This year, I’m participating in the Unread Shelf Challenge 2020 with a goal to read 75 books that I already own. Each month, I’ll read one fiction, one nonfiction/memoir, one law/business/politics, and one devotional/spiritual book. Quarterly, I’ll be reading one book of classic literature. I’ll be listing where each book came from, whether from my existing collection, I borrowed the book, or purchased the book new this year. This is my January 2020 Reading List, which includes the books that I’ve finished, the books in progress and ongoing, and the books that I’ve abandoned.

Books Finished:

The Making of a Country Lawyer by Gerry Spence

Already owned physical book. Legal/Business/Politics pick from 2020 Reading Plan.

Spence is incredibly fascinating to me. I first learned about him while attending a legal seminar in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Several attorneys at the seminar had attended Spence’s Trial Lawyers College in Wyoming and spoke very highly about him and their experience. This is a memoir/autobiography about Spence and his formative years, his relationships with his parents, and formative experiences from his law practice. I found nuggets of wisdom in this book, and really enjoyed it.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Already owned physical book. Nonfiction/Memoir pick from 2020 Reading Plan.

I had sort of mixed feelings about this book. I generally like the idea of buying local food and supporting local farmers, as well as eating more at home. And I understand the author’s concerns and rationale. But at the same time, I live in Nebraska, a state that’s economy is largely based on industrial agriculture, including corn and soybean production and livestock. So because of where I live and what I’ve observed, I disagree with some of her concerns regarding how animals are treated in industrial ag. I’m sure that there are bad actors, but the ag producers that I know want animals to be treated humanely and care about the land that grows the crops they’re producing. Many have owned their land for generations and want it to be there for their children and grandchildren. So I found the book interesting and thought-provoking, even while I disagreed with some of her premises. Particularly interesting were the anecdotes from her family’s year of eating locally grown and produced food.

Fight for Your Money: How to Stop Getting Ripped Off and Save a Fortune by David Bach

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

I listened to the audiobook for this one after I’d heard about David Bach on Rachel Hollis’s podcast. Most of the book didn’t have new information for me, but would be great for a young person just starting out in life. And some of the references (particularly with respect to the technology pieces) are dated. But I stuck with it, and did learn a few things that I hadn’t known before. I would recommend doing this one as a physical book or an e-book, so that skipping around between chapters would be easier

Stray: Memoir of a Runaway by Tanya Marquardt

Already owned Kindle e-book.

This memoir was really interesting, as Tanya was coming of age and running away from home during the height of the goth/punk movement, which Tanya talks about. But her story felt to me like it lacked an ending. We don’t get to find out what happens to Tanya after her teenage years, how she becomes an author, or anything like that. It was a little disappointing to me. Her story was fascinating, but felt incomplete.

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson

Purchased using Audible credit.

As a musician, I love books about music. This story is really incredible. During World War II, the Germans laid siege on Leningrad. The people were starving, and things were very bleak. Shostakovich and his family were evacuated, but his extended family was left behind. Shostakovich wrote his 7th Symphony about the experience and in honor of his people.

The Future of Feeling: Building Empathy in a Tech-Obsessed World by Kaitlin Ugolik Phillips

Kindle First book, so new but free.

Although it was clear that the author comes to the topic of empathy from a very different worldview from mine, I still found her exploration of the topic to be informative and interesting. I was particularly interested in her examples of how technology doesn’t just drive us apart or make us less empathetic, but how it can be used to increase empathetic feelings in people.

Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

This book was so interesting that I read the whole thing in a day. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next, something that is unusual in a memoir. It is the author’s story of spending her 20s in the CIA as an analyst and then an operative. After reading the book, I did some googling to find a photo of the author, and stumbled across a couple of articles that outlined how she had not received approval from the CIA to publish the book beforehand, and questioning the authenticity of all elements of her story. Even with these concerns, the story is super interesting. But I do recommend reading those articles after reading the book, just to put the whole think into context.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

A fable or parable, this book is about finding your own ‘personal legend’ and then striving for it unceasingly. I’m not sure what exactly I think about the book. The story was entertaining, and not terribly long, so it’s an easy read. From what I can tell people generally either love this book, saying it changed their lives, or hated it, saying that it’s drivel. I must be in the minority in that I enjoyed the story, but don’t have strong feelings about its moral message.

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

Dr. Zhivago, written by Boris Pasternak, cannot be published in the Soviet Union, but is his masterpiece. This is the story of Pasternak’s affair and love of Olga Ivinskaya, as well as the efforts to get it published, translated, and smuggled back into the country. The book combines a historical fiction, spy novel, love story, and drama into one. It was pretty good.

The Food of Love by Amanda Prowse

Already owned Kindle e-book.

This novel is about a girl and her family dealing with an eating disorder and the fear and fallout that go along with it. It was at times infuriating (when the mom just wanted to make excuses and enable the girl), and heart-wrenching. There’s a little twist in the book, that helped the narrative drive of the story.

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Borrowed from library.

Historical fiction is my jam. And when I saw this book on the shelf at the library, I had to check it out. This is a fictionalized account of Princess Grace of Monaco, her first meeting with her beloved prince, and her transformation from Hollywood movie star into true royal. This story of Princess Grace is viewed through the lens of a perfumier in the South of France who happens to meet Grace, and a photographer tasked with getting photos of Grace. And there is drama and romance in their stories as well. It’s well done and delightful to read.

John’s Story: The Last Eyewitness by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

Already owned physical book. Devotional/Spiritual pick from 2020 Reading Plan.

This is a novel based on historical accounts of John’s life, as well as John’s writings during his lifetime. It’s well-written and engaging. And it features the writings of the bible both within the novel, as well as separately at the end. I enjoyed the book.

It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered by Lysa TerKeurst

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

This is Lysa’s book written in the midst of a series of very serious health concerns and cancer, and while dealing with infidelity in her marriage. It’s brutally honest and heartbreaking and hopeful. Lysa examines God’s view of suffering, its purposes, and how it can be used to transform us. It’s a powerful book, especially for someone going through really difficult times in life.

I Deserve a Donut (And Other Lies That Make You Eat) by Barb Raveling

Already owned Kindle e-book.

This book has a series of different reasons why we eat, as well as different things to think about, and various bible verses to ponder to help stop eating for reasons other than hunger and nutrition.

 

Books Ongoing through 2020:

Unshakeable: 365 Devotions for Finding Unwavering Strength in God’s Word by Christine Caine (Already owned physical book.) This is a daily devotional that I’ll be reading all year.

Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day by Clemency Burton-Hill (Already owned physical book.) This book has daily readings about classical music generally, various subgenres of classical, and a daily piece of music to find and listen to. I’ll be working through it all year.

 

Books In Progress:

Courageously Uncomfortable by Lisa J. Goins (Already owned Kindle e-book.) My bible study group is working through this book.

The Selected Letters of Willa Cather by Willa Cather, Andrew Jewell, and Janis Stout (Already owned physical book.)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (Borrowed from a friend.)

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (Already owned Audible.)

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young: The Wild, Definitive Saga of Rock’s Greatest Supergroup by David Browne (Borrowed from library.)

The St. Nicholas Anthology edited by Henry Steele Commager (Already owned physical book.)

The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

The Girl from the Metropol Hotel: Growing up in Communist Russia by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya (Purchased using Audible credit.)

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (Audible Original book, so new but free.)

 

Books Abandoned:

Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World by Maryanne Wolf (Borrowed from library.)

Normal Is Just a Setting on Your Dryer by Patsy Clairmont (Already owned physical book.)

Tipperary by Frank Delaney (Already owned physical book. Fiction pick from 2020 Reading Plan.)