10 Reads to Help You Be Better in 2020

While fiction shines on this blog, front and center, nonfiction titles naturally dominate this list for self-improvement in 2020. No diet or exercise books here, just some books that are both easy to read and helpful in growing in one way or another without becoming another task to tick off of your list or adding a radical change to employ overnight.

If you’d like to read my full reviews, visit my Goodreads shelf.

  • Be Brave in the Scared
  • Know Thyself
  • Finish by Jon Acuff
  • Day by Day with Saint Faustina
  • Side by Side
  • Don't Forget to Say Thank You
  • Unrepeatable
  • Giving Thanks and Letting Go
  • Cultural Literacy
  • The Bright Unknown
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My Top 10 Favorite Podcasts

Linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for Top 10 Tuesday . . .

I’ve come late to podcasts. Very late. Until recently, I’ve had very little quiet, uninterrupted time in my life. Even now, if I try to listen to audio when my family is around, I end up frustrated by near-constant interruptions. So, I save listening to audiobooks and podcasts for when everyone is asleep or out of the house.

We also had an issue with a shared Apple ID, which essentially meant my husband and I sharing a podcast app. That was problematic, so I deleted the app from my phone and didn’t look back.

Now, however, we have separate Apple IDs, and a world of podcasts has opened up to me. I’ve been sampling some, listening here and there, and I’ve found one I absolutely love (the top spot below) and many others worth a second or third listen.

I’ve always called radio my “first love,” so it’s fun to venture into these audio adventures. Maybe I’ll even get more housecleaning done with them playing in the background!

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Top 10 Tuesday: Things I’m Still Learning After 20 Years of Marriage

Things Learned 20 YRS Marriage

My husband and I will be married twenty years this week. Twenty years. Not sure how it’s even possible that so many sunsets have slipped by me.

As a twenty-five-year-old bride, I thought I came into marriage well-prepared. Relatively speaking, I did. My parents provided a good example of a long and faithful marriage. (Remote preparation.) I understood, more or less, what marriage entailed, at least as well as any never-been-married person can. We attended the Church-required marriage preparation and consulted with a priest. (Proximate preparation.) We discussed the important stuff: faith, babies, finances, and lifestyle. Continue reading

Top 10 Tuesday: Hidden Gems Series & Standalones

I’m linking up with The Broke and the Bookish (which describes me quite well) for ten underrated/hidden gem books I’ve read over the last year or so. I adapted the topic slightly to suit the books I had in mind, making the focus here mainly series.

If my list is “more of the same” from me, it’s because hidden gems are a mainstay of my reading diet. Most of the books I review and blog about could be considered hidden gems. While I do read classics and books by major publishers with super-wide exposure, I concentrate my efforts on quality books by authors who publish independently or with independent publishers. I know self-published books have a bad rap in certain circles, but there are many, many excellent books out there. More every day. Continue reading

Top 10 Tuesday: 10 Myths About Authors

Some people have fixed ideas about authors: how they do what they do, what they enjoy, all their quirks and idiosyncrasies. In truth, authors and writers are at least as varied as those in any other profession, maybe more so. They are as varied as the topics about which they write. So, here’s my Top 10 author myths. (My apologies to anyone else’s list exposing author myths that I may have internalized over the years.

    1. The cozy writing nook. Creation requires the proper writer environment: a pen and ink at an antique roll top desk overlooking a flowering meadow or forest where woodland creatures peaceably come and go. Or maybe a modern in-home office in which the walls are bedecked with inspiration, awards, and a bulletin board for notes and plotting. While those sound lovely, a writer’s “office” may be a laptop on the couch or the dining room table. Maybe a closet/office. Maybe a bound journal and a sturdy pen. (I write on a laptop at the dining room table.)

      Where I write

      My work station. Note toys surrounding the computer.

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Top 10 Tuesday: My Latest 5-Star Reads

I’m linking up with The Broke and the Bookish (which describes me quite well) for my latest 5-star reads! I know first-hand the importance of reviews, so I review most – but not all – books I read. I reviewed each of the books listed below on Amazon and Goodreads. Each was read sometime between early January 2016 and now, and for those who are concerned with such things, all are “clean” reads. I’m kind of surprised as I look over this list that only two are standalone novels – Jenny B. Jones’s I’ll Be Yours and Quenby Olson’s The Half-Killed. Now, on to the list! Continue reading