Reading List.

I feel like I am at an awkward stage of life. I am struggling to start a career, I am working contract to contract, moving around like crazy, little disposible income, out of my parents house and married, not yet ready to have kids and feel the mix of emotions that are associated with all of those things. So that, mixed with my obsession love for pinterest I found a wonderful reading list that I think just might be what I am looking for in my as the blogger puts it 'Quarter of a Life Crisis'. The original reading list can be found here.

I made some modifications and in the end I am more so calling this The Big Goal of 2013 and I am actually super excited to get to reading. The top of the list is to finish the Karen Kingsbury books that I have been working on since I think the summer. I am thinking a list of 30 (this later changed to being a big huge list that I think I will never accomplish but currently I am determined) is being ambitious (however recently spoke with a friend who said she hoped to do more then a hundred books this year, and it made my 30 seem much more achievable , but I love a challenge and I think there will be some weeks when I manage to get a lot of reading time in. So we will see how this adventure goes.

So in addition to the books to read to help me with my 'quarter century life crisis', I am also adding on other highly recommended books and just books that I would like to read/reread. The more I started working on my reading list, the less it started to be about the quarter life crisis and the more it started to be about just random books I wanted to read and attempt to get done before the end of the year.

1. Take One by Karen Kingsbury (If you have not read my post on my current obsession of the Baxter series by Karen Kingsbury, you can check it out here. I love the books. I currently just want to get through the Above the line series (Take One-Four books) and make my way to the Bailey Flannigan (the 'L' books below) as that is a character I love, however I am going to read through because I do not want to miss a thing.)
2. Take Two by Karen Kingsbury
3. Take Three by Karen Kingsbury
4. Take Four by Karen Kingsbury
5. Leaving by Karen Kingsbury 
6. Learning by Karen Kingsbury
7. Longing by Karen Kingsbury
8. Loving by Karen Kingsbury
9. Coming Home by Karen Kingsbury
10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by JK Rowlings (These I chose simply because I started to listen to them in January and plan to finish them before the year is out. I went on a kick and watched all the movies and felt a need to compair and contrast the movies and books. I am currently loving rereading them because there is so much detail that is left out of the movies, it is wonderful.)
11. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowlings
12. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowlings
13. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ( I like the movie and feel like it is just one of those books that is a must read in ones life.)
14. Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close (I am already married so this may not pertain to me so much, but I think the idea of the book sounds wonderful, so I am going to give it a try.)
15. Bitches on a Budget : Sage Advice for surviving tough times in style by Rosalyn Hoffman
16. What I Know Now: Letters to my Younger Self by Ellyn Spragins ( I like the idea behind this book. It is people (famous woman to be exact) writing letters to a younger self. It reminds me of the Brad Paisley song 'If I could write a letter to me' and I feel like I will have it stuck in my head the entire time I read as well as today as I write this.)
17. What Did I Do Wrong? : What to Do when you don't know why the friendship is over by Liz Pryor (Sometimes I feel like this is the story of my life)
18. 20 Something, 20 Everything: A Quarter-Life woman's guide to balance and direction by Christine Hassler (Not going to lie, I am super excited for this actually. Hopefully it will help me figure life out a little better.)
19. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (Again, how have I not read this, I may have been required to in highschool English and just never did, but I feel like I am missing something never reading any of the classics.)
20. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (I saw the sequel to this at the library the other day and was instantly drawn to it (shinny things have a tendency to do that), so after reading the back, I figured I should start with this. I loved the movie and after reading a random page or two I think it looks like a great easy read.)
21. The Portable Dorthy Parker by Dorthy Parker (Hello Gilmore Girls obsession. I head it mentioned by Rory on a number of occasions and after researching the book a little found out it is actually the most quoted book of the 21st century. Who Knew? So I figured to get in the know I should give it a try.)
22. The Handmaid's Tale by Margret Attwood (Again this brings us back to my love of TV. There is a Gossip Girl episode names this, so I figured why not.)
23. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?: And other concerns by Mindy Kaling
24. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (with the new movie coming out in November, I have decided that giving the three books another read through was a must do before hitting the theater, yes most likely opening weekend.) 
25. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
26. Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins (this book to be honest may be left off. I read it once and it was a bit of a struggle it was missing the fast pacing of the previous books and I felt like the end just needed to come. I most likely would not have finished it the first go around if it was not for my desire to see who Katniss ended up with. (I am a sucker for romance.))
27. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella (It seems funny and fitting for some people I know. I think it will be a good light read.)
28. It's a wonderful Lie: 26 Truths About Life in your Twenties by Emily Franklin (This book is short essays aimed towards woman in their 20s to encourage and inspire. I like that idea. I have never read a collection of essays before so I am intrigued to give it a try.)
29. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I think I read it in high school  key word is 'think' because all I really remember was a guy with lots of money and a love triangle maybe and a boat on the water. So with the movie coming out I figured I should try my hand at the book first and see if I feel the movie is worth it or at least I would have some understanding of what is happening in the movie.) 
30. MWF seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche (This book was actually on a table display outside of my office for over a month and I requently would pick it up and reread what it was about or a page here or there. I had made a mental note to check it out, that I might enjoy it, but I forgot about it once the display changed. It appeared in my research on what books to read and I am glad it did, it is certainly on the reading list. The basis of the book is a girl goes on a friend date once a week for a year in order to find new friends.) 
31. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares (OMG how have I never read or even heard of this book before? I love, love, love the sisterhood of the traveling pants books. I have read them from book one through at least ten times, they have always been my go to summer book. This book is by the same auther and about the same characters, however a number of years has gone by and they are all grown up.) 
32. The Geography of Nowhere by James Kunstler (I am a geography kid through and through. I love physical geography, but the human stuff intrigues me a little. The idea of 'what is where, why there and why care' is a theory drill into my head by a wonderful university professor of mine and I will most likely never forget it. It is a wonderful way to look at the world and this book takes a look at the changes to the American man-made landscape.) 
33. Why Geography Matters: 3 Challenges Facing America: Climate Change, the Rise of China & Global Terrorism by Harm J DeBlij
34. What Did You Expect: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage by Paul David Tipp (This book looks at marriage from a biblical perspective and provides a practical approach to overcoming misconceptions about marriage.)
35. Unbroken: A World War 2 Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
36. A Life That Says Welcome: Simple ways to open your heart and home to others by Karen Ehman (Because if you know me, you know I am struggling with issues of stress and company has a tenancy to cause this. I hope this will aid in me feeling more comfortable with what we have and understand that people do not come with expectations.) 
37. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson (recommended by a friend and this looks interesting. A lady with amnesia starts to realize things are not as they seem.) 

So in the end my list is more than 30, however I have a good start already and cannot wait to see what all the talk is about some of these books. Any others I should consider adding, or more likely adding to a list for next year?