2023 Books to Read

2026 Update: Well, it looks like I never published this page. I also never finished these 52 books although I did read 103 books in 2023. I thought I would post it today just a record of who I was in 2023.

2023 Reading Goal:100 books (including these 52 specific books)...

Biography/Autobiography/Memoir

• What is a Girl Worth? 
• A Promised Land by Barack Obama
• Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn
• The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun by Brother Yun - 3/5/23 *****
• Saving My Assassin
• The Great Good Thing by Andrew Klavan
• Defying Jihad: The Dramatic True Story of a Woman who Volunteered to Kill Infidels--and Then Faced Death for Becoming One (audio) by Esther Ahmad - 1/31/23 *****
• Nothing to Envy
• Walking Through Fire

Nonfiction

• 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam - 1/20/23 ***
• Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White
• Salt Sugar Fat
• The Fun Habit
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts
• The Only Plane in the Sky - WOW!! One of the best I've ever read!

Marriage

• His Needs, Her Needs
• You and Me Forever by Francis and Lisa Chan

Parenting/Family/Education

• 5 Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
• If Jesus Were a Parent
• You're Not Listening
• Giving Your Words by Sally Clarkson
• Say Goodbye to Whining
• The Whole-Brain Child 
• Simplicity Parenting
• Habits of the Household
• French Kids Eat Everything
• The Secrets of Happy Families
• Sunrises and Songs

Middle Grade

• The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Katrina Yan Glaser - 2/22/23 ****
• Anne of Avonlea
• Ember Rising (Green Ember #3) by S.D. Smith
• The Blackbird Girls
• Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein - 3/12/23 ***
• Sweep
• Out of my Heart by Sharon Draper - 1/19/23 ****
• The Poet X
• Echo

Adult Fiction

• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
• The Princess Bride (audio) by William Goldman - 3/16/23 *****

Christian Living

• Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright
• Help is Here by Max Lucado
• Abuelita Faith
• Hearing God by Dallas Willard
• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson
• With by Skye Jethani
• None Like Him by Jen Wilkin
• When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons
• Humility by Andrew Murray
• Invitation to Abundance
• The God of the Garden by Andrew Peterson
• The Praying Life
• Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas

2024 - NYC road trip

      After our big cruise and road trip in January, we ended up doing another road trip in August. This one was somewhat business-related (and thus, partially paid for!). After Lucas' Impact of Iwata book, the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo invited him to come be a panelist at their August expo.  They offered to pay his airfare and hotel.  When I heard of this opportunity, I had Lucas ask if they could instead pay his mileage and we come as a family. They agreed!

       We had a great trip! We stopped in Baltimore on the way up, then spent two nights on the Jersey side of NYC, two nights on Long Island, and then one night in the Hershey, PA area. We packed a lot into 7 days!  And the boys got to check off four new states!

August 6 - stop at Coopers Rock, WV on the way to Baltimore, MD (new state for the boys!)

August 7 - stop in New Castle, DE (another new state) on the way to Wayne, NJ (another new state!)

August 8 - day in NYC

August 9 - drive to Long Island and spend a beach day at Robert Moses State Park

August 10 - Long Island Retro Gaming Expo (and Long Island Children's Museum)

August 11 - Lucas' panel at the expo, then head to Hershey, PA

August 12 - drive the rest of the way home

Other Vacation Recaps

You've Chosen Your Psalm. Now What?

I am THRILLED that 30+ couples/families from my Sunday School class have committed to memorizing a psalm together this summer! Wow! What a worthwhile investment -- in your family, in the Word, and in the missionaries that this challenge benefits. But...

First...

Decide on a translation. If you're using a song, then use that translation (all Corner Room songs are in ESV).  Or maybe you want to do the translation of your most-used Bible.  Or you can read a couple different translations on Bible Gateway and see which one you like best. Make sure everyone in your family is using the same translation so that you can practice together.

After that, here are some other ideas to help you successfully memorize your psalm with your family (but no, you don't have to do them all!):

• Listen in entirety. If you have a song, you can listen to that. You could also listen to the audio version on the Bible app (most translations have an audio option). Or you could even record yourself on a voice memo app (just make sure you don't make any mistakes!).  If you listen to the whole thing every day this summer, it will become very familiar to you.
• Break it up. Figure out how many verses you'll need to tackle every week in order to finish by Labor Day. Even if you're listening in entirety every day, have a smaller goal every week.
• Keep it cumulative. When you move onto the next week's verse, don't forget to review the previous weeks.  One way I do this with my boys is I'll have them call their grandmas at the end of the week to recite the whole thing so far. This is a measure of accountability and also a great way to connect with their grandmas. Maybe even challenge extended family and friends to memorize with you all!
• Make it visual. Print it out and post it somewhere prominent in your home. Have a copy for the car or in your purse. Write out each verse on a different index card. Illustrate it.
• Sing (or rap) it! Try to find a song in your translation by searching in YouTube, for example, "Psalm 23 ESV song". If there's an existing one you like that fits your translation, use it! Otherwise, you can use a familiar tune or make up a simple melody.  Or even putting the words to a rhythm like a simple rap can be very helpful for memory (just make sure to do a simple voice memo or video recording so you don't forget your made-up song or rap).
• Habit stack it. You don't necessarily need a separate Scripture memory time, but you can stack it onto something you're already doing. Maybe every time you start your dinner, you can listen to your psalm or recite that week's verse. Or maybe every time you get in the car together. Or when you're tucking in your kids at bedtime. Or read over it while you're brushing your teeth.
• Add motions or movement. These don't have to be official sign language motions, but moving your hands and/or your body can help engage your mind and create muscle memory.
• Talk about it! I'm not always great about this, but discuss with your kids/as a couple what the words mean. Talk about the emotions of the psalm. Talk about how psalms can often be turned into prayers. Talk about how God is speaking to you as you meditate on this psalm.
• Plan a reward! Some people think we shouldn't reward kids and should instead focus on "intrinsic motivation," but I figure if I can get the Word IN them, then it's up to the Holy Spirit to do what He wants from there. Our family often goes out for ice cream once we finish a memory project and each of our boys can individually recite it. Some may be motivated by video game time or money or a special family outing.  Rewards aren't just for kids, though!  If it's you and your spouse, maybe you could eat at a special restaurant or go on a unique date night out. Brainstorm together so you have something to work towards!

