OH MY GOSH. For those that have been following my blog for a while, you know that I kind of fell off for a while there. I stopped posting in February and finally decided to pick it back up. Apart from dealing with my own anxiety issues, I needed to take a step back from media and books. Books had absorbed my life and not in a healthy way. I became obsessed with my Instagram pictures and less with my books. I became obsessed with collecting and growing my collection and less concerned with reading. I took a step back to focus on my mental health, yes, but I also took a step back to refocus on what books actually mean to me. Instead of consuming books to keep up with everyone else and their reading lists I want to enjoy books for what they are! I am SO incredibly happy that I made these changes in my life because now I am reading and consuming things that actually give me joy. While I am not reading as many books as I was last year at this time, I am actually enjoying the books I read now and that makes me incredibly happy!
I have read few books since the end of March (when I started reading again), but the books I have read have been meaningful to me and if you enjoy biographies or history these could be very meaningful to you as well. Here are the books I have utterly consumed since the end of March:
- How to Think Like a Fish: And Other Lessons from a Lifetime of Angling
- If you watch River Monsters this is written and narrated (audiobook) by Jeremy Wade and it’s fantastic!
- Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
- Read this for my family book club and it is SO well written. Full of eye opening stories and ideas.
- The Way I Heard It
- If you grew up watching Dirty Jobs with your dad or like me watched The History Channel on Sundays after church with your dad this is a must!
- Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
- As a Christian and someone who learned about Bonhoeffer in college this was a fascinating a necessary read.
- The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive
- This book, while chilling, is beautifully written and a must read for those wanting to learn and honor history.
- Sisters of Night and Fog: A WWII Novel
- Another book club book for my family book club–while I didn’t like the start, I loved where this book went and the ties to actual history.
These books were all incredible and while they are a big shift from what I was reading prior to this year, they make me so happy. I love being able to learn about history again, but I also love biographies and autobiographies. These books make me feel more connected with people around the world and it’s been truly eye opening and wonderful to get back into these genres again!
Wishing you all happy reading and that you would be able to read what makes you happy as well!
Joyfully Jacquie 