The good folks curating book recommendations at Shepherd.com collect readers’ three favourite books from November through the following October, which gives them time to post everyone’s top 3 picks before the calendar year-end.
Here’s a link to my top 3, which will also be reflected in my year-end picks:
[Disclosure: if you get to the Shepherd site by way of my 3 Favourite Reads link and you decide to submit your own 3 favourites, there’s a referrer link that will automatically show my book, Unknown Enemy, below your picks. It’s a little perk Shepherd offers for referrals. If you’d rather not have your list connected with my book, just go to Shepherd.com and start fresh with your list. If you’re an author, you may want to go straight to their “welcome authors” section.]
My now-grown kiddos pretty much wore out one of the Berenstain Bear movies. In it, Sister Bear sang the song “I Want It All.”
Of course, the point of the story wasn’t that she should get everything she wanted. But when it comes to books, too often I’m like Sister Bear.
Fiction. Nonfiction. Audiobooks. E-books. Physical books. Quick reads. Massive tomes. And on and on and on.
While I’m seeking to exercise some modicum of self-control, I always have several books on the go at once.
At the risk of encouraging you to add more books to your already overflowing TBR pile, I’d like to share some highlights of some of the books I’m currently reading.
Audiobooks
I consume these most frequently because it doesn’t matter how “crispy” my eyes are, I can read. Among others, I’m currently reading the following:
The fourth edition of Joanna Penn’s Successful Self-Publishing
Becca Syme’s Dear Writer, You Need to Quit
Diann Mills’ Canyon of Deceit, a fast-paced Christian suspense story
Lindsay A. Franklin’s Story Peddler, an intriguing fantasy novel
E-books
When I first started collecting e-books, I had to remind myself that I owned them. As the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” However, I have found it incredibly handy to carry around several hundred books wherever I go. With my propensity to have multiple books on the go at once, this is the perfect solution. (I pretty much have very book-reading app available on my phone.) I have several nonfiction books on the go, among them:
Johnny B. Truant’s latest book, The Artisan Author, his response to the “rapid release” movement.
Lori Morrison’s She Shepherds, encouraging women to step into the leadership roles God has equipped them for in their homes, workplaces, and churches
From editors Susy Flory and Scott Johanningsmeier, Jesus Was: Not What We Expected But Better Than We Imagined
Michele Cushatt’s I Am, which explores 60 identifiers that God assigns to His children throughout His Word
Physical Books
Like most readers, I love physical books. And although I’ve given away several hundred in my lifetime, I still have many on my shelves (and packed away in boxes that we will be taking with us when we move). And the current trend of creating beautiful books with sprayed and painted edges and gorgeous endpapers in both the front and back of numerous volumes entices me to add some of the most appealing to my collection. For now, I must get back to the following nonfiction works that I’ve begun:
Myquillyn Smilth’s House Rules: How to Decorate for Every Home, Style, and Budget
Orna A. Ross’s Creative Self-Publishing: ALLi’s Guide to Independent Publishing for Authors and Poets
John Truby’s The Anatomy of Genres: How Story Forms Explain the Way the World Works
Alex Temblador’s Writing An Identity Not Your Own: A Guide for Creative Writers
How about you? Do you have multiple books on the go, or do you read one from beginning to end before picking up another?
Do you prefer audiobooks, e-books, or physical books? What do you find are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
Have you read any of the books on my list? Are there any you’ve read recently that you would categorize as Must-Reads?
Happy Reading, All!
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography
As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.
Over the next couple of months, I will be having cataract surgery on both eyes and may need corneal transplants in the years to come. I can no longer go as long between workouts and not get stiff—not the good kind that comes from beneficial exercise but the kind that comes from too much inactivity. My sleep patterns are wonky, admittedly because I often stay up too late.
Are these signs of maturing or aging? Easy answer, right?
Sadly, we often think of aging in negative terms and maturing in positive ones, but I truly believe we can combine the two—while acknowledging the challenges of the passing years.
Below are some tips for older readers. (If you haven’t felt the effects of aging as of yet, hopefully you’ll find a few tips that will benefit you as well.)
Tips for Readers
As we age, our bodies and minds often get less pliable, less flexible. Just as regular physical activity can be beneficial to our body, reading can help us continue to mature and reduce the mental signs of aging.
While we all have our favourite genre(s), there are many benefits to expanding our horizons. Why not pick up a book in a genre you don’t typically read?
Have you been wanting to develop your skills in an area you’re familiar with or learn an entirely new-to-you skill? Why not nab a book in your favourite format—or pull one off your shelves you’ve been meaning to (re)read?
Just as it’s beneficial to read a wide variety of genres, there are advantages to consuming books in multiple formats: physical books, e-books, and audiobooks. In recent years, I’ve consumed far more audiobooks than I’d ever imagined I would, being more of a visual learner than an auditory one. When I’m tired or busy doing something that doesn’t require my undivided attention, I enjoy having an audiobook playing.
You can use a library app and borrow audiobooks (and e-books) for free, make individual purchases from sites such as Chirp Books (their deals are phenomenal), or pay a monthly subscription rate to a service such as Rakuten Kobo and download as many e-books and audiobooks as you like.
True confessions: I have numerous apps on my phone for consuming books and hundreds of unread volumes.
How about joining (or starting) a book club? If you don’t have enough friends or family member to begin your own book club, you may want to join an in-person or online club that reads books in one of your preferred genres.
As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.
Don’t get me wrong. I love books. Physical books. eBooks. Audiobooks. All the books. But sometimes I do struggle to sit down and read a book from cover to cover.
