Show Notes Ep4: The Book Episode!

I read close to 60 books in 2019.  This was a huge lifestyle change for me. For the last seven years, I usually read maybe 3-5 books the entire year. I read Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson and it absolutely reignited my desire to read AND gave me some good ideas on how to fit more reading time in. It's not a competition; I know people who have read twice or triple this amount this year, I know people who have read just a couple books. Who cares, as long as you're reading and enjoying it! 

If you want some tips, here's what I found that helped me. 

• Only read what you want to. I have a stack of unfinished books; some I'll eventually complete and others I won't. Life's too short to read a book for pleasure that doesn't actually give you any pleasure.
• I started reading a chapter in the morning and a chapter at night. The morning chapter eventually stopped because of the kids and life (and honestly, its easier to scroll my phone). But it helped me get a ton of reading in. 
• Speaking of phones, let's talk screens. They're everywhere and we love them because it's easy and sometimes because it's mindless. But if you really want to boost your reading, reduce your screen time. I basically stopped watching TV at night for six months or so, and I read forty books or more as a result. And when I was reading instead of scrolling Facebook, I read even more. 
• But phones can be helpful if you put books on them! I use the Libby app which I got through Overdrive. Now, I tend to go hot and cold with ebooks. I'll read three or four and then none for months. I like having something to read wherever I am, I like it as an alternative to social media, and I'm often able to borrow a book quicker than requesting the physical copy from my library. 
• Audiobooks are also a great way to get in some extra reading. Studies show that listening to an audibook is just as good for your brain as reading it physically.
• For a while I was using some bullet journal tracking pages that really motivated me to read. I used graph paper to chart every chapter read. I wrote the title and author of each book then numbered the squares for however many chapters the book has. If there was an introduction, prologue, epilogue and so on I used the first letter of the word instead of a number. Then, I'd color in the squares as I read. I also downloaded free from Pinterest a cute page with blank books to write in the titles of the books I finished. 
• I think the biggest thing for me was simply the desire to have more books and words in my life. I had become an author who didn't really read. I also could feel my attention span shrinking and my need for constant entertainment increasing. Reading books help your brain absorb, engage, connect, and expand in ways that screens simply don't. I wanted a healthier brain and I missed being a real book nerd, so I changed some habits and made it happen. 

Book Lists

So here's the deal, I created four categories for the books I read this year. And in those categories, I selected my favorite seven books. Why seven? Because that's what looked good in the Instagram layout. I'm actually going to slip in a few extras in these lists, but here are my top faves from 2019. Here is a link to the full book list on Goodreads if you'd like to find out more about each book. 

Fiction

1. The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge
2. The Dean's Watch by Elizabeth Goudge 
3. A City of Bells by Elizabeth Goudge (yes, there's a real theme here.)
4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by MaryAnn Shaffer and Annie Barrows
5. Belgravia by Julian Fellowes (being made into a series or movie or some such now). 
6. The Lost Book of the Grail by Charlie Lovett (I also read his books First Impressions and The Bookman's Tale. All quite good!) 
7. How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
8. The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan (this is actually a chapter book for kids or tweens, but I really really enjoyed it. Sometimes it's nice to pick up a simple book with a beautiful story to tell.) 
9. Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan (This is one of the best books I read last year. And Lewis's stepson Douglas says that it's a pretty accurate portrayal of what happened.)
10. Green Ember by SD Smith 

Christian Non-fiction

1. Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren 
2. The Celtic Way of Prayer by Esther De Waal
3. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller 
4. The Inner Voice of Love by Henri Nouwen 
5. The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness by Tim Keller
6. Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias 
7. Looking for Lovely by Annie F. Downs 

General Non-fiction

*This is maybe an inaccurate category title because several of the authors here are professing Christians who write with that worldview. But the topics of these books are not strictly theological or about "Christian living" so to speak. 

1. Different by Nathan Clarkson and Sally Clarkson
2. Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson
3. Caught Up in a Story by Sarah Clarkson (yes, they're all related). 
4. Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson (Read this book if you want more tips and inspiration for your reading life. It totally reinvigorated my own reading life!)
5. Brave Learner by Julie Bogart
6. Teaching from Rest by Sarah Mackenzie
7. Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh 
8. The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Stanford

Books I Re-read This Year

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis 
2. Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
3. "...And Ladies of the Club" by Helen Hooven Santmeyer
4. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (truthfully this was the first time I ever finished it and I totally loved it)
5. The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
6. Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry 
7. The Birth by Gene Edwards 

Gather the Good

Two things that pair very well with books....tea and music! I'm a huge fan of loose leaf tea. My favorite company is Plum Deluxe. They have a blend that is perfect for reading....it's called Reading Nook! If you're new to loose leaf tea, don't be intimidated. All you need is some tea, an infuser, boiling water, and a mug.

And the perfect musical accompaniment is an album called Story Book Soundscapes by Joel Clarkson. Joel composed this album specifically to go with stories. It is an amazing soundtrack for reading. Pop in some earbuds, grab a good book, and a mug of hot tea and enjoy!!

Bonus mention: PBS Masterpiece's show Victoria. If you enjoy period dramas, you must try this show. It's a beautiful story telling of Queen Victoria's life. It's more or less accurate, from what I've read of that giant biography I'm planning to finish this year, but of course, it is television so there are some poetic liberties. I've binged watched each season several times. Definitely check it out!