If you are looking for the MEN’S companion reading challenge for 2019, you can find it here! Happy reading!! 

Welcome to the 2019 reading challenge! This is our 3rd year in a row running our reading challenge and it’s been a blast. Jason and I have always been big readers, but having 5 kids in 4 years and running our own business started to squeeze the love (or the time) out of our reading life. 

So in 2017 we decided to run a little challenge for ourselves (and invited you to join in) and the result has been two fabulous years of reading! We have both read more in the past 2 years then we could have thought possible with this busy season of life we are in. 

So we are back in 2019 with our 3rd reading challenge…and it’s our best one yet! Below you will find out 2019 reading challenge, lots and lots of amazing book recommendations, as well as a podcast episode all about the reading challenge this year that you can listen in to!

Listen to the Podcast:

Listen in to my podcast episode from this week to find out more about why I developed this reading plan, tips for following along, and the reasoning behind the books and categories I chose. Or skip the podcast and head down below for all the info ?

And don’t forget to subscribe to my podcast in iTunes. 

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

While this is our 3rd reading challenge, all of the books in the actual challenge below are all new! That means if you’ve been following along these past 2 years, you won’t have any repeats!! However, we do have categories down below if you want to pick other books to read – or feel free to swap out and put your own books in the categories. 

I’m ALL for broadening my reading horizon, which is why I was so excited about this new reading challenge. I think we often reach for the same kinds of books over and over again. But I want to stretch you and challenge you to reach out and pick up books you wouldn’t normally. 

Plus, doing a challenge like this will make you read more throughout the year. So wanna join us?!?

Grab the Toolkit: 

The very best and easiest way to follow along is to grab my toolkit right here! The toolkit includes the full reading challenge for 2019 (for both men and women) as well as tips for finding more time to read (even when you are super busy) and how to find more books for free or cheap. 

2019 Christian Reading Challenge for Women

Here’s how it works: 

I have given you category suggestions for each book as well as my book recommendation. I personally recommend all of these books and tried to think about the very best books I recommend all women read. If you’ve already read that book or simply want a different suggestion, scroll down and you will find more book recommendations for each category (OR feel free to choose any of your own books). 

Then download and/or print off the reading list to follow along. 

A note about fiction: This list does not include any fiction. I LOVE reading fiction and read many fiction books throughout the year. However, since this is for entertainment and relaxation for me, I don’t need to add these in as reading goals. When we are on vacation, or I have more down time (like during Christmas), I read a lot more fiction. But I’m already prone to being lazy and reaching for a fiction book more than a book to help my spiritual growth or draw closer to the Lord, so I don’t need any extra reading goals to re-inforce that habit ? But I know several of you requested fiction options worked in, so feel free to replace some of the categories below with fiction if you would prefer. 

Pick Your Level:

I know each of us has different reading levels and time for reading, so I created two different tracks you can follow. 

13 Books a Year – This works out to 1 book every 4 weeks. If you have no habit of reading right now or have no idea you will fit reading time into your busy schedule, then this is a great level to begin with. Pick one book every 4 weeks and commit to getting it down within that time. 

26 Books a Year – If you want to tackle a bigger challenge, then this level will get you reading 1 book every two weeks throughout the year. It’s still a very doable reading track but will challenge you to stay on track! If you want to follow this plan, read one book from each list every month. So in January, read book #1 and book #14! This way everyone can read through and follow along with books #1-13 together.

Guess what? I have one other fun surprise. People ask me all the time about how to making reading more affordable. And I’m excited to share that Jason and I have fallen in love with a book service called Scribd. You can get a two month free trail of them (to read and listen to unlimited books!!) and 17 of my 26 specific books below are in Scribd!! Listen to this here to find out all the details!

Here are the categories: 

• Christian Living
• Biblical Womanhood/Marriage
• Parenting/Family Life
• Theology
• Biography
• Practical Homemaking
• Money & Finances 
• Christian Classics
• Church History

*If you are not a parent or are not married, then scroll down and fill in those spots with other fantastic book suggestions from the other categories. 

