In 2009, I pledged to read 100 books over the course of 2010. Here's my list of 107 books in case you're interested.

I did it again in 2011 (why not?). Here's my list of 109 books.

The tradition continued in 2012 where I read a whopping 144 books! Here is my list from that year.

In 2013 I kept on chugging along, reading 104 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2014 I hit my best record yet, reading 152 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2015 I beat my record, reading 187 books. Here is my list from that year. 

In 2016, I read 166 books, focusing on books I owned but had never read. Here is my list from that year.

In 2017, I read 123 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2018, I read only 54 books. I spent most of my year driving the kids around, haha! Here is my list from that year.

In 2019, I read 150 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2020, I read 152 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2021, I read 203 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2022, I read 249 books. Here is my list from that year.

In 2023, I read 131 books. Here is my list from last year.

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It's a running joke about how many books I own. The books I own and have never read are a little less than 500. This used to be funny to me, but at some point, a switch flipped, and it became overwhelming to me. Now my goal is not just to read as many books as possible, but to be extremely picky about what I keep after I read it. I only keep books that I will absolutely read again or will pass down to my children. I still have a long way to go, but I do see how much progress I'm making!

I read 105 books in 2024. This is a lot less than last year, but I'm okay with that. I was more intentional this year with the books I read!

I'm very happy with this ratio of the books I kept and books I got rid of. I want to stay around this ratio of being picky with the books I'm holding onto. For the first time, I also tracked how many books I read through the library. I'm reading a fictional series by my favorite author and I don't want to purchase the books because I won't reread them in the future, so the library has been great for me to not purchase unnecessary books.

Here's my 2024 list ("K" indicates that I kept the book)

