2020 Book List and Plans

I got really slack about tracking my reading in 2019, so much so that I honestly can’t tell you if I met my goal or not. I am hoping to try and go back and figure out how many books I read, but for the moment I am just looking ahead to 2020. I love the feeling of a new year, such a clean slate and a chance to refocus. I am working through my goals and plans for the new year, and will post more about that later in the week but today I thought I would share my reading goals and some ideas for books to get you started on your reading goals for 2020.

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I was very blessed to get a great stack of books for Christmas this year from my mom and my husband. I am hoping to use that stack, a few books that was already working on, and a great new Bible study book that our church is using to get started on my goal of 24 books in 2020. I have also created a very simple tracking sheet to log my books so that I do a better job of keeping track in 2020. I have included a link to the tracking sheet in case anyone else would like to log the books you read in 2020.

I am currently reading The Hobbit with my oldest son and then we plan to dive into the Lord of the Rings Trilogy together. While I do not count books that I read to my children among my list, we are each reading our own copies and discussing these books. It has been a good experience for us so far and a great bonding experience.  Since I am enjoying the shared literature with my son, I am thinking about adding Little Women to my list and having my daughter read it along with me. She is going with a friend to see the movie this week, so I think that will peak her interest. (Just in case you want an audio version, this is my favorite audio version of Little Women.)

One other book that I am counting that will involve my children is Core 52. Our church is going a study this year using Core 52 and I picked up a copy for our family. It seems to be a great way to study the Bible in about 15 minutes a day. I am hoping to include the readings in our morning time as a way for us to go deeper into the Bible together. I will be continuing to use Mom Heart Moments for a personal time in the morning. I read the selection and Bible verse that is included and then go into the Bible and read the chapter or sometimes chapters surrounding that verse for context and study.

On the homeschool front, I was very excited to get Better Together and Plan Your Year both by Pam Barnhill. We have been doing a morning time off and on for years in our homeschool but I felt lately like I needed to revamp our time and I am excited to see what she has to say. I hope to glean some new ideas and some encouragement for the hard days.  Next year I will have a child in ‘tot school’, a child in elementary school, a child in middle school, and a child in high school. I know that it is going to take some strategic planning to make sure that we get time together as a family as well as all of the time they need to be learning their individual subjects. I am looking forward to reading Plan You Year for some ideas and suggestions for streamlining my planning while still meeting everyone’s educational and relational needs. I also began reading Homeschool Bravely this year and look forward to finishing it.  I am also very excited that Sally Clarkson has a new book, Awaking Wonder,  releasing later this year that is focused on homeschooling! You can pre-order it from Amazon and be guaranteed their lowest price between now and launch day. This also often means you will get it delivered to your door on launch day.

For my personal growth, I am going to be reading Rhythms of Renewal by Rebekah Lyons and When Less Becomes More by Emily Ley. In today’s world, it can seem like all we do is rush from one thing to another. There are so many ways we can use our time and it can be easy to over commit. I am looking forward to reading these books and seeing that ideas and strategies I can glean for simplifying our daily lives and adding rhythms to my days that will as the tag line states, ” trade stress and anxiety for a life of peace and purpose.

I encourage my children to explore various hobbies and to continue to learn and grow. However, I recently realized that I had stopped modeling that behavior in my own life. So I picked up the book Respect the Spindle along with a drop spindle and wool and plan to try to learn how to use a drop spindle to make yarn. This will tie in well with our history interpreting and my daughters weaving hobby.

Finally, my husband gave me an adorable book called My Favorite Christmas. This book includes stories from a variety of famous personalities about their Christmas memories. I plan to read a few of these over the next few days and probably finish it during the 2020 Christmas season.

I know this list does not include 24 books. I like to leave room on my list for books that I see as I go along. I have been asking for recommendations on my Facebook page and hope to incorporate a few of those books into my list as well. I am trying to include a variety of books from religious to fiction. I would love to know what books you recommend or what books you are planning to read this year.

2020 Reading Tracker

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Resource Library 

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Deals and Freebies

$10 off $10 coupon for Evan-Moor Books makes for some great deals or maybe even a freebie!

Little Women is only .99 on kindle right now! (Amazon prices subject to change always check before purchasing.)

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Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

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