Reading can be a portal to the Heartspoken Life! From the comfort of our favorite chair, we can learn, grow, experience, feel, escape, relax, engage, think, love, hate, wonder, and so much more.
But there are as many ways to read as there are people, and I love learning about the reading habits and idiosyncrasies of other people. The response to my occasional book reviews has been so strong that I’ve decided to pull the curtain back on my reading life and give you a glimpse.
There’s no right or wrong way to read!
Whatever your choice of books or your speed of reading, it’s okay. I don’t have any reading goals except to be thoughtful about my choices and to try to broaden my knowledge of topics and cultures outside of my personal experience.
Elizabeth’s reading list
CLICK HERE TO SEE A SPREADSHEET OF MY ONGOING READING LIST (PARTIAL SCREENSHOT BELOW)
Links to titles and information on Amazon are affiliate links. If you decide to opurchase after using these links, you pay exactly the same as from a direct link but I will receive a small referral fee. This helps me defray the cost of this blog and supports my writing. Thank you!
CLICK HERE to find more of my book reviews and posts about books and reading.
How I decide what to read
I am a very eclectic reader. I read for edification, pleasure, or escape. I read to unwind or for entertainment. I read to support certain authors, especially if I know them personally. And I read because someone I trust has said, “You’ve got to read this!” More often than not, my selections come from a book review I’ve read, the recommendation of a fellow reader, or my favorite reading podcast, “What Should I Read Next?” hosted by Anne Bogel.
I always have two or more books going. For mornings, I prefer spiritual books or books that require a fresh brain and deeper thinking. Lighter books on Kindle are easier to read when I’m at the gym on the treadmill. When I’m unwinding in the evening, I prefer a book in which I can escape into the story or into some top-notch writing.
Sometimes I need to educate myself on a topic important to me or to a client for whom I’m writing. Sometimes I’ll get a request from an author to read and review their book. In this case, I am very picky and rarely choose something I wouldn’t have read anyway unless the author is a friend.
How I keep track of the books I read
I keep a reading journal (see “10 Great Reasons By You Should Keep A Reading Journal“) and try to log all the books I read on my reading spreadsheet. Eventually, I log them on Goodreads. If a book has something to contribute to a Heartspoken Life, I’ll review it on this blog. You can find these HERE or by choosing “Books” from the Category drop-down menu.
The Heartspoken Bookshop
I love supporting independent bookstores, so I created my Heartspoken Bookshop to give you an alternative to ordering the books I recommend from Amazon. I’ve created a bookshelf for each of the four essential connections of the Heartspoken Life and a few extras you might enjoy:
- Note and Letter Writing
- Epistolary Literature
- Connect with Others ~ Understand Other People & Cultures
- Connect with God ~ Explore your Spirituality ~ Strengthen your Faith
- Connect with Self ~ Self Knowledge ~ Self Improvement
- Connect with Nature ~ Embrace the Natural World Around You
- Writing, Journaling, & Publishing
- Books I’ve loved
- Books by my writing friends
- Advent and Christmas Reading
I’d love to hear about YOUR favorite books. Feel free to comment after any of my book reviews or share your own reading life with other Heartspoken readers on our Facebook page.
Rev Up Your Reading Life
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