A couple of sweet girlfriends asked me for some book recs, so I wanted to give you the 22 books I read in 2016 that moved the needle on my life and business. Below are the categories I tend to pick books in, butttttt … if ya look at my 2017 book list (link here!), you’ll see I’m branching out to add a couple … think marriage, finance, etc. 🙂 Told ya that Nancy Ray will get ya!

As for reading rules, I don’t have many, but I do try to go by these:

1. Read a little every day.
2. Make sure 1 in every 5 is fiction (that’s a C.S. Lewis quote — I want to do better at this!)
3. You can always stop, but give it 50 pages first (sometimes more).
4. NEW RULE: An audiobook can count.*

*You’ll see Claire Diaz-Ortiz’s name below, when I learned she reads EIGHTY books a year, I was stunned. But, here’s the thing (well, two): 1. She says audiobooks count, and 2. She knows the # of pages she needs to read in a day to hit her goals.

I’m no where near 80 — or even trying to be — but I’ve got 36 books I’m drooling over for 2017. I want to read 2-3 books a month (one can be on Audible).

Here are the 22 books I read in 2016 (faves are starred). But first, here’s a link to my Housewife Life Trello board, where I keep all my recs for books and 2017 list. Feel free to swipe it!

2016 Books I read

Personal Development
Design Your Day by Claire Diaz-Ortiz***
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Essentialism by Greg McKeown***

Faith
Hope Heals by Katherine & Jay Wolf
Women of the Word by Jenn Wilikin***
Grace, Not Perfection by Emily Ley
Present over Perfect by Shauna Neyquist***
Hidden Christmas by Tim Keller
Bread & Wine by Shauna Neyquist (second time — needed a refresher!)

Career
Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
Six-Figure Freelancer by Kelly James-Enger
How to Blog for Profit by Ruth Sokup
On Writing by Stephen King
Bird by Bird Anne Lamont
Unmistakable Creative by Srinius Rao (not my fave — I’d pass!)
The Art of Work by Jeff Goins
The Lean Startup by Eric Reis

Fiction + Enjoyment
The Paris Wife by Paula McClain***
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

I love seeing what others are reading, and getting wisdom in recommendation from others, and my go-to’s tend to be Nancy Ray, The Church at Brookhills, my church, and my girlfriends.

I’ve got my 2017 book ideas to read on Trello. Want to copy the Trello board to your own boards, and snag a copy of the list?