• "Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses" by Kimberly A. Lathem (1) (K)
• "Dan Crawford: A Life of Fact Stranger Than Fiction" by Diane Schoemperlen (2)
• "Best in Children's Books, Volume 17" by Mary Macnab (3) (K)
• "Katie John" by Mary Calhoun (4)
• "You Shouldn't Have Come Here" by Jeneva Rose (5)
• "The Name of This Book is Secret" by Pseudonymous Bosch (6)
• "The Hard Truth about Soft Skills" by Peggy Klaus (7) (K)
• "Children's Missionary Library" by Vernon Howard and Alice Bostrom (8)
• "The Trumpet of the Swan" by E.B. White (9)
• "Mike Fink: Best of the Keelboatmen" by Harold W. Felton (10)
• "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman (11) (K)
• "Willpower Doesn't Work" by Benjamin Hardy (12)
• "Cross Fire" by James Patterson (13)
• "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey (14) (K)
• "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte (15) (K)
• "All Good People Here" by Ashley Flowers (16)
• "Appleblossom the Possum" by Holly Goldberg Sloan (17)
• "Hidden Pictures" by Jason Rekulak (18)
• "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer (19) (K)
• "Harriet Tubman: Freedom Leader" by Tanya Savory (20)
• "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg (21) (K)
• "God's Tribesman: The Rochunga Pudaite Story" by Jams and Marti Hefley (22)
• "Pete and Penny Know and Grow" by Dorothy Grunbock Johnson (23)
• "The Villa" by Rachel Hawkins (24)
• "Up From Slavery" by Booker T. Washington (25)
• "The Precious Present" by Spencer Johnson (26) (K)
• "Bringing up Boys" by James Dobson (27)
• "Lord, Teach Me to Pray" by John MacArthur (28) (K)
• "The Drift" by C.J. Tudor (29)
• "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens (30) (K)
• "Mindset" by Carol Dweck (31) (K)
• "Our Independence and the Constitution" by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (32)
• "Fairest" by Gail Carson Levine (33) (K)
• "L.A. Dead" by Stuart Woods (34)
• "Two Dollar Bill" by Stuart Woods (35)
• "Thomas Jefferson: Man with a Vision" by Ruth Crisman (36)
• "The Push" by Ashley Audrain (37)
• "How to Be Your Own Selfish Pig" by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay (38)
• "Strategic Moves" by Stuart Woods (39)
• "Crime Scene Investigation" by Paul Mauro (40)
• "Want to Know a Secret?" by Freida McFadden (41)
• "Ten Girls Who Made History" by Irene Howat (42)
• "The Secret of the Old Mill" by Franklin W. Dixon (43)
• "The 9th Judgment" by James Patterson (44)
• "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass (45)
• "Strange Tales of the Civil War" by Michael Sanders (46)
• "Pygmalion" adapted by Nicole Vittiglio (47)
• "Ten Girls Who Made a Difference" by Irene Howat (48)
• "Ten Boys Who Made History" by Irene Howat (49)
• "Contraband" by Stuart Woods (50)
• "Unbound" by Stuart Woods (51)
• "It Figures!" by Marvin Terban (52)
• "Make Way for Sam Houston" by Jean Fritz (53) (K)
• "Unintended Consequences" by Stuart Woods (54)
• "Carnal Curiosity" by Stuart Woods (55)
• "The Pilgrim's Progress" (abridged) (56) (K)
• "Unnatural Acts" by Stuart Woods" (57)
• "Paris Match" by Stuart Woods (58)
• "Hot Pursuit" by Stuart Woods (59)
• "So Far From the Bamboo Grove" by Yoko Kawashima Watkins (60)
• "Naked Greed" by Stuart Woods (61)
• "It's Not Supposed to Be This Way" by Lysa TerKeurst (62)
• "Stonewall" by Jean Fritz (63)
• "Pocahontas and the Strangers" by Clyde Robert Bulla (64)
• "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis (65) (K)
• "Foreign Affairs" by Stuart Woods (66)
• "Hercules and Other Tales from Greek Myths" by Olivia E. Coolidge (67)
• "Hunting for Hidden Gold" by Franklin W. Dixon (68)
• "The Upstairs Room" by Johanna Reiss (69)
• "Scandalous Behavior" by Stuart Woods (70)
• "Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans" by Edward Eggleston (71)
• "A Spark of Light" by Jodi Picoult (72)
• "The One Minute Sales Person" by Spencer Johnson (73) (K)
• "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton (74)
• "My Husband's Wife" by Jane Corry (75)
• "How Successful People Think" by John Maxwell (76) (K)
• "Time Management Magic" by Lee Cockerell (77)
• "The Return of Tarzan" by Edgar Rice Burroughs (78)
• "Mountain Miracle" by T.L. Tedrow (79)
• "Family Jewels" by Stuart Woods (80)
• "Desiring God's Own Heart (1 & 2 Samuel/1 Chronicles) by Kay Arthur (81)
• "Dishonorable Intentions" by Stuart Woods (82)
• "The Envy of Eve" by Melissa B. Kruger (83)
• "Sex, Lies & Serious Money" by Stuart Woods (84)
• "I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy (85)
• "The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey" by Kenneth Blanchard, William Oncken, Jr and Hal Burrows (86) (K)
• "Let Sleeping Vets Lie" by James Herriot (87) (K)
• "Fast & Loose" by Stuart Woods (88)
• "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank (89)
• "The Gospel on the Ground" by Kristi McLelland (90) (K)
• "Get Over Your Damn Self" by Romi Neustadt (91)
• "Carry on, Mr. Bowditch!" by Jean Lee Latham (92)
• "Gung Ho!" by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles (93) (K)
• "The God You Can Know" by Dan DeHaan (94) (K)
• "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift (95)
• "The Golden Age of Pirates" by Bob Temple (96)
• "God's Crime Scene for Kids" by J. Warner Wallace (97)
• "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson (98) (K)
• "They Never Learn" by Layne Fargo (99)
• "Echoes of the Reformation" by Brandon D. Smith (100) (K)
• "Indecent Exposure" by Stuart Woods (101)
• "COFA: George Washington" by Augusta Stevenson (102)
• "God Has Spoken" by J.I. Packer (103) (K)
• "Brighty of the Grand Canyon" by Marguerite Henry (104)
• "God Came Near" by Max Lucado (105) (K)

Author most borrowed from the library in 2024: Stuart Woods

Favorite Nonfiction: 
"The Hard Truth about Soft Skills" by Peggy Klaus, 
"Willpower Doesn't Work" by Benjamin Hardy, 
"Dan Crawford: A Life of Fact Stranger Than Fiction" by Diane Schoemperlen, 
"Mindset" by Carol Dweck, 
"It's Not Supposed to Be This Way" by Lysa TerKeurst, 
"The One Minute Sales Person" by Spencer Johnson, 
"How Successful People Think" by John Maxwell, 
"The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey" by Kenneth Blanchard, William Oncken, Jr and Hal Burrows, 
"Let Sleeping Vets Lie" by James Herriot, 
"Gung Ho!" by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles

Favorite fiction: 
"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg, 
"The Push" by Ashley Audrain, 
"The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis

Favorite authors: Spencer Johnson, Kenneth Blanchard, Kay Arthur (for her Bible study books), Stuart Woods

Favorite theology books: 
"The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer, 
"The God You Can Know" by Dan DeHaan, 
"The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson, 
"Echoes of the Reformation" by Brandon D. Smith, 
"God Has Spoken" by J.I. Packer

Favorite genre this year: theology or business development

How did you do this year? What were some of your favorite books and authors??