Specific Challenges
When I’m tired, it can be difficult to focus on the words on a page. All of us have likely found ourselves reading and re-reading a paragraph because we complete it and wonder what on earth we’ve read.
Reining in my thoughts can prove challenging. I enjoy flitting from one thing to the next to the next. This is one reason I have multiple books on the go at all times—and ideas for books in multiple genres that I would like to write.
As an extrovert, I enjoy auditory input. I find both quiet and background music (especially with lyrics) distracting. This is why it requires more deliberate focus for me to read a physical or eBook.
Enter . . . the Audiobook
While you may not face the challenges I do when it comes to reading, you may be surprised at some of the advantages of listening to audiobooks. These are true even if you’re not an auditory learner.
For we who are extroverts, sometimes it’s nice to have someone keep us company, even if that someone is the narrator of the audiobook we’re listening to. (Of course, listening to some narrators is more pleasant than listening to others.)
It’s possible to do other tasks while listening to an audiobook: drive, wash dishes, tidy up, etc. And with the advent of Bluetooth earbuds, things like running water don’t have to interfere with the experience.
I prefer listening to fiction, but I do listen to some nonfiction books as well. If there are passages I want to make note of, I may purchase the eBook or physical book as well.
Cost-Prohibitive
One “problem” with audiobooks is the cost. However, that need not be the case any longer.
If you want to listen to audiobooks but don’t want to pay a monthly fee for only one book or pay the per book retail cost, there are options.
I was thrilled to discover Chirp | A Better Way to Audiobook. Chirp has phenomenal sales on audiobooks, both more recent releases and classics. Often the first audiobook in a series has a low price, under $5.00. This is a great way to discover new authors and see if we want to invest in the complete series.
And when it comes to subscriptions, you can’t beat Kobo Plus eBook & Audiobook Subscription | Rakuten Kobo Canada. For approximately $15.00 per month, you can download as many audiobooks (and eBooks) as you like for no extra cost. They will disappear, however, should you cancel your subscription, but they won’t disappear from your library if you haven’t read them by the end of the month you downloaded them. Not all books are available, but there are more new and recent releases than I could ever hope to read—even though I often listen to a book in one or two days.
While reading can be a challenge, I am thankful for audiobooks . . . and eBooks (after all, I can easily carry hundreds with me wherever I go) . . . and physical books.
What’s your preferred format? Have you found reading to be a challenge? If so, in what ways?
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography
As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.
Goodreads tells me I read 51 books in 2023. That’s way down from previous years, and I feel good. I’ve had more quiet time to think. That said, there are some books I really want to read this year!
From those 51 books in 2023, here are my top picks:
Book of the year, nonfiction:Grace Over Grind by Shae Bynes. I listened to the audiobook for free through Hoopla, then bought the print book with workbook and went back through it again. Highly recommended for Christian entrepreneurs or Christians in the workplace, period.
Favourite re-read (fiction):Cascade Point by Timothy Zahn (science fiction novella)
Favourite re-read (non-fiction):My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, Edited by James Reimann
Feel-good reads: My respite goal this year was to read one of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books each month. I fell behind but did enjoy a total of 6 this year. Our theology is light-years apart, but this is pretty clean fantasy that makes me laugh out loud like few things do. Anyone sitting near me is in danger of having chunks of the best passages read aloud to them, like it or not. Brilliant writing, clever turns of phrase, nods to real-life things that I mostly miss catching, some mysteries that keep me guessing, and often an “awww” moment near the end.
This was a difficult year for me and my family. Hence the reduced reading count! Here are five things that refreshed me this year:
Prayer: Not a new practice for me; a major source of comfort and hope.
Praise: Also not new; praise music helps me keep grounded. Funny how often the right song would come on the radio just when I needed it.
Poetry: Nova Scotian writer Laura Aliese showed me I can enjoy poetry. This year I’ve dipped into a few books from other poets. The strong word choices have been inspiring.
Pilates: Toward the end of 2020, I discovered a wealth of free YouTube videos from Rachel Lawrence Pilates. Her friendly and accessible instruction has helped tame the body aches that crept in during the first lockdown.
Photos: For all the negativity on social media, Instagram became my online happy place in 2021. I don’t post (that might feel like work) and I only follow nature photographers, tourism shots, and Bible/inspirational quotes (well, and David Crowder because he makes me laugh). It’s been a lovely mini refuge when I needed it most.
I haven’t read either of these novels yet, but I’ve met both authors, and their work is highly respected. Hidden Secrets is in good company. The beauty of this is that when the winning book is announced, I can either celebrate for my “imaginary friends” if it’s my book or celebrate for one of my real-life writer friends (at least acquaintances!). Win-win!
The 2020 Word Awards winners will be announced June 13, 7pm Eastern Time (8pm Atlantic) online via livestream on Facebook and Zoom. It’ll be free for anyone to tune in. Link details TBA.
For the complete short-list, visit The Word Guild’s Media page and click on the short-list announcement link.
Reads to Remember: A book lover’s journal to track your next 100 reads is now available.
Whether it’s a book a day or a book a year, in print, digital, or audio, this reader’s journal is the perfect way to track the next 100 books in your life.
Jot your reactions and reflections.
Note key details:
author
subject
format
date finished
rating
favourite lines
and more
Track your reading habits across genre/subject.
List those rare, life-impacting reads.
Manage your to-read list.
Includes bookmarks you can cut out and colour for the print books on your list.
At this point, these readers’ journals are only available through Amazon (only in print form… who wants to write on their tablet or e-reader?)
Goodreads tells me I’ve read 91 books in 2019. And that’s not counting Bible reading. Here are the books I’ve most enjoyed last year. Some were produced in 2019, some previously. Pop a note into the comments with your own favourites?
