Reading is an escape for me. I love reading because I always learn something new. I started making more time to read this year and I want to share in one post all the books I’m reading in 2018. Unfortunately this idea didn’t come to me until July – the idea of having the list of books in one blog post. I had May’s books up in separate post which I’ll link to. My hope is you’ll get some book inspiration from my reading list.
CRYSTAL’S 2018 BOOK LIST
You can check out the books I read in May by clicking here.
Before May I didn’t make a list of the books I read. And honestly, besides reading these books:
- The Light of the Fireflies
- Emma in the Night
- Think and Grow Rich
- The Light Between Us
- The Willpower Instinct
- Spirited
- Ricochet Joe
I didn’t make enough time to read during the beginning of year.
I share tips on how to make time to read more books in this post.
JUNE BOOK LIST
- An American Marriage
- Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World
- Live your Extraordinary Life
- Love Love Bakery
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
This book was a selection from Oprah’s 2018 Book Club.
An American Marriage is about a young couple and what happens to their relationship after the husband goes to prison.
I read/listened to this book on Audible.
Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World by Kristen Welch
I found some great parenting ideas and truths in this book. In all honesty, sometimes I feel guilty about the way I raise my kids.
My kid’s have friends who don’t have bedtimes, chores, or responsibilities.
There have been moments in which I thought maybe I expect too much of them. And then I remember: a bedtime is good for them and great for my husband and I to finally get some alone time, they need to do chores because they live here and it’s not a bad thing to raise a kid to be a responsible person!
Here are a few of my FAVORITE mom/positivity posts:
Find Your Extraordinary: Dream Bigger, Live Happier, and Achieve Success on Your Own Terms by Jessica DiLullo Herrin
I highlighted quite a few pages in this book, so you know it’s good! For some reason this book took me a really long time to read.
I was glad to get back to it though because this book had some great advice on productivity, kindness and achieving success.
Love Love Bakery
*My favorite book in June!*
We met the author, Sara at a book reading and she was kind enough to give Gabby one of her books. I loved learning how the people and the animals in the book were based on real people. The story is about the day in the life of a real bakery/cafe where ALL are welcome.
I felt like this book was a breath of fresh air, real and the illustration so very beautiful. I want to find a bakery just like this near me!
Learn more about Love Love Bakery by clicking here.
July Book List
- The Girl with All the Gifts
- Manage your Day to Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus & Sharpen Your Creative Mind
- You
The Girl with All the Gifts
This is not your typical zombie story. It’s a different perspective and the book kept me hooked during my work week. There’s a movie out too, it’s not as good as the book though!
Manage your Day to Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus & Sharpen Your Creative Mind
There were some great tips from amazing people in this book. The biggest nugget: set a routine for creativity, don’t just work when you are inspired. That stuck with me and encouraged me to wake up and write daily!
You
You was the book I could not stop reading in July. The main character, Joe, is CRAZY. This is a thriller. If you listen to it on Audible like I did – do not play it while kids are around!
You will be thoroughly creeped out while you learn more and more about Joe and what he’s capable of!
August Book List
- Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One by Joe Dispenza
- Gone Girl By Gillian Flynn
- Co-Creating at Its Best: A Conversation Between Master Teachers by Dr. Wayne Dyer and Esther Hicks
- God and the Afterlife by Jeffrey Long and Paul Perry
You can find all of these books on my Amazon Shop HERE.
August was a fun month to do summer reading. I read two books via Audible: Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and Gone Girl.
I enjoyed reading Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself because of the scientific explanations offered for some things that are considered woo-woo. I’m totally fine with woo-woo by the way, but I also like to have some scientific facts behind my ideas! I liked this book so much I bought the Kindle version and the meditations too!
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn kept me in suspense. I took turns hating both characters and was genuinely surprised by the turn of events. I like reading these kinds of books via Audible because I can listen during my work day. And books like this one make my day go by so much faster!
Co-Creating at Its Best: A Conversation Between Master Teachers by Dr. Wayne Dyer and Esther Hicks was a quick read for me. I learned about Esther Hicks from Brandon at The Positive Head Podcast –I love him so so so so much! So I was happy to read the spiritual wisdom offered by the conversation between Wayne, Esther and Abraham. This book is a must read if you’re a fan!
And last but not least I read God and the Afterlife by Jeffrey Long and Paul Perry. This book was a compilation of stories about near death experiences. The main message I found was simple: there is an afterlife and it’s more loving than you can ever imagine.
