read the Bible in a year. *high five* When I’m done, I’ll be using these for my morning Bible study time.)
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
30 Days to Peace: A One-Month Creative Journal
30 Days to Joy: A One-Month Creative Journal
The Most Misused Verses in the Bible by Eric J. Bargerhuff (reading this one right now)
Out of Context: How to Avoid Misinterpreting the Bible by Richard Schultz
The Most Misused Stories in the Bible: Surprising Ways Popular Bible Stories are Misunderstood by Eric J. Bargerhuff
Write the Word: Cultivate Renewal by Lara Casey (working through this one right now too)
She Reads Truth: Romans

-These are the books I’m using for my morning quiet time this year. Slowly working my way through them, some I’m enjoying more than others, but being consistent in setting aside a part of my morning to get quiet in the Word is something I’ve never regretted making space for.

Fiction/Memoir/Poetry books
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman
Church of the Small Things by Melanie Shankle
Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan
The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur (taking this one with us camping this weekend to read)
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
Shrill by Lindy West
Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture by Adam S. McHugh
What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman

Writing + creative books
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir by Beth Kephart
Blog Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community by Joy Deangdeelert Cho
On Writing by Stephen King (I’ve read this before and want to re-read it.)
On Writing Well by William Zinsser (I read this in college but want to re-read it as well.)

-Well, that’s embarrassing. None from this list either. I’ll be honest and say I’m struggling to enjoy a bit of summer with my kids being home but also begin to focus more on writing and creating every day. Whenever I have a busy day and didn’t get to “work” I tell myself August will be go-time. So that’s what I’m saying about these books too. August is time for business and these books feel like my professional homework for August.

Self-Help + healing books
Safe People: How to Find Relationships That are Good for You by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend
Codependent No More by Melody Beattie
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, MD
Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
Boundaries by Dr. Henry Coud & Dr. John Townsend (I read this last year and want to visit it again.)
Not Quite Healed by Cecil Murphey & Gary Roe
Getting the Love You Want Workbook by Harville Hendrix (Chris and I will do this together; we haven’t read the book it goes with so we might have to add that to the list at some point.)

-I have decided not to do the Getting the Love You Want workbook. I got some recommendations for better, more current books for Chris and I to do so I donated this one to our local thrift shop. I’m going to let someone else get the love they want. I’m starting the van der Kolk book soon for an upcoming podcast episode and a few of these are re-reads, but I think I needed a break from so much emotional baggage work after last year. I’ll be ready for these soon, I think.

Official book progress count: 12 out of 38 completed, 3 in progress right now.

So I’m a little behind.

Here’s a secret: I’ve been reading other books too. Like a lot of other books. According to my IG book account where I share glimpses of what I’m reading, I’ve read 34 books not on this list in 2018.

I am a cheater and a fraud. What is the point of a list if I keep ignoring it?

But on the flip side, this is the absolute best problem to have. Too many books and too much reading. And now, when that overflowing bookcase finally falls over and crushed me to death, I can die happy.

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