Psalm Song Options

If you know anything about my Scripture memory journey, you know that I prefer and encourage memorizing with song.  There are many great Scripture song artists on YouTube who focus on psalms (like Sons of Korah and The Psalms Project), but I want to highlight my favorite -- The Corner Room (all ESV).  If you pick one of these psalms, you can listen to the song as a family, and then committing it to memory will be that much easier.

• Psalm 1 (6 verses) - Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked... 
• Psalm 4 (8 verses) - In peace I will both lie down and sleep...
• Psalm 8 (9 verses) - O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name...
• Psalm 11 (7 verses) - For the Lord is righteous...
• Psalm 12 (8 verses) - Save, O Lord...
• Psalm 13 (6 verses) - How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
• Psalm 15 (5 verses)  - He who walks blamelessly...
• Psalm 16 (11 verses) - You make known to me the path of life...
• Psalm 19 (14 verses) - The heavens declare the glory of God...
• Psalm 23 (6 verses) - The Lord is my shepherd...
• Psalm 30 (12 verses) - You have turned for me my mourning into dancing...
• Psalm 42 (11 verses) - As a deer pants for flowing streams...
• Psalm 46 (11 verses) - God is our refuge and strength...
• Psalm 63 (11 verses) - O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you... 
• Psalm 67 (7 verses) - May God be gracious to us and bless us... 
• Psalm 100 (5 verse) - Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 
• Psalm 121 (8 verses) - I lift up my eyes to the hills
• Psalm 127 (5 verses) - Unless the Lord builds the house...
• Psalm 139 (24 verses - 4 separate songs) - I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...
• Psalm 150 (6 verses) - Let everything that has breath praise the Lord...

As I've mentioned before, you can either start with a PSALM you like and then find a song to go with it, or you can start with a SONG you like and memorize that one!

If you're doing a translation other than ESV, here's a database of psalm songs that a member of the Bible Memory Goal community compiled.  Wow! There's a ton here from multiple translations. Check it out!   Psalm Song database

Here's one of my favorites -- Psalm 100 from The Corner Room:

Recording Audio and then Tracking Mistakes

[Note: This is from a post I made two years ago in the Bible Memory Goal community forum in the "Ideas Worth Sharing" section. It is very detailed and primarily for those memorizing long passages. When I searched my blog, I realized I hadn't transferred it over here yet. So, here it is!]

As I started memorizing John this year at a fairly quick pace, I was running into a problem:
-It was hard to find someone willing to listen to me recite large portions at regular intervals
-If I just recite by myself, I don’t know what kind of mistakes I make
-If I write out the passages, I can see the mistakes clearly, but that process was too time-consuming
-If I don’t practice reciting (and just master and review them on Bible Memory), then I find I can’t recite
-When I looked over what to review, I was overwhelmed by everything instead of having “trouble spots” to focus on.

So, I’ve come up with a review system that has been working well for me that I wanted to share. I have lots of verses that I review regularly in the Bible memory app, but this is just for what I’m currently working on.

Every day, I recite at least one chapter of John on a voice recording app. I started with chapter 1 on Sunday, chapter 2 on Tuesday, etc, but now I’m up to chapters 1 and 2 on Sunday, 3 and 4 on Monday, etc. This way, I’m reviewing what I know from the book every week, but it’s not too overwhelming.

Then, I track my mistakes, similarly to how the Bible Memory app will leave a light red and then dark red space if you keep making the same mistakes.

Here’s the system that has worked for me, but you can totally make it your own!
-I start with a printed version of my verses (I used to hand-write them, but that was too time-consuming this year). I first use this to write out the chords as I make or learn the songs, but then I also use it to track my mistakes.
-I highlight a word that I miss the first time. If I miss it again later, I make a pen line above it. Once I make three lines, I make a slash and then start tallies on top of the lines.
-If I pause, I make a highlighter square. If it’s a long pause, I make it longer, like a rectangle. If I pause again on that another time, I’ll put a line over it like in mistakes.
-If I miss a whole line or section, I’ll highlight the left side (and add a line if I do it again).
-If I struggle back and forth on a word, or if I make a mistake but self-correct, I’ll underline it with a highlighter.
-If I added a word, I’ll add a little highlighted mark in between the words. If I missed just the ending (like, forgot the “s” at the end of a word), I’ll just highlight that part.

Here are some annotated pictures to help explain what I’m talking about:

This method is a bit time-consuming, but it has paid off. When I learned Romans last year chapter by chapter, it took a whole month to relearn everything and put it all together. Now, I’ve memorized about the same number of verses and could recite them all at any time without too much trouble.

I do still make the same errors (usually confusing answered them/said to them), but now I can identify at a glance what I need to work on.

I usually do this in the morning before my boys wake up. I talk quietly right into the mic and then use my earbuds to listen and track mistakes.

I know this won’t work for everyone, but it might help someone, and it might give you a springboard to come up with something else! Let me know if you have any questions!