I said I wanted to read more books in 2017, I managed 43 in 2016. Here’s a comprehensive list of all that I read, in order. I beat my 52 target!
- The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown –Love, love, love Brené Brown and her wisdom – this book is full of wisdom about living.
- The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch – I really enjoy the Rivers of London books – just wish he could write them quicker, I need to re-read them before the next one as I can’t remember everything that’s happened. A great mix of humour, London life, magic and mystery.
- A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson – I can’t explain how good this and its sister book “Life After Life” is. Fantastically written stories, I couldn’t put either of them down and became so invested in the characters.
- Dead Cold by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
- The One-Hunded-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of The Window and Disappeard by Jonas Janasson – Everyone seemed to love this, I was a bit disappointed. It was good, but I didn’t love it, I just didn’t feel that invested in the story or the character.
- The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman – This was a recommended book from our pre-marriage counselling course and it was really interesting to learn our own love languages and know how to relate to each other better.
- On Becoming a Person by Carl Rogers
- The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
- The Manual of the Warior of Light by Paula Coelho
- Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory
- The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
- The Person-Centred Counselling Primer by Pete Sands
- Seven by Jen Hatmaker – This made me want to simplify my life and be less wasteful. I really enjoyed the families’ experience of cutting down in 7 areas of their lives and seeing how living more simply affected them going forward.
- Dibs, In Search of Self by Virginia M Axline – The best counselling book I read all year.
- Late Fragments by Kate Gross – This was beautiful, written by a woman who was dying for her boys.
- Five on Brexit Island by Enid Blyton
- The Integrative Counselling Primer by Richard Worsley
- Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon
- The Murder Stone by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
- At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenrider – This was interesting – a family who travel for long periods with their kids to experience different cultures. Perhaps it’s because we did a lot of travel as a family when I was a kid but it didn’t seem that new or unique to me!
- My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
- The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
- Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
- Nothing to Prove by Jennie Allen (read twice) – This really spoke to me about busyness, motivations, avoidance and living a Christ filled life.
- The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck by Sarah Knight
- The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Technically a children’s book but that has never stopped me from enjoying things and this was fantastic. I loved it.
- The Road Back to You (An Enneagram Journey to Self Discovery) By Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
- Play by Stuart Brown M.D – This was a fascinating read about play and how it shapes humans.
- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
- For the Love by Jen Hatmaker
- How the Light Gets in by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
- The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
- Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series)
- The Marriage Book by Nicky & Sila Lee – Slightly old fashioned but enjoyable and informative all the same – some good pointers.
- I’m Judging You by Luvvie Ajayi
- The Valkyries by Paulo Coelho
- Bittersweet by Shauna Niequest – This is a must read for anyone going through a season of loss. I love Shauna and I find her writing so clarifying, her book Present Over Perfect was a favourite of mine in 2016.
- Of Mess and Moxie by Jen Hatmaker – Jen is funny and smart, I laughed my way through this.
- The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry – This was good – I enjoyed the story and the writing and the fact that it wasn’t all tied up with a pretty bow at the end.
- The Little Book of Lykke by Meik Wiking
- Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
- Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and The Order of the Pheonix by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling – It goes without saying that I am a HUGE HP fan!
- Falling Upward by Richard Rhor – I have another Richard Rhor book to read this year and cannot wait. This man seems to have so much wisdom and writes beautifully about what it means to live as a Christian in the 21st centuary.
- Snowed in for Christmas by Claire Sandy – A rom-com for which I had low expectations. Better than I thought although I spotted the twist but I still enjoyed it.
- The Enneagram by Rhor and Ebert – I really enjoyed learning about the Enneagram this year, I loved this book – I am definitely a “2” and feel the appropriate levels of shame about my number’s shadow side! Workign on things!
- The Magical Wolds of Harry Potter by David Colbert
- Christmas at the Ragdoll Orphanage by Suzanne Lambert – Terrible. Don’t read!
- The Long Way Home by Louise Penny (part of the Inspector Gamache series) – I love this series so much and would recommend to anyone – it is crime fiction set in a small fictional village in Quebec called Three Pines. I love all of the characters but especially Gamache. Obviously.
So, aiming for 60 books in 2018…can it be done?!