Before I launched the podcast, I was a blogger. And at the end of every year, I would do a synopsis of my top 10 reads of the year.

And the other day my husband said to me, “Are you going to share your top 10 books of the year?”

I was like, well, I’m podcasting. Does that really make sense?

But after sitting with it and thinking about it for a few minutes, I decided to go ahead and talk about it on the podcast. So I sat down and wanted to quickly recap the books that were the most meaningful to me that I read this year, in hopes that inspires you in your reading journey.

 The origin of my book list is that I used to love reading. But once I had babies come along and life got crazy busy, and I had been in school for a while, I kind of lost that joy of reading. I had kind of stopped reading anything that wasn’t required. And when I started to read again, I was like, you know, this does bring me joy. I need more of this in my life!

The first year I got back into reading, I set a goal to read 10 books. I had a newborn and toddler at home and that was a goal that felt doable for me. I could do 10 to 12 books – one book a month. And over the years, that evolved. My sweet spot right now is 25 to 30 books a year.

[00:03:05] So for the last few years I’ve been saying, I’m going to read 25 books this year. Now I know some people have much bigger reading goals for the year. One hundred…I even have one friend who had a goal to read 200 books this year. And a lot of that comes down to being able to listen to books on tape, because if you’re physically reading that many books, you definitely have to carve out that time in your schedule.

[00:03:30] But for me, I said, you know, it’s totally doable for me to read at least two books a month. Because I’m not just reading fiction –  a lot of what I read is really helping me grow. I’m choosing areas that I want to develop a skill in, and I want to learn more about the subject. So I read a lot of nonfiction.

[00:03:54] I read a lot of books that can really help me in what I’m trying to do, and the ways that I’m trying to grow.

So my top 10 books this year, the first eight books are all non-fiction books. And then I put two fiction books into my list because I like to sprinkle those in. It kind of gives me a change of pace because when I am reading a book that is non-fiction, I’m taking notes, and I’m trying to reflect, analyze, and really just let the material resonate with me. And that takes time and effort and energy.

So after I do a couple of those, then I need a break and I’ll go read a fiction book. And then I go back to my nonfiction. That is what has worked for me over the last few years. So let’s talk about my top 10 reads of 2021.

1. THE ART OF WORK by JEFF GOINS

You’ll see this theme pop up because I was very focused on how to help you find purpose this year. I spent a lot of time exploring how other people have pursued purpose, have built businesses out of purpose, and how different people are doing it so that I could synthesize those ideas.

[00:05:18] So the first book was The Art of Work by Jeff Goins. I’ve talked about this book on the podcast before. This is really a book about your purpose or calling. He breaks purpose down into seven stages that he says we all go through on this journey to finding purpose. There were a lot of great nuggets in this book.

What this book does a great job of is outlining a process. A lot of books don’t do that. So he did a really good job of outlining a process that we go through what this journey to purpose looks like. What are some of the twists and turns that happened in this journey to learning to live a life that matters with true passion and purpose?

He talks about his own personal experience, as well as what he researched. The case studies that he outlines in the book give you the process and make you aware of pitfalls along the way.

2. THE ARTISAN SOUL by ERWIN RAPHAEL MCMANUS

The second book that was really meaningful to me this year was The Artisan Soul by Erwin Raphael McManus.

[00:06:34] It’s about crafting your life into a work of art. Now I read one of McManus’ books as a 22-year-old, just out of college. And I can’t tell you exactly what that book was about, but at the time I remember it being life-changing for me. I think it was something along the lines of sailing away from the safe harbor and embracing a life of risk and adventure, stepping out of your comfort zone and doing the things that God has called you to.

[00:07:09] And I remember it being exactly what I needed to read at the time. But I haven’t read any of his other books since. And when I picked up this book, it was recommended to me by a friend, and I decided to give it a shot. And again, it was the exact right book for the right time, because, in this book, he talks about how our lives have the potential to be a work of art and masterpiece. That we are called to live a life of creativity, and to partner with God, and step into our truest, most authentic selves and do the things that we are meant to do.

You’ll see a lot of influence from this book into what became the MilSpouse Purpose Playbook, because McManus really helped me unpack this idea of what it means to find fulfillment and discover who we’re meant to be.

