I’m an avid reader.  I have always love reading.  As a girl, I was that person who hid perpetually inside of a book and feel asleep at night reading.  I want so much for children to love reading as much as I do, but their father’s genes play a role too.  As much as I love reading he…just…doesn’t.  Anyway, I’ve been asked by a few friends to update about my reading endeavors this year, so enjoy.

So, this year, as with the last three years, I signed up for the Modern Mrs. Darcy reading challenge.  I was not super impressed with her categories this year, so I’ve followed some of them, but have also kind of gone rogue.

I started off the year reading The Great Gatsby (not pictured because it’s currently on loan to my sister).  I was supposed to read it in college, but was writing my senior thesis when it was assigned.  So, it didn’t happen.  I’d been meaning to go back and read it for years, but had never been motivated enough until this year.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I followed that up with Reading People by Anne Bogel.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  The book is about personalities and how that affects your perspective on the world around you.  She discusses all sorts of personality tests and types.  I found it utterly fascinating.  My parents came to visit in January and we spent an entire evening taking personality tests and being both affirmed in guesses and rather surprised by results.  It was so interesting to get to know not just myself but also my spouse, children, and family on a deeper level.  But, then, I’ve always found personality typing rather fascinating.  Ultimately, I highly recommend this book.

This led me to buy and read The Highly Sensitive Child.  Reading Bogel’s book led me to a profound epiphany: I’m a highly sensitive person and there is, in fact, nothing wrong with me.  I have also come to realize that three out of four of my children are sensitive to some degree.  But, my second daughter is, like me, profoundly sensitive.  The first half of the book I found interesting and useful, but the second half I just skimmed and then read what I needed.  I do think it is helpful to read if you have a HSC.

I then read Flannery O’Connor’s A Prayer Journal.  O’Connor was a Catholic Southern writer, and I truly love her work and her philosophy on religion in art.  I did a chapter of my Master’s thesis on her.  My husband had given me this book several years ago as a Christmas present, but I was only recently able to finally sit down and read it cover to cover.  As a Catholic and writer, I was so impressed by her humility and desire to bring souls to Christ through writing.

I didn’t really care for The Guersney Literary and Potato Peel Society.  A friend recommended this book to me to read, and I had to force myself to finish it.  It just didn’t strike my fancy.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  My mother recommended this one to my sister and me.  If you haven’t read this, you need to.  My poor children suffered from periods of mild  abandonment during this book.  I’m kidding.  They were fed and watered.  But, this is one of the few books that I couldn’t stop reading but didn’t want to finish.  It was beautiful and tragic and so relatable.

St. John Paul II’s book of poetry was incredibly deep and moving.  I had to work through this one more slowly, but it was totally worth it.  Some of the poems took a few reads before the light bulb went off.

I am late to the party with Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly, but I think it was truly meant to be that way.  I truly felt guiding by the Holy Spirit to read this one.  Brown’s work deals with vulnerability and opening ourselves up to each other and enduring this risk, and how doing so is beneficial both for us and society.  Great read.

Finally, I just finished Jennifer Fulwiler’s book One Beautiful Dream.  This is another life changing book.  Her description about a blue flame summarizes perfectly how I feel about writing.  One of my New Year’s resolutions was to recommit to writing and move to a new blog and start posting again.  I had been passively in the process of doing that while also being eaten up by mild mom guilt. But, when I read her book, it was just enough of a final push to start writing again.  I can’t recommend her book enough for Catholic wives and moms.  It’s so amazing.

I did read one other book, not pictured.  I honestly cannot believe that it’s only May and I’ve already read ten books!  I haven’t read this much in years.  It’s so good to be reading again.  Next on the agenda is Chip Gaines’s latest book, Capital Gaines and to finish Only Love Today.  I’m also waiting on getting to the library to check out Scarlet Pimpernel, since my sister and I swapped book recommendations for the next category on our personal reading challenge.  I loved the movie and am looking forward to reading the book.  Finally, I’m slowly moving through Only Love Today.

I would love to read some historical fiction before the end of the year, along with a modern novel published within the last ten years (nothing smutty).  Any recommendations?

What books have y’all been enjoying?