how I did on my 2018 reading list

The moment of truth is here: what I actually read in 2018.

*SIGH*

First of all, let me tell you an excuse I have: the library needs to stop tempting me with good book displays right inside the front entrance. That is an evil set up for someone who has many, many books at home and should be focusing on them.

Okay, now let’s see what I tackled in 2018. This was my original post from January 13, 2018. My to-read shelves were starting to suffocate me so I vowed to focus on what I already owned. It sounded daring and outrageous, but I was dedicated and focused. In January. I was dedicated and focused in January.

Fine, let’s just go over the results and then I’ll continue my excuses below.

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
The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert

Quiet time books or studies
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 wanted to re-read it.)
On Writing Well by William Zinsser (I read this in college but wanted 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 (A counselor friend recommended I not read this book because it was out of date and probably not helpful so I skipped it.)

According to my not-very-accurate Instagram log, I read at least 85 books this year. Only 20 of the books were on the list I promised to read in 2018.

Well, well, well. If I was grading that, 20/38 would be a solid F. Nice work, Graham.

Based on the categories, I didn’t do much business or writing reading this year which bums me out. While I’d argue reading any good writing helps make you a better writer, I wanted to spend some time focusing on craft, and I didn’t. I’m going to better about that next year. (I seem to be light on the self-help section too, but that list was mostly made up of books I wanted to re-read. I did read books from this category, just not the ones listed. *sheepish grin*)

I’m planning on sharing a reading list for 2019 even though I wasn’t 100% successful with my 2018 one. I’m also making some changes to my book-buying habit next year, but we’ll talk more about that next week. For now, I’m accepting semi-defeat for this list.

BUT on the bright side, I still read tons of great books this year. Did you see my top ten books of 2018? All hope is not lost, I still read lots of good books this year.

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