My Current Reading Pile

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to read 36 books. There was no rhyme or reason why I picked that number. But since I am usually reading 3-4 books at a time, it seemed like 36 books in one year would be a good goal.

If you want to see what books I have finished reading so far, be sure to check out my Goodreads account. This is where I keep track of books I have read and what I want to read.

Here is my current reading and to be read pile of books. Once I have finished this pile, it should get me a whole lot closer to my reading goal for the year.

Have you read any of these books? And what books are you reading this year?

What I Will Be Reading in 2018...so far

Today, I sat down and wrote out the list of books, so far, that I hope to read this year. 

Considering that I read 41 books in 2017, I know that I will finish this list and be able to add more as we go through the year.

• A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot
• Seven Women by Eric Metaxas
• My no so Perfect Life by Sophia Kinsella
• Be Still My Soul by Elisabeth Elliot
• Awe by Paul David Tripp
• The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
• Unfinished by Richard Stearns
• Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• All the Places to Go by John Ortberg
• Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
• Indescribable by Louie Giglio, Matt Redman
• A Confident Heart by Renee Swope
• Enough by Will Davis Jr.
• The Word of Christ by R.C. Sproul
• Divine Design by John MacArthur

The first three books I am currently reading, and Pilgrim's Progress will be a re-read for me. Six of the books are on my Kindle and I have set a goal to read at least 15 minutes a day on my Kindle this year.

Overall, I plan to read at least 36 books this year. I know I went over that goal last year, but some of these books are quite meaty and may take a bit more to digest.

What do you plan on reading this year?

My Books of 2017

This past year has been a good, and a not-so-good year of reading for me.

The good?

I have completed reading 41 books so far this year. A couple of my favorites this past year have been 'The Boy Who Runs: The Odyssey of Julius Achon' by Julius Achon and John Brant; 'Wonder' by R.J. Palacio; and 'Hidden Figures' by Margot Lee Shetterly.

One thing all of these have in common, I read a physical copy of each one.

I still really enjoy reading an actual book.

The not-so-good?

I was really hoping to read more books on my Kindle. Six months ago I wrote out a list of ten books on my Kindle that I wanted to read this year. As of today, I have only completed one and am currently reading another.

Oh dear....there is always next year, right?

So, as we are drawing near to the end of 2017, I will be making a new list of books I want to read in 2018. And I will be adding these two, one that I just purchased today, and one that I picked up at the library...

What were some of your favorites in 2017?

And what do you plan to read in 2018?

My Empty Shelf Challenge Update #2

Wow! I just checked to see when I did my last Empty Shelf Challenge Update, and it was back in March! At that time, I had finished reading 12 books. My goal for this year was to read at least two books a month, for a total of 24 books for the year.

So how am I doing? Since March, here are the books I have finished reading:

• Mission Drift by Peter Greer
• The Antelope in the Living Room by Melanie Shankle
• Esther by Beth Moore
• How People Change by Timothy Lane
• Dancing with My Father by Sally Clarkson
• The Beauty of Broken by Elisa Morgan
• Hope Rising by Scott Todd
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• Rhinestone Jesus by Kristen Welch
• Chasing Francis by Ian Cron
• The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Radical by David Platt
• Grace for the Good Girl by Emily Freeman
• Me, Myself, & Bob by Phil Vischer
• Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman

Well, since the end of March, I have read 16 books, which brings my total to 28 books for the year! Woo hoo! Guess I should have upped by goal a bit.

Of course, this does not mean that I am going to stop reading for the year, that just wouldn't be right. So you might be thinking, what is in my book pile right now? Glad you asked:

I pulled out our copy of Operation World, so I can really start learning more and praying for the countries where our Compassion sponsored children live. Not really sure if I will read the whole book (it is a really thick one!), but I am thankful for resources like this one.

The Time Machine and I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist are books for our upcoming school year (which we plan on starting next week). And The Best Yes and You and Me Forever are books for me to read and learn from.

Hey, do you have a Goodreads account? If so, you can find me there and follow along to see what books I am reading next.

I would love for you to share what books are in your book pile. Won't you share them in the comments below?

Empty Shelf Challenge

Do you like a good challenge? I know I do. So when I read about Jon Acuff's Empty Shelf Challenge over on his blog, I just knew I needed to join this one!

I love to read, so that part of the challenge would be easy for me. However...

...trying to find an empty bookshelf? That is a bit of a problem in our house. You see...

...most of our bookshelves are quite full, some are even overflowing. But, I moved a few things around and...

...I now have one empty shelf to start the challenge!

I love that Jon encourages us to start the challenge now! Why wait until January 1st? So here are a few books I am currently reading: 'Crazy Love' by Francis Chan, 'The Reluctant Prophet' by Nancy Rue (reading this one on my Kindle), 'Working with the Poor' by Bryant Myers and others, and 'Understanding God's Heart for Children' by Douglas McConnell and others.

Now what I should do is go around my home and make a list of all the books I hope to read this year...