Give Me ALL the Books

I was looking at my Goodreads account the other day and realized I only read a few books in 2019.  The tragedy!  I know not everyone loves to read (believe me--I live with 3 of them and constantly wonder where I went wrong in parenting to not pass this love on to at least ONE of my girls), but for me, reading is life-giving. 

I realized my love of books in 3rd grade.  The school library was closed and I was in tears.  Mrs. Moore, my teacher, let me borrow a few of her personal books.  The summer after, my parents "paid" me in books to watch my sister while they were at work AND I gave me a subscription to Weekly Reader.  Did anyone else subscribe to this?  When those 2 books came every month, I would read them over and over!!!  There was no Amazon prime back in the day

In 4th grade, Mrs. Puckett took it a step further and gave me free reign of the treasures in the little bookcase behind her desk.  With the exception of "The Borrowers" (fitting, huh?) I don't remember the titles of any I read--just that I think I read them all.  If Mrs. Puckett thought they were good enough to spend her money on, then I just KNEW they were worth the time to read!

A few years ago, Brian and I were having a conversation (okay--it was an argument, but does that really matter?).  In the course of it, I was defending my love of reading as not just being a "lazy sport" like I thought my family believed it to be.  As a kid, we didn't have much money or take many vacations.  Books were my trips.  I was (and still am) an awkward kid who meant well, but didn't make friends easily.  Books provided characters who didn't make fun of me when I cried for them or got angry on their behalf. 

This year, I want to read more--pretty fitting that it's 2020.  And maybe even branch out in what I read (my go-to is fiction that ties everything up in a pretty bow a the end).  My goal is to read 12 non-fiction and 24 fiction by the end of December.  That's only 3 a month--which should be easy if I keep the games off my phone and limit my facebook scrolling. 

So, what's on YOUR must-read/want-to-read/need-to-read/required-to-read list this year?  How do you keep track of what you've read?  Where do you get your book recommendations? 

And most importantly, what have you read that I need to read this year?