In early December, I was sitting with some of my very best friends (who happen to be co-workers) eating Sushi at the South Point in Las Vegas. I was getting ridiculed for the lasagna sushi roll I ordered (it was not as bad as they made it out to be) and also heavily questioned about my reading list or lack thereof. How could I be a copywriter and not read?

Valid point.

I was at a point where I absolutely couldn’t sit still long enough to pick up a book. I just finished planning a wedding and a honeymoon to Hawaii, where we landed at DAL, ran home, and picked up our attire for my best friend’s wedding that weekend. I was doing all I could to write what I had to for work. Let alone read, ponder, and write for practice. I’ve always been a reader in my downtime but there was no downtime. I had no time to read.

After the intervention over sushi, it was Christmas, so I gave myself until the end of the year. Time to enjoy friends, family, and too many sweets. Plus, I asked for a good bit of the books I wanted to read on my Christmas wish list so I had to wait until the 25th.

Now, we’re almost 6 months into 2024. Here’s what I’ve read so far.

And yes, I DO count audiobooks. Just like reading a physical copy, it takes commitment to listen to 12 hours – give or take – of someone reading to you and I still believe it’s better for my brain than watching reruns. Plus, just like the majority of this world, I work for at least 8 hours a day.

Audio Books:
Becoming free indeed – Jinger Vuolo
A Love Letter Life – Jeremy and Audrey Roloff
Not that fancy – Reba McEntire
Sisters First – Jenna Bush Hager & Barbara Pierce 
Good Call – Jase Robertson
Like a River – Granger Smith

Hard Copies:
The last letter – Rebecca Yarros 
Take good care of the garden and the dogs – Heather Lende 
Find the good – Heather Lende 
Live in Love – Lauren Akins
Flowers of the Killer Moon – David Grann
On Writing – Stephen King 
FOR – Jeff Henderson 
Counting the Costs – Jill Duggar

That brings my total to 14 books in 2024, so far! My goal is to read 60 before the clock strikes midnight on December 31. You’re probably thinking that I’m behind. 9 books to be exact. While I LOVE reading from my rocker on the back porch in the spring, it’s a busier time of year. I’m thinking I’ll be able to catch up on some good reads in the fall and winter months.

You’ll see that I sway to the non-fiction side of things, but I do appreciate other book genres when the time and ideas are right. I, however, will never be into dragons, fantasies, Harry Potter things, vampires, and hobbits (even though I do like the Hobbit movie series).

Leave a recommendation for me to add to my reading list! I’ve heard good things about the following books and have them on my to-read.

Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
Real Americans – Rachel Khong
All Marketers Tell Good Stories – Seth Godin
The Things We Leave Unfinished – Rebecca Yarros
Great and Precious Things – Rebecca Yarros
Tom Lake – Ann Patchett
In the Likely Event – Rebecca Yarros

If you haven’t caught on, I absolutely love how Rebecca Yarros wrote in The Last Letter and I’m ready to get my hands on more of her words. Other notable mentions are Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs by Heather Lende and Flowers of the Killer Moon by David Grann.

This week (after mourning finishing The Last Letter) I moved on to reading Character Matters by Jean Becker.

I’ll fill you in soon on what I think of each.

I hope you’re reading. I hope you have the time for it.

Please enjoy this before-bed picture of Rue and me reading.