Owning It

I am bookish! I read a ton. Always have. Always will - God willing! My nieces just gave me this shirt from a cool bookstore in Waco, Texas. They know me well. (Azile and Emilee, I hope this counts as an official thank you note.)

Finding Happiness

I read a ton. Sometimes when I’m feeling a bit blue, I ask myself, “Lorrie, have you been reading enough fiction?” I don’t exclusively read rainbows and unicorns, always going to have a happy ending books (actually I detest predictable tie it up with a bow endings), but a good dose of fiction lifts my spirits. I’m sure there is some kind of diagnosis for my reading tendancies, but I’m happy to own that little facet of my sweet self.

The Problem with Book Lists

I listen to bookish podcasts. I savor newspaper end-of-year book lists. Here’s a list of my favorites:

Podcasts
- What Should I Read Next (Anne Bogel)
- 10 Things to Tell You (not exclusively books but Laura Tremaine talks about books a lot!)
Lists:
- The New York Times
- The Wall Street Journal

But here’s the thing - every one of those sources have different favorite titles. Sometimes, if I cross-reference the lists, I find a common book (like Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout), but it’s pretty rare. So what to do?

Kindred Readers

What I like to do is find a friend from my real life who is a reading kindred spirit.

If my friend, Lesley Tibbits, likes a book, it’s a pretty good indicator that I will like it, too. Also, if I don’t like a bestseller that EVERYONE loves, I call Lesley and ask, “OK, did you like it or not?” I’m thrilled when we are in the minority of all readers on the planet. In some ways, I trust her recommendations because of the books we DON’T like.

Conversely, I have a friend from college, Judy Gambee, who is my opposite book source. We crack up because our reading tastes are so different. She reads more sophisticated stuff than I do lately, and a lot more nonfiction. If she loves a book, I probably won’t. And visa versa! When we find a title we both love, it’s like the book stars align! She’s a great book source for my daughter.

We all have to find our book people! Thankfully, I have found mine. You can see if I might be one of yours by reading all about my book habits HERE.

Not a Fan

One other thing before I give you my list of books for 2019 - I’m not a fan of keeping detailed book journals and exhaustive lists. Why? I just don’t keep up with it.

With the spare moments I have, I write Book Review Haiku (I post one a week @lorrie_stories on Instagram) and then get back to reading (or my TO DO list!). Sometimes I wish I was that person who has a curated and decorated list in my perfect bullet journal, but I’m not. I give myself grace so I can live to read another page before I drop off to sleep every night.

Short and Sweet

I’m going to share a few selections from from my 2019 reading life.

Books I LOVED
Not For Me
Unfinished (Yes, I am a fan of abandoning a book for any reason - there is always another book to read - but it’s taken me a while to get comfortable with quitting on a book!)
On My Nighstand Now
Plan to Read in 2020
2019 Favorite Book

Here we go!