Anyone out there get my Big Bang Theory reference in the title?

I don’t remember the storyline of the episode, but Penny tells Sheldon, “Not knowing is half the fun!”  His reply: “Was that the motto of your community college?”

Hilarious.

Anyway, I picked up this book because the title reminded me of that scene.

Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing

Jamie Holmes nailed it with the title and his book did not disappoint.  Holmes makes a somewhat difficult topic easily accessible to anyone with his down-to-earth writing style.  He appeals to enthusiasts of psychology, art, education, history and science in one fell swoop.

The two highlights of this book for me were the chapter about Waco and his applications for educators, the former because I didn’t realize how little I knew about the events in Waco and the latter for obvious reasons.

This review is intentionally vague because Holmes covers so much ground in a little over 200 pages.  You just need to read it for yourself.

And, I would argue that if Holmes had been in the room with Penny and Sheldon, he would have said, “not knowing is ALL the fun.”

***I received a copy of this book from http://www.bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for this review.***

This time one year ago I made a New Year’s Resolution to read more.  I’ve always loved to read but college, grad school, and work distracted me…a ten year black hole in which I hardly read for pleasure at all.

I set what I thought at the time was an unrealistic goal of reading 52 books in 2015 — averaging one per week.  If you’d told me then that I’d hit my goal the first week of July I wouldn’t have believed it, but here we are on December 31 and I have read 100 books.  100 books!

Below is a list of all the books I’ve read this year, categorized as best I can.  I’ve also listed my top 5 fiction and non-fiction, although I must say it was hard to choose.  I didn’t enjoy all the books I read this year, but there were certainly more than 10 great ones.

(Also, I apologize for not including links/pictures on this list….I thought about it but it would take so much time.)

**I’d also like to point out that this list does not include books read to babies, textbooks, Bible study workbooks, and cookbooks.

There’s been a lot of talk in Christian circles lately about how to address issues like same-sex marriage.  For those of us who realize protests and posters of Bible verses is only creating more problems, we must walk a fine line of holding true to what we believe and loving others with the love of Christ.

November seemed like a slow reading month, but as I look at the list I realize my perception was wrong.  I actually did quite well.  The list below brings my total for the year to 87.  One more month to go.  Can I make it to 100?

The One and Only by Emily Giffin – it’s a book about football so I liked that part….but whoa.  I don’t want to give it away but the plot made me crazy and the ending made me uncomfortable.

One More Wish by Robin Jones Gunn – way too young for me but I simply must read anything that continues the story of Christy and Todd.

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant – This is a fictional memoir of a Jewish immigrant living in Boston in the first half the twentieth century. I listened to it on audio and loved it.

I am Half-sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley – definitely my least favorite in the Flavia de Luce series but I’m determined to keep pressing through.  The first three were awesome.  This one seemed to be missing something.  I’ve already gotten book 5 in the series from the library so on we go.

Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman – surprisingly, this wasn’t my favorite of her books (I was surprised anyway). I think it would be a great book for a SAHM.

Out of Sorts: Making Peace With an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey – one of my favorites for the year.  I love Sarah’s heart.

Messy Grace by Caleb Kaltenbach — I will be posting a separate review of this one in the next couple days..

18 inches.

That is the length of the journey from our heads to our hearts.  In Tommy Spaulding’s latest release, The Heart-Led Leader.

Now that I am in this educational leadership program, the topic of leadership is one I see everywhere. I picked this up because I was intrigued by the tag “How Living and Leading from the Heart Will Change Your Organization and Your Life”.  I want to be a great leader and hoped to find some immediately applicable tips.

In the book, Spaulding uses stories of great leaders he’s met to describe 18 qualities of a heart-led leader (one for each inch).

All in all, I found the book to be inspiring but a little bit fluffy.  It’s certainly good reading for someone who hopes to be a better leader, or for already great leaders looking for some renewed motivation.

***I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.***

Shocking, right?  But really. They are…they’re just like us.  Well, Mindy Kaling is at least.

I just finished reading Mindy’s second book, Why Not Me? and I found myself laughing out loud through most of it. I loved her first book so I was very much looking forward to this one, but recently I’ve found myself rather disappointed by a few author’s sophomore releases so I did have some doubts.

I didn’t need to worry, though. Mindy picks up right where she left off in Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, which concluded with her role on “The Office.”  Now considered established in her career, Why Not Me? chronicles her journey as executive producer of “The Mindy Project” as well as her experiences in dating.

I will say that there were portions of this book that were a little tedious for me. She writes at length about work and it’s not nearly as funny or interesting to me as the rest, but I’m willing to credit that to personal differences. I doubt she would enjoy each one of my blog posts either.

I think my favorite part of this book was the section on relationships. Mindy is just like the rest of us. She doesn’t want to be alone and has a WILD imagination (I won’t give it all away, but my favorite chapter is called, “A Perfect Courtship in my Alternate Life”. Hilarious and relatable.)  She writes with a beautiful blend of self-deprecating humor, vulnerability, and heart and after reading this book, I really just want to be her friend.  And find my soul snake. 

Who should read this book? Women with a sense of humor (or ones who wish they did) or anyone looking to escape their own reality for a while.

**I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Another month has come and gone and I’ve exceeded my 2015 goal.  For a few days I entertained the notion of trying for 100 books this year, but  I’ve decided not to press my luck.  The rest of the year will just be my victory lap.  I’m starting a new job, getting two nieces, and going back to school to earn my school administration endorsement (maybe some textbooks will end up on this list) — I might not be able to keep up the pace.

Here’s my list, newest in bold (as always)

The year is halfway over and I am ONE BOOK away from meeting my goal of 52 books in a year! Wow!

When I first started this “project” in January I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do it.  I’ve always loved to read (so much so that my mom once grounded me from reading for a whole week as a punishment because she knew how much it would hurt), but got out of a habit of reading for pleasure sometime in the last several years.  The thought of reading a book a week intimidated me.  But, just like riding a bike, the more I read the more I wanted to read.  It was as if I’d rediscovered an important part of myself that I didn’t know I’d lost.  Interestingly enough, this has also led to me feeling more inspired to write….

I just want to read ALL THE BOOKS!

Here’s the updated list, newest in bold 🙂