I love to read, but over the last few years, I haven’t read as much as I would like. Now, my youngest will be 3 in the spring, so I am hoping I will have a bit more time. I am setting out a reading goal for myself–one non-fiction and one fiction book a month, minimum. Each month, I’ll share my thoughts on these books.
I know some people around the web are voracious readers, reading a book or more a week, but I am not there yet. If I get 24 books read, I’ll be delighted. Here is my list:
Non-Fiction
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
- The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
- Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
- Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
- Primal Body, Primal Mind Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer Life by Nora T. Gedgaudas
- The Paleo Diet Solution by John Chatham
- The Money Book for Freelancers, Part-Timers and the Self-Employed: The Only Personal Finance System for People with Not-So-Regular Jobs by Joseph D’Agnese
- The Way to Wealth and Other Writings on Finance by Benjamin Franklin
- Kiplinger’s Practical Guide to Your Money: Keep More of It, Make It Grow, Enjoy It, Protect It, Pass It On by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
- Get a Freelance Life: mediabistro.com’s Insider Guide to Freelance Writing by Margit Feury Ragland
- The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success by Linda Formichelli
- Your Freelance Writing Business by Janet S. Underwood
- Freelance Writing Jobs: 101+ Online Writing Jobs by Lee Mellott
- One Cause, Many Ailments: The Leaky Gut Syndrome: What It Is and How It May be Affecting Your Health by John O.A. Pagano
- Wheat Belly by William Davis
- Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers by Seth Godin
- Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing by Harry Beckwith
- Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging by Scott Stratten
- Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync? by Seth Godin
- Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even If You Hate Marketing by Michael Port
- Guerilla Marketing, 4th Edition: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business by Jay Conrad Levinson
- Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide by John Jantsch
- Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
You will undoubtedly notice there are more than 12 books here. I plan to pick 12 from the list, and then I have more choices if I manage to get more reading done than I think I can. You might notice some themes here–eating healthy and growing my freelance writing business are the predominant ones.
For fiction books, I am simply targeting what I hope will be good reads and relaxing. Here is the list:
Fiction
- Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- Defending Jacob by William Landay
- The Healing by Jonathon Odell
- The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
- We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver
- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sadaris
- Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
- The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom
- The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
- The Round House by Louise Erdrich
- The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler
- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
- Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
- The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee
- The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
- After This by Alice McDermott
- A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
- A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
- Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather
- Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell
Are you planning to do any reading this year? What books are on your list?
Have you read any good books lately? Let me know in the comments so I can add them to my list!
I shared this post at Life as Mom and Money Saving Mom.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Some good suggestions here. I’m adding a few of these to my reading list as well.
Let me know which ones you like!
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle really changed my life. She is one of my favorite authors and that’s a big reason why I read the book. I actually listened to the audiobook, which is read by the author and it was amazing.
I have heard so many good things; I am looking forward to reading it.
I liked Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and would recommend it. As I’ve been claiming the label of introvert more over the last couple of years, I’ve learned more about myself and how to interact with the world in a way that doesn’t completely drain me. It’s probably useful for extroverts (especially those who love their introverts), too.
For fiction, one of the best I’ve read this year was The Kitchen Daughter, by Jael McHenry. Lots of family dynamics and nostalgia, with a supernatural element as well.
I’ve gone the opposite way for my own reading list (linked): I read anything I can get my hands on, and then I write it down!
While I do ask for recommendations and keep an eye out for specific titles, I’m happy to pick up whatever looks good at the library.
I’ll have to look for The Kitchen Daughter. Thanks for the suggestion. I was just kind of winging it at the library and finding what looked interesting, but it was hit or miss, so I decided to go with a researched list in 2013.
I really enjoyed Eat Pray love and read her second book too. (can’t remember what it was called, something about marriage). And I LOVE Alice Sebold and have read her first two books (I think the second one was called Lucky). I know she had a third book and it was about a daughter killing her mother, but it was so insanely slow that I just couldn’t finish it. One of my other favorites was The Help, I couldn’t put that book down.
I love reading, but I rarely find a book that keeps me captivated. When I do though, I am like a kid in a candy store.
I loved The Help. I couldn’t put it down, which was okay because I had the flu when I was reading the last 2/3rds, and it gave me something to do.
Excellent Reading list. You have inspired me to read several of the freelancing books as I too aspire to freelance write from home or on the go. Thank-you for sharing your reading list
I am still working on my list.
Great. Let me know which ones you like!
Fiction:
Still Missing – Chevy Stevens
The Kindness of Strangers – Katrina Kittle [also good by her are The Blessing of Animals and Traveling Light]
Everything is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer
I never make a reading list but I do try to read at least 50 books a year. My favorite on this year was Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Talk about life changing. I also try to read a few of the books that my girls read(they are teenagers and I love talking to them about the things they have read). My surprise is I have really enjoyed some of the books they have picked. If you are willing to read through some of the slow parts one of the ones I liked was The Host by stephine myer. They are making it into a movie but trust me the book will be better.
Thanks for the suggestions. Crazy Love sounds good!
This looked interesting: http://www.amazon.com/Far-From-Tree-Children-Identity/dp/0743236718
From Booklist
“Solomon, who won the National Book Award for The Noonday Demon (2001), tackles daunting questions involving nature versus nurture, illness versus identity, and how they all affect parenting in his exhaustive but not exhausting exploration of what happens when children bear little resemblance to their parents.”
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll check it out!
I couldn’t decide what to post so I started with 48 books but I started the year with a bang because I have read 11 books already and the month isn’t over yet. I think that I have a reading problem!!! I love it and I can’t get enough. I try to balance some fun books with some learning books. Check out my main list here:
http://novafrugalfamily.blogspot.com/2012/12/books-i-plan-to-read-in-2013.html
I post my reviews when I read them and a monthly listing of what I read for the month. I can’t wait to add a few of the books that you have on your list. Thanks for the ideas!
You have a good list! I forgot some of the ones on your list were ones I wanted to read, too.
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