Be the First to See the 2018 ADHD-Friendly Reading List
In my previous career I was a librarian (library specialist) in a private school that served students in grades 3-12 who were diagnosed with ADHD and/or a learning disability. Reading was literally my job- and I LOVED it! To encourage the students to read more, I began several programs. One program was a reading competition based on the Battle of the Books program model.
Since the school was small, and reading was often a challenge, I needed to select books that were of high interest with varied reading levels. I read every book before I put it on the list for that year. There were 3 teams each year: 3-5th grades, 6-8th grades and 9-12th grades. Each team had a list with 10-11 books. That meant I need read 35-40 books- just for that program (not all of the books made the cut).
When I became a full-time ADHD coach, I didn’t have nearly as much time to devote to reading. I really missed it. To get back into reading more, last year I set a goal to read 30 books before December 31. I read 28 (I actually think I read more, but didn’t write them all down, so I’m only giving myself credit for 28).
A big obstacle for me when it comes to reading is deciding what to read next. This gets in my way… a lot! So, this year I decided to keep my goal of reading 30 books- but identify books I am really excited about reading. My hope is that in doing so, it will help me move on to a new book more easily.
I have identified 23 books I want to read- 11 fiction and 12 non-fiction. I also learned long ago to give myself permission to stop reading a book if I don’t love it. So, I may not finish each book on my list, but I am committed to giving each one a shot.
To give myself some variety- I didn’t pick all 30 books. There are bound to be dozens of books I encounter over the course of the year that I will want to read. Having space on my list to add them will keep things interesting! (But having a list will hopefully also keep me from impulsively buying more books to add to my pile of unread books.)
I am sharing my 2018 reading list below. It took me about 3 hours to create it- researching book lists, reading reviews and looking at my “pile of unread books”. My goal is to read at least 2 (and sometimes 3) books from my list per month (in no particular order!). I plan to post updates on the 2-3 I read each month to help with the accountability piece!
I believe I have a good variety of topics- which I like. And, of course, my list includes a couple of Harry Potters (which I have already read several times, but I start over each time I finish the series). Feel free to ask if you are curious why I picked a particular title. And, if there are any on my list that you feel inspired to read, or have read and want to give me a quick review (without telling me what happens!)- please do!
Without further ado- here is my 2018 Reading List:
Non-fiction
- Digging Up Mother: A Love Story by Doug Stanhope
- The Tapping Solution by Nick Ortner
- Mini Habits: Smaller Habits-Bigger Results by Stephen Guise
- The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim
- Lost at School by John Greene
- E-Squared by Pam Grout
- Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
- How to Be an Imperfectionist by Stephen Guise
- Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
- When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink
- A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II by Adam Makos
Fiction
- Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
- Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
- Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
- A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
- Complete Calvin & Hobbs Book 2 by Bill Watterson
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
- We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (re-read)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (re-read)
