This post was supposed to be called “The 12 Books I Read in 2019” but I mis-counted how many books I read this year. Whoops! In my defense, I read 5 books in December, 2018 during the long lonely hours by myself at the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle as we prepared for Oliver’s transplant so that is probably why I added wrong!

Fun fact: I graduated cum laude from Western Washington University with a degree in English Literature before my dental hygiene days! I used to read a ton as a kid and then read enormous stacks of books for college each semester. After college (especially during dental hygiene school and then having kids) I read way less…pretty much only my Bible.

I have been keeping track of the books that I read in a notebook since I graduated from college. The genre of books I have been reading has shifted significantly since having kids too.  I used to read quite a bit of fiction and now it is mostly nonfiction.

I’m making another goal for 2020 to read 12 books but I’m planning ahead exactly which 12 books I want to read in order to hopefully be able to actually make my goal this year!

Here is a quick summary of the 10 books I read in 2019!

1. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway: It was interesting to read about the siege of Sarajevo which happened in 1994. I had actually never heard of this event in history before reading this book. It was a fairly dark book to read (especially during Oliver’s hospital stay) but I’m glad I read it.
2. Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers: This was a pretty classic Francine Rivers book, perfect to easily pick up and put down in the hospital. There is a sequel to this one that I did not read.
3. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen: This was a memoir of Susanna’s time in a mental hospital in 1968.
4. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai: I had been wanting to read this one for a long time and I’m glad I read it!
5. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman: This book was really funny, entertaining, and sad at the same time. I read it in less than a week because it really kept my attention!
6. For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay: I loved this book! The author references Charlotte Mason quite a bit. I thought this book was going to only be relevant for parents that want to homeschool but it wasn’t! It had so many great thoughts and ideas about raising and teaching kids. I definitely want to reference back to this book often.
7. Don’t Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Hubbard: After moving back home from Seattle with Oliver I kind of went on a parenting book kick since I was finally able to more traditionally “parent” after being apart from Eliza so much for 6 months. I didn’t agree with everything the author wrote but it was an interesting perspective.
8. The Read Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie: This book was a great read! It discussed the importance of reading aloud to kids of all ages. The author gave tips for helping kids to think and process what they are reading/having read to them. The book probably didn’t quite have to be 288 pages but other than that I would definitely recommend it! It inspired my goal of reading 1000 children’s books to our kids this year.
9. Mere Motherhood by Cindy Rollins: This is a memoir of a homeschool mom. I bought this book but probably could have gotten it from the library. The author’s last couple chapters where she sums up what was truly important in life after homeschooling nine kids were my favorite!
10. For the Love of Discipline by Sara Wallace: This book is probably my favorite parenting book I have ever read! I will probably buy it and reference it again. The first half talked about the “why” behind discipline and the second half of the book had practical tips for behaviors.
11. It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lisa TerKeurst: I’m so glad I read this book when I did! I wrote a whole blog post about this book here.

That’s it! First up on my list for 2020 is to finish Risen Motherhood. If you have any book recommendations, I would love to hear them! I love seeing other people post what they read through the year too because it gives me inspiration and more motivation to meet my goal! Happy reading!