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Cicero said, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” I’m inclined to agree. And what would a writer’s blog be if we didn’t talk about books! 😉

A room without books is like a body without a soul. – Cicero

I love books. I love the way they look. I love the way they smell. And mostly I love reading! I’ve never considered myself to be a voracious reader. But once I discovered reading could be fun when I was in fifth grade, I’m always looking for a new book to read. If only I had time to read all the books that I keep downloading on my kindle…

One of my goals this year is to read more. So I thought here would be a great place to share with you what I’m reading. My goal for this little section of the blog that for now I’m calling “An Author’s Take” is to post once a month, and I’ll post at least two different types of posts. One will be a run down of the books I’m working on or hoping to read over the next few months and a simple recap of what I’ve read and what I thought of it. Second will be a full book review of a book I have read. This will be primarily focused on fiction, especially ones in my genre of Christian romantic suspense, but there’s a good chance I’ll throw in some homeschooling books or other books too.

I’m a fairly slow reader, so it takes me time to get through a book, especially non-fiction. However, when I get into a story, then I don’t get anything done because I get sucked in. Thus, I don’t read is much fiction as I would like, because if I did no housework would get done. So you can expect a shorter list of books from me. I’m not one to intimidate with a large stack of books, or if I do show a large stack, it’ll take me a while to get through it.

So without further ado, here’s what I’m reading or plan to read over the next few months:

Nonfiction:

Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy

Reading People is about understanding personality traits in yourself and in those you love. The author explains several different types of personality typing, and her own journey of self-discovery that has dramatically improved her relationships. I got this book for Christmas, and I’m about a third of the way through. It is fabulous. Anne’s writing style is engaging and easy to read. Plus I’ve always been fascinated by personality differences, so it’s right up my ally.

Girls with Swords: How to Carry Your Cross Like a Hero by Lisa Bevere

Writing Deep Scenes: Plotting Your Story Through Action, Emotion, & Theme by Martha Alderson and Jordan Rosenfeld

Self-Editing for Fiction: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King

It will probably take me a good chunk of the year to read all these, but I’m determined.

Fiction:

I have so many books to choose from, it’s a little ridiculous. (Seriously, was trying to manage the content on my kindle and I have like over 300 books on there… not all fiction, but I’d say a majority are.) But here’s the top one on my “stack”:

Cold Shot by Dani Pettrey

This is the first book in her Chesapeake Valor series. I’ve really been looking forward to reading this author, so I can’t wait to dive into this one! And there’s a good chance once I start this series I won’t stop, since my mom has the next couple of books.

What are you reading right now? I’d love to know what books your enjoying, because, like I said, I love adding books to my stack.