Summer is here! I thought now would be a good time to share about the books I’ve been reading so far this year so you can add any good ones to your own summer reading list!

At the beginning of 2018 I set a goal for myself to read 24 books this year. We’re almost halfway through and so far I’ve kept up with my goal!

Goal: 24 books in 2018

end of March check in (1/4 mark): 7 books read (5 fiction, 2 nonfiction) — ahead of goal!

end of June check in (1/2 mark): 12 books read (7 fiction, 5 nonfiction) — on track!

end of September check in (3/4 mark): 17 (10 fiction, 7 nonfiction) — 1 book behind, but I’ll catch up soon!

End of Year–did I reach my goal?

Here are the books I’ve read so far this year. I will be adding more to this list as I complete them!

Nonfiction

Called to Create by Jordan Raynor

THIS IS ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITE BOOKS!!!!

I technically started reading this book soon after it was released in 2017, but I finished it in 2018. I heard about it through a free devotional that I absolutely loved in the YouVersion Bible app. It was so good that I had to check out this book immediately. As I read the description and the chapter titles I realized that this was the book I needed. It answered so many questions that had been on my heart and mind as a creative believer. If you’re a Christian entrepreneur and/or creative, then this is a MUST read.

Refresh by Shona and David Murray

I picked this book up at a conference I went to with a friend back in September 2017 and just got around to reading it this year. Once again this was a book that came to me at just the right time in my life with just the right message I needed to hear!

The subtitle is “embracing a grace-paced life in a world of endless demands.” I resonated with that and the back cover copy, so I bought it then and there. I knew the book would be beneficial, but man oh man I did not expect it to help me THAT much. I was in tears! It’s like the author was speaking directly to me.

If you’re someone who feels overwhelmed by life’s demands and your ever-growing to-do list then this is the book for you! The authors take you on a journey towards healing, better self-reflection, and practical tips to avoid burnout and over-burdening yourself in the future. It was a surprisingly helpful practical guide. I would recommend it to any Christian woman who feels stressed by her current life pace.

The Renaissance Soul: How to Make Your Passions Your Life by Margaret Lobenstine

This is another one of my new favorites! (3 homeruns in a row!) I might make a whole post just on this book in the future. This book is for multipotentialites/polymaths/renaissance souls/multipassionate people. If you’re new to these phrases–they mean someone who prefers to learn a multitude of subjects and skills rather than focusing on only one thing for the rest of their lives. Benjamin Franklin (a great many varied interests; i.e. printer, inventor, scientist, author, and diplomat) is a good example of this, in contrast to a more singularly-focused person such as Wolfgang Mozart (one passionate lifelong interest: pianist/composer). Multipotentialites/renaissance souls are the people who have always wrestled with the question “what do you want to do when you grow up?” because it seemed horrible and terrifying to only choose ONE interest.

Ever since I watched Emilie Putnik’s TED Talk on Multipotentialites I’ve researched more into the subject, but this book has been by far the best comprehensive resource I’ve found so far. It covers so many topics and lived up to the label on the cover that says it’s a “creative and practical guide.” I found affirmation in the things I’ve discovered in myself, as well as learned new information, resources, and tips for thriving as a multipotentialite.

Here are a few great quotes from the book:

“Your only problem is that your unwillingness to pick one specific path and stick with it shouldn’t be labeled a “problem” in the first place. Let me reassure you right now: your desire to follow many (and frequently changing interests is one of the best things about you.”
Quote from Maya Angelou: “I think we’ve done a real disservice to young people by telling them, ‘Oh you be careful. You’ll be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.’ It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I think you can be a jack-of-all-trades and a mistress-of-all-trades. If you study it, and you put reasonable intelligence and reasonable energy, reasonable electricity to it, you can do that.”
“For Renaissance Souls, the surest means to expertise is honoring our passions instead of stifling them. Any other approach will backfire. If we’re not motivated, we will eventually stop paying close attention and slide into bitterness. Under these conditions, we’re far more likely to burn out than to boast “expert” label.”
“Another economic benefit of accepting your Renaissance Soul is that your love of variety is a marketable asset. The new economy requires an ability to stay light on one’s feet, to adapt quickly to chance.”

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham

I listened to Lauren Graham read this audiobook herself.

It is a collection of personal essays from the actress who plays the lovable, fast-talking character, Lorelai Gilmore, in the show Gilmore Girls. She tells about her journey to becoming an actress and “making it”, behind-the-scenes looks into filming the revival of Gilmore Girls, and her journey as a writer.