[00:08:09] I knew that fulfillment could only come from pursuing a life of purpose, but I was struggling to figure out how that related to us finding wholeness and becoming the healthiest version of ourselves. I saw so many examples of people burning themselves out along the way. You know, people that had big dreams and were chasing purpose, but at the expense of their health and wellbeing.

[00:08:38] And so this book was really my aha moment to say that, okay, these are our fundamental needs. And if we want to live our truest, most authentic and our healthiest selves, then we need all of these fundamental needs. They all have to be present in our lives. And so this is kind of foundational to what I believe, and what I want to help encourage you to do. So if you get a chance, The Artisan Soul by Erwin Raphael McManus is an excellent book.

3. THE GOSPEL COMES WITH A HOUSE KEY by ROSARIA BUTTERFIELD

[00:09:15] The third book that I read and really was one of those books that made me think a lot was the gospel comes with a house key by Rosaria Butterfield. And it’s fascinating because the book itself is really about hospitality. But, the author’s own personal life is also a fascinating story. And I think at some point I’d love to go back and read her memoir.

[00:09:43] But this book is talking about radically ordinary hospitality. Essentially using your home in daily ways that seek to make strangers, neighbors and neighbors, the family of God. It’s really how you make a life about people, so that you are practically living out your faith. They chose to live in a not-so-great area of town and really just open their home to their neighbors, and to their community.

[00:10:15] They have people over almost every day of the week and they’re life just revolves around hospitality and community. It was a really challenging and inspiring read, and one that I definitely recommend.

4. CAN’T EVEN: HOW MILLENIALS BECAME THE BURNOUT GENERATION by ANNE HELEN PETERSEN

Taking a kind of strange turn, the next book that really stuck with me was Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen.

[00:10:44] You’ll probably recognize this book, if you’ve been listening to the podcast for awhile. I’ve mentioned it a couple of times. What I found so interesting in this book was this look back at where are we specifically, millennials, and how have we become this generation that lives in a place of burnout.

[00:11:05] Petersen traces the history of generations and the idea of work and the importance of work, and the importance of work above all else. How we have come to value work and productivity and staying busy, and what that has done to us. Now, I don’t necessarily agree with all of her conclusions, but I felt like it was such an eye-opening read to just understand where people are at, and what some of the cultural influences are that have really contributed to this place of overwhelm and unrest and burnout that so many of us are living.

5. THE RUTHLESS ELIMINATION OF HURRY by JOHN MARK COMER

[00:11:49] So after I read that book, which is kind of like, here’s everything that’s going wrong with our generation. Here are all of the unhealthy cultural norms that we don’t necessarily know how to change. And we don’t necessarily know what the solutions are. After that, I read The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. And it was just this stark difference between them.  Yes, we’re still both talking about this idea of busyness and how prevalent that is in our culture. But what he’s talking about is not just the problem, but how to have a personal solution to begin to pull yourself out.

[00:12:39] Busyness will cut off your connection to God, to people, and to your own soul. Comer experienced this for himself personally. And he set off on this journey to figure out how to get out of this culture of hurry. How do I get out of this idea that I have to do all the things, and be busy all the time, to actually be making a difference? To feel good about myself? Because we’re feeling defeated and dead inside. We don’t feel that joy, that sense of feeling filled, fueled, and full of joy. And so he talks about these four practices of unhurrying your life that he and his family went through. Those four are silence, solitude, simplicity, and slowing.

Now, you know my word of the year for 2021 was rest. And so I was really trying to learn how to do rest better. To not stay so busy. To be able to step back and pull myself out, and really get this better overall picture of how our lives are designed to be, how we’re supposed to thrive.

[00:14:02] And for me personally, that meant stepping back from a lot of the things that I usually do, the commitments that I usually make, the organizations that I am usually involved with. It was really tough for me to not participate, to not do all the things. But I felt like this season was a season of me stepping back, so I could gain better perspective. Comer’s book really helped me do that.

6. DREAM YEAR: MAKING THE LEAP FROM A JOB YOU HATE TO A LIFE YOU LOVE by BEN ARMENT

The next book was Dream Year: Making the Leap From a Job You Hate to a Life You Love by Ben Arment. Hello, this is what we want! I know so many of us as military spouses are in jobs we don’t like, because it was the only thing that was available or somebody actually agreed to hire us.

