At the beginning of 2015, I took on a reading challenge of completing 12 books, or 1 book per month. Doable, easy even, to finish without feeling overwhelmed or destined for failure. If I am being honest, reading was a tremendous struggle for me throughout my childhood and burden during college. Now I love to read for pleasure but don't really make time to read. That is where the goal setting became a motivator.
I use the Goodreads app to track progress, but mostly to have a list of books that I want to read and have completed. So if I am out shopping or at the library, I can save books for later & that list can be changed and updated easily.
These are the books I finished in 2015.
- Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson
- What Happens When Women Walk in Faith by Lysa Terkeurst
- The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst
- Crazy Love by Francis Chan
- One Plus One by JoJo Moyes
- The Last Letter from Your Lover by JoJo Moyes
- Ruth by Kelly Minter
- Hebrews by Lisa Harper
- Week in a Day by Rachael Ray
Of course, I didn't read the entire cookbook, but this was about challenging and educating myself. I do meal plan weekly and implement the idea of shopping once and using a batch prep method for our weeknight meals. This is what works best for our family and I love knowing what's for dinner every night!
The study books for Hebrews and Ruth were part of a women's Bible Study and the other faith-based books were mostly individual but I worked along with an online Bible Study for accountability. Those types of external motivators really worked well for me this past year and I will continue to use those opportunities as a resource. The community aspect (whether online or a local church) is great way to stretch yourself and read something you may not have. Draw the Circle & Crazy Love were game changers for me. Hands down. Both of those books I had found by two different women posting that they were reading through the book and were hosting an online study. I have since passed on my copy of Crazy Love so those words can change someone else's life.
JoJo Moyes was a new author to me when I picked up The Last Letter from Your Lover. Her stories are captivating. Next on my list from her is Me Before You.
I am happy with this challenge and how it ended. No, I didn't read 12 entire books, but I read 9 more than I had before. And I enjoyed myself.
Today {January 20, 2016} I set my goal at 12 books again and I am super excited to see where that will take me.