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Darling readers, this week, we’re sharing the full list of titles we read, or are reading, this month. [If you’re looking for our star ratings, please find us on Goodreads (this page will help).] We’d love to learn what you’re reading in the comments below!

Ashley IN MEDIAS RES

• Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life by Jim Kwik
• 30-Day Stay: A Real Estate Investor’s Guide to Mastering the Medium-Term Rental by Zeona McIntyre and Sarah Weaver

Nikki IN MEDIAS RES

• Cowboy Seeking Someone to Love (Cowboys of Moss Creek #4) by Janice M. Whiteaker

Ashley FIN

• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
• Feral Queen (Rejected Fate #3) by Alexis Calder
• Forbidden Sin (Rejected Fate #2) by Alexis Calder
• Darkest Mate (Rejected Fate #1) by Alexis Calder
• Emma by Alexander McCall Smith
• A Very Merry Bromance (Bromance Book Club #5) by Lyssa Kay Adams
• The Emma Project by Sonali Dev
• Emma by Jane Austen
• A Year of Positive Thinking: Daily Inspiration, Wisdom, and Courage by Cyndie Spiegel*

Nikki FIN

• Organizing for the Rest of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any House Under Control by Dana K. White
• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
• Cowboy Seeking a Wedding Date (Cowboys of Moss Creek #3) by Janice M. Whiteaker
• Cowboy Seeking a Second Chance (Cowboys of Moss Creek #2) by Janice M. Whiteaker
• Sutton’s Secrets (Sinful Suttons #7) by Scarlett Scott
• Emma by Alexander McCall Smith
• Cowboy Seeking Nanny (Cowboys of Moss Creek #1) by Janice M. Whiteaker
• A Very Merry Bromance (Bromance Book Club #5) by Lyssa Kay Adams
• The Emma Project by Sonali Dev
• Emma by Jane Austen
• Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes by Shauna Niequist
• The Color of Compromise: The Audio Lectures: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby (audio)
• What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey

*Finished In December

Darling readers, it’s been a great reading month!  We do have a few titles from 2022 on the list here, so I want to address those separately.  The Color of Compromise was amazing and hearing it read by author Jemar Tisby was powerful.  If you’re interested in the intersection of race and the church, including slavery, I highly recommend it!  What Happened to You? was interesting and accessible, explaining trauma and healing through stories.  I wanted a bit more data and science from it, but still enjoyed the read.  You’ve seen Bread and Wine on my list since July and I want to address this.  It’s a book of essays with connections to food from someone who loves to cook, with recipes throughout.  I thoroughly enjoyed the read but it was a dead tree and that was my struggle, nothing else!

In a surprising and delightful turn of events, we paused kindle unlimited in January, with the intention of reading down my holds list, and they missed us so badly, they offered us a sweet deal to come back.  Naturally we obliged.  As you can see, we’ve both been living our best Kindle unlimited lives because January feels like a situation that my reading life needs to help calm.  I got caught up on a series, continued another, and plan to keep reading books about these cowboys for a hot minute, even if that last title hit a bit close to home (as any good romance series should sooner or later).  I haven’t decided firmly if I’m still listening to an audiobook a month, but I do have one checked out, so I’ll keep you posted.

How is your reading life supporting your off the page life this month?

~Nikki

I definitely started January out on the reading struggle bus. I was riding that bus until last Thursday when I felt compelled to read through a kindle unlimited shifter trilogy over the weekend and then got back into the groove of my reading life. Part of that struggle was GoodReads telling me that I was ‘2 books behind schedule’ on my Reading Challenge for the year and THAT WAS UNACCEPTABLE. 

Look. I know. All the time we tell you: The Reading Life Is Not A Competition. It’s not a competition between people. But, it’s definitely, 10000%, a competition against yourself and an exercise in accomplishing goals. Why would I want to be getting to the end of the first month of the year and being ‘behind’ on the one goal I can consistently crush in my life? Heck no, friends! I was not here for any of that. I was not going to start year 38 of my life being BEHIND on accomplishing my reading goal. So, I read a middling shifter series and got my book total up and the train of my reading life back on track. I just needed that little win to get me going and feeling better about life in general. (And turning 38…)

I do have the standing reading goal of finishing one non-fiction book a month. I have two in progress and more than one in the wings, but finishing one needs to happen before the 31st, so that’s my next tactic on the way to managing the strategies (one nonfiction a month, 100 books a year, focusing on diverse characters and authors) of creating a fulfilled reading life (the goal!). 

What are your strategies and tactics for creating the goal of a fulfilled reading life?!

~Ashley

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