I’ve not always been a reader. Honestly, for most of my high school career, I worked harder at figuring out how to get by without reading the assigned books. I know, I know, but I have to be transparent about that. As I matured, my reading was mostly beach reads (once the kids got older), Nicholas Sparks, and a few must-reads thrown in. Jonathan has always been an avid reader. We call it the Only Child Syndrome. Whatever the reason, he was/is an avid reader. Somewhere along the way, I became a reader. “Somewhere” was actually from meeting my friend Grindl, librarian, tech guru, devoted friend, and introducer to Audible and good books. I became an avid reader. Throw in a major shutdown, a season of caregiving, being home all the time, and desperation for some social time, I joined a book club which further facilitated a true love of reading and suggestions of what to read.
Now, I have a small group of friends who often talk about what we are reading. We can’t call it a book club, because we don’t always read the same book. We group text randomly about all things books and reading but also give a lot of grace about not reading. We’ve shared a tremendous amount of personal moments through life and 90% of it has nothing to do with books. But for the part that is centered around books, I thought I would share a little from this group. Hopefully, time will be kind and I can share a monthly recap.
January
New Year New Me
This month we all chose a book that fell under the umbrella of “New Year, New Me”. I say that tongue in cheek because I’ve come to loathe that phrase, but there is something motivating about a new year and an opportunity to start over. For me, I was waiting on a grandbaby, and I knew I needed to stay busy. I spent Christmas break going through a monthly task list from Simplified to Declutter in one week. It really sent me into a productivity swing, so I chose to stay on that track. I chose Atomic Habits. This is one of Jonathan’s biggest recommendations and I felt like I didn’t have to read it since he did. I read it via proxy, right? Osmosis? If you talk about a book with someone so much, don’t you get to count it as read too?
Atomic Habits
I love these influencers on the socials. I feel like I learn about so many cool things that I didn’t know. My most recent was the APP Headway. It’s a Book Summary APP. I love a good motivational book, but typically halfway in I feel it’s repetitive. I’m sure it’s where you will remember the key points, but Headway will give you the summary of the book in less than 15 minutes, with key points and takeaways. I used my free week to “read” (Jonathan says it doesn’t count) about 8 books on my TBR list that all fell into the motivational genre, including Atomic Habits. But never fear, I still went back and listened to Atomic Habits on Audible. I’m glad I did. It’s about 5 hours and an easy listen with good practical steps to ensure you are living your best life. Utilizing these principles, I’ve had a very successful month with some major goals ( I don’t like resolutions) I set for myself this year. I’m up to date on my daily bible reading, I’ve closed my rings every day, and I’ve been able to check each box that I set for my challenge for a 75-day period.
How Not to Die
“The vast majority of premature deaths can be prevented through simple changes in diet and lifestyle. In How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger, the internationally-renowned nutrition expert, physician, and founder of NutritionFacts.org, examines the fifteen top causes of premature death in America-heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, Parkinson’s, high blood pressure, and more explains how nutritional and lifestyle interventions can sometimes trump prescription pills and other pharmaceutical and surgical approaches, freeing us to live healthier lives.”….
What better book to begin a new year with than a book that focuses on good nutrition? Notice it’s not a diet book or loose weight book. It’s a book on using food as a healer and preventer of the diseases we most commonly face. We’ve all been intrigued by this book and have even discovered it also has a cookbook.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
I know this book resonated with the reader because now she never responds to a text message anymore because she’s always in the moment. :). Here is a great podcast that does a great summary of the book from The Graham Cochrane Show. “If you want more joy in your life, you have to be more present, if you want to be more present, you have to eliminate hurry…” Side note: This podcast is also one of my newest binges. It is fabulous!
Building a Non-Anxious Life
“Why are my anxiety alarms going off all the time?”
“Why do I feel like I’m in an endless cycle of blame and anger and impatience?”
“Why are the people I love most melting down around me?”
No one needs to be told that our lives are filled with more anxiety than ever before. We know it. Our bodies can feel it. The questions we really need to answer are “Why?” and “Is there anything we can do about it?”
Dr. John Delony decided to get to the root of the issue by mapping out a plan to understand where our anxiety is coming from and the actions we can take to change it (because he’s been there too). Over the past 20 years, he’s learned through research, personal experience, and walking alongside countless others that there are six daily choices people have to make to create a non-anxious life:
- Choosing reality.
- Choosing connection.
- Choosing freedom.
- Choosing health and healing.
- Choosing mindfulness.
- Choosing belief.
In this no-nonsense, straightforward approach to mental health, John will break down exactly what each choice means and how to start making it on a daily basis.
Now, here’s the truth: Those choices aren’t easy, and anxiety isn’t going to magically disappear. But if you commit to building a non-anxious life, you’ll be able to better respond to whatever life throws at you. You’ll grow from hard challenges. You’ll learn to find peace during chaos.
And you will learn to be well.”
February
February should be a fun recap. The topic is “Romance”. Read a book that falls into your category of romance. I 100% know someone will read a murder mystery book, but I’ll never tell names.
I love reading your comments. What books did you read in January? What goals did you set for yourself? What other books on “New Year, New Me” should be added to my TBR?
Thanks for reading along, and allowing me a space to blog, share my thoughts, and create a scrapbook of my life and memories that will be here for my kids.
Reading Must Haves
I’m a big fan of the Amazon reading tools. If you’ve never tried them, here are the links
Kindle Oasis or Paperwhite
As always, as an Amazon Associate, I will earn a commission if you purchase from one of my links.
2 things…
I actually listened to a “Valentine Murder” this month :). I had to combine a murder this month since I listened to so many Christmas books. I have become a huge fan of listening to my books while running around town (that is errands… Not literally running) and doing house projects on the weekends.
I wanted to read Automic Habits. Emi Jo was reading it. But I’m a very slow reader and tend to fall asleep. So I thought about Audible. I also like to highlight things and was worried I would want to for this book or be pausing it nonstop on audible to write things down. Did you feel that way listening to it?
I love Audible. It’s my solution to reading. :). I listen to a book to the end. If I want to take notes, I sit down with it again and skip to the points I want to note and manage it that way. Sometimes, I just click on voice memos and record it immediately.