Last year, I shared how my love for reading lead me to create a list of books to read that year. I had realized that since college, I had hardly read any books at all, which I missed as it was one of my favorite ways to relax. Even though I didn’t finish all of the books on my list, I did find it easier to start a new book once one was finished. Especially now that the weather is warming up, it is going make it even easier to grab a book and head out to our porch rather than picking up the TV remote.

In case you are looking for a little motivation to read more this year, I’m sharing my list of books I’m hoping to read this year. Several of them fall into the “Self-Help” category, but I’ve realized I read fiction novels so much faster. Just like I tell my husband, who is not big on reading, if it’s written right, it is just like binging shows on Netflix!

• Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa TerKeurst || I actually finished reading this book this week! It did take me a while to work through it, but I think that had more to do with my attention span, than the book. Lysa shares examples of loneliness, rejection and loss and how God promise to never leave us shined through. Definitely a book I will come back to when I need encouragement!
• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis || This book was apparently the #1 Bestselling Self Help Book in 2018! Pages full of girl-talk and inspiration to not believe the lies we believe about ourselves and encourages us to reach and achieve our goals.

• Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits by Reese Witherspoon || Honestly, the title is appealing enough to make me want to read this book. I’m anxious to read all about Reese’s southern style tips and tricks and to bring a little more of the South into our home!

• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens || This book was on multiple book club lists online and the constant hype behind it is what attracted me to this book. It’s a coming-of-age story, mixed with mystery and a legal battle. Can’t wait to read this one!
• Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close || I discovered this book on another “Books to Read” list, specifically for gals in their 20s. In fact, I think this book was the book to read for Year 26! It’s a witty novel about a group of college friends who are watching everyone around them get married and have babies. Just reading the overview made me giggle, thinking about how similar it sounds to me and my college BFF’s text threads!
• The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner || The WWII era has always fascinated me since I read my first Molly, An American Girl book. This book is set in the United States, but at one of the interment camps, and is a story of two young women whose friendship challenges the challenges each of them are facing in their different worlds.

• Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman || This will be a thriller for sure! It tells the story of a couple honeymooning when the come across something in the water (hence the title). Their decision on want to do changes their lives forever. I MUST KNOW MORE.

• Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman || Okay, I still haven’t finished this, but I’m determined to make it happen this year! I’ve read bits and pieces of it over the years, but I plan to read it all the way through, just in time for Jody and I’s 2nd anniversary.
• Sisters First by Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush Hager || I’ve been following the Bush sisters for a while now (after all, they were the first daughters as I was growing up!), and have been wanting to read their memoir about sisterhood. Even though my sister and I aren’t twins, we often were confused as so, so I’m sure their stories will give me a chance to reminisce on my relationship with my sister as well.
• The Secret to Southern Charm by Kristy Woodson Harvey || So I realize this is the second book in the Peachtree Bluff series by Harvey, but I really want to read this one. It tells the story of a wife who’s husband is missing-in-action in Iraq and how she copes with the help of her mother and sisters. Most of the reviews I read suggest to read Slightly South of Simple first, so this may be a two books deal. Seems like the perfect beach read, so it may not be that hard to do!
• Wild and Free by Hayley Morgan and Jess Connolly || This book was actually on my 2018 Reading List, but I never got around to reading it. This is perfect for any Christian woman who feels like she is too much and yet, not enough.
• The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin || One of the Today Show’s Book Club books, this book follows a family’s saga for nearly a century. Even in spite of its familiar family theme, this book’s originality is what is captivating readers!

What’s on your list to read this year? I’d love to hear. Let me know in the comments below!