Reading Books I Already Own

What a novel idea 💡📚

Raise your hand if you’ve heard yourself utter the words, “I should probably read the books I own instead of buying/borrowing new ones.”

Then you continue to buy/borrow books.

My friend Laura Bass and I have discussed this dilemma many times over the years, so we decided to make reading books from our bookshelves a goal for 2025.

I pulled 12 books off my shelves and aim to read ten of them. Check out Laura’s list of books here.

From top to bottom:

Heating & Cooling by Beth Ann Fennelly

I devoured Fennelly’s hilarious food essay “Epistle to My Lord Concerning My Sons’ Future Spouses” during a lyrical essay workshop last fall and immediately added Heating & Cooling to my Christmas list. I have no doubt this slim book of micro-memoirs will inspire me to write.

The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

J.R. Moehringer is the famous ghostwriter behind Prince Harry’s Spare and Andre Agassi’s Open. I *loved* Open and look forward to reading Moehringer’s memoir (and watching the movie adaptation).

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

If you couldn’t tell, I’m drawn to memoirs. Two other things about me: I love to walk, and I’ve been enamored with Cornwall, England, ever since I started Rosamunde Pilcher as a teenager. I bet I’ll be planning a trip to the UK before I finish reading this book!

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

I picked this up during my book club’s holiday book swap just a couple of weeks after spotting it at the library and adding it to my TBR. It sounds like it will be a good palate cleanser between heavy reads.

On Writing by Stephen King

I have a handful of writing books I haven’t yet read, and it was hard to decide which one to pick for this goal! I went with the one that intimidates me the most.

The Plan by Kendra Adachi

The subtitle of this book is Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius. SIGN. ME. UP. If you aren’t familiar with Kendra and her Lazy Genius mentality, I highly recommend checking her out. One of my favorite weekly rhythms is listening to her Monday podcast while getting ready for the day.

Gentle and Lowly by Dane C. Ortlund

Of all the books on my list, this is the one I’m most excited to read, and I imagine this will be the book that changes me the most.

How beautiful is this quote:

“Only as we drink down the kindness of the heart of Christ will we leave in our wake, everywhere we go, the aroma of heaven, and die one day having startled the world with glimpses of a divine kindness too great to be boxed in by what we deserve.”

*Places hand over heart and sighs deeply.*

Finding Meaning by David Kessler

I started this book about grief right before we moved to a new house, and I must have abandoned it for something lighter due to the stress of moving. I remember loving what I read, though, and I look forward to returning to Kessler’s compassionate and thought-provoking words.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

I grabbed this from a little free library. Sue Monk Kidd wrote The Secret Life of Bees, which is on my Top Ten Books list. (Okay this list doesn’t actually exist, but if it did, The Secret Life of Bees would be on it.) The Book of Longings is described as a feminist reimagining of the New Testament. I have no idea what to expect. Will I love it or hate it? Either way, I’m intrigued.

An Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin

My mom raved about this book and gifted it to me for Christmas. Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, and her late husband was a speechwriter for the White House. This book discusses the pivotal moments and prominent figures of the 1960s. I’m excited to have a mini book club with my mom after I read it!

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

I haven’t read a single book by O’Farrell, which makes me feel a bit like a bad reader. (Confession: I also haven’t read any of Stephen King’s books!) I ordered The Marriage Portrait while on a phone call with a friend who has impeccable reading taste.

Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer

I love a book that hits on a year-long quest (The Happiness Project, The Year of Less, The Year of Living Biblically, to name a few), and this one is all about the author’s attempt to improve his memory. I have a feeling this might be a book I can’t shut up about once I start reading it!

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Don’t forget to check out the list of books Laura Bass pulled from her shelf! Did you notice that one book made it onto both of our lists?

What book(s) are calling to you from your shelves? Do you have any reading resolutions for 2025? I’d love to know! (Valerie read a book set in each state in 2020. So fun!)