Welcome to the 2023 reading list! Instead of doing a separate blog post for each month’s reading list, I am going to update this blog post every month with the new month’s book updates. I want to know what y’all are reading and what I can put into my library. I am constantly reading right now and reading a ton of different topics and genres. So, what books should I check out?
2023 Reading List
~THE STORIES WE TELL BY: JOANNA GAINES | Joanna Gaines invites us on an authentic and deeply vulnerable journey into her story—and helps shine a light on the beauty of our own—guiding us to release the weights that hold us back so we may live and share our story in truth. We’ve all dropped anchor in places that suited us for a time: a city, a perspective, a lie we mistook as truth. This book is an invitation to a kind of life where you know how to hold what you believe—about yourself and the quiet worlds behind the people you pass—with gracious and open hands. To see your story as greater than any past or future thing, but for all the beauty and joy and hope it holds today. It’s an invitation to take stock of the chapters you’ve lived—the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly—glean what’s gold, and carry only that forward. Let it slow your feet and steady your life-in-motion so you can see where you stand today from a new point of view. No longer through weary or uncertain eyes, but a lens brimming with hope.
~BECAUSE OF BETHLEHEM BY: MAX LUCADO | For some, Christmas is a time of excitement, celebration, and quality time with loved ones. For others, it’s full of loneliness, grief, and loss. Join New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado as he unwraps the enduring promises of Christmas and discovers a lifetime of hope, all because of one baby born in Bethlehem. It’s easy to lose sight of the remarkable story of Christmas. We forget that a king ordered a census, Joseph was forced to travel, Mary bounced on a donkey’s back, the hotel was full, the hour was late, and the event was one big hassle. Yet, out of that hassle, hope was born. In Because of Bethlehem, Max invites us to look at the Christmas story from a different perspective. He reminds us that Christmas is about more than a pretty tree with presents piled up underneath it. Christmas begins what Easter celebrates: the child in the cradle who goes on to become the King on the cross. Because of Bethlehem, we have a place on earth and a Savior in heaven.
~THE SPORTS GENE BY: DAVID EPSTEIN | The debate is as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training? In this controversial and engaging exploration of athletic success and the so-called 10,000-hour rule, David Epstein tackles the great nature vs. nurture debate and traces how far science has come in solving it. Through on-the-ground reporting from below the equator and above the Arctic Circle, revealing conversations with leading scientists and Olympic champions, and interviews with athletes who have rare genetic mutations or physical traits, Epstein forces us to rethink the very nature of athleticism.
~FINDING ULTRA BY: RICH ROLL | On the night before he was to turn forty, Rich Roll experienced a chilling glimpse of his future. Nearly fifty pounds overweight and unable to climb the stairs without stopping, he could see where his current sedentary life was taking him—and he woke up. Plunging into a new routine that prioritized a plant-based lifestyle and daily training, Rich morphed—in a matter of mere months—from out of shape, mid-life couch potato to an endurance machine. Finding Ultra recounts Rich’s remarkable journey to the starting line of the elite Ultraman competition, which pits the world’s fittest humans in a 320-mile ordeal of swimming, biking, and running. And following that test, Rich conquered an even greater one: the EPIC5—five Ironman-distance triathlons, each on a different Hawaiian island, all completed in less than a week. Rich reflects on the steps he took to shift his mindset and leverage deep reservoirs of untapped potential to achieve success beyond his wildest imagination, urging each of us to embark on our own journey of self-discovery.
What have y’all been reading lately? As always, thank y’all for stopping by and reading. I will see y’all back here next time.