[00:14:53] So how do we actually build a life that we leove? So, so many of us are tired, and we want to do something that brings us purpose and is fulfilling. And so Arment argues that it all comes down to unburying the dreams inside of you and learning how to begin chasing those dreams. What does this process of unburying the dream buried inside of you and bringing those dreams to life actually look like? Discovering what’s inside of you, who you’re meant to be, what your great gift is, what you are born to do. The thing that aligns with what lights you up, and how you spend your time. Who you are.

He describes this year-long process to bring a dream to life. It’s based on his own work, running a coaching organization called Dream Year where he helps people bring their dreams to life. So that was another great read that really was in alignment with my desire to understand this concept of purpose.

7. THE COMMON PATH TO UNCOMMON SUCCESS by JOHN LEE DUMAS

The seventh book on my list is the common path to uncommon success by John Lee Dumas. John Lee Dumas is known really well in the marketing space.

[00:16:16] He’s a very successful podcaster . In this book, he basically reverse engineered his whole journey. He gives you a 17-step process to build something from scratch, to have this idea and bring it to life. He shares his own journey and it was really encouraging for me as a podcaster, just to see the journey of where he’s at now, and all of the obstacles he faced along the way, and what he learned on his journey. So I really enjoyed that book as well.

8. THE ART OF GATHERING by PRIYA PARKER

Number eight goes to The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. Now these books, aren’t ranked in any kind of order. I just kind of wrote down the order that I read them this year.

I love books that leave you with a thought that continues long after you’ve read the book. And this was one of those books. It’s really all about why we gather, and how to be more intentional with your gatherings. How you gather and questions to think through. Now, some of it was not entirely practical because so many of the examples are from her experience as a facilitator., She facilitates a lot of meetings and events. And she talks about how she planned those events and conversations.

But I think it is so applicable to all of the gatherings in our life. Something as simple as a birthday party or having friends over for dinner can be an opportunity to gather well, to learn more about each other, to accomplish a goal.

[00:18:10] But if we’re going to do that, if we’re going to be more intentional in the way that we gather, we have to think about it ahead of time. It’s definitely something that has not changed the way that I live right now, but it’s put that bug in my head to start thinking through how can I be more intentional with what I’m already doing, and how I can incorporate more intentionality  in all of the gatherings I have with people, be they large or small. It’s a really great book. And I would definitely recommend reading it if you can get your hands on it.

9. THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES by KRISTEN HARMEL

Now, my last two book recommendations go to fiction books. I am a big fan of historical fiction,  so number nine on my list is the Book of Lost Names by Kristen Harmel. This is based on a true events.

[00:19:05] It is the story of a young Jewish woman who is living in France at the start of World War two. She becomes a forger and helps forge identity documents for Jewish children escaping to Switzerland throughout the war. It’s really a fascinating read about her life, what she experiences, and what happens after the war.

[00:19:30] What does she do with all those thoughts and feelings and emotions and how does she resolve everything that she experienced and went through.  How does she come to terms with, to peace with, everything that happened and how her life was changed in the process? So, that’s definitely one I recommend reading.

10. THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. SCHWAB

[00:19:54] And then the last book on my list is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. This is probably a book that I wouldn’t have necessarily read the back cover and said, oh, this is a book I want to read. But it was definitely one of those books that sticks with you after you’re done reading. It’s just like this idea, this story of woman. It’s part historical fiction and part modern day romance. It’s about this woman who lives for 300 years.

[00:20:28] The book explores the essence of what it means to be human, what it means to have meaning in life, how we are built for connection with other people, and what that looks like when we don’t have that. It’s a really interesting and fascinating read. So that was number 10 on my list.

THE RUNNERS UP

Now, before I wrap this up, I want to bring you a few runners up because there is a second tier of books that didn’t make the top 10 list, but they were still some good reads.

The first one is This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. Now going back to my love for historical fiction, and books that leave you with something to think about or teach you something or give you something to chew on. This was definitely one of those books that highlighted how indigenous people were treated during the great depression. It’s the story of four orphans during the Great Depression and how they’re making their way down the Mississippi River. It’s a really good read and it really highlighted something that I had never really thought about, in terms of that period of history. How indigenous people were treated in that time period.

