A few months ago I mentioned on Facebook that I’d managed to read 20-something books before I got stuck in a reading rut. I do this periodically. I inhale books as if I think words are disappearing and then all of a sudden I just stop. Sometimes life gets in the way, but other times I just don’t feel like reading. I got over that reading rut and managed to scarf down something like 10 or 12 more books before the year’s end. Some of these books are really short e-books, some of them are silly and mindless, some of them are deep-thought inducing, and some of them aren’t. The books are listed in the order that I read them and I’ve added notes to any that I think have note-worthy points. The ones with links are the ones that I liked the most.
- Beginner’s Grace: Bringing Prayer to Life
(Kate Braestrup) – I still reference this book quite often.
- Twelve Days of Christmas (Trisha Ashley)
- The Book of Tomorrow (Cecelia Ahern)
- From Notting Hill with Love…Actually
(Ali McNamara) – This book references almost every one of my favorite ‘chick flick’ movies.
- A Year of Biblical Womanhood (Rachel Held Evans) – At the time of this post’s publication, the kindle version of this book is listed as only $2.99!
- The Next Big Thing (Jennifer Weiner)
- Then Came You (Jennifer Weiner) – I typically like Jennifer Weiner books but I could never really get into this one.
- Our Town (Thornton Wilder) – I read this book at least once a year. One of my all-time favorites.
- Fly Away Home (Jennifer Weiner)
- Quiet (Susan Cain) – A really great book about introverts that many of my friends really enjoyed. For me, a lot of it was redundant material from my social work classes in college.
- Start. – Jon Acuff
- Bossypants – Tina Fey
- The Cross in the Closet
(Timothy Kurek) – Very interesting book about a conservative Christian young man who decided to come out as a gay man (even though he isn’t) to everyone in his life, and to see for himself how the label of gay would impact his life. At the time of this post’s publication, the kindle version of this book is listed as only $4.99!
- The Book of Business Awesome (Scott Stratten) – You know a book is well-written when you can hear the author screaming maniacally in your head while you read.
- KidVentures: 50 Outdoor Experiences of Wonder, Discovery, & Childhood Memories
(Jennifer Murray) – You may know Jenn as QuatroMama. Even if you don’t know her, you’ll love this book! Tons of great ideas for kids and parents!
- Work Happily Ever-After (Jeff Jochum)
- To Kill a Mockingbird
(Harper Lee) – Another of my annual must-reads.
- Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
- Actually, Clams Are Miserable (Bryan Allain)
- Dad Is Fat
(Jim Gaffigan) – Written by one of my favorite comedians, this book was laugh-out-loud funny in more than a few places
- Redeeming Love (Francine Rivers)
- Cold Tangerines (Shauna Niequist)
- Mother’s Letters (Seth & Amber Haines)
- The Fault in Our Stars
(John Green) – I teared up in this one a few times. At the time of this post’s publication, the kindle version of this book is listed as only $3.99!
- Cold Sassy Tree
(Olive Ann Burns) – This is a Very Southern Book. Non-Southerners might not ‘get’ it but she has the accent down pat!
- Firefly Lane (Kristin Hannah)
- Steal Like an Artist (Austin Kleon)
- The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew– Three Women Search for Understanding
(Suzanne Oliver, Ranya Idliby, and Priscilla Warner) – It took me a while to read this one because I’d have to read and re-read some sections before I could really absorb all that they were trying to say.
- Chasing Rainbows (Kathleen Long)
- I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
(Malala Yousafzai) – Wow! This young woman is simply amazing.
- The Guernsey Library and Potato Peel Pie Society (Shaffer & Barrows) – I have been eyeing this book for ages. I’m glad I finally read it, but it is not one of my top choices.
- Bread & Wine (Shauna Niequist)
- The Wilder Life: my Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie (Wendy McClure) – We are knee-deep in Little House on the Prairie around here with my older two children and it was interesting to read while we were going through the books. If you aren’t a LHotP fan, you can skip this one. But if you are, it’s a fascinating read.
- Don’t Trade the Baby for a Horse (Wendy McClure) – The book is what I would consider a short companion book to the one listed above.
- The Gifts of Imperfection (Brene Brown) – I’m not quite done with this one yet but it is full of insight. If you’re searching for something that you just can’t quite put your finger on, this book is for you!
Full Disclosure: The links in this list are Amazon affiliate links which means if you click on that link and purchase that book, a small – and I do mean very small – portion of your sale goes to me!