I’m not huge into autobiographies, but this audio book was delightful! I loved it! It’s so great when actresses are as funny and charming in real life as the characters they play on screen. This book is such a fun and inspiring read/listen, especially if you’re familiar with the show Gilmore Girls. She also gives a great tip on writing that I plan on implementing into my own writing strategy!

Personality Marketing: Join Your Industry’s A-List By Embracing Your Inner Nerd by Brittany Bullen

I got this book awhile ago when Brittany first released it with a promotion of getting a 1 month trial in one of her group coaching programs (super duper helpful!). If you are in any kind of business I highly recommend checking out Brittany Bullen, her free Facebook group, and this book (which I believe you can still get for FREE here).

Brittany defines Personality Marketing as “the art of thinking like a media company first and a salesperson second, using the distinct characteristics of your personality to set yourself (or your company) apart from your competitors.” This book helped me reshape my mindset, as well as gave me practical action steps. I blew through this book in less than 48 hours because I was so excited to learn and get started applying what I learned!

Here are a few of my key takeaways:

“Personality marketing is about putting the heart and soul BACK into your message–combining the immense persuasive power of real human stories (conveyed with sincere human emotion) with the immense persuasive power of proven marketing principles to create a killer (maybe even unbeatable!) combination.”
“Good marketing always has begun and always will begin with a sincere and generous focus on your customer.”
“What are you saying that nobody else is saying? What are you offering that nobody else is offering? Who are you serving that nobody else is serving? In a content-saturated world, different makes all the difference.”
“So here’s the distinction that’s going to help you snap out of insecurity mode and get back into strategy mode a whole lot more quickly. From now on, henceforth and forever, I want you to think of yourself as a scientist…I want you to think about each new business decision as an experiment–the purpose of the experiment being to test a hypothesis and gather data…Just do me AND yourself the EPIC FAVOR of remembering this: the success or failure of your marketing experiments has nothing to do with the success or failure of who you are as a human being.”
“Want to be known as the best in your field? A big piece of that is making sure you look the part…We’ve already discussed, to some extent, the importance of “after-ness”, which means YOU showing up as the physical representation of the specific result or benefit or lifestyle this customer is hoping to get for the product or service you’re offering them. Now I know that this idea might make you a little bit nervous, thinking “…but what if I’m NOT an ‘after’? What if I’m still a work in progress?” Well, first of all, stop worrying about that right now because we all are. If you look hard enough at your life story, you will find nuggets of awesomeness that will enable you to position yourself as an “after” even if you’re just starting out. You can start by looking at your cool accomplishments, your work history, your credentials, your education, or others “claims to fame” you might have that you can use to make sure people know (and make sure YOU feel CONFIDENT) that you’re legit.“
“The more you show up as the “interested person”–the one who cares the most about a particular customer, who’s passionately devoted to giving them whatever it is that they want and/or helping them to avoid whatever it is that they fear–the more they’re going to care about what you have to say.“

The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

Check out my post on The Four Tendencies here.

Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide by Caroline Adams Miller & Michael B. Frisch

This book is LOADED with tips for reaching your goals and jam-packed with the current major research findings at the time of its publishing. It honestly took me a couple months to get through this book because there was so much information to digest. It reads more like an academic paper than most of the personable self-help books out there, so that also makes it a little difficult to get through. I also found the authors to be quite antagonistic towards millennials (there’s literally a section entitled “Are the Millennials Gritty Enough?” where they pretty much bash millennials. I’d totally understand if they came from a factual standpoint (there is a negative stereotype of my generation for a reason), but they become really biased in their language and talk in absolutes (grouping all millennials together–“we all know who THEY are”, they do this, they do that). It felt like an unusual break from professionalism to vent about millennials. Who hurt you? I promise not everyone in my generation are horrible wimpy, whiny slackers.

Other than that, I appreciate the many examples they give of real people putting the lessons into action. There are many helpful lessons to be gleaned from this book, just be prepared to take time for it so you can soak in each section a little at a time.