13 Books a Year:

1. Practical Homemaking: Adorned by Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth
2. Christian Living: Caring for One Another by Edward T. Welch
3. Biblical Womanhood/Marriage: True Feelings by Carolyn Mahaney 
4. Spiritual Disciplines: Praying Together by Megan Hill
5. Christian Living: War of Words by Paul David Tripp
6. Parenting/Family Life: Prayers for the Battlefield by Heidi St. John
7. Biography: Devoted by Tim Challies
8. Theology: Spurgeon’s Sorrows by Zack Eswine
9. Biblical Womanhood/Marriage: Girl’s Club by Sally Clarkson 
10. Practical Homemaking: Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White
11. Parenting/Family Life: Talking to Your Kids About God by Natasha Crain 
12. Christian Living: The Gospel Comes with a Housekey by Rosaria Butterfield 
13. Theology: Growing in Gratitude by Mary K. Mohler

26 Books a Year: 

We changed up the order a little bit last year and kept it the same for 2019. Instead of just reading straight through the 26 books, we recommend that you pick one book from each list every month. So January you would read books #1 and #14, February is books #2 and #15, and so on. This makes it so that we are all working through books #1-13 together. But feel free to do it however you want ? 

14. A Christian Classic: All of Grace by Charles Spurgeon (hint hint: You can listen through this book for free here)
15. Practical Homemaking: Hello Mornings by Kat Lee
16. Parenting/Family Life: Better Together by Pam Barnhill
17. Biography: The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon by Steve J. Lawson
18. Theology: Suffering by Paul David Tripp
19. Reading: Book Girl by Sarah Clarkson
20. Spiritual Disciplines: Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church by Donald S. Whitney
21. Biblical Womanhood/Marriage: Sweethearts for a Lifetime by Wayne Mack 
22. Christian Living: Side by Side by Edward T. Welch  
23. Parenting/Family Life: The Life Giving Parent by Sally and Clay Clarkson
24. Biography: The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards by Steven J. Lawson 
25. Christian Living: The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
26. Theology: Humility by C.J. Mahaney 

Grab the Toolkit:

To make this as easy as possibly for you, I created a toolkit you can download that has all the details (and MORE) that you need to make the most out of this challenge, customize it for YOU, grab the men’s companion guide to go through with your husband, and more. 

I created this 24 page toolkit because I really want you to dive into reading this year and LOVE it. So I poured my heart into making this over the last two weeks and it’s my special gift for you to jump start your new year. All you have to do is sign up for my brand new newsletter all about reading and then you can download the toolkit immediately for free. (Don’t worry – you can then unsubscribe from my email list if you don’t want to hear from me). 

Download for FREE!

Other book suggestions for your categories: 

Christian Living:

• The Hospitality Commands by Alexander Strauch *Super short read
• Humility by C.J. Mahaney *Short read
• Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung *Short read
• Family Worship by Donald Whitney *Super short read
• When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper
• Simplify Your Spiritual Life by Donald Whitney
• Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur
• Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney
• The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
• Growing Your Faith by Jerry Bridges
• Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

Biblical Womanhood/Marriage:

• Glimpses of Grace by Gloria Furman
• Women’s Ministry in the Local Church by J. Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt
• Helper By Design by Elyse Fitzpatrick
• Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur
• The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
• Running on Empty by Barbara Bancroft
• Attitudes of a Transformed Heart by Martha Peace
• Women Living Well by Courtney Joseph 
• Spiritual Mothering by Susan Hunt
• Radical Womanhood by Carolyn McCulley
• The Measure of Success by Carolyn McCulley

Parenting/Family Life:

• Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full by Gloria Furman
• Mom’s Raising Sons to be Men by Rhonda Stoppe
• Get Outta My Face by Rich Horne
• Peacemaking for Families by Ken Sande
• What the Bible Says About Parenting by John MacArthur
• Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic
• Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick
• Mom Enough

Theology:

• Expository Listening by Ken Ramey
• Revolutions in Worldview by Andrew Hoffecker
• What We Believe by R.C. Sproul
• The Big Three by Henry Morris 
• Understanding English Bible Translation by Leland Ryken

Biography:

• Owen on the Christian Life by Matthew Barrett
• Edwards on the Christian Life by Dane Ortlund
• Heroes by Iain Murray

Time Management/Homemaking Skills:

• Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford
• The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner
• Let. It. Go. by Karen Ehman
• Having a Martha Home the Mary Way by Sarah Mae

Money & Finances:

• The Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples by Larry Burkett
• Money, Posessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
• Managing God’s Money by Randy Alcorn
• The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn

A Christian Classic:

• Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
• The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis
• The Apostolic Fathers
• The Incomparable Christ by J. Oswald Sanders

Church History:

• Church History 101 by Sinclair Furguson
• The Church in History by B. K. Kuiper *This is a textbook. It’s hefty.
• The Early Church by Henry Chadwick 
• Pages from Church History by Stephen Nicols

Download the FREE Toolkit! 

Don’t forget to grab the free toolkit I’ve created for this reading challenge. You will get everything you need to follow along with the challenge, how to tailor it to fit your needs and your life, book suggestions, how to find the time to read, how to read books on a budget, the men’s reading challenge companion guide, and more!