I have a crazy goal this year.

I’m going to read 50 books.

Let me explain.

This is not a New Years resolution. I didn’t write this on my 2017 goals on December 31 and then carefully plan out which books I was going to read and how I was going to conquer it all. The idea to read 50 books just kind of happened.

I’m an avid reader anyway but most years I read between 12-17 books (which I know is still really good and a lot for most people!) In January, I had surgery that put me out of commission for almost a month. I had planned to binge on Netflix most of the time but when it came to it, I felt even worse watching TV all day and I had a huge stack of books some friends brought over to me. So, I started to read instead.

I flew through books in a matter of days. In the month of February, I read seven books. And these weren’t shorties, either. At least three of them were 450+ pages. OK, they were easy reads but they were long. But still, I figured I’d slow down once I got back on my feet and back to working.

Then I stumbled upon this article. And it totally resonated with me. OF COURSE I could read 50 books. If I gave up one evening of TV (or just read while Travis watches Mavs games), it would make this feasible. If I read while I ate lunch instead of scrolling through Instagram, I could make this happen.

When I looked at how many books I had already read this year (somewhere in the mid-20s) and it was only April, I knew I could do it.

I’ve since slowed on my reading (I’m at 3-4 books a month, not seven) but with a lot of summer travel coming up, I thought it’d be fun to share the books on my list and keep track of my progress (I’m currently on book 29).

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance (Recommended by Dave Ramsey)

Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist (I read this every July; I don’t know why but it’s the perfect summer book and a good reminder to stay grounded in the slug of everyday life)

At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider (Her story is amazing!)

Make It Happen by Lara Casey (The guru behind Powersheets)

Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin (Another Dave Ramsey recommendation; I started this a few days ago and it’s awesome)

The Nix by Nathan Hill (reading this for book club)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (Heard about this one on Shauna Niequist’s new podcast)

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller (Been wanting to read this one for awhile!)

When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (everyone just raves about this one!)

What’s on your summer reading list? What should I add for the fall?