Five-Star Favorites for Your 2019 Reading List

December is packed full of family gatherings and holiday planning, but it’s also a time to start thinking about the new year and any goals or changes you might want to implement. In recent years, I’ve made a conscious effort to come up with a reading goal to focus on in the new year. My mom always kids me about setting a reading goal — who does that?! — but it helps to expand my reading life and find books I might not otherwise be looking for. In 2016, I set out to read 52 books in 52 weeks. For 2017, I wanted to read more non-fiction (that isn’t my usual genre), so I made a goal to read one non-fiction title each month. This past year, I added more middle grade and young adult fiction so that my tweenage daughter and I could read books together. No matter what your goal is, just having one will completely transform your reading life.

Today, I’m teaming up with some of my favorite ladies to bring you a list of Five-Star Favorites for Your 2019 Reading List. Whether you’re looking for self-help, parenting inspiration, or nail-biting fiction, we have something to fit the bill.

A Simplified Life by Emily Ley

I picked up A Simplified Life on a whim during one of my Target runs and ended up reading it cover to cover immediately. Not only is it beautifully designed, but this book is fresh encouragement for anyone who craves living a more intentional life. Each chapter focuses on a common stress-filled area of life and offers tips on how to get it under control. Author Emily Ley is humble and knowledgeable and fills the book with stories of her own life as a busy mom.

If you’re needing a gentle boost for the new year, this book is a great place to start. I’m a pretty organized person, but as I worked my way through her “Ruthless Decluttering,” our home felt peaceful and so did I. ~ Abbe W. 

Deep Work by Cal Newport

I originally picked up Deep Work for tips to help with my work in business ownership and sales. After seeing it recommended by several professionals I admire, I figured it was a can’t-miss. The premise is to enjoy the beauty of working on a deeper level, the kind void of distraction. In business, this is an invaluable skill, the kind of thing that can increase productivity exponentially. What I didn’t expect was the way the book would change my approach to motherhood. I have a limited amount of time with these two children I’ve been gifted to raise, and everything from the impact I have on them to how much I enjoy them is affected by how much distraction I allow. In the weeks since I finished the book, I’ve made several significant changes in how I approach both the work I do at a desk and the work I do in my home. My productivity is up a bit, but I’m really enjoying the side effect of more emotional satisfaction.

Deep Work is a heavy book, not one that can be read while distracted. (Surprised?) It took me months to get through it since I couldn’t just knock out a few pages here and there, but it was a worthwhile read and one that I’d recommend to anyone looking for ways to focus when everything around you longs to distract. ~ Jenny Y.

Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips

Imagine you’re in an active shooter situation. Imagine you’re there with your child. That is what Gin Phillips, an Alabamian and an alumna of my alma mater, Birmingham-Southern College, asks us to imagine in Fierce Kingdom. What she asks us to consider beyond that is, in a word, unimaginable. Mother (Joan) and son (Lincoln), ending a perfect outing to the zoo, are faced with an intrusion of the outside world that cannot be comprehended at first — an active shooter, or shooters, is in the zoo. The choices that this mother must make over the next three hours as she fights to protect her son and herself create a tension between what she must do and what she would prefer to do. Does she assist the young woman hiding in the concession stand? Does she leave her son in a “safe” place and find help? Does she sacrifice her phone, her only means of communication, to distract the shooters? For every question, she must make instant and life-altering decisions. Ultimately, those decisions lead her to take the biggest risks imaginable to survive what she never imagined. I loved this fast-paced thriller and am especially excited that Margot Robbie’s production company picked up the book for movie development. Read a full review here. ~ Chris L. 

Falling Free: Rescued From the Life I Always Wanted by Shannan Martin

Falling Free: Rescued from the Life I Always Wanted by Shannan Martin was a swift kick in the rear end of my faith as I know it. That’s a good thing. No, it’s a great thing. A much needed thing. She writes about her own life and faith walk in the most humorous way imaginable and you leave wanting to be her best friend, whilst desiring to know God deeply. You will be challenged to think and pray about God’s plan for your own life that goes beyond yourself, your current situation, your current everything. She points you to Christ, and it’s nothing like what you may expect. If you want to be challenged in your faith, and have your eyes and heart opened to God and people in brand new ways, pick up this book, pronto. You’ll thank me. ~ Shana M.

