“Some books leave us free and some books make us free.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do you ever wish there was more time in a day just to read?
I know I do. There always seems to be more work, laundry, or something to clean calling my name as soon as I sit down with a good book. It feels like all of life’s responsibilities call to me the loudest when I get quiet. While, if I get sucked into endlessly scrolling social media on my phone, everything else is strangely silent. How I wish it was the other way around.
It feels like all of life’s responsibilities call to me the loudest when I get quiet.
If you love it the way I do, you know that reading is so good that it often feels like a luxury. In fact, in some life seasons, it is. What other pastime in our world can transport us into the lives of other people? Help us escape into a simpler reality, or enable us to grapple with the truth of someone else’s much more challenging existence. Or better yet, teach us things about life or ourselves that as Emerson says, “Make us free.”
What other pastime in our world can transport us into the lives of other people?
Reading is a gift. But I wish it was easier to see all forms of reading as a necessity. For example, when I read Seth Godin’s This Is Marketing, earlier this year, it was easy to justify putting in the time. But when I read Ruth Reichl’s Save Me the Plums, somehow it seemed too fun to be a priority—when I learned just as much from it.
Reading, I believe, makes us better people. It teaches us empathy, gives us a broader worldview, stimulates our minds, and more (just see this article in Real Simple). So why, once we’re out of school, does it feel less productive? Does it become something we must make time for or we’ll lose it altogether?
I wish I could say I have the answer. But alas, I do not. I do however, have some great book recommendations though, to hopefully entice you to take the time to read. Today, I want to share My Favorite Books of 2019. Some are serious, others are perfect to take on a plane this holiday season. All of them, I read cover to cover, and fully enjoyed.
So, without further ado, here is my list. And if you have time, I’d love for you to share what books you loved this year in the comments!
Nonfiction:
Miracles and Other Reasonable Things
By: Sarah Bessey
In this book, Sarah shares her journey of picking up the pieces of her life after a terrible car accident. She talks about experiencing God in expected places—including meeting the Pope—and she does so through her beautiful writing that will make you feel like you are on the journey with her. If this year has handed you some hard, unexpected circumstances, or you’re wondering where God is in the broken pieces of life, this is a great read.
Rhythms of Renewal
By: Rebekah Lions
This book is a wonderfully practical yet soulful guide to self care with purpose. In the first half of the book, Rebekah talks about how to find regular rhythms of rest and restoration in our lives to fuel all the important work we do. Then, she writes about the importance of connecting with others and creating things that bless our world by using the gifts God has given us. The examples and ideas of how we can live all four of these practices out in our lives are so doable. And she writes in such a way that helps us feel less alone on the journey.
Save Me the Plums
By Ruth Reichl
If there is anyone who knows how to write about food, it’s Ruth Reichl. In this book, she shares her experience working as the last editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine before it was shut down. With her words she paints stunning pictures of the many cuisines, chefs, and cultures they featured, as well as what it was like leading such a prominent magazine. It’s a memoir with hidden gems about food, life, and leadership.
Fiction:
Women in Sunlight
By: Frances Mayes
Written by the wonderful writer who brought us Under the Tuscan Sun, Women in Sunlight is a beautiful read that enables us to vicariously live out our fantasies of moving to Tuscany. Told through the eyes of four friends who move to Italy for a year, it is a beautiful escape that will make you hungry at times over its food descriptions.
The Crazy Rich Asian trilogy
By: Kevin Kwan
These are easy, fun reads about the “upper-crust” of Asian society that will have you wondering how much of these stories actually happen in real life. Kevin creates colorful and fun characters that you want to follow through plots that twist and turn in surprising ways. I took the first two books of this series with me on our trip to California, and they were long finished before I got home.
What were your favorite books in 2019?
What books are you hoping to read in the new year?
Do you feel mentally and/or emotionally overloaded by both real life and the approaching Holidays? If so, sign up for my email list and get your FREE copy of my Five Steps to Declutter Your Mind, to help you find clarity and peace this season.
