I don’t make New Year’s resoultions. It always ends with me feeling disappointed in mid-February when I don’t stick to it and diving headfirst into a trough glass of pinot. No resolutions. Not for me.
I’ve made a few goals, mostly related to prayer and living my vocation more fully.
But one thing, there’s one thing I am sure of for 2013, and the wisdom came from the blog of a dear friend.
More reading; less social media.
Dear Facebook,
I’m setting a timer. 15 minutes in the morning. 15 in the evening. Done.
As for the reading?
You know I made a list.
So what’s on my list, you ask?
Let’s start with the two I am reading right now:
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
Graced and Gifted by Kimberly Hahn
and then throw in the ones I started and haven’t yet finished:
The World’s First Love: Mary, the Mother of God by Fulton Sheen
The Infertility Companion for Catholics by Ruhi-Lopez and Santamaria
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire by William Cavannaugh
The World As It Could Be: Catholic Social Thought for a New Generation by Fr. Thomas Williams
My Life with the Saints by Fr. James Martin
Now for good measure, some I haven’t yet begun but own:
Abandonment to Divine Provedence by Jean-Pierre deCaussade
Anima Christi by Mother Mary Francis
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A’Kempis
A Grief Observed by CS Lewis
Turn My Mourning Into Dancing by Henri Nouwen
Women in Christ: Towards a New Feminism edited by Michele Shumacher
Weightless by Kate Wicker
The Last Campaign by Thurston Clarke
Now some fiction to round it all out:
The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wrobleski
And last, but not least, what I call “vocational” books:
Beloved and Blessed: Biblical Wisdom for Family Life by Kimberly Hahn
Smart Martha’s Catholic Guide for Busy Moms by Tami Kizer
The Handbook for Catholic Moms by Lisa Hendey
What books are you hoping to read in 2013? Do you make resolutions? What are yours?
Your book list is about like mine – long!! I have some of the same ones on there too (Sheen, Hahn, Lewis). I didn’t make a resolution, but I also decided to limit my time on Facebook more and really focus on how I’m using my time rather than trying to fit more into my time. Happy New Year and happy reading!
I’m reading Dreadnought by Robert Massie, then I am on to Outbreak ( not the fictional one). On my list is a re read of all the Tolkien books, too!
I loved reading through your list! I had a lot on my list last year, but for some reason I never get to the “Books I own but haven’t yet read” category. (Which also happens to include Women in Christ and One Thousand Gifts). I just keep getting other ones from the library instead, thinking that I can read those any time. Maybe this year I should focus on them… It would help if you’d just review all these books as you read them, so I can decide whether or not I should request them on interlibrary loan
(In particular, was it you or someone else who mentioned Being Consumed and The World as it Could Be before? I want to hear about those!)
I’m reading The Wild Swans. It’s about a grandmother, mother, daughter who live in China. The daughter writes the book after she leaves China. I’m just in the beginning, and it reminds me of how much I have to be thankful for in my own life. It is a long book, non-fiction. I probably won’t finish it. I’m also reading Flickering Light. It’s fiction.
I have written a cleaning schedule on my kitchen calendar. Time will tell how well I stick to my plan. I guess I have to clean a bathroom, one bedroom and finish the den before I get on the road tomorrow.
I work with kids at school on goal setting and have told them to write down the steps of the plan and tell other people about the plan. That is supposed to encourage a person to stick to it. My husband has not asked the meaning of the initials on the calendar. On each Sunday there are letters telling me the rooms or areas to clean that weekend.
The Magician’s Assistant is really good. Anything by Ann Patchett, actually…