What I Read in January

When I am writing regularly, this is always one of my favorite posts to write because I LOVE books and I LOVE reading.
This year I set a goal of 150 books a year, meaning I'd need to average 12.5 books a month.
I printed off several reading challenges, and I'll be posting my progress on those periodically.... I know that I won't read all the books on all of the challenges, but following the suggestions will make sure that the 150 books I read will be of a wider variety than what I normally read.
I am reading about 40 books right now.. crazy,  I know! I read in one for a while, then put it down... unless it's one that I have to just keep reading. Part of this is due to me reading series books... as soon as I stop one I'll start the next one.

In January, I finished up several books I carried over from the previous year.

1. 40 Days of Christmas: Celebrating the Glory of Our Savior was a devotional book that started with Advent and went through Epiphany. The devotions were enjoyable and were short enough that I could read them in only a few minutes. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a devotional book around Christmas time!
2. Farming, A Hnad Book by Wendell Berry- I usually don't like poetry, but Berry writes in a way that draws me in. It may also help that he writes about Kentucky, a place I know and love. His Kentucky is different, but still the same. (He's another reason why I'm reading so many books... as I finish one of his, I start another. And he has written a bunch!!!)
3. Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich- I've read everyone in this series. Honestly, they are predictable at times, but they make me laugh out loud sometimes and they are good, light reads if you just want to mindlessly follow a story. (Note- this series does contain some vivid language and violence).
4. The Way of Abundance by Ann Voskamp- I love anything by Ann Voskamp. She writes lyrically, composing beautiful words on the page. This was a series of short devotions that included questions at the end of each.
5. It Could Only Be Jesus- I bought this Bible study from Hello Mornings, a study group I've participated in several times over the year. I fell behind, as it was a Bible study where you had to read Scripture, write Scripture, and answer questions... but it's never too late for Christmas.
6. An Acceptable Time by Madeline L'Engle- This was the closing book of the Wrinkle in Time series and it was great. I enjoyed the whole series, even though it involved fantasy and time travel and other elements I usually don't enjoy that type of literature.
7. Wait for Me by Jo Huddleston- This is a book available on Kindle Unlimited ($10 a month through Amazon- with numerous free reads. I read all of the Harry Potter books free through Kindle Unlimited). This was a sweet love story about a girl from the right side of the tracks and her coal miner love interest, and I thought I would really enjoy it because it was set in West Virginia. It had a nice story line, but at times drug on and the grammar wasn't great. I did start the second book in the series and it seems some better.
8. Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs- LOVED this book. It was placed on my reading list in February of last year, but I didn't really start it until about October. Higgs profiled 10 women in the Bible who were "less than". She placed them in modern terms, then walked through their stories in the Bible, and ended with what we can learn from them. There are discussion questions for each chapter as well. Great way to learn about characters in the Bible (in more ways than one!)
9. Dopesick by Beth Macy- If you live in Eastern Kentucky, you need to read this book. It chronicles the opioid epidemic, mainly focusing in Virginia... but y'all. It's eye-opening.
10. Mary Poppins- I'm not sure how I've lived almost 40 years without reading this series, but I finished book 1 and started book 2. It's delightful.
11. The Accidental Beauty Queen- This was a book I got from net galley and it was great. It's the tale of two twins... one a beauty queen, one who's...well, not. It's funny. It's sweet. It has believable and likeable characters. And the main character is a book nerd. Loved it!!
12. Anne of Green Gables book 1- Again, I'm not sure how I lived this long without reading this book, but it has become one of my favorites. Anne is truly one of my favorite people in a book, and she has some of the most awesome quotes!
0.5- the other 40 books I'm reading...

check back at the end of this month for a list of what I finished. I did complete one this morning so I'm off to a good start =)