Learned from Books in 2021

My goal for 2021 was to read 160 books, ten more books than I read the year prior. I almost didn't meet that goal, finishing my last eight books of the year on December 30th and 31st. Reading provides a fantastic escape from reality, but it also gives us the opportunity to learn more and become better. I want to challenge you to strive to read more this year than you did last year. If last year you read zero books, all you have to do is read one to conquer this. ☺

Upon reflection, I realized I sure learned a lot from books this year. Here's a snapshot of what I've learned and from what books:

• Sisterhood bonds are strong (Planet Earth is Blue - Nicole Panteleakos)

• Trauma changes everything (Know My Name - Chanel Miller)

• Community can be fostered in small quiet ways, like a turquoise table in your front yard (The Turquoise Table - Kristin Schell)

• Kids in foster care should be in my prayers so much more (What I Carry - Jennifer Longo)

• Wow, Stephen King can write a STORY (11/22/63 - Stephen King, my first time reading anything by him and I was so proud of myself)

• You can survive any hardships in your life (The Ungrateful Refugee - Dina Nayeri, Dancing at the Pity Party - Tyler Feder, Leave Only Footprints - Conor Knighton)

• There is SO MUCH to see in our country and world (Leave Only Footprints - Conor Knighton)

• If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't; if something seems too good to be true, it probably is (The Husbands - Chandler Baker, The Nature of Fragile Things - Susan Meissner)

• Dishonesty creates mountains out of mole hills (Kate in Between - Claire Swinarski)

• Life isn't meant to be raced through (Chasing Slow - Erin Loechner)

• Sleep and a lack of it is connected to virtually every health (physical and mental) hurdle and behavioral problem. Do what you can to get enough good sleep naturally (Why We Sleep - Matthew Walker)

• The White House is a well-oiled machine (Upstairs at the White House - J. B. West, Exploring the White House - Kate Andersen Brower)

• Success can take years and decades to build (Shoe Dog - Phil Knight)

• Radium was torturous to the women who worked with it (The Radium Girls - Kate Moore)

• Many of life's problems can be remedied with a road trip (Where the Road Leads Us - Robin Reul)

• Multi-generational relationships have a way of saving us from ourselves (Finding Junie Kim - Ellen Oh)

• Dysfunction breeds dysfunction (Malibu Rising - Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ask Again, Yes - Mary Beth Keane)

• There is such a thing as overparenting, and it leads to horrible adults (How to Raise an Adult - Julie Lythcott-Haims)

• Empathy is hard to teach, something we learn by going through hard things ourselves, so if we want to raise empathetic kids, we can't shelter them from all hardships (How to Raise an Adult - Julie Lythcott-Haims)

• True friends will do whatever it takes to help each other (Across the Desert - Dusti Bowling)

• I learned about the development of vaccines and desserts (separately) that I knew nothing about (Yummy: A History of Desserts - Grace Elliott, A Shot in the Arm - Don Brown)

• Secrets always have a way of getting uncovered (Tokyo Ever After - Emiko Jean)

• Fear and creativity go hand-in-hand; fear can be a passenger but never the drive (Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert)

• We're always becoming but we're also just who/as we are right now (Home Body - Rupi Kaur)

• Life in Wuhan at the beginning of COVID was similar, yet vastly different from the start of the pandemic in the United States (Morning Sun in Wuhan - Ying Compestine, this one is set to come out in May of 2022 and is so dang good. Kelly Yang also has a middle grade coming out this year involving the start of the pandemic and the racism that came with it. I can't wait to read it).

• Heartbreak can make people irrational (The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides)

• The housing market is insane and low interest rates aren't good for the big picture (Money Like You Mean It - Erica Alini)

• Eat nourishing things you like when you're hungry; diet culture is tough to eradicate (How to Raise an Intuitive Eater - Amee Severson and Sumner Brooks).

Maybe this list motivated you to read or gave you some titles to add to your list of books to read. If you have a goal of reading more in 2022, look into Goodreads to help you track what you want to read and what you read, as well as connect with others (like me!) for recommendations, connection, and motivation.

-J