Reading Plans for the New Year and the December Dilemma

I have a  December Dilemma. (Yes, I just gave it that name.) I really want to reread the Harry Potter series this month. I read it the first time in December of 2015 and I would love to read them again. But you don’t read Harry Potter a few pages at a time, here and there, when you have a chance. You read Harry Potter in a pick up the book after the kids are in bed and go to sleep when you finish the final sentence type of manner. That’s the appropriate way to read Harry Potter. Which means I have to either get a babysitter, ignore my life, or lose a week of sleep while I read the series. Will I do this? I haven’t decided yet.

That’s not how I typically read. It doesn’t work in my season of life and honestly, hasn’t worked since I was a child. Adults just have too many responsibilities to do that. So I read in snatches. I read in the bathroom. I take a book in the car. I read before I go to sleep. I read a few pages at quiet time. I read during commercials of tv shows (that’s not a joke, friends). Do I have time to read a paragraph? Then it’s reading time. I read in the tiniest moments because reading matters.

I want to know other people’s stories and contexts. I want to discover and grow, and I can’t go to school right now. I don’t need to go to school right now. But I do want to keep learning. So I read- oh, and listen to podcasts. I’ve read 60 books so far this year. (I’ve saved all of them in a highlight on Instagram if you want to check them out.)

I’ve also been compiling a list of books to read next year. There are a few authors that I listed because I want to read several of their works. I probably won’t read every single one of these and I will probably read many that aren’t on this list. But I like to start with an arrow in some direction. (And I know it’s bad blogging, but I’m not linking at all, much less affiliates. You can find most of them on Amazon.)

Timothy Keller: Generous Justice, Every Good Endeavor
Francis Chan: Letters to the Church
Kathy Khang: Raise Your Voice
Austin Channing: I’m Still Here
Tish Warren: Liturgy of the Ordinary
Jeannine Brown: Scripture as Communication
N.T. Wright: Paul, A Biography
Peter Gentry: How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets
Matthew Desmond: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Sarah Waldman: Feeding a Family
Monique Morris: Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
James Humes: Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln
George Morgan: Rocket Girl
Sandra Uwiringiyimana, Abigail Pesta: How Dare the Sun Rise
Eugene Peterson
A.W. Tozer
Henri Nouwen
Carolyn Custis James
I’d like to make it through at least a couple from this page as well.

Yes, there are definite themes of theology and race. I’m chasing that in 2019. Where are you going with your reading? Tell me your favorite book from this year!