2024 Reading & Writing Recap

Once again, it's that wonderful time of the year when people share their yearly reading lists. So, before we get too far in 2025, I want to take a moment to share some reading highlights from 2024. As usual, I don't pick the "best" or "favorite" book each month, but I want to highlight a notable one (and sometimes it is my favorite book from that month). Looking at my reading recap of books read in 2023, I'm struck by how much less fiction I am highlighting this time around. I guess I tend to read more fiction in some years than others? 

Anyways, moving on. I read 92 books in 2024, and they were a fun mix of fiction and non-fiction, books geared towards children and books aimed at adults. From werewolves to economics to mathematics to Amelia Peabody's adventures in Egypt (such good comfort reads!), I dove into a variety of fascinating topics. It was a really fun reading year. Here's one book highlight from each month, followed by a short writing recap :) 

An Open Book: December 2024 Reads

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas! It's time share my reading stack that closed out the year 2024. I didn't get many books finished in December--I started one slow-going book and, a fourth of the way through it, finally put it down--but the ones that I did finish were fantastic! It was a good reading month. I'm linking up with An Open Book; let's dive in! 

Sometime...next year

I was driving my kids across town to meet friends a few days ago, and we became stuck in a colossal traffic jam. It was midmorning—definitely not “rush hour traffic”—and I didn’t see any signs of a car accident. Yet, we were inching along the highway at a snail’s pace. I started to see signs stating, “road work ahead,” but we were still a couple miles away from the work zone. What was wrong?

 Finally, I saw it: the highway was changing from two lanes to one lane. Far ahead of us, I could see the “State Law: Merge Now” sign with an arrow designating the merge point. And between that sign and our position in traffic was a long line of cars, all crammed into the right lane—while the left lane lay blissfully empty. Everyone was merging extremely early. Eventually, only one car was in front of ours. I watched, amused, as that car sat with its right turn signal on; waiting and waiting for an opening so it could join the slow procession of cars in the right lane. Even though an empty lane stretched in front of this car, it sat and prepared to merge exactly where it was.

 I used to do that exact thing.

If I knew that I eventually needed to change lanes because they were merging, I would do it right now—even if it meant sitting in a traffic jam while cars soared through the near-empty lane next to me. I wanted to make sure that I was taking care of things immediately and that I wouldn’t get stuck later on. In my mind, merging very early made sense—and I brought this approach into the rest of my life, too. 

An Open Book: November 2024 Reads

I hope you all are having a peaceful Advent so far! With another month here, it's time to link up with An Open Book to share about my reading stack in November. It was a fun mix of comforting fiction and some fascinating nonfiction. Let's dive in! 

Postpartum: An invitation to rest

Last February at the online Catholic Writer’s Conference, I gave a talk about the importance of rest. One of the elements of rest that I discussed was “unproductive leisure" that does not prioritize productivity but instead focuses on resting and letting ourselves be rejuvenated in God. Unproductive leisure invites us to fully live in the present moment, to simply be.

As I spend day after day curled up on the couch with my newborn baby, my thoughts drift back to this concept. In our current American culture, this unproductive leisure can be difficult to pursue. Whether explicitly or implicitly, we often receive pressure to be productive and “get stuff done.” Yet, we are not robots with the sole purpose of creating products or performing certain functions; we are human beings, made in God’s image and likeness. When we rest and engage in unproductive leisure, we can remember our intrinsic worth and dignity. We also can remember that God invites us to rest in him.

Not only does this unproductive leisure benefit us, but it’s a witness to others; an encouragement that they, too, can rest. As much as I believe in the importance of rest, it can be hard to prioritize it at times. I’m grateful that some women I know have outright encouraged me to rest and really take it easy after having a baby. This precious postpartum time is an invitation into rest, and with each child that I birth, I plunge deeper into unproductive leisure. 

An Open Book: October 2024 Reads

Another month has begun, so it's time to link up with An Open Book to chat about what's crossed my bookshelf! In October, I read a delightful mix of fiction and non-fiction as I walked through the final weeks of pregnancy, and I enjoyed a lot of what I read. Let's dive in! 

