It wasn’t just the downtime. I made a conscious effort in the beginning of the year to read books. Over the years I have read for different reasons, and shifted from reality-escaping fiction, to historic novels I skipped reading in high school, to business books to have some sort of clue when I was starting my business.

But one thing remained constant: my love for holding a book in my hands and feeling the page edges on my fingertips. I just cannot get into reading on a tablet. During deployment I was forced to because there isn’t exactly room for a personal library collection in a tiny ship room. But now that I can, I soak up every ounce of holding the pages. I guess that also ties into how I feel about printing your photos, but I’ll skip that for now. 

Here are all the books I’ve read this year. Some were quick and light (I see you, Chip and Jojo) and others were to refresh my child raising knowledge, but by far my favorite were my daily devotional reads and the ones I chose for me. You can say the books I chose are an example of my preachings about balance, but honestly I didn’t plan it that way. 

Here’s a quick run down of each book in case you are interested: (top to bottom)

1. The Whole Brain Child (Siegel and Bryson) – This one I best recommend for parents of kids 3-4 years old and up. It has teachings and examples of how to best allow your child to cope with the world and talk to them in a way that helps shape their brain.
2. No-Drama Discipline (Siegel and Bryson) – Same authors as above, and I recommend for parents of younger children, infant to toddler. Similar to the first, you want to have kids understand the reasoning behind what you are saying (within reason) and this book gives a great outline and examples. 
3. Invested (Danielle Town) – This is part of a series of books I recommend reading if you want to learn about Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger’s type investing. They do not do day trading, you are in it for the long haul. I also read the first book in this called Rule #1…which their first rule is don’t lose money. 
4. Embraced (TerKeurst) – This was a gift from a sweet long time friend and it is a daily devotional. It is amazing what a few minutes will do for your mindset for the whole day, so I whole heartedly recommend this if you are the tiniest bit religious. 
5. The Subtle Art to Not Giving a F*ck (Manson) – It’s not about not caring, it’s more about caring about the right and important things. And sometimes, when we are complaining about how we got $5 change in all nickels from the convenience store, we may be focusing on the wrong stuff in life. Worthwhile read fo sho. 
6. The Magnolia Story (Gaines) – Cute little book, just grab it from the library cuz it’s a quick easy read. But if you are at all enamored by cute little Chip and Jojo, it’s heartwarming to know that even when they were at the bottom, they always bet on themselves.
7. Capital Gaines (Gaines) – More of the same. But Chip is so funny with what he thinks in life. 
8. FearLESS and Free (Sachs) – If you have ever made decisions out of fear and allowed that to keep you from doing something, please read this. It will make you confident and help you decide if making a big move is something you need to do now (you do). 
9. The Pumpkin Plan (Michalowicz)- Not really the only business book I read (had a couple that were more references) but definitely a great book to take action. Taking cues from pumpkin farmers that grow giant prize winning pumpkins, Mike takes you through building your business to be the biggest prize there is. And it all starts with having the right seed. 

So what did you get into this year? Was it any of these? I’d love to know what you recommend for me this year, comment below!