Here are a few quotes that stood out to me:

“…it’s safe to posit that 50-80% of our daily contentment is completely under our control.”
“In fact, friendship has been found to be one of the strongest correlations with happiness, while having few friends predicts depression. Social isolation hurts us more than either smoking or cholesterol in shortening our life!”
“Studies show that if we have two goals that don’t logically go together, we will not make progress on either one of them.”
“The accomplishment of one goal on your life list will be enhanced by the accomplishment of another.”
“People with poor self-control are also habitual procrastinators.”
“The main obstacle for change is lack of confidence in themselves and their abilities to bring about desired outcomes.” (rather than external obstacles, such as money and living conditions)
“If you take a risk, nobody vomits or even dies, but you do learn new skills and face your fears, leaving you a much bolder and more proactive person.”
“In fact, our friends are such a crucial determinant of our own behavior that the study found that we are 171 percent more likely to gain weight if our closest friends gain weight, even if they live many miles away, and that while family members’ habits can and do impact us, that influence pales in comparison to what the friends in our social network do, think, and value. Dr. Nicholas Christakis, the principal investigator in this study, explained his findings this way: “You change your idea of what is an acceptable body type by looking at the people around you.”
“Exercise is the single most important tool people have to maximize brain function…When your body gets fitter, so does your mind.”

Make It Happen: Surrender Your Fear. Take The Leap. Live on Purpose. by Lara Casey

Fiction

Finishing School (series) by Gail Carriger

Etiquette and Espionage, Curtsies and Conspiracies, Waistcoats and Weaponry, Manners and Mutiny

I stumbled across book #3 and #4 at Barnes and Noble after Christmas. The gorgeous covers (and steampunk look!) caught my eye. They were on a super duper sale because they overstocked. I don’t normally purchase a book unless I’ve already read it or am very sure I will love it, but with the sale and intriguing description I just HAD to pick these books up. Then I questioned if I had made a good choice (I’m an overthinker) and looked up reviews before investing in the rest of the series (it’s kind of hard to try a series out when you buy the middle book!). I learned that it is a prequel to Carriger’s series called The Parasol Protectorate (which I haven’t read yet, but it sounds interesting!) and that it is aimed at younger readers. I enjoy reading Young Adult fiction, but I worried this would be too young for me.

I was pleasantly surprised and not the least bit disappointed!

It took me just a few pages to get into it and I quickly fell in love with their enchanting steampunk world and the quirkiness of her writing. As each chapter continued on it grew increasingly harder to put the book down!

The premise is a rambunctious witty girl, Sophronia, is sent away to finishing school…however, she quickly learns that this isn’t just your average finishing school and there is more than one thing meant to be “finished” (cue sliding motion of finger across neck). The school trains women to not only be proper ladies of society, but they are also trained to be intelligencers and assassins.

The setting is your classic steampunk feel — an alternate Victorian era and culture with mechanical inventions. There are also werewolves and vampires!

I was totally hooked after the first book and the second was equally fascinating and engaging. I’m a super fan of Sophronia’s new signature weapon — a bladed fan (just look at it on the gorgeous cover of the 3rd book!).

I felt like the fourth book began to lose steam compared to the other three, but I still enjoyed it. There were still some thrilling scenes, especially at the climax. I was personally a little dissatisfied with the ending, but I also know that this was a prequel series to The Parasol Protectorate series, so one must keep that in mind.

Though it is YA, I suggest parents read it first before letting their children read it. There’s some material (especially later on as the books progress and the girls grow up) that may not be deemed appropriate for younger children.

As a whole, I enjoyed this series as a light, fun, and quirky read. I look forward to reading the original Parasol Protectorate series in the future!

InterWorld (series) by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves

Neil Gaiman is quite the eclectic writer–from this intergalactic science fiction told in a 1st-person narrative to comic books to dark and creepy to film to fantasy. A title you might recognize of his is “Coraline” (yes, the same as the movie with the creepy button-eye people!). Or perhaps the movie based on his novel, Stardust.

I listened to audiobooks of InterWorld and The Silver Dream while on the long drive to and from Florida with my brother and husband in February. My brother had recommended we read an audiobook by Neil Gaiman. Though at first it took me awhile to really get into it, the series as a whole was a great choice! My husband and brother both really enjoyed this series, too. In the audiobook version, the voice actors read the different characters in different voices, which made it more interesting and engaging to me. This series ended up being perfect for a family road trip!

InterWorld, The Silver Dream, and Eternity’s Wheel

Honestly, the first book, InterWorld, took me awhile to get into. But, in its defense, there was a LOT to explain to setup this intricate interdimensional Altiverse. It also seemed to me like the writing style would appeal more to a middle school boy (I mean, it was written from a young man’s first-person perspective–inner dialogue and all). By the end of the book I was immersed in the story and ready to keep going! I was totally into the second book, The Silver Dream. There was more action and interaction with entertaining dialogue. Being told from the first-person perspective, I think it helped move the pace along once more characters were involved. I had a long gap between finishing The Silver Dream and starting Eternity’s Wheel (just because it was hard to find a chunk of time when my husband and I could listen together; we finally did while traveling in July), but that didn’t stop me from being fully engaged in book 3 right from the start! I felt like the end was a bit of a cliffhanger, leaving some things unresolved and I can’t find anything about a 4th book in the works…so that’s a bit of a bummer, but perhaps it was intended to be left for the imagination? However, don’t let that stop you from reading this series; there is an ending to the series that concludes most everything.

