
Any type of lists can be overwhelming, if we let them. However, lists are supposed to free up space in our minds, so that we can spend our time doing other things. Like instead of trying not to forget a certain book we want to purchase, we can spend that time reading. So, the books we’re interested in buying and or reading in the future go on a list, freeing up more brain time for reading in the present. Or so the idea goes.
The thing about lists though is they grow and grow and grow. Or multiply!
And I say that this is okay. It’s better than forgetting what we wanted to remember. And every now and then, if it bothers us that bad, we can trim those lists down some.
Below are some of my growing lists of books (no links). If you’ve read any, and would like to offer or share your pros or cons with me, I’ll welcome them. So, please feel free to do so.
To Be Read Piles (Already Own)
These books are ones I have purchased more recently. I own many more than the ones on this list, however, they’re still packed up in boxes in our onsite storage Conex. Once our “Little Casita” is finally built, I’m hoping to move my three tall bookshelves into the small living room. Then, I’ll unpack all my book boxes. There are so many books I’ve missed having on hand, and I can hardly wait to see, and feel, them again.
A Perry Mason Casebook by Erle Stanley Gardner
Absolute Friends by John Le Carré
Beneath the Seams by Peyton H. Roberts
Dead Poets Society by N. H. Kleinbaum
Five One and a Half: The Origin Story by Casie Lynn Fowler
Fried: How You Burn Out and How to Revive by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.
Go Ask Fannie by Elisabeth Hyde
I’ll Pray for You by Hannah Setzer
Inferno by Dan Brown
Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok
Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
That Summer by Jennifer Weiner
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
The Collected Essays and Occasional Writings of Katherine Anne Porter (Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawrence)
The Constant Gardener by John Le Carré
The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins
The Women of the Bible Speak by Shannon Bream
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
Twice A Daughter by Julie Ryan McGue
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Women of Passion by Gene Vanderzanden
To Be Purchased (and Read) Lists
This list of books are ones which I have not bought yet, but hope to in the coming future. I see one or two on the list which I may have already – somewhere in those 45+ boxes waiting to be unpacked. This list will continually be updated, I’m sure.
A Piece of Peace by Sweta Srivastava Vikram
A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey
Almost Perfect by Claire Cain
Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn
Carrying My Father’s Torch by Gail Gaspar
Colors of the Spirit by Sr. Dorothy Ederer, O.P.
Digging Up Love by Chandra Blumberg
Everything We Didn’t Say by Nicole Baart
Five One and a Half: The Enlightening by Casie Lynn Fowler
Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict
In the Heart of Paradise by Jamie McGillen
In Light of the Summit by Jamie McGillen
In Sight of the Mountain by Jamie McGillen
Inside Passage by Keema Waterfield
Keep Moving by Maggie Smith
Love the Way They Lie by Linda Smolkin
Momentos: Inspiraciónes para tu día (Diario) by Mary Olivia Patino
My Daily Bread by Anthony Paone
No Memes of Escape by Olivia Blacke
On Becoming A Role Model by Lynne Schmidt
Paper Airplanes by Tabitha Forney
Spirituality, Healing and Me by Ilana Estelle
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
The Disharmony of Silence by Linda Rosen
The Donut Trap by Julie Tieu
The Eves by Grace Sammons
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
The Ocean in Winter by Elizabeth Deveer
The Parish Bookseller by Kerri Maher
The Reading List by Sera Nisha Adam
The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr
The Space In Between by Signe Myers Hovem
The Things We Keep by Julee Balko
The Treehouse on Dog River Road by Catherine Drake
The Way We Weren’t by Phoebe Fox
Truth and Other Lies by Maggie Smith
These lists are only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many books I want to read. And books I have already read that I wouldn’t mind reading again. But there’s only so much time in the day for reading. So, I’ll read what I can and hope that you get to read and enjoy some of these, too.
If you are an author friend who doesn’t see your book on my list, please mention it to me. I tried to capture as many as I could, and I’m sure I’ve missed a few. Sadly, some of my handwritten lists have gotten lost in our move over the summer and the continued upheaval around here.

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.“
JOSEPH ADDISON