2020 Reading Challenge! My Current Favorite Books

One of the most relaxing things is to curl up with a cup of coffee and a great book. At the start of the year, I decided to challenge myself to read a book a month. I know for a lot of avid readers, this may not sound like much… But for me, it’s a lot of reading! I don’t have much extra time to read. I work full time, am working on my Master’s full time, have been working on the blog a lot, and try to still maintain a social life. With all this going on, I don’t have that many extra hours in the week. Unless I prioritize and decide to make reading my go-to relax activity, instead of TV or scrolling through social media.

Today on the blog, I’m sharing 7 of the best books to read in your 20’s and 30’s, along with a 2020 reading challenge! I’ve challenged myself to read 12 books this year (one book every month). I’d love for all you readers out there (or women who want to start reading more) to join me.

Update: We are starting a Book of the Month Series at the end of October 2020. So stay tuned for that and we’d love for you all to read along with us!

My Current Favorite Books

While I love the feeling of holding a hardcover book, I also couldn’t live without my Kindle! The convenience of the Kindle is undeniable. It’s small and easy to fit in my purse anywhere I go. I can pull it out when I’m in line somewhere, waiting to go into a doctor’s appointment, on public transportation. It’s perfect and I bring it with me everywhere. It also has a backlight, so it’s great for reading in the dark when your s/o is asleep next to you. It also gives me an easy way to fit in more reading, instead of scrolling social media when I have downtime. Which brings me to my next point about one of the books I’m so excited to start reading!

Digital Minimalism

The book in my queue is Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. I was inspired by this post by The Real Life RD, one of my favorite bloggers! The idea of the book is to be able to refocus your attention on more important things like relationships, your work, and more relaxing hobbies. It’s supposed to completely rewire your outlook on technology and allow you to be more in control over your digital life. I always love personal development books and am so happy when I find one that’s unlike anything I’ve read before. This one is really exciting for me, and I’ll give you guys an update once I’ve read it!

Now, back to my 2020 reading challenge. I’ve read 7 books so far and just need to read 5 more to complete the challenge. You can start with a reading challenge anytime and it doesn’t have to be just at the beginning of the year. If anyone wants to join me, comment below or email us with your goal and what you’re reading!

2020 Books So Far:

1. Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
2. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
3. Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham
4. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
5. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
6. Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss, M.D.
7. I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson
8. 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

1 – Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. This was one of the most inspiring books I’ve read in a long time! I would recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their work ethic, self-discipline, and confidence. I loved reading this book so much. David is a badass and reading about his work ethic completely changed my mindset around hard work. His reasoning for exercise is not about his physical appearance, fitness, or even health really; it is all about becoming more mentally strong. I love that because it is such a different view from most of the modern world. The book is interesting all the way through and hard to put down. 10/10 would recommend.

2 – Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. If you saw Big Little Lies on Hulu that this was based on, you’ll love the book even more! It has a bit of a different twist than the show, which makes it interesting to read even if you’ve already watched it. This is truly a “can’t put down” suspenseful fiction. I would recommend it to you if you have or haven’t seen the show, and like psychological/suspenseful books. I wanted to get inside the mind of so many of the characters and understand why they did the things that they did.

6 – Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss, M.D. This book was absolutely wild to me. It changed my view on past lives and how people experience trauma. Since I’m majoring in Mental Health Counseling, I love anything psychological/therapy based. This book was completely different from anything I’ve ever read. Dr. Weiss, who is a psychiatrist, documents his experience with a patient who was able to tap into her past lives. All of her past life experiences related somehow to her current anxiety attacks, nightmares, and other issues. It makes you think that some of the problems you experience now may not even be based on anything you’ve experienced in your childhood/life. Whether you believe in past lives or not, this is an incredibly interesting and eye opening read.

7 – I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson. I’m reading this for a second time, that’s how good it is… If you love Broad City as much as I do, you will absolutely love Abbi’s book! She gives an inside look into her personal struggles with dating, heartbreak, insomnia, and sexuality. She also talks about the making of Broad City, what led to it, and how much it impacted her life. I relate to a lot of what she’s been through and her personality/inner thoughts so much. This was a gem of a read and I would recommend it to anyone who’s experienced any sort of heartbreak or emotional relationships. Even if you haven’t seen Broad City (first of all, go watch it!), you will love this touching book.

A few of my favorite quotes from this book:

“The show has ignited a wild jolt of expression in me, and I will chase that energy the rest of my life.” – It’s incredible when you find something in your life (a creative project, writing, music, art) that gives you this feeling. I’ve been feeling that was about the blog since I started and that’s how I know I’m on the right path!

I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson

A quote on relationships: “All the ways in which I wanted her to be proud to be with me, which turned into me being proud of myself.” I love this view on relationships and how you see yourself. Everything you do to make someone else proud of you is really just to make yourself proud too.

I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson

While I truly enjoyed all of the books I’ve read so far this year, I only went into more details about my absolute favorites. If I truly love a book, it changed me in some way. These books changed my mindset and shed a light on certain topics that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise experienced. I also felt like I could relate to and empathize with the authors in every one of them, in different ways.

Let me know if you guys end up reading any of these books (or already have) in the comments or email. I would love to hear what you guys think! 🙂

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