The Lord of the Rings (series) by J.R.R. Tolkien

I confess: I watched the movies before the books. Well, I watched the movies at least a dozen times before I read the books. My parents took me to see each movie in the theater and I have been a HUGE fan ever since. I tried reading the books in elementary school, but couldn’t make it through them all. I tried again in high school…still couldn’t do it. But now at the age of 24 I’ve started it up again and I don’t know what my problem was (perhaps it became easier to read after reading so many thick college books), but I found the first chapters to be an utter DELIGHT and way easier to read than I expected. For those who are reading this post who have not yet read these books: don’t get me wrong — these are definitely not a light read. The very thing that I love about Tolkien — his imagination and the insane amount of detail he put into creating his world — is also what makes it a little difficult to get through. But it is so worth it and it is a MUST read for any fantasy lover.

I could write all day long about Tolkien and his creative genius and the role he has had in my life!

The Fellowship of the Ring

It was a delight reading about the hobbits, their way of life, and their interactions with one another. Tolkien can be quite humorous and if you’re not paying attention you might miss it! I’ve laughed out loud several times at the interaction between Gandalf the wizard and Pippin the hobbit.

My husband kept talking about how the chapter, The Council of Elrond, is where he always struggled because it seemed to drag on. When I was a few chapters in I thought “I don’t know what he’s talking about; it’ll be fine!”, but once I reached that chapter…let’s just say I had been reading a good chapter every day up until that point but when I hit that chapter it took me several weeks. I kept procrastinating picking the book up again. Now, I don’t know if it was just my life circumstances at the time or if it was the chapter, but it is quite a long dialogue. Even Bilbo in the chapter says he must take a break to eat because they’ve been talking literally FOR DAYS!

Then once The Council of Elrond ended, the pace picked back up again. I am currently still reading this book and will come back to finish my review once I finish it.

The Two Towers

(to be read soon!)

The Return of the King

(to be read soon!)

Lunar Chronicles (series) by Marissa Meyer

I’ve been reading this series in audiobook format.

Cinder

This has been a lovely series so far. I enjoy the world Meyer has created and her completely different take on the classic fairytale of Cinderella. The storytelling has a lovely fairytale meets science fiction and dystopian future feel to it (and if you know me, I have a bit of an obsession with dystopian fiction…and let’s be honest, I love fairytales and science fiction, too). This Young Adult novel is about a teenage girl, Cinder, who is a cyborg (making her a second-class citizen) and a brilliant mechanic with a wicked stepmother. Cinder must solve the mystery of her past as she faces a threat to her future (and the future of their entire planet!).

Scarlet

I am currently reading this one and will come back to review!

The Dark Unwinding & The Spark Unseen by Sharon Cameron

My mom recommended this book to me and let me borrow it. I was not expecting it to be so good, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and even had a hard time putting it down most nights! It takes place in the 1850s. A young woman, Katharine Tulman, is sent by her Aunt Alice to her Uncle Tulman’s estate to have him committed to an asylum after hearing rumor that he was insane and had been squandering the family’s fortune that was to be Alice’s son’s inheritance after Uncle Tulman. Upon arriving, Katherine finds that everything is not as she expected and is faced with a difficult choice to either protect her uncle and the people living and working on the estate or to protect her own livelihood. I found this book to be delightfully whimsical and a bit mysterious, with several unexpected twists and turns throughout the plot.

The Spark Unseen changes the setting to Paris, where the beloved characters take on a whole new set of conflicts, twists, and mysteries. I can’t say much about the plot without giving spoilers to the first book, but I enjoyed this sequel! I recommend this series.

Under the Never Sky, Through the Ever Night, & Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

I’m currently reading Through the Ever Night and will come back to review them once I finish.

What are some of your favorite books you’ve read this year? Comment below!

I have a free Reading List worksheet on my resources page exclusive for those subscribed to my email list. It’s a great way to keep track of what books you’d like to read this summer, set goals, and keep track of library books! If you’re not on my list, you can gain immediate access by subscribing today.

My 2018 Reading List

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