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

After all the publicity I’d seen and heard about Girl, Wash Your Face, I just had to read it for myself to see if it lived up to the hype. I checked it out from the library and read it in about two days, and let me tell you, it rocked my world. The subtitle of the book is Stop believing the lies about who you are so you can become who you were meant to be. This is something I have always struggled with. This book came for me during a time when I really needed some insight into a lot of the things it addresses. Each of the 20 chapters in the book is based on a specific lie the author, Rachel Hollis, told herself. The lies include things like: “Something Else Will Make Me Happy,” “I’ll Start Tomorrow,” “I’m Not Good Enough,” “I’m Not A Good Mom,” and “I Will Never Get Past This”. Along with these lies, Hollis gives one important truth: You, and only you, are ultimately responsible for who you become and how happy you are. I think that no matter your age or what point you are at in your life, every woman can find something to relate to in this book. I used about 100 sticky flags to mark things that resonated with me. I’ve let three friends borrow it so far, and plan to keep passing it around. I’m even giving a copy as a Christmas gift to my 22-year-old niece. I recommend this book all the time and think everyone needs it on her Christmas list! ~ Leah E.

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

I read Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult at the beginning of 2018, and I’ve thought about it throughout the year as issues of race and privilege continue at the forefront of our national and local news. The main character in this book, Ruth, is a labor & delivery nurse who is black and banned from treating a white baby at the request of his racist parents. Because of these orders, she hesitates to begin CPR when she sees the baby in distress and later is charged with a crime when the baby does not survive. The story is told from three perspectives: Ruth’s, the baby’s white supremacist father, and Ruth’s white public defender. Blatant racism is a theme in this book, but Jodi Picoult does a great job of helping readers (specifically, white readers) identify biases many of us hold without realizing our perspectives are skewed and our hearts are not as pure as we would like to think. These biases do a great deal of harm, and I appreciate that Picoult is willing to raise issues that are uncomfortable for many of her readers. This was my first Jodi Picoult novel, and I look forward to reading other of her thought-provoking works. ~ Betsy G.

Hanna Coulter by Wendell Berry

The book I keep thinking about and the one I reference the most often is Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. I actually listened to this book on Audible. Wendell Berry is one of my favorite authors and Hannah Coulter is a meaningful book about a woman who’s at the end of her life, looking back. It explores themes of family, community, stewardship of land/place, education, change, and what it means to be grateful. Hannah Coulter is a thoughtful character who tells us the story of her life and family. There’s nothing sensational about it. She was an ordinary woman. There’s much to be learned from a character like Hannah who lived a faithful, ordinary life. After all, most people will live an ordinary life, and I hope to live it faithfully. 

“The chance you had is the life you’ve got. You can make complaints about what people, including you, make of their lives after they have got them, and about what people make of other people’s lives…but you mustn’t wish for another life. You mustn’t want to be somebody else. What you must do is this: ‘Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks.’ I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions.” (p. 113)  ~ Laura W. 

Becoming by Michelle Obama

When I got word that the fabulous former first lady Mrs. Obama was writing a memoir, I was beyond ecstatic. As a woman, an African American woman, it is truly inspiring to read words of wisdom, transparency, and realness from someone who is idolized. The simple fact that the memoir is entitled “Becoming” is exciting because it lets readers know that a story will be told not only for entertainment, but for absorption, and that is just what this book does. In this book, Michelle Obama inspires and encourages women of all kinds to never settle and to continue evolving, no matter the circumstance or situation. She lets readers know that “Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own” and to never put the pencil down! A definite favorite of 2018, and many years to come! ~ Lauren P.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

I love really good fiction — stories that make you forget about everything else and stay up way too late, reading under the covers. I loved Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, so I picked up The Great Alone as soon as it hit shelves. I’ll admit to being intimidated by its 435 pages. Pregnancy made it difficult to keep up with my normal reading pace this year and I was worried I couldn’t devote the time to finish it. I packed it for our summer vacation and surprised myself by devouring it in only a few days.

The Great Alone is a coming-of-age story that centers around Leni, the thirteen-year-old daughter of a restless Vietnam Vet and his devoted wife. After a string of job losses and inner turmoil, Ernt impulsively uproots his family from the life they’ve always known and seeks refuge in a remote corner of the Alaskan frontier. Determined to live off the grid, Ernt alienates everyone around him, as his mental state continues to spiral. Not only are Leni and her mother fighting for survival from the cold Alaska winters, but they are fighting the very person who claims to love them most. This book is filled with beautiful townspeople, who share their stories and become the bright spots in Leni’s otherwise dark adolescence. The Great Alone is a slow burn that picks up momentum with every page. Leni’s story is hard and harsh and beautiful — you won’t want it to end. ~ Kristin F.

We would love to hear about your favorite read of 2018 — help us add to our reading list for next year by sharing some of your favorite books in the comments!