Books From 2016

One of my favorite things to do at the beginning of a new year is to look back over the past year and reflect on all the books that I was privileged to read.  As I’ve shared before, my mom instilled a love of reading in all three of her children and to this day…my brother, sister, and I all love reading.  I pray that will be true of all of our kids as well!  As a child, being a voracious reader offered me the opportunity to travel to far off lands in my mind and dream about what it would be like to visit those places one day.  Reading gave me a glimpse into history and cultures that created in me a deep desire and longing to learn more about people and to travel the world.  One of the main things that made reading accessible to our family at that time was simply that reading was not expensive.  I was home visiting my family last week for Christmas and we were driving around town. We passed the public library that our family used to frequent when I was a kid.  With much fondness, we reminded ourselves of how much we looked forward to those library trips where we would all emerge with armloads of books that we were ready to dive into!  As a child, if I was in need of correction, my mom would often have to take away my books.  That was the best way to get my attention!  As an educator, it thrills me to see students who are challenging themselves to read beyond what is required in order to stretch themselves and think deeply. 

I was privileged to have read 54 books in 2016.  I also read more magazines this year than ever before and constantly find myself reading articles online that I’ve found or that thoughtful friends have sent my way.  However, I am very aware that the pull of my phone has caused me to squander away time that would have otherwise been better suited for reading things that really matter.  My first finished book of 2017 Reclaiming Conversation  has already been a great reminder to put down the phone!