Happy New Year! I’m back with a list of what I read in the past month. But first, I want to remind you why I read so much.

1. I read to escape – reading is my retreat. It’s pretty much impossible to multi-task when you’re reading. I enjoy watching TV (and spent way too much time this weekend binge-watching The Good Wife) but I don’t have to put in the same kind of effort to watch a TV show or movie. For example, while the TV was on this weekend, I wrote a short paper for class, cleaned the house, cooked dinner, and browsed the internet more than is healthy. I can’t do that when I’m reading. The political events of this month highlighted again how much we need that escape. When I am reading, I can only think about what I’m reading.
2. I read to learn – this month alone I visited a magical world in England, spent time on the set of my favorite reality TV show, lived in Saigon during the Vietnam War, learned English in rural Alabama, became a migrant worker in 1930s Mexico, and spent a winter in Siberia in 1917.  How else can you even do that?
3. I read to grow – this month I spent 31 days meditating on a single passage of Scripture with the help of someone far wiser than I.

What’s  your reason for reading?

And now, here are the nine books I read in January.

Talking As Fast As I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (And Everything In Between) by Lauren Graham – loved this memoir. I want to be Graham’s real life friend. This book won’t change your life but if you like Gilmore Girls or Parenthood, you’ll want to read this book.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling – I still don’t love Harry Potter but I will read the whole series this year.

It’s Not Ok: Turning Heartbreak into Happily Never After by Andi Dorfman – Fun read for fans of the Bachelor franchise. I really liked Andi as a contestant and as the Bachelorette so it was nice to hear things from her perspective. I could tell she refrained from sharing all that she could have out of respect for the men and I appreciate that about this memoir.  If you didn’t watch her seasons of the show, I wouldn’t bother picking this up, unless you’re really curious.

I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain by Courtney Robertson with Deb Baer – DO NOT waste your time. This was awful. I’m not sure why I even finished it. I didn’t watch the season Courtney was on so I couldn’t recall events that she alluded to. Also, it’s just poorly written trash. Not even a ghostwriter could fix this.

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout – I think this was a well-written book and I picked it up because it was highly praised. It’s relatively short and I read it in an afternoon. It wasn’t really for me, but I can see why others liked it and it’s objectively a good book.

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai – this Newbery Honor book gives the free verse account of a ten year old Vietnamese girl witnessing the fall of Saigon. She and her family arrive in rural Alabama in the summer of 1975 and the reader gets a glimpse into the life of a refugee.  This book is written for young adults and it is brilliant. Based on real events in the author’s life — I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan – another YA historical fiction, this one is a fictionalized account of the author’s grandmother’s story. After tragedy strikes their wealthy Mexican farm, Esperanza and her mother flee to the United States, where they find work on a labor camp in 1930s California. A sweet coming of age story that I highly recommend. I listened to the audiobook for this.

The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra by Helen Rappaport – this one took me a while to work through because it is a true non-fiction biography and every sense. It is meticulously researched and well written. I’ve always been fascinated by the Romanovs (the legend of Anastasia – which the author squelches quickly – and the hemophilia rampant in the royal families across Europe, which we studied in seventh grade science) so this was a fun read for me.

Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray – its 31 chapters make for a great month-long devotional. Murray takes a deep look at John 15 and I learned so much. I will be reading this again.

Happy New Year!  I am excited to say that I ended the year having read 102 books – 104 if you count the Bible and The Greatest Gift, Ann Voskamp’s Advent devotional that I re-read this year.

I will post again in a few days to share my favorites from all of 2016 and my reading goals for 2017, but for now, here’s what I read in December.

• Before the Fall by Noah Hawley – this came highly recommended and I bought it back in June, but for some reason I didn’t pick it up till this month. The book begins with a plane crash…not a spoiler. From there, we follow the lives of the survivors post-crash and learn about the victims’ lives leading up to that moment as we slowly come to learn why the crash took place.  Suspense without gore – a good, hard to put down story.
• Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Eric Larson – this is the first of Larson’s books that I’ve read, even though I also own two others. Larson has a similar style to Jon Krakauer, who I’ve mentioned many times before. The book is completely non-fiction, but so well researched and written that it seems like you’re reading a story.  This one did start slow for me, as Larson chronicles every day of the ship’s journey before the big event, and I really just wanted to get to that part. Still, it’s fascinating and I put his other books on my priority list for 2017.
• At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen – set in World War II Scotland (are you surprised), this isn’t life-changing fiction but a well-told love story with a little bit of folklore and the Loch Ness Monster, so that’s fun.  A good beach/escape read.
• Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah – I loved this book! I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend it to anyone. Noah reads the story and this adds to the experience – it also helps with all the South African languages he uses in the dialogue.  For those unfamiliar with apartheid, it will be a valuable education. What I liked most about this book is that even though it is a memoir/autobiography, it is arranged topically instead of chronologically, and connects Noah’s experiences to that of a nation.
• The Aviator’s Wife  by Melanie Benjamin – this is a fictionalized “autobiography” of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wife of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh. I read this as a combo audiobook/ebook and I think I may have lost some of it in the process. I did like this book and I learned about Charles and Anne as people. It left me feeling a bit sad, so if you don’t want to feel that way at the end of a book, maybe don’t read this one.
• Brooklyn: A Novel by Colm Toibin – I’m a bit late to this one but it is a good immigrant story.  It wasn’t my favorite because I found the character development to be a bit lacking and I felt detached from all the characters, but given the success of the book I know many people feel differently.
• Anchored: Finding Hope in the Unexpected by Kayla Aimee – another Christian themed memoir…I didn’t relate to it and I’m glad it was a $0.99 kindle deal.  Not for me, but nothing wrong with it.
• Hope Heals: A True Story of Overwhelming Loss and an Overcoming Love by Katherine and Jay Wolf – this one will probably end up on my top 10 list for nonfiction this year. Katherine suffered a brain stem stroke at age 26 and this is their story of recovery.  More than anything, I loved the deep Truth that is presented in this story. It’s currently $1.99 on Kindle – get it ASAP.
• Brush of Wings by Karen Kingsbury – I only read this because I can’t not finish a series but I don’t think I can read much more by this author. Ugh.  There’s nothing wrong with it, but her perfectly tied up happy Christian endings frustrate me.
• A Baxter Family Christmas by Karen Kingsbury – see above comment.
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – I have a confession to make. I have never read the Harry Potter series or watched any of the movies, but I have committed to reading them all.  I will refrain from commenting on them until I’ve read them all, but fantasy is not a genre I am particularly fond of, so we’ll see how this goes.