My recent reads. This is not a list of my favs, although many are quite good (and some are not quite good). Reading poorly-written books, or certainly ones I don't agree with, makes me appreciate the gems that much more. I have them divided them by fiction / nonfiction / subject, but other than that they are simply in order of when I read them. You'll see links for the ones I reviewed on my blog - enjoy!
“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.”
― J.D. Salinger
Hope Heals, Katherine and Jay Wolf
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, Rosaria Butterfield
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
Good Day! The Paul Harvey Story, Paul Batura
Bread and Wine, Shauna Niequist
The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
Still Lolo - Lauren Scruggs and the Scruggs Family
Mosaic - Pieces of My Life So Far, Amy Grant
Choosing to See: A Journey of Struggle and Hope, Mary Beth Chapman
Gift From the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Letters From Ruth's Attic, Ruth Bell Graham
Parting the Waters, Jeanne Damoff
Cold Tangerines, Shauna Niequist
Raising Cole - Marc Pittman
Same Kind of Different as Me, Ron Hall & Denver Moore
Keep a Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliot (this one I read every couple of years)
Ego is not the Emeny, Ryan Holiday
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeown
The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath, Mark Buchanan
When Women say Yes to God, Lysa Terkeurst
Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges
The Insanity of God, Nik Ripkin
Interrupted - An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith, Jen Hatmaker
One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, Ann Voskamp
Crazy Love, Francis Chan
Roaring Lambs: A Gentle Plan to Radically Change your World, Robert Briner
In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson
Lies Women Believe, and the Truth That Sets Them Free, Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Cure for the Common Life, Max Lucado
Raising Financially Confident Kids, Mary Hunt
Sacred Influence: How God Uses Wives to Shape the Souls of Their Husbands, Gary Thomas
The Christian Parents Handbook; 50 Heart-Based Strategies for all the Stages of Your Child's Life, Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, R.N.
Alone, Andy Braner
Candid Confessions of an Imperfect Parent, Jonathon McKee
Spiritual Parenting - An Awakening for Today's Families, Michelle Anthony
Nurture Shock: New Thinking about Children, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
Raising Your Children with No Regrets: 7 Principles of an Intentional Mother, Catherine Hickem
CloseKids, Brett A. Johnston
She's Gonna Blow! Real Help for Moms Dealing with Anger, Julie Ann Barnhill
The Price of Privilege, Madeline Levine, Ph.D.
The Way They Learn, Cynthia Ulrich Tobias
Not So Fast, Ann Kroeker
Revolutionary Parenting, George Barna
What Kids Wish Parents Knew About Parenting, Joe White
Going Public - Your Children can Thrive in Public School, David and Kelli Pritchard
Family Driven Faith - Voddie Baucham, Jr
Sold on a Monday, Kristina McMorris
Esther, Angela Hunt
The Wedding Dress, Rachel Hauck
The Writing Desk, Rachel Hauck
Maggie Bright: A Novel of Dunkirk, Tracy Groot
Camino Island, John Grisham
Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly
Long Way Gone, Charles Martin
The Girl from the Train, Irma Joubert
Two Crosses, Elizabeth Musser
Two Testaments, Elizabeth Musser
Two Destinies, Elizabeth Musser
The Garden of Letters, Alyson Richman
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
Words Unspoken, Elizabeth Musser
Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
A Sparrow in Terezin, Kristy Cambron
Life Intercepted, Charles Martin
The Butterfly and the Violin, Kristy Cambron
Sensible Shoes, Sharon Garlough Brown
Dear Mr. Knightly, Katherine Reay
The Swan House, Elizabeth Musser
Water From My Heart, Charles Martin
A River Runs Through it, Norman Maclean
Cross Roads, William Paul Young
Til We Reach Home, Lynn Austin
Ford County, John Grisham
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
The Mountain Between Us, Charles Martin
The Measure of a Lady, Deeanne Gist
The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards
The Heretic's Daughter, Kathleen Kent
Her Mother's Hope, Francine Rivers
Daisy Chain, Mary DeMuth
When Crickets Cry, Charles Martin
The Shack, William Young
On Writing - Stephen King
Kavik the Wolf Dog, Walt Morey (this one had all six of us in tears)
Summer of the Monkeys, Wilson Rawls (one of my absolute favs - from childhood and adulthood - but warning, the movie version is terrible)
Trumpet of the Swan, E. B. White
The Bear That Heard Crying, Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and Helen Kinsey
Thank you, Mr. Faulker, Patricia Polocco
The Gardener, Sarah Stewart
The Hedge of Thorns, John Carroll, Mark Hamby
Teddy's Button, Amy LeFeuvre
“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.”
