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I used to read all the time growing up. It was something I loved to do – a good story or learning about something new. With time and life, it got away from me. A few years ago, I decided to start reading again, mostly to help my brain wind down from the day. That goal morphed into reading at least 50 books this year. Welp, I missed the mark and have read 88, with three more in progress to kick me over 90 books.

I’ll admit, 90% of my reading is/was audiobooks. Given the nature of farming, it just has worked well to listen to books while I work, doing chores, building fence and other tasks around the farm. But, I do enjoy the feel and experience of reading a book in hard copy.

My reading this year has been a mix of fiction, business, and health. My favorites, that I dove into deep and read the whole series to current, including the Walt Longmire (Cold Dish is the first book to start with) series by Craig Johnson and the Joe Picket series (Open Season is the first book to start with) by C.J. Box, both coincidently based in the same area of Wyoming with a mix of crime/law, Western culture, the outdoors and a bit of ranching.

I also enjoyed:

• Quiet by Susan Cain: learning more about my introvert qualities (and my son’s)
• Deep Work by Cal Newport: the importance of having focus time to really be effective in getting work done in an ever-distracted world
• Memoirs by Mathew McConaughey (Greenlights), Hilarie Burton Morgan (The Rural Diaries)
• Local food culture novels based in my region by J. Ryan Stradal: The Lager Queen of Minnesota and Kitchens of the Great Midwest (highly recommend these two if you’re into food, farming and Minnesota/greater Twin Cities region)
• Profit First by Mike Machalowicz: a different take on approaching finances, especially with a small business
• Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt: An approach to taking on work in a focused manner
• A look at rural America through a Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas Kristof and Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest County on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

What I’m reading now:

• The Carnivore Diet by Shawn Baker, M.D. (paper!)
• The Kindred Spirits Supper Club by Amy Reichert
• A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

What have you been reading? I’m always looking for new ideas to add to my list!

P.S. I’ve been an avid podcast listener the last few years, but really wanted to take a break and focus on reading this last year. I have been dabbling back into podcast listing again more recently.