Today I’m linking up with one of my favorite haunts on the web, Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy. The site is great for a bookman like me. Anne reads a ton; I mean, I thought I read a lot but there really is no comparison.

This year, I am on target to read 35 books. Initially, after the birth of the Buddy Man, I lowered my expectations dramatically and set a goal of 12 for the year. Well, needless to say, I have smashed that goal and am still going; and a lot of the books that I have read this year have been based on reviews and recommendations by Modern Mrs. Darcy. Thanks Anne!

Once a month, she hosts a monthly link-up on her site called Quick Lit where she and other bloggers, like me, let you know what we’ve been reading lately. So here’s my round-up for the month. It’s weighing heavily on the self-help shelf. I’m planning to lighten it up bit over the Holidays.

Read:

• Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin: A re-read because I used it extensively during that presentation I made in October. I talk about what I learned from that experience here. A quote that hit close to home: “Stress doesn’t necessarily make us likely to indulge in bad habits; when we’re anxious or tired, we fall back on our habits, whether bad or good.”

• The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson: Read this as a part of a Facebook 21 Day Personal Development Challenge Group. Thanks, Randi! Very easy read for me and due to the inability to sleep a couple of nights, pulled this off in a little over three days. I appreciated the concept that our actions, however insignificant they may appear at the time, are always tending us either up or down, positively or negatively, forward or backward, and through the compound effect, these actions will determine whether we are successful or unsuccessful at life. Not a new concept, but I appreciated the simplicity of the writing and the reminder to keep working on the things that I am working on, even though I don’t see the changes or results right away. They will happen if I don’t get give up! Favorite Quote: “It has already been proven that information and technology alone are not going to create real change….Information needs to be coupled with a community to have any real life-changing effects.”

• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert: Even though I read it early last month I am including it in this month’s edition because Elizabeth Gilbert and her podcast, Magic Lessons, where Brené Brown was a guest, is one of the main reasons I had to pick up Rising Strong. I have to say that these two books go very well together. Quote I try to remember every day:“…my fear was boring. Mind you, my fear had always been boring to everybody else,…”

• Rising Strong by Brené Brown: I have failed at so many things so many times that I was interested in the research about what it took to keep trying in spite of failure; to get back up on one’s feet and do it again. I have completed the book but know that I am going to have to reread it again to really digest all that was there. I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into the meat of it in the new year after digesting Daring Greatly. One of my favorite quotes:“…absolutely no amount of experience or success gives you a free pass from the daunting level of doubt that is an unyielding part of the process.”

Currently Reading:

• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown: After reading Rising Strong, my first book by Brown, you know I had to go back and read the one before it. I must say that I would probably have preferred to have read this before I read Rising Strong. I was reading this one at my usual pace and then realized that I wanted to study and really internalize the material. So I am slowing this one way down and thus it will take a while to read it.

• The Distant Hours by Kate Morton: This is my first novel by Kate Morton and I must say that she writes beautifully. I love books that describe settings vividly. It helps me visualize the story. However, I am having trouble moving through this book due to the sheer volume the descriptions. The story is moving a little slow for my taste but the writing is lovely and I will eventually finish this one, even if I have to check it out again from the library.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the following:

• L M N O Peas by Keith Baker: This one is read, and reread, and then reread again almost every day! Favorite quote and the one that sparked the title for these Quick Lit posts: “We’re readers! Next page, please!”

What books have you been reading lately?

enjoy life…