If you know me at all, you know how much I LOVE books. With being a mom, however, I’m constantly finding my reading list to be so much more ambitious than what time allows me. I did end up reading quite a bit more in 2020 than I expected, despite the craziness of house projects, selling & buying a home, and packing and unpacking for a move 800 plus miles away, etc. But I’m sure the way the pandemic forced life to slow down certainly helped with that!
Still, some of what I had wanted to read in 2020 didn’t get read and has now landed on my “to read” list for 2021.
Here’s a peek at some of the books I’m starting now and plan to read in the coming months:
I have two devotionals pictured. Quiet Time for Your Soul by Sheila Walsh has short 5-minute lessons paired with scripture, and Flourish by Margaret Feinberg is set up as a once-per-week devotional with space to journal and contains beautiful coloring pages, too. I’m a huge fan of the Jesus Calling devotional by Sarah Young, as well as Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman, both of which have been in my daily devotional rotation over the past few years, but I wanted to add some new ones into the mix.
I tend to read more non-fiction these days, and Have More Fun by Mandy Arioto is a quick-read I’ve been holding onto for about a year. Mandy is the President and CEO of MOPS International. {MOPS is a Christian-based community for moms of babies and toddlers, and it’s been a staple in my life. More on that to come!} She’s someone I really admire. And out of my years of participating in MOPS, I learned about the authors of Are My Kids on Track: David Thomas, Sissy Goff, and Melissa Trevathan. I have read two other books by these authors about the ins and outs of raising boys and girls which I found incredibly valuable. They all run a child and adolescent counseling center and they have a great podcast, too!
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers has been on my list forever and I finally purchased the book a couple of months ago. Apparently it’s also being made into a movie! Kingdom above the Clouds by Maggie Platt is a newer fiction book written by a friend I went to college with! Her book has fantastic reviews and is described along the lines of resembling C.S. Lewis’ Narnia.
And speaking of C.S. Lewis…I am such an avid fan of his works, both fiction and non-fiction. When I heard about this book by James Stuart Bell containing selections from authors who influenced his faith, I just HAD to get it. A few years ago, I had learned of a Scottish author/poet/minister {George MacDonald} that greatly influenced Lewis’ spiritual journey, so I had made of note of trying to read some of MacDonald’s works. I’m pleased that From the Library of C.S. Lewis contains many of MacDonald’s writings, among others.
The Lipstick Gospel by Stephanie May Wilson had great reviews online and seemed like a perfect read for me. It’s the author’s personal journey finding her faith, which happens to include traveling Europe!
If it’s not already apparent, I very much prefer reading ACTUAL books to their digital versions. I do enjoy the ease of checking out digital books through library lending apps, but I find myself doing so less and less. I am a self-confessed bibliophile and there is a very real pleasure for me in holding an actual book in my hands, turning each page, and even the smell of the pages. A library thrills me, much like Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and completely understand her sheer joy when the Beast gifts her a massive library in the film!
What books are on your to-read list for 2021?
Ever So Delightful 