I don’t hoard many things. My friend Krissy jokes when my kids get presents, I immediately throw them in the trash, because I don’t want more things in our home.
That’s a slight exaggeration, but I do sometimes worry my kids will be in therapy later about the ruthless way their mother got rid of all their stuff. But in all honesty, they’re already in therapy, and I throw away everyone’s stuff, not just theirs, on a regular basis.
My point is, I hate stuff. I’m against clutter. I don’t think more is better.
Except for books.
Give me all the books.
I predict one day I will die as a result of a very tall pile of books falling on me while I’m trying to add just one more to the top. I have no restraint when it comes to books.
With that confession out in the open, I have decided I need to stop buying all the books for a minute and focus more on reading them. Not that I haven’t been reading. I read all the time. But I buy them faster than I can read them and things are getting a little out of balance.
This year, I want to be intentional about tackling some of the books I’ve been meaning to read, but haven’t because I get distracted when I randomly grab a new book at the library or order another new book from Amazon. It’s embarrassing how many great books I have waiting to be read. So here’s what I’m reading in 2018:
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
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
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
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
She Reads Truth: Romans
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
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.)
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.)
Confession #2: As I was making this list, I kept grabbing more books off my shelves to add, because I’m starting to get anxious about saying I’m going to read these specific books. WHAT ABOUT ALL THE OTHER GOOD BOOKS THAT NEED ME TO READ THEM?
I’m an Enneagram type 8 so the minute anyone tries to control what I do (even myself!), I react by doing the opposite. I hate being bossed around so this will go well, I can tell. *sighhhhh*
This is normally the part where I ask for your recommendations or book suggestions, but I’m too weak right now. I can’t even hear what someone else is reading, because I will get distracted by it. So instead, have you read any of these? I’m all over the place with books. I can tell you without even reading these that some of them will contradict each other (I mean, come on, Lindy West and Dr. Dobson on the same list? We’re in for some exciting times, guys!).
You don’t have to read Getting a The Love You Want with the workbook. The workbook has not been updated since the theory has evolved DO NOT DO THE CHAPTER ON ANGER! I think you will like Getting The Love You Want but Making Marriage Simple is an easier (less of the theory) book that covers the same principles.
That’s good to know. We bought this last summer at the recommendation of Chris’ counselor but I have since come to think he wasn’t that great (for many, many reasons). We have the book already and I didn’t want it to go to waste, but I trust your opinion more than his so I might order that one instead. Thanks for sharing!
I’m also a book hoarder. With a classroom library and a bazillion books at home, I have them everywhere! One year I told myself I would only read from my classroom library. Not even sure that lasted a week.
Church of the Small Things is not what I expected, but I still enjoyed it.
Happy reading!
I’m about halfway done and it’s not what I was expecting either. It’s a little more serious than I’m used to with her. I still like it but I’m sorta bummed too.
I read Safe People for counseling and the book did a lot of good. It really called me out on all the bad habits I have and really allowed me to dig deeper on why I act the way I act. Reading this slow and talking it through was such a great way to process through all that you learn. I also read this book in conjunction with The Road Back To You and it was a great pair!
I’ve heard great things about Safe People and I can’t wait to read it. And The Road Back to You! Gah–isn’t is a great companion with basically every book written?? I get to see Ian Crohn at a retreat in March and I can’t wait.
I vowed to not buy any new books this year…to just read the stacks on my nightstand, and dresser, and by the the bath tub…(get my point?) But, then I read this post and now I’ve added a bunch more to my Amazon wish list. Thanks, Mary!! 🙂
Oh man, are we the same person??! All the stacks. I should be embarrassed but I’m not. We can’t stop and won’t stop with the book lists. *high five*