Reading in 2023

“So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone.” ― Roald Dahl, Matilda

Roald Dahl in his famous writer's hut. CREDIT:BRIAN MOODY

The goal is 23 books in 2023. It's been a few years since I've started tracking my reading and it makes me happy that this item will be one of those bucket list items that will never leave my list.

I tend to read more than one book at a time, so I'm excited to see which one I finish first and last!

I Loved Jesus in the Night: Teresa of Calcutta: A Secret Revealed by Paul Murray

Father Paul Murray was a priest who knew Mother Teresa well and shares his insights on her life. In particular, he shares her letters and his experiences with her to dive deeper into why she declared that if she were to "become a saint," she would surely be one of "darkness." Her faith is astounding, but especially when you learned that, for most of her life, she encountered desolation, spiritual dryness and constantly felt separated from God. I read this book in parts while I prayed during my night time holy hour. What a beautiful consolation this book was! (1)

Full of Grace, Encountering Mary in Faith, Art and Life by Judith Dupré

This book took me a year to finish because of all the incredible detail that went into it. The art is inspiring and the stories evangelize. While it could serve as a beautiful coffee table book because you could pick it up and open to any page and gain insights, I think that I'll be referencing the art in this book for many years. (2)

The Essential Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

I've always loved this comic strip of the wild child and his stuffed tiger. It is pages of celebrating magic, imagination, shenanigans and reading a few pages a day just made me smile. I loved it. (3)

The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher

Sub-titled "A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian World" I originally selected this title because of the author's other work "Live Not by Lies." This one did not disappoint. Published in 2017, I couldn't help but feel how prophetic his writing actually seems. As Christians, we can no longer stay anonymous and stay in the middle. Living the Christian life means living counter-culturally for the purpose of bringing our souls and those that we love to Heaven. We are at a critical breaking point. (5)

Fostered by Tori Hope Peterson

Victoria 'Tori' lived horrific experiences growing up in the foster care system. Despite her circumstances, hers is a story of hope and survival and thriving. I love Tori's honesty and direct analysis of the situations that defined her formative years. As a former foster mother, her story was difficult to read at times and still, brought some healing. This memoir needs to be shared far and wide and used as a blueprint for foster care reform. (6)

Wisdom from a Humble Jellyfish by Rani Shah

This book is a quick and delightful read! Sharing stories of colorful animals and their various qualities and unique attributes, Rani shares how we might learn how to thrive in our own lives by applying some of the same techniques. Self-care isn't just pedicures and massages. The argument here is that as humans we deal with chronic stress, anxiety and burnout, and perhaps, if we glean some simple lessons from our plant and animal friends, we can better unplug, recharge and live well. This isn't a cheesy read, but actually hilarious at times. Jellyfish 'relax' to move forward, sunflowers grow facing the sun and the porcupine's quills contain antibacterial qualities for when it will inevitably get pricked. You can't control whether you will get hurt- but you can control how you let setbacks impact your life. I was smiling throughout this book. (7)

The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma

I drank the Kool-Aid - this book lives up to the hype. I'm still working on my own habits- but on the mornings that I can wake up at 5 a.m.- it's true what he writes: Own Your Morning - Elevate Your Life. Especially all of you night owls out there - this book is a must read. (8)

The Good Girl's Guide to Being a D*@k by Alexandra Reinwarth

Don't even bother. The cover was clickbait and I picked it up because I thought that perhaps the author didn't actually mean that one should become a complete asshat, but rather, be more assertive. And that because the cover was descriptive- perhaps this book would be funny too. Nope. She means that it's okay to be selfish, stuck in what you want, disregard other people's feelings, because your needs trump everyone else. Except when you deem that they don't. What a complete waste of time. Zero stars. (9)

How to be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith

This one was just plain fun. It was an adult approach to: stop, slow down at least, you are creative whether you think so or not. So, take some time to find your inner child and build a portable art-life museum. I read it quickly, but took some of the cues to slow down and appreciate the details, textures, colors and smells that I take for granted so many days. Really like this one. (10)

Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice by Clayton M. Christensen, Karen Dillon, Taddy Hall and David. S. Duncan

After studying Value Proposition with Strategyzer, I found a lot of value in this one, because it takes the understanding of customers to the next level. Demographics is not the key to innovation of products and service- Christensen argues that the "Jobs to Be Done" approach is. The theory is that customers don't buy products or services because of who they are. They actually "hire" the product or service because they need a particular job to be done. Innovation then becomes more of an effort to discover what job your product can do, rather than looking for new products. This book was fascinating and I loved the current examples of how they are playing out in the marketplace today. (11)

Innovate the Pixar way: Business Lessons from the World's Creative Corporate Playround by Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson

This quick read is really a great time capsule of an analysis of Pixar before they were purchased by Disney in a time when all they had produced was a handful of films. The content is good however, and makes one want to explore how to instill more creative time into your own working day. One of the more interesting parts was the study of a school in Arizona that incorporates the study of art in an intentional way for students to encourage a more holistic learning. (12)

Mob Rules: What the Mafia can Teach the Legitimate Businessman by Louis Ferrante

I've loved the perspective of the book - its blunt description of general business principles are plainly laid out amidst the colorful rendering of examples that the author acquired in his years of mob activity. Entertaining and truthful- you'll find yourself intrigued and nodding at his suggestions, while at the same time, not sure whether to feel impressed or critical that this guy wrote most of this book while in prison (for the crimes in the above-mentioned mob activity.) (13)

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Classic. It hits harder when you reread it as an adult. Particularly because of the modern push for more totalitarianism from our currently free US of A. Quick read- no excuses if you've never picked it up. (14)

The Great Reset by Alex Jones

Love him or hate him, Alex presents his arguments for why our world is heading for a complete economic collapse, on purpose. I appreciated that he backs up his claims with a ton of data and current events. I encourage everyone to read this book. Stay prepared and keep your head on a swivel. (15)

The World According to Star Wars by Cass Sunstein

More accurately titled, The World According the Cass Sunstein, with a ton of Star Wars examples. Sure, it's his book, so he can run the pages rampant with his opinions, but unfortunately his tone described numerous situations with a "there are tons of ways to look at this-but here is the right answer, and if you don't think so, you are an idiot." (16)

Undone: Freeing Your Feminine Heart from the knots of fear and shame by Carrie Schuchts Daunt

This is one of those books that you can only read a chapter at a time. It's ideal for a women's book study- and the stories contained therein are incredibly powerful. I cried in almost every single outpouring of each woman's story - each was a beautiful witness. Highly recommend. Read it with a friend or two. (17)

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas À Kempis

I prayed with this conversation between God and the pilgrim during my weekly holy hour so it took me quite awhile to get through. I loved the deepness of each chapter and how each provides a new reflection and challenge to become a saint. (18)

It wasn't until searching for pictures of one of my favorite authors that I discovered that Roald wrote and drew bundled up on a chair. I do this often while I'm working and it helps me to focus. Here are a few other interesting facts about the man, whose name - for the majority of my life - I would've SWORN was Ronald (with an N.) Goodness. What other obvious thing am I missing?