“You seriously read over 100 books last year?” His eyes went wide as he looked from me to the bookshelf beside my desk.
“Yeah,” I laughed, pointing to the basket on the side table. “These are just the ones I’m reading this month.”
Another friend peeked into the doorway. “Okay, but I love this room! The typewriter and plants. The shelves. Is this your office?”
The whole exchange caught me off guard. It had started as small talk, a simple dinner conversation. “So you’re Scott’s mom, what do you do?” We chatted back and forth during dinner while the college students at the other table began an animated debate about something sports-related.
“What kind of writing do you do?” he asked.
“Have you ever read Atomic Habits by James Clear?” I said.
The conversation shifted as I discovered his excitement for reading non-fiction. I shared that I wrote a practical non-fiction book about living deliberately and avoiding overwhelm. [ Subtle Resistance ]
That was all it took.
Suddenly we were swapping favorite non-fiction book titles and talking about learning. Before I knew it, a few of us were standing in my office, scanning the shelves, pulling books down, and they were asking how I keep track of it all.
I explained how I plan my learning without rigid goals. I showed them my Personal Curriculum basket and my many notebooks.
As I shared, I realized this is exactly what my readers are curious about too. Not the polished version, but the real one. This is the part people don’t usually get to see online. The behind-the-scenes, low-pressure version.
I’m firmly anti-gatekeeping, especially when it comes to learning. So I wanted to share the same ideas here, hoping they spark curiosity and make things feel possible, not overwhelming.
Quick Personal Curriculum Planning Tips:
- Make plans that can bend with the season you’re in.
- Let curiosity lead instead of long-term pressure.
- Sprinkle in just-for-fun learning.
- Choose a few meaningful things rather than everything.
If we could gather for a meal in my home, or even just meet for coffee, I would encourage you to keep learning in a way that works for you.
My hope is that by sharing my plans here you can see the specific adjustments and unique plans I am making as inspiration.
So let’s jump in to the details of my own personal planning for this month…
Plans, hopes & goals:
- Writing projects — Substack posts will be more of a focus for me this month. After taking a much needed winter break, it will be good to get back into my afternoon writing routine again. I’m hoping the creative bug hits and I get inspired for some posts that will be helpful but fun to read. 😁
- Reading books from my shelves — I seriously need to read what I already own instead of bookstore shopping or browsing Amazon. So this month I will keep my physical book stash to what I have waiting to be read (plus some audiobooks on Libby).
- Hospitality — Another theme for my February. I have several parties and events I will be cooking for and hosting in my home this month. I want to be intentional about the meal planning, shopping, prep, and event details. {Hopefully without stressing out or getting totally overwhelmed.🤞}
- My Commonplace Notes and morning Bible Study — These are giving me fresh energy lately. I hope to continue these practices in the midst of my full schedule.
- Long walks in the neighborhood — This is the daily afternoon routine that the kids, dogs, and I look forward to. The Arizona desert is perfect right now! I would love to add more to this goal, but I’m going to keep it realistic and simple. 🏜️
- Bullet Journaling, my many lists, and our family digital calendar are holding me together right now. Busy seasons require good boundaries and writing everything down so I can prioritize. 🗒️
- (more on planning in my January post)
- Crafting & DIY decor — I have been inspired to do some simple Valentine’s Day craft projects with yarn, felt, paper, ribbon, a new glue gun, and a neutral color pallet. 🩵💚
So, what’s in my basket?
[note: this post is NOT sponsored, I just want to share what I’m using and how]Non-Fiction:
- Joyful – The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee 📖— This book explores the “aesthetics of joy,” explaining how elements like color, texture, and form affect our mood. I think it will support my hospitality goals and be a fun continuation of curating my home. Lee has a background in Industrial Design and I’ve seen her book recommended several times. I’m excited about this one!
- TALK: The science of conversation and the art of being ourselves by Alison Wood Brooks 🎧— I picked this audiobook because good conversation sounds simple, but it rarely feels that way in real life. This book looks at conversation as something we can actually practice and improve, without turning it into a performance. I’m excited to read it during a very social month because I want to be more present, more curious, and less in my head. My hope is that it helps me make small shifts that lead to warmer connections and fewer late-night mental replays. 💬
- I’m also still Commonplacing and finishing reading Practicing The Way by John Mark Comer (more on that in my January recap post)
I could try to plan out some more non-fiction but I’m not sure I will have time or space to read them this month. So, I will choose to be kind to myself and keep expectations low. (If I do add in another book it will show up in my recap post.)
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Fiction:
- Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale 📖 This came highly recommended by a friend. She said to watch the movie: Austenland🎥 (2013) with Jennifer Coolidge, then read book 2 of the series.
- The movie Austenland🎥 is about Jane, a New Yorker who receives a trip to a Jane Austen-themed resort in England where guests role-play in the Regency era. I loved it! So quotable and fun to watch!
- The 2nd book: Midnight in Austenland📖 is a follow-up novel but with a new main character. Charlotte encounters mysterious events, including a potential dead body, forcing her to question what’s real and what’s part of the performance.
- Jane and the Final Mystery by Stephanie Barron 📖— Going along with the same theme of Jane Austen lore this mystery will be a fun read. This book is at the end of her series so hopefully that won’t be frustrating for me, but I already have it on my shelf so I didn’t want to switch to the first book.
- Home by Marilynne Robinson 📖🎧— reading and discussing the second half in Leah Boden’s book club.
- The Final Gambit📖and The Brothers Hawthorne📖by Jennifer Lynn Barnes — books 3 & 4 fromThe Inheritance Games. I am completely sucked into this YA series and I have been enjoying discussing it with Lara as we co-read the series. It also made for good conversation with the friend to recommended the series.
- The Do-Over by Lynn Painter 📖This is a YA rom-com about Emilie who relives a disastrous Valentine’s Day over and over again, stuck in a time loop where she discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her and her family is falling apart. Lara enjoyed reading it and when she described it to me I added it to my TBR and insisted we watch the movie: Groundhog Day🎥.
- Lara also recommends Fake Skating by Lynn Painter 📖— This is a YA, Romantic Comedy, Sports Romance. This seems like a perfect winter-ish read but I’m not sure I will have time to get to this one this month.
It is wild to me that I easily have so many fiction books on my list. In the past, the bulk of my reading was nonfiction (specifically self-help).
Getting book recs from others, having great conversations about reading, and branching out into new genres has been fun for me. Lately my only issue with fiction is just finding enough time to read all my TBR’s. 😜
I’d love to hear what’s working for you!
Share your book recs and favorite reads in the comments.
And before I sign off, just a friendly reminder: this isn’t meant to be prescriptive.
It’s simply a description of what’s working for me right now, and an open invitation to make your reading life as unique as you are.
🌼💘Happy February! –
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