That’s it for my August reading list. I hope you take time to read this month!
September Book List
- Freedom : My Book of Firsts by Jaycee Dugard
- Stretched Too Thin by Jessica N. Turner
- The Vegan Cheat Sheet by Amy Cramer
- Soul Space by Xorin Balbes
- Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Soul by Arielle Ford
- Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
- Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living your Dreams by Mike Dooley
I read 7 books in September! Woo-hoo! I read a few more cookbooks but I didn’t add them to this list. Not sure if they count or not?
I think I was able to get so many read due to: #1 I got sick for 2 weeks in September and this time I took it easy.
While I had bronchitis I actually rested! I let my husband make dinner while I sat on the couch with a box of tissues, a comfy blanket and a few good books.
Okay so in September I read/listened to 2 audio books: Leaving Time and Infinite Possibilities. (Just a side note: when I mentioned I read 7 books in September my husband was quick to point out that audio books don’t count. I wanted to throw a book at him, right at his face.) He read 1 book in September so he’s not allowed to say audio books don’t count. They totally do!
Leaving Time was a really good book. I enjoy most of Jodi Picoult’s books and have for many years (since my early 20s). The story starts out with teenager who is in search of her mother (an elephant researcher) an enlists the help of a psychic and an ex-cop. What follows a twist I wasn’t expecting! I even spent time looking up reviews and comments on line to see what other people thought of the ending.
Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living your Dreams by Mike Dooley. You might be thinking: again with the woo-woo Crystal, again? Yup – and it was so worth it! This book is amazing, life-changing, game-changer – all that stuff. And I will be purchasing the hard copy of this book! Mike Dooley is one of my favorite teachers on Earth! I signed up (at TUT.com) for the notes from the universe emails and I love reading them weekly!
Quick reads this month: Freedom, The Vegan Cheat Sheet and Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Soul. I recommend all of these books.
One of my favorite books this month: Stretched too Thin by Jessica N. Turner. I realized how many moms feel overwhelmed, have mom guilt for working or feel like they don’t have enough time in the day. I especially like knowing I am not alone and there are simple ways to change!
The book Soul Space by Xorin Balbes inspired me to move my furniture around and make my house more suited to me. I work from home full time from 8 am to 5 pm. My desk with two big, bulky monitors and a large office chair was situated against a wall in bedroom. After reading this book I realized I needed to get the desk out of my room. What a difference this has made!
I added the best books of this month of my Amazon Shop Book Page Go check them out!
October Book List
Oliver Loving by Stefan Merrill Block. A very sensitive book indeed. I was interested in this book because it’s set in Marfa, Texas. I live in Texas and because the story weaved a tale about a school shooting. The character, Oliver, is a 17 year old boy who is so likeable and sweet. Unfortunately one day, he’s at a school function and he’s shot – not killed but paralyzed I believe basically living in a vegetative state in a nursing home for years and years.
The book have a lot of insight as to how the parents and brother of Oliver dealt with the shooting and the living ordeal of taking care of a family member who is not really there.
In the House In the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt. Thankfully I didn’t pay for this book. I was totally going to buy it in my Audible app with my monthly credit until an old friend (and podcast listener) told me about the Libby app. You can connect your library card and rent out audio books, ebooks and magazines.
Okay so while listening to this book I will admit, I got a tiny bit freaked out. This lady is walking around in the woods during Puritan times and gets lost. Eventually she encounters a woman who helps her. Turns out they’re all controlled by Red boy. A devil? Is this about witchcraft?
What the heck was I reading? I seriously have no idea what just happened…wait..what?!
I just don’t get this book. I’m glad I finished it. I do not recommend it.
Exactly What to Say by Phil M. Jones. If you’re in (any kind of) sales this is a great book for you. Phil Jones puts the words you need right into your mouth. This is a quick read and I was surprised to realize I’ve heard many salespeople get me with these same techniques.
Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris. One of my biggest pet peeves is not finishing a book I started reading. I seriously could not continue listening to this book on Audible. The main character is a woman who meets a man, seems like your typical love story. They get married and up until their wedding night everything seems fine. Then you realize she married a psychopath who wants to control her every move and eventually wants to abuse her sister with special needs. I had to stop reading because I wanted to smack the main character and her husband in the face! I did google and found spoilers which tell me the book ended okay. But I never went back to finish.