A couple of other runners up:  Two books that I think were really good, but were so meaty, that I need to take more time to go back and unpack them. Woman Code by Alyssa Vitti is all about women’s bodies and hormones. It’s about  how we can care for our bodies and increase our energy. Just how the feminine body is made and what we can do to support our body. There’s a lot of information packed in this book and it’s definitely going to be something that I need to go back to, to my notes, time and time again, to revisit.

The Seven Principles For Making Marriage Work by John Gottman also falls into that category. He talks about how to build a healthy marriage. What are the signs that your marriage is either healthy or in trouble, and what you can do to improve your relationship. There is a lot of meat, and I’m going to need to take some time to unpack it in more detail, because there was so much in this book/

Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer is another book that made the runners up list. It’s another book about calling and purpose. Now this book is a little more dated than the other books. I’d have to go back and see exactly when he wrote it. But he was a professor that decided to take a sabbatical and joins this Quaker community in Pennsylvania.

[00:23:46] He ends up staying for 10 years. His book is about what it looks like to say no to the idea of what is successful, and what everybody else thinks you should be doing. What it looks like to follow that voice, and to ask, “Who am I supposed to be?” What am I supposed to be doing? What’s my calling? And how can I live into that even when other people don’t understand what I’m doing. And how do I care for myself in the process?

One of my favorite quotes in that book is that self care is never a selfish act. It is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have. The gift I was put on earth to offer others. Myself.

If you snag a seat inside MilSpouse Purpose Playbook, you’re going to find so many concepts from this book baked into the process of finding your unique purpose, finding a new identity. Into how we step into becoming the best version of ourselves. So that was a really great book, but it’s a little more dated in the tone and style in which he writes. So not everyone might love that.

The last two books on my runner up list are Effortless by Greg McKeown and Built Through Courage by Dave Hollis. I absolutely loved McKeown’s first book, Essentialism. I would recommend that to everyone. This book felt a little more like a compilation of ideas from other books.

It’s all really good information. If you have not done a whole lot of reading, then this is a great book because it summarizes a lot of healthy practices for growth. It’s about how we make doing the right thing easier. How we prioritize what matters most and then build a life around that. It’s a good book, but I felt like I’ve read enough of other books that dive into each piece in greater detail. So, it didn’t do as much for me.

The last book I’ll mention was in that same vein, Built Through Courage by Dave Hollis. This has many of the themes that we talk about in MilSpouse Purpose Playbook. It’s a great read if you are new to this idea of finding purpose and stepping into your purpose.

I mentioned in my summary of the year that I really loved his phrasing in this book, where he talks about change. Change we choose or change that chooses us. I think that encapsulates what happens so much in our lives.

[00:26:27] It’s either change choosing us, change outside of our control and how we respond to that, that helps us develop courage. Or, if change isn’t choosing us, then it’s up to us to choose the path of change. To choose to step outside of our comfort zone, into a place of discomfort. It takes courage, but that is where the most growth and development takes place. So that is another great read, but there were so many other things that I’ve read that talk about these concepts as well. So this book wasn’t as meaningful for me. But it was a great summary of what it looks like to step out and choose courage.

[00:27:14] Now, as we wrap this up, real quick, I would love to mention the worst book that I read this year, a fact that I found kind of hilarious. It was Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer. Now, I don’t know about you, but back in the day, I was ALL about the Twilight books. I read every single one of them cover to cover.

[00:27:37] I was at the midnight premiere of the first movie. I was all about Twilight. I even went online and read the draft that Stephanie had started at the time. That was the original Twilight story from Edward’s perspective. And so Midnight Sun, um, how many years later, is that draft in full book form. I just, I don’t know if it’s that I have changed that much, or if it’s just the way the book was written, but I found it so difficult to get through. I had this different sense of Edward from the original book. And in this, I just did not like anybody.

I have this problem. Once I start a book, l want to finish it. And so I read it cover to cover. But I did not enjoy this book. I don’t know if that’s just the phase of life that I’m in, or how she developed the characters, but that definitely gets the award for my worst book of the year.

[00:28:51] I hope that this list was helpful to you. If you are looking to start a reading plan in 2022, if you want to set a goal to read more books, if you’re looking for some books to read, hopefully one or two of the books on my list peaked your interest. Until next time, may you live filled, fueled, and full of joy.