Sometime in October, I started working on my reading list for the year 2018. I completed the compilation of my list last week and thought I should share. At the moment, although I read between two and three books per month, I feel like I am way behind on my reading schedule mainly due to not being able to read as many books during university. I also feel like I am sooooo behind on African literature (I have plans for this). I hope to maintain reading two to three books monthly and write a review of at least one of the books on the review section monthly. Hopefully, in about five years, I’ll be satisfied with my standing reading-wise.
I’ll be listing two out of my three chosen books for each month in 2018. (I tend to allow some flexibility for my third choice just in case a couple of new books I really like are released or I change my mind)
Here we go!
January
The Alchemist – Paul Coelho. I believe I have to read the right book at the right time and that’s one of the reasons why I haven’t read Paul Coelho’s The Alchemist yet. It just hasn’t happened! On a train journey from Sheffield to London in 2015, I sat across a young lady with whom I had some interesting conversations with, in the course of which she firmly told me I had to read The Alchemist. I think January 2018 is when this would happen.
Instinct – T.D. Jakes. If you know me well, you’ll know I love Bishop T.D. Jakes. The first book of his that I read was The Lady, Her Lover and her Lord and the articles in his Woman Thou Art Loosed Bible Edition helped me heal quickly during a broken period in my life. I am lagging behind on some of his latest books and I’m hoping to catch up.
February
The Hollywood Commandments – Devon Franklin. Having read Produced by Faith and then The Wait, I can’t wait to dig into the insights and wisdom Devon has for me in this book.
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis. I’m excited to dissect this C.S. Lewis classic.
March
The Smart Money Woman – Arese Ugwu. Again, the only reason I haven’t read The Smart Money Woman is timing. Having read positive reviews and received recommendations from friends, this is one book I am eager to read.
The Sleep Revolution – Ariana Huffington. I started this but for some reason never even got halfway. The goal is to read it through. Love, love Ariana Huffington.
April
Destiny – T.D. Jakes. Another T.D Jakes’ book to catch up on.
Thrive – Arianna Huffington. Another Ariana Huffington book I started but didn’t read through. I can’t wait to finish this.
May
Waiting and Dating – Myles Munroe. We all know Myles Munroe was a don when he was with us here on earth and I am really interested in his insights on dating, waiting and relationships as I am finally gradually opening up myself to this life stage. I definitely want to do things right and the only way I feel I can do it the right way is to allow God lead and guide me. This was what I did as a teenager, I sought out how God wanted me to live and aligned myself based on what I found, these actions albeit coated with naivety and a bit of teenage drama protected me, guided me and helped me stay on the right path. At some point, I felt like I had tried my best to obey God and put him first in every single decision but had still landed in some unwarranted trouble. The die was cast but God came down himself, stretched his right hand and changed situations to favour me. I firmly believe the best way to live life to the fullest is to allow oneself to be led and guided by the Almighty.
I’m ready to be patient and learn as much as possible about how God wants us to handle this critical life area. I hope to glean from the wisdom of others and hopefully avoid unnecessary hurts, pain and detours.
Good Morning Holy Spirit – Benny Hinn. I like to read one book that helps me understand the person of the HolySpirit a lot better every year with the overall aim of having a better relationship with the HolySpirit.
June
Understanding the Purpose and Power of Woman – Myles Munroe. Another Myles Munroe book I look forward to reading. From what I gather, it is about the identity of ‘Woman’ from God’s perspective.
Discerning the Voice of God – Priscilla Shirer. From time to time, I hear God speak to me and I see confirmations of the things He has said. I would love to understand God’s voice a lot better and hear him a lot clearer. That’s why I plan on reading this Priscilla Shirer’s book. I love, love Priscilla Shirer, I’ve been obsessed with her and her messages since 2011, that was my first year of university. I stumbled across her during a period when I was searching for someone new to listen to on YouTube.
July
Unglued – Lysa TerKeurst. I like to read a book that helps with my emotional growth at least once a year. Lysa TerKeurst’s Uninvited did it for me in 2017. I plan to read her other book – Unglued in 2018.
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou. I came across Maya Angelou a couple of weeks before her death in 2014 and in those few weeks, short clips of her on Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Youtube videos had taught me so much. I finally have time to read some of her books.
August
Maya Angelou: The Complete Poetry.
Letter to My Daughter – Maya Angelou.
September
Mom & Me & Mom – Maya Angelou.
And the Bride Wore White – Dannah Gresh. I read Dannah Gresh’s And the Bride Wore White when I was 16 and boy am I glad I did. Personally, I think it is a must-read for every Christian teenage girl. I’ll be re-reading it again just to get a fresh perspective on things.
October
Walt Disney: The Biography – Neal Gabler. I am a Disney girl. I grew up watching Disney movies and I am still obsessed with them. I want to know more about the guy who laid the foundation for the Disney Empire.
Shoe Dog – Phil Night. I knew little about Shoe Dog until my brother asked me to get the book for him. Now I want it myself.
November
When God Writes Your Love Story – Eric & Leslie Ludy. I am reading this for the same reasons for which I would be reading Waiting and Dating.
Option B – Sheryl Sandberg. I got given Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In at a Women in Engineering conference at the company where I did my Industrial Placement Year. After reading the book, I bought extra copies as graduation gifts for some friends I had at the time. It was so good a book that was nicely laid out and it hit the right points on the head. Sheryl Sandberg has since suffered the loss of her husband and I can’t wait to read up on her thoughts on facing adversity, building resilience and finding joy. She inspires me!
December
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee. While watching Youtube videos of The Real Daytime Show, I came across one video in which the ladies discussed whether or not To Kill a Mockingbird should be removed from the school curriculum as some people thought it should be removed. I had heard a lot about this book but I had never read it. I was interested. You see, I spent the majority of my childhood and early teenage years in Nigeria and the idea of being defined or grouped based on skin colour was very foreign to me. It wasn’t until I relocated to the United Kingdom that I recognised that being black was an identity on its own.
It was quite interesting because the idea that was being propagated by society of who black people were or were supposed to be was very different from my own constructs built from living in a West African country – You were human and many other things first… before you thought of yourself as black. You could just be. No need to figure out an identity or belong to one group because of your skin colour. There were no internal or external melanin wars and it was beautiful.
There is so much I want to learn and understand about the realities of being black in a Western society in comparison to being black in an African society and how we (black people globally) have come to be at where we are at now. This would involve me delving into the study of topics like slavery, racism, colonialism etc. and I am starting with To Kill a Mockingbird.
Henceforth, there would be at least one of these books on my yearly reading list. This is going to be a very long study but I am ready to take my time and absorb as much knowledge as possible.
Look and Live – Matt Papa. I am a worshipper. I love worship. I love worshipping God. I have always been in some form of Choir or singing group at Church from primary school through to university and just when I thought I was done with the singing with groups and on stages; I got a word at David’s Tent this summer that confirmed to me that I was meant to continue leading worship in whatever capacity that I could. That led to me joining the worship team once again. There is always something to learn about living a life of worship. Worship is much more than singing in church or leading worship sessions. Worship is a lifestyle! I tend to ensure that I read a book on worship every now and again. I hope reading Matt Papa’s Look and Live would help me burn more for Jesus and allow him to shine his light through me that the world would see his glory on me and be pointed towards him.