Tuesday Newsday is Overrated

My husband navigated our minivan down the long winding road that led away from the monastery. Our hearts and souls were filled with joyful peace from our time of prayer, and our shopping bag was filled with delicious treats that we purchased from the monks. 

Suddenly, as we drove into town, our gaze was hit by the chaos of culture: noisy cars, marijuana dispensaries, and billboards that cluttered the wide Oklahoma sky. 

"The monks aren't really missing much," I mused. 

Earlier that day, we had knelt in the dark immensity of the abbey's upper church. Amidst the flickers of candlelight, monks in flowing robes had filed into the church. I was filled with an overwhelming sense that I had stepped back in time. The monks soon filled the air with chanting, and as I joined my own silent prayers to the Latin chants of the monks, I thought about how small my problems really were. Yes, whatever problems and challenges I was undergoing were valid, but in the grand scheme of things, were they really that big of a deal? The cares and concerns of my daily life melted into the great stillness and peace of this monastery. 

That day at the monastery offered a chance for prayer and relaxation as a family as we hiked across the grounds, prayed in the church, and looked at the sheep and cows that grazed nearby. Yet, while our monastic outing was a good opportunity for prayer and contemplation, it also provided a good way to gain perspective. All of the stresses in my life and the culture seemed so small when I thought about them from the distance of the monastery. The choir stalls were filled with young monks, old monks, and young men who are discerning vocations to monastic life. These men spend their lives in contemplative prayer and work, offering life-giving hospitality to all who approach. Their lives are centered wholly and completely on God as they actively prepare for eternal life. 

An Open Book: September 2024 Reads

As I pray for world peace and for all those suffering due to natural disasters, I'm grateful that we've reached the lovely month of October. With the start of this month, it's time to link up with An Open Book to chat about the books that took me through the hot September days. Since I read a lot of nonfiction in August, I tried to focus on fiction in September (though I naturally got some nonfiction in because I couldn't resist haha!). It was a fun reading month, so let's dive in!

An Open Book: August 2024 Reads

Another month has arrived, so it's time to link up with An Open Book to share what I've been reading. August was a fantastic month of festivity (we attended a Catholic family conference, celebrated a bunch of birthdays and our wedding anniversary, and baked delicious treats) and it was a fascinating reading month. For some reason, other than one children's graphic novel, I only read nonfiction books! Some were excellent, some were tedious, but they all were really, really interesting. 

(A segment of the nonfiction books comprises the beginning of my crash-coarse in mathematics. I'll probably make a blog post about this at some point, but in short: I want to help cultivate a beautiful, holistic view of mathematics in our family's homeschooling life, so I'm beginning my own preparation by reading and thinking and diving into the world of math.)

Let's dive in! 

A Education in Life

"You need to bring the kids over. Come anytime!" From beneath her white veil, the religious sister smiled at me and continued to insist. "Bring the kids over!" 

I knew that I needed to finally do it. 

When I had first learned that this woman had opened a home for elderly people and those near death, I was excited. The life-affirming mission of this home was beautiful. Yet, I hadn't taken my kids; it was hard to determine the "perfect" time to make a trip. However, that day after Mass, the answer popped in my head. 

"What if we just came and brought our schoolbooks?" I said slowly, turning the idea over in my mind. Instead of meandering home or heading to a park after daily Mass, once a week we could drive over to this home for the dying instead.

It would be, I realized, an answer to a prayer that dwelled in the depths of my heart.  

When we visited relatives last Christmas, I thought about how good it is to be with others, even if we aren't constantly doing an activity together. There's something reassuring and comforting about curling up on a couch with a book and seeing a couple other people playing a game nearby or watching a show together. Just being around other people, in community, is a beautiful and consoling thing. 

An Open Book: July 2024 Reads

Welcome to August! Now that the new month has begun, it's time to link up with An Open Book to talk about what I read in July.  Since it was so hot outside, my kids and I spent A LOT of time inside reading ;) I was excited that I finally finished two books that I've slowly been reading for a couple of months! I also read a lot of fantastic books, from children's literature to classics to historical fiction. Let's dive in!