Non fiction book challenge for 2016

I love to read.  From an early age I loved to lose myself in a book for hours.

One of my earliest memories is going to the library to check out books and I remember the wonder of getting to take home books that I chose for myself.

As parents we’ve passed that love on to our kids. 

• My oldest son listens to audio books to and from work.
• My girls read a TON!  They helped me by reviewing some older teen books just recently. 
• Our youngest is a library book hoarder.  He likes to have whole series checked out so he can go from one straight in to the next without any pause.

Books I like to read

I like to read books that end happily.  It’s my escape from this world where the hard struggle is so real and sometimes there is no reason for the why.

I like knowing that the characters will have struggles and go through hard times but in the end it will be ok. 

Very Polly Anna I know. 

However, my favorite thing to find is a book where I can’t see how it’s going to end.  After reading for so many years, I can often see the story's ending after a few chapters.  I still read on but it’s not as satisfying as a book where I have NO idea how things will go from the midst of the struggle to the happy ending.  I like surprises I guess.

I don’t really have a favorite genre.  Historical, fantasy, mystery, action, modern.  I like it all.

Books I struggle to read

Honestly, non fiction is my downfall.  I just don't love it.

There are many books that I want to read but I have to set a timer for how long I will read or I put it down too quickly and never finish it.  Or if I read it at night I will fall asleep in like 2 minutes.

I can’t tell you how many books I have read the first quarter or half of the book and then put it down.  Good, wonderful, inspiring, informative books.  

Seriously I think I need an intervention or something.  Maybe a cheering squad.

My "bookish" goal this year

At the first of the year, many bloggers were setting their “reading” goals for the year and it intrigued me. 

It sounded like something I wanted to do and it would be a pretty easy goal since I love to read. But then I thought about it more. 

Those lists of books were overwhelming. 

How could I ever know what books I should read for a year ahead of time?  God places books in front of me that I need.  Often ones I wouldn’t normally pick up but he knows when & what I need to read.

My word of the year “Progress” chose itself this year.  I just need to move forward and not set hard and fast goals.

Instead of a reading goal this year, I am keeping a reading log.  I want to know what I have read each month. I want to challenge myself on the kinds of books I’m reading.  More biographies, more nonfiction.  This month I didn't avoid nonfiction.  I started two nonfiction books and finished one(a record!).  Plus I read a bunch of fiction books too!

January’s Reading Log

One goal I had when I decided I was ready for hip replacement surgery in December was to read all the Harry Potter books and watch the movies with the kids.  I finished the last book at the beginning of January and we’ve just got one movie left to watch. 

Harry Potter & Deathly Hollows by J.K. Rowling

Final book in series.  Conclusion of tale of betrayal and devotion in the fantasy world of wizards battling good and evil.

The Warrior by Joyce Swann

Fiction book about a prayer warrior who prays for man she doesn't know for 10 years.

NON Fiction!  Writing a Novel with Scrivner by David Hewson

I was looking for some answers on how to use Scrivner so I tackled this shorter book to find the answers but I FINISHED it! 

Uprooted by Novik Naomi

Not sure where I ran across this book but it was a breath of fresh air.  A different plot and story.  One R rated scene romance scene between main characters.  Another battle of good & evil in a fantasy setting.

Deep in the Heart by Staci Stallings

A light quick read.  No surprises in this Christian romance.

Storm Clouds Rolling In by Ginny Dye  

The first in a series of Historical Fiction books that center around one family.  This book was set in the years right before the American Civil War began.  The main character struggles through loosing her mother, becoming a woman, falling in love and deciding her heart lies on the issue of slavery.  Excellent book.

Random Acts of Murder by Christy Barritt

I laughed through this book of mishaps & murder.  Again no big plot twists but a fun read.

Current In Progress Books

Non Fiction! Desperate: Hope for the Mom who needs to Breathe by Sarah Mae & Sally Clarkson

Honestly I started this a few weeks ago.  It is GOOD but I can't seem to read more than one chapter at a time.  Lots of encouragement for a weary mom.  Goal is to finish this in February!

A Marriage of Convenience by Debra Lynn CollinsA Christian romance.

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What are your reading goals for 2016?  Do you have a plan or is it more like mine?  Be sure to look for my kids reading lists next month!

Recent Posts

A home or a library?

I admit it. I love books. In fact I have been accused of being a book worm, of having a book up my nose & I am guilty of not hearing people talk to me because I was so in to the story.

I am also guilty of passing this disease on to my children. It all started when they were little. I remember reading the same books over and over again. In fact that is one of my hidden talents, I can still recite many of those books. "Do you like my hat? No I don't like your hat" "Swishy Swashy" "Plink Plank Plunk" Can you name those books? We have read so many out loud since then. I still read to the kids even though they can all read independently. It is bittersweet. The little ones are enjoying books I read several years ago to their older siblings. Now the older ones drift in and listen and say "I loved this book".

When I taught the little monsters how to read--little did I know that I would loose all control over them after that. Now all their spare time is spent in a book! I require them to read things for school and the funny thing is that they LIKE it! We use literature based history for that very reason! Love Beautiful Feet & Biblioplan!


Anyway, the reason for that introduction was that we worked on organizing things on Friday instead of going shopping with all the other crazy people! E & I worked on shelves & books. We don't have enough room on the upstairs and downstairs shelves to hold all our books. So we were sorting the ones that were not being read(ie ones they've outgrown) and putting them in to boxes. The picture is one set of shelves that we have--there are at least 3 or 4 others! After the shelves were straightened, they were so BEAUTIFUL! However it did strike me that we have a library of books in our house!!!! Oh and some beautiful memories that are stored in scrapbooks on the other shelves but that would be a topic for another post!