I am always quite ambitious with what I want to read.

I love to read, but somehow never get as much reading squeezed in as I’d like. Usually I can find the time on vacation, or right before bed; but that lasts about 3 minutes before my eyes get heavy and I’m a goner. So 3 minutes for 365 days, minus 3 weeks vacation where I get to read more…equates to not a whole heck of a lot of reading time.

So I was impressed with myself when I pulled out all the books I’ve read this year (minus a few that I have loaned out to others). May not be an impressive number of books for some, but to me I was pleasantly surprised!

My top ten from this year that I enjoyed:

1. Secret Daughter – Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Loved this book. It made me cry and I love to cry in movies and when reading books. It’s the beautiful story about two mothers who face the pain and trials of motherhood, while dealing with loyalty and belonging in a family.

2. I Shall Not Hate – Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish

Powerful book. It had so many inspiring stories in it. I talked about one here. The backcover sums it up nicely:

“I know that I have lost, what was taken from me, will never come back. But as a physician and a Muslim of deep faith, I need to move forward to the light, motivated by the spirits of those I lost. I need to bring them justice…I will keep moving but I need you to join me in this long journey”.

3. Hold on to Your Kids – Drs. Gabor Mate and Gordon Neufeld

This, is a great read. I saw Dr. Mate at a conference in November and he was even more inspirational live. A must read for anyone who has children growing up and wants to stay close to their kids. I talked about it here and here.

4. The Happiness Project – Gretchen Rubin

I read this book one month at a time – I felt like I could soak it in better. Very inspirational book. Made me think about my own happiness and what I need to do to be happy. Helped me pull together some of my own “happiness goals”. I talked about the book here.

5. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother – Amy Chua

Loved this book. Hated this book. Loved this book. I determined I am a cub mother as I talked about here.

6. The Entitlement Trap – Linda and Richard Eyre

Another excellent book by the Eyre’s. I knew it would be as I love everything the Eyre’s write. I talked about the book here (before it came out) and I will write something more on it later as there were so many practical tips for helping you raise kids without the sense of “entitlement” that we see everywhere.

7. The Wealthy Barber Returns – David Chilton

I love learning about money. The Wealthy Barber was the book that started me off in my 20’s, so of course, I had to read his new book. Lots of good, practical stuff in this book! I talked a bit about it here.

8. Scattered Minds – Dr. Gabor Mate

This book was an eye opener about ADHD – which is helpful for me both personally and professionally. I walked away from reading this book with feelings of such love and compassion. We are such fragile human beings who deserve unconditional love, acceptance, and security. We deserve it, and we must also give it. Again, I talked about it here.

9. The Idiot Millionaire – Derek Foster

This is my geeky side. I love Derek Foster and his easy to understand step by step “stop working now” guides. I admit, I read the book, and implemented some of his strategies. We now have some DRIPS (suggestion taken from another Derek Foster book “The Lazy Investor” that I read several years ago) in companies (as suggeted by the Idiot Millionaire) that we contribute to (I call it the “lucky winner draw”; whoever sends me a statement that month first, gets a bit more money invested into that month). Yup. It’s a real science.

10. Connected Parenting – Jennifer Kolari

Another all time favorite must read parenting book; good from the young years right through older kids. It struck a chord with me and helped me understand some step parenting stuff too as I talked about here. A great read all around ending with the three most important questions you need to always be asking as parents (as I discussed here).

Some mention should go to “Everyone is Beautiful” by Katherine Center and “Wanderlust” by Elisabeth Eaves. I talked about these books here.

Those were some of top faves.

This year (like every year) my goal is to read more.However, this year, I have made a promise to myself to read all the books I have lying around my house that I want to read before I buy any others.

Not sure how that is going to work. The pile already looks like this: