Reading is a large part of my life. And - as with so many other things - it is a part of my life I now want to refine and sharpen.

While I look back at my 20 Favorite Books from 2020 and am so pleased with the books I deemed favorites, I also remember the struggle I had with intentionality in my reading life last year.

Time is limited, and I want to spend my time reading truly beautiful, worthy books. I also love to escape through reading, but that cannot be an excuse for reading subpar books.

Is my struggle coming into focus?

Cultivating a More Intentional Reading Life

One of my goals for 2021 is to be a more intentional reader. This means choosing books in advance, setting some reading goals, and not falling down so many reading rabbit holes!

This is nothing fancy - just a few guiding principles I hope to follow this year. After I share the principles with you, I’ll share the books I completed last month.

(I’m very proud of my January reading actually!)

Include More NonFiction

I want to have more to show for my reading time.

Searching out interesting nonfiction books is a big goal for 2021.

I don’t have a strategy for finding these books, but I am trying to solicit recommendations from people I know who enjoy nonfiction.

Make Time for Middle-Grade Novels

I always enjoy middle-grade novels when I read them. In my opinion, they are some of the finest pieces of literature out there.

Reading this literature can serve two purposes for me: pure enjoyment and also research for my SQUILT Music Appreciation curriculum. (You’ll see when you look at my January 2020 books how they tied in with music appreciation.)

I will be depending upon a few avid teen readers I know to provide me with recommendations, as well as trolling Instagram and Goodreads.

Give Me All The Historical Fiction

Oh, how I love historical fiction. It’s my go-to genre.

Each month I am striving to include at least one big juicy story that fills my needs!

Over the past few years, I have gravitated to several authors of historical fiction. Visit my bookstagram account or my Goodreads account to see the authors that show up the most in my reading life.

Allow A Little Room for Escape

I do enjoy reading for escape, so I will be choosing one “escape” book each month.

These books will be “just because” books - but I want to be very careful that they are free of foul language, explicit sex scenes, and social agendas.

Piggybacking onto the social agendas… I will largely be avoiding “Best Sellers” and my beloved Book of the Month Subscription (which I have suspended). I’ve found that sometimes the most “popular” books are also the books pushing the biggest agendas. There is too much of that through our news media as it is - I don’t need it in my reading life, too.

Tackle Those Classics

I have also set a goal of reading one “classic” each month.

The definition of a classic can be very broad - but I like this one:

A classic is a book that’s been found valuable generation after generation

There are several classics I’d like to tackle this year and I’m excited now that I have committed to reading one each month.

Quality, Not Quantity

I’m done with book challenges that stress how MANY books you read.

I read 123 books in 2020, but what does it matter if it wasn’t meaningful?

Hopefully the guiding principles I’ve listed here will help me stick to the quality, not quantity mantra.

My reading journal from 2020 - I love having a physical record of the books I have read.

January 2021 Books Read

Fates & Traitors: A Novel of John Wilkes Booth and The Women Who Loved Him (Jennifer Chiaverini) - I learned a great deal from this piece of historical fiction. Jennifer Chiaverini is a favorite author of mine - and after reading Christmas Bells and loving it, I knew I needed more!
Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale (Adam Minter) - This nonfiction book opened my eyes to what happens to all of our “stuff” when we get rid of it. Not only did it inspire me to acquire less and get rid of more, but it also taught me about the entire secondhand economy around the world and how important it is for our global society.
That Distant Land: The Collected Stories (Wendell Berry) - This was an audiobook, and I would highly recommend it in audio version. The narrator was wonderful and there is something so soothing about listening to Wendell Berry’s stories read aloud. These collected stories set the stage for his other books (Hannah Coulter and Jayber Crow, for example). They were funny, touching, poignant, and comforting.
Crampton Hodnet (Barbara Pym) - British literature has a big appeal for me! After reading Jane Eyre and Pride & Prejudice last year I just wanted MORE. Barbara Pym’s books are farcical and easy to read. I’m looking forward to reading more.
I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith) - more British literature from the author of 101 Dalmatians, actually. This book - which I am assuming is a “classic” was written in the 1940s and is the journal of a seventeen-year-old, Cassandra. It was such a delight!
It All Comes Back to You (Beth Duke) - This was my escape book for the month. I love Southern Fiction, and this book - which took place in Alabama and Georgia - was the perfect escape.
An Elephant in the Garden (Michael Morpurgo) - Middle grades historical fiction - This book will stick with me for a long time! I’ve already gifted it to one young person I know.
Riding the Rails to Home: A Newsie Rides the Rails to Home (Cleo Lampas) - This book went along with our month of musicals in SQUILT LIVE! It would be a great read-aloud (or alone) if you are learning about this time period in American history
The Journal of Finn Reardon: A Newsie (Susan Bartoletti) - Another book for SQUILT LIVE! - I loved this book, and I’m sure it’s because I love all of the Dear America books.

Fates and Traitors: A Novel of John Wilkes Booth and the Women Who Loved Him Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale That Distant Land: The Collected Stories (Port William)Crampton Hodnet [CRAMPTON HODNET]I Capture the Castle: Deluxe Edition It All Comes Back to You: A Book Club Recommendation!An Elephant in the Garden: Inspired by a True Story RIDING THE RAILS TO HOME: A Newsie Rides the Orphan Train The Journal of Finn Reardon: A newsie, New York City, 1899 (My Name Is America)

I’d love to know if you have principles that guide your reading life.

Share them with me in the comments below.

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2020: The Year of the Homeschooler

A Plan for Reading Instruction: All About Reading

2020 was a spectacular reading year for me. Books provided a MUCH needed escape and sense of accomplishment in an extremely strange year.

2020 was also a year that further demonstrated my preferences in books and solidified my reading habits. During the second half of the year I kept track of books here on the blog - those lists might interest you.

I’m trying to be more like Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennett - collecting books for my future excellent library!

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” - Jane Austen (Pride & Prejudice)

Reading and the Homeschool Parent

Being a homeschooling parent has intensified my desire to read. It has shown me the need to be a reading role model for my children - and, the more we learn in our homeschool the more I feel I need to know.

I believe it is essential to carve out time to read - both reading aloud and reading on your own. The more you make reading a part of your daily life, the more your children observe and imitate.

What started as my desire to build good habits in my children has turned into a bit of an obsession for me - I’m never without a book and would much rather read than watch television

20 Favorite Books in 2020

A few reflections from my reading year:

I had a goal of reading more classics this year. I accomplished that with Jane Eyre and Pride & Prejudice. (I also read Dracula, but that didn’t make it into my top 20.)
We continued to read aloud in our homeschool (you know I now just have a 16-year-old left at home), and Rocket Boys was one of our favorite books this year. Reading this book led to learning more about the space program, watching some documentaries, and also building the LEGO Apollo Saturn V rocket!
I discovered a new author this year - Julie Berry. Her book Lovely War is technically young adult, but I LOVED it. I wouldn’t hesitate to hand this one to your teens, especially if they like mythology.
I wanted to learn more about Dietrich Bonhoeffer - I especially enjoyed My Dearest Dietrich, which focused on the little-told story of Bonhoeffer’s love interest, Maria von Wedemeyer.
I listened to many audiobooks this year, and Americanah was probably the most engaging audio of the year - plus I just LOVED the story.