Last year, I made a schedule of the books I was going to read each month because I set a goal to read books I already had on my shelf, but hadn’t read yet. Well, I did pretty good — even at the start of lockdown — until summer.
Then, I just wanted to read whatever I wanted and that also meant I bought a TON of books. But, I’m not mad at myself. I still read 69 books in 2020 and I bought all of my books from local shops that are women-owned.
For this year, I definitely want to tackle the books I have. But, I also am allowing myself to read library books (I am still using the Libby app so I’m not physically going to the library). I also pre-paid for a book subscription from a local shop, so each month, they send me a hand-selected book.
Whew, that’s a lot. But, I’ve written down three books to read each month. That isn’t enough for my goal of 75 books, so it’ll hopefully end up being the three books I planned, plus the subscription book, and a few library books.
Last year, I tried to plan my books seasonally, but this year, I just sort of slapped the list together. Here’s what I’ve got:
January
- “Admission” by Julie Buxbaum | YA
- “Present Over Perfect” by Shauna Niequist | Christian Living
- “You Are a Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero | Personal Finance
February
- “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention” by Manning Marable | American History
- “More Than Enough” by Elaine Welteroth | Memoir
- “Watch Us Rise” by Renee Watson | YA
March
- “The Wedding War” by Liz Talley | Fiction
- “The Royal We” by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan | Fiction
- “Buy Yourself the F*cking Lillies” by Tara Schuster | Humor
April
- “One More Croissant for the Road” by Felicity Cloake | Food & Wine
- “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” by Mariah Carey | Music
- “Everybody Rise” by Stephanie Clifford | Fiction
May
- “Love at First Like” by Hannah Orenstein | Fiction
- “Let Love Rule” by Lenny Kravitz | Memoir
- “The Editor” by Steven Rowley | Fiction
June
- “28 Summers” by Elin Hilderbrand | Fiction
- “East Coast Girls” by Kerry Kletter | Fiction
- “The Summer of Us” by Cecilia Vinesse | Fiction
July
- “Girls of Summer” by Nancy Thayer | Fiction
- “When Life Gives You Lululemons” by Lauren Weisberger | Fiction
- “Delancey” by Molly Wizenberg | Travel
August
- “All Adults Here” by Emma Straub | Fiction
- “The Imperfects” by Amy Meyerson | Fiction
- “The Worst Hard Time” by Timothy Egan | American History
September
- “A Good Neighborhood” by Therese Anne Fowler | Fiction
- “Hatching Twitter” by Nick Bilton | Finance
- “Lebron James” by David Lee Morgan Jr. | American History
October
- “A Knock at Midnight” by Brittany K. Barnett | American History
- “Fortune Favors the Dead” by Stephen Spotswood | Mystery
- “Picking Cotton” by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino | Memoir
November
- “Benjamin Franklin” by Walter Isaacson | Biography
- “Winter Garden” by Kristin Hannah | Fiction
- “Perestroika in Paris” by Jane Smiley | Fiction
December
- “The Beautiful Ones” by Prince | Memoir
- “A Week in December” by Sebastian Faulks |
- “Heartburn” by Nora Ephron | Humor
What books are you all looking forward to reading this year?
For more book recommendations, be sure to subscribe to the blog (look to the right) and follow me on Goodreads @thebitterlemon – where I share more of my book picks.
You have a nice, interesting mix of books. I am looking forward to The Last Days of John Lennon, Dark Tides, Dancing in the Mosque, The Pull of the Stars.
Thank you! “The Last Days of John Lennon” sounds so good! Happy reading 🤓