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. A teenage girl disappears one afternoon and is never heard from again. This novel is sad, scary and does offer somewhat of a happy ending. I could not put this audio book down! The book focuses mostly on two perspectives so you do find out what happened to the missing daughter and you also know how the family felt from her mom’s perspective. This is a must read!
Just so you know I’m pretty sure I read more books in October, I just didn’t keep track of them. I also didn’t keep track of library due dates and ended up with a $70 library fee! Lesson learned!
I added the best books from this month to my Amazon Reading List. Check them out!
November Book List
Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. An honest and refreshing reminder for all of us! Rachel shares her stories and her encouragement. My takeaway: Stop believing the lies about yourself and quit the negative self talk!
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero.“You are responsible for what you say and do. You are not responsible for whether or not people freak out about it.” Yassss!!!!! Finally someone tells it like it is! I loved listening to the audio version of this book. I felt like I knew a lot about what she talks about in the book which is good to hear in someone else’s view/voice. Jen writes about money, meditation, going with the flow and just doing what you want to do already – you are amazing and talented enough to start it now!
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I have been trying to declutter for years. It seems as if each house we live in fills up with tons of things we don’t need. My bff swears I’m a minimalist but I still feel like I have too much stuff! This book was a refreshing read (I listened to it) and renewed my spark to declutter and maintain a tidy home.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. A man travels to his hometown for a funeral and begins to remember long forgotten parts of his childhood. This book is by the same author who wrote Coraline. There is a creepiness in the story when you find out there’s something not right about his nanny. And what about the family he befriended from down the road? Just who are they? I kept reading to this book because I was genuinely interested in what was going on in this kid’s life. I was also reminded of my own childhood – thinking I could die from pretty much everything and keeping little secrets from adults. In the story this kid pulled a worm out of his foot like nothing – didn’t scream or cry or tell his mom! I liked this book enough to want to read more by the author. This book is childhood, it’s sweetness, friendship, horror, fear and overcoming that fear. A good read for sure!
Cross Her Heart: A Novel by Sarah Pinborough. Lisa is a quiet kind of woman, she works full-time, she’s a single mom to a teenage daughter and that’s pretty much all she does. And that’s because Lisa is holding on to a huge secret and if anyone finds out her life as she knows it will change. It’s a big secret too and when you find out what it is you may not like her anymore. This book was a page turner for me, I could not put it down! I especially enjoyed the ending because it wrapped up nicely.
A Double Life by Flynn Berry. I read this book in span of about 3 to 4 hours one evening. Once I started reading I couldn’t put it down. This book is loosely inspired by a famous unsolved crime: the Lord Lucan case. The main character, Claire is trying to find out what happened on the night her nanny was murdered and her wealthy father disappeared.
When I Was a Child I Was Always Afraid by Michael Cascio. I love books that rhyme, they’re so much fun to read aloud! This book is about a young boy who is very afraid at bedtime. He starts to think about monsters under his bed, thunder and lightning, and scary shadows in his room at night. I can totally relate because when I was a kid I was always afraid too. And I have a 5 year old that has trouble staying in her bed every night because she says she’s scared. We’ve read this book many times together! The dad goes on to show the little boy how there is an explanation for everything he’s scared of. This is a fun story about facing fears that is perfect for young children. You can find more about auth Michael Cascio and why this book is so important to him by clicking here. And you can buy your own copy on Amazon. I also added this book to my Must Read Books shop on Amazon.
December Book List
Everybody Always by Bob Goff I enjoyed reading Everybody Always and while I could not relate to everything the author wrote about or did, I definitely recommend it. Favorite quotes from the book:
- We all encounter difficulties. It’s what we do next that defines us.
- People don’t grow where they’re planted; they grow where they’re loved.
- People who are becoming love celebrate how far the people around them have come. They’re constantly asking the question, “Where do you want to go?” Then they help the people around them get there.
Echoes in the Walls by VC Andrews I used to love VC Andrews when I was a teen. I read this book over a weekend. I totally forgot how the writing pulls you into the story. But I would not say I recommend this book or that I would read it again.
Not counting kids books I read about 40 books in 2018! My goal is to keep track of the books I read in an easier way because I am certain I forgot a few books this year. No biggie though.
Let me know what you plan on reading in 2019! I’d love book ideas!
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