― J.D. Salinger
Biography /Memoir
Becoming Elisabeth Elloit, Ellen Vaughn
Blaze of Light: The Inspiring True Story of Green Beret Gary Beikirch, Marcus Brotherton
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, Austin Channing Brown
Through the Eyes of Lion, Levi Lusko Hope Heals, Katherine and Jay Wolf
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, Rosaria Butterfield
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
Good Day! The Paul Harvey Story, Paul Batura
Bread and Wine, Shauna Niequist
The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
Still Lolo - Lauren Scruggs and the Scruggs Family
Mosaic - Pieces of My Life So Far, Amy Grant
Choosing to See: A Journey of Struggle and Hope, Mary Beth Chapman
Gift From the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Letters From Ruth's Attic, Ruth Bell Graham
Parting the Waters, Jeanne Damoff
Cold Tangerines, Shauna Niequist
Raising Cole - Marc Pittman
Same Kind of Different as Me, Ron Hall & Denver Moore
Nonfiction
Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade and Change Your Life Through the Power of Storytelling, Matthew Dicks and Dan Kennedy
You Changed My Life: Stories of Real People with Remarkable Hearts, Max Lucado
2 Chairs - The Secret that Changes Everything, Bob Beaudine
The Day the World Came to Town: 911 in Gander, New Foundland, Jim DeFedeKeep a Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliot (this one I read every couple of years)
Ego is not the Emeny, Ryan Holiday
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeown
The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath, Mark Buchanan
When Women say Yes to God, Lysa Terkeurst
Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges
The Insanity of God, Nik Ripkin
Interrupted - An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith, Jen Hatmaker
One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, Ann Voskamp
Crazy Love, Francis Chan
Roaring Lambs: A Gentle Plan to Radically Change your World, Robert Briner
In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson
Lies Women Believe, and the Truth That Sets Them Free, Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Cure for the Common Life, Max Lucado
Marriage / Parenting
Parenting, Paul TrippRaising Financially Confident Kids, Mary Hunt
Sacred Influence: How God Uses Wives to Shape the Souls of Their Husbands, Gary Thomas
The Christian Parents Handbook; 50 Heart-Based Strategies for all the Stages of Your Child's Life, Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, R.N.
Alone, Andy Braner
Candid Confessions of an Imperfect Parent, Jonathon McKee
Spiritual Parenting - An Awakening for Today's Families, Michelle Anthony
Nurture Shock: New Thinking about Children, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
Raising Your Children with No Regrets: 7 Principles of an Intentional Mother, Catherine Hickem
CloseKids, Brett A. Johnston
She's Gonna Blow! Real Help for Moms Dealing with Anger, Julie Ann Barnhill
The Price of Privilege, Madeline Levine, Ph.D.
The Way They Learn, Cynthia Ulrich Tobias
Not So Fast, Ann Kroeker
Revolutionary Parenting, George Barna
What Kids Wish Parents Knew About Parenting, Joe White
Going Public - Your Children can Thrive in Public School, David and Kelli Pritchard
Family Driven Faith - Voddie Baucham, Jr
Fiction
These High, Green Hills (Mitford #3) - Jan Karon
A Light in the Window (Mitford #2) - Jan Karon
At Home in Mitford (Mitford #1) - Jan Karon
The Water Keeper, Charles Martin
The Memory House, Rachel Hauck
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, Fredrik BackmanSold on a Monday, Kristina McMorris
Esther, Angela Hunt
The Wedding Dress, Rachel Hauck
The Writing Desk, Rachel Hauck
Maggie Bright: A Novel of Dunkirk, Tracy Groot
Camino Island, John Grisham
Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly
Long Way Gone, Charles Martin
The Girl from the Train, Irma Joubert
Two Crosses, Elizabeth Musser
Two Testaments, Elizabeth Musser
Two Destinies, Elizabeth Musser
The Garden of Letters, Alyson Richman
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
Words Unspoken, Elizabeth Musser
Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
A Sparrow in Terezin, Kristy Cambron
Life Intercepted, Charles Martin
The Butterfly and the Violin, Kristy Cambron
Sensible Shoes, Sharon Garlough Brown
Dear Mr. Knightly, Katherine Reay
The Swan House, Elizabeth Musser
Water From My Heart, Charles Martin
A River Runs Through it, Norman Maclean
Cross Roads, William Paul Young
Til We Reach Home, Lynn Austin
Ford County, John Grisham
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
The Mountain Between Us, Charles Martin
The Measure of a Lady, Deeanne Gist
The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards
The Heretic's Daughter, Kathleen Kent
Her Mother's Hope, Francine Rivers
Daisy Chain, Mary DeMuth
When Crickets Cry, Charles Martin
The Shack, William Young
Writing
If You Want To Write, Brenda Ueland
Bird by Bird, Anne LamottOn Writing - Stephen King
Children
Crash, Jerry SpinelliKavik the Wolf Dog, Walt Morey (this one had all six of us in tears)
Summer of the Monkeys, Wilson Rawls (one of my absolute favs - from childhood and adulthood - but warning, the movie version is terrible)
Trumpet of the Swan, E. B. White
The Bear That Heard Crying, Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and Helen Kinsey
Thank you, Mr. Faulker, Patricia Polocco
The Gardener, Sarah Stewart
The Hedge of Thorns, John Carroll, Mark Hamby
Teddy's Button, Amy LeFeuvre
Everyone Poops, Taro Gomi
Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams
Streams in the Desert, L. B. E. Cowman and Jim Reimann
New Morning Mercies, Paul David Tripp
Bible Studies /Devos
A Gospel Primer for Christians, Milton Vincent
Pursuing the Christ, Jennifer Kennedy Dean (Advent)Streams in the Desert, L. B. E. Cowman and Jim Reimann
New Morning Mercies, Paul David Tripp