First of all, happy new year, everyone! And a warning, this is a long post. So just settle in with a cup of tea and piece of chocolate and enjoy.
I absolutely love everything about the Christmas season - the music, time spent with family, delicious food, red plaid, and picking out the perfect gift for someone, so you would think I’d hate for Christmas to be over. But I love new beginnings, New Year’s resolutions, and fresh starts so much that I don’t mind putting away my Christmas decor and beginning a new year.
I love looking back on what I’ve accomplished the previous year and making new plans and goals for the coming year. And one of my favorite annual blog posts that I write is on all the books I’ve read in the last twelve months.
With our busy year, I was surprised I was able to read as many books as I did - 24 total! (One book around every two weeks isn’t too bad!) I’ve tried to read as I nurse little Kristopher and, while we were in Malawi, while the children took their naps.
I covered several subjects and categories in the books I chose this past year: 6 how-to books, 4 on marriage, 4 on motherhood, 1 spiritual book, 6 novels, and 3 on history.
Last year I started recording the date I finish the book, plus a little summary of each book. Here is my (slightly condensed) list of books I’ve read in 2018:
1) Eating Expectantly: A Practical and Tasty Guide to Prenatal Nutrition by Bridget Swinney 1/8/18 (Started in 2017. Borrowed from midwife. This approach is very mainstream health - i.g. Fats are bad for you, etc. - but it did encourage and inspire me to eat more veggies, eat better in general, and exercise more. Book is older [2000], so isn’t entirely up to date. Lots of recipes and menu planning)
2)How to Encourage Your Husband: Ideas to revitalize your marriage Compiled by Nancy Campbell 1/16/18 (Each chapter is on a specific way you can encourage your husband - showing him respect, making time for him, etc. and includes letters from many women saying what they do in that area to encourage their husband. I hope to read this again as it inspires me to look for ways to encourage, love, and respect Kris.)
3) Living Stories of Famous Hymns by Ernest K. Emurian 1/24/18 (Started in 2017. Each chapter gives interesting details to the events inspiring famous hymns, poets, and composers. I read this along with my daily devotions and played and sang the hymns that I knew.)
4) All the Way Home: Power for your family to be its best by Mary Pride 2/1/18 (While there isn’t one thing thing that I disagree with in this book, I didn’t like the author’s proud and sarcastic style of communicating. The book does teach some wonderful things like learning to let God have control of your family size, ideas that don’t involve a screen for kids [or adults], inspiration to raise spiritually mature children, and steps for evangelizing the world through your family.)
5) The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two by William Sears, MD, Martha Sears, RN, Robert Sears, MD, and James Sears, MD 3/1/18 (First borrowed from midwife, then purchased my own copy. This 700+ page book is stuffed full of everything you need to know. I will be keeping this as a reference. So much info on newborns, breastfeeding, baby development, common illness, basic life saving procedures, etc. The book promotes “attachment parenting”, which I appreciated, but won’t be taking as far as they recommend. It’s very medically minded, with advice for immunizations and mainstream medical interventions.)
6) For Women Only: What you need to know about the inner lives of men by Shaunti Feldhahn 3/5/18 (I think we started this in 2017. Read with Kris - my third time reading through this book. So good and helpful to read with your spouse to fully understand him.)
7) Redeeming Childbirth: Experiencing His Presence in Pregnancy, Labor, Childbirth, and Beyond by Angie Tolpin (Borrowed from Sarah Hainline. This book is about surrendering your will to God and worshiping Him during pregnancy and birth. She also talks about strengthening your marriage and other relationships (mother, in-laws, children) by inviting them to your birth. I appreciated that the author had experienced difficult pregnancies and births, instead of easy, smooth going ones, so that what she had to say seemed more valid. I loved her heart - she says several times that it doesn’t matter if you have a home birth or a C-section, it’s about letting go of control and letting God lead. Her writing style bothered me a bit [she was a little all over the place] and there were a lot of typos and incorrect grammar.)
8) The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! Edited by Carleen Madigan 5/12/18 (This book is all about growing your own food in your backyard. There is so much information on how to grow veggies, fruits, and herbs, raising livestock, and preserving food [canning, drying, smoking, freezing, etc.]. I found it very inspiring and am excited to grow food in our backyard. Will read as a reference again)
9) Piercing the Darkness: A Novel by Frank Peretti 5/22/18 (A sequel to “This Present Darkness” which I read [and loved!] last year, this book is just as good as the first. Extremely well written and captivating, it tells the story of a lawsuit against a Christian school that’s somehow tied into the mysterious loner Sally Beth Roe. While telling an “ordinary” story, the author steps back and shows the spiritual realm - angels and devils, and prayers of the saints actively playing a part. It is eye opening to the power of prayer and shows the realness of the spiritual realm.)
10) Hansi: The Girl Who Loved the Swastika by Maria Anne Hirschmann 6/1/18 (Autobiography. An amazing story of a young orphan German girl who lives through the Nazi regime, escapes East Germany, marries, then immigrates to the United States. This book is hard to put down!)
11) Sacred Influence: How God Uses Wives to Shape the Soul of Their Husbands by Gary Thomas 7/2/18 (This book is powerful and Biblical, with an emphasis on complementarianism vs egalitarianism. I appreciated the chapters at the beginning of the book where the author stressed that we women should not place our identity and hope in our husbands, but rather on Christ. This book is filled with encouraging stories of other couples who worked through problems in their marriages and Biblical truth [wives submitting and honoring their husbands])
12) Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic 7/17/18 (I read this last year, but read it a second time through with Kris. Loved it and will read again and again!)
13) Comstock Lode by Louis L’Amour 7/28/18 (Louis L’Amour’s biggest novel of the west. I thought it was too long and could have been consolidated quite a bit. It begins rather slowly and doesn’t pick up until about ⅔ into the book. The ending is interesting.)
14) Practicing Hospitality: The Joy of Serving Others by Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock 8/6/18 (Borrowed from my family. This book teaches the importance of Biblical hospitality - opening your home to family, friends, and strangers and ministering, serving, encouraging, and witnessing to other people. I appreciated that they backed up everything they wrote with scripture. The concepts they teach are very stretching - like feeding homeless, inviting strangers, and hosting overnight guests you don’t know. I don’t think that they emphasized safety enough - our culture isn’t what it used to be and inviting strangers into your home can be dangerous. I am inspired to have more people in our house after reading this book.)
15) A Lifelong Love: What if marriage is about more than just staying together? By Gary Thomas 8/18/18 (Borrowed from my family. This is one of my favorite books on marriage. The author teaches how marriage isn’t just about passion and desire - love is serving and laying down your life for you spouse. Part 1 is on having a mission and purpose bigger than your marriage - serving God in some type of ministry. Part 2 is on growing together - purposely making small choices every day that build up the marriage and build true intimacy. Part 3 is moving toward love - how giving, serving, and building up our spouse strengthens the marriage and increases our love [i.e. desire] for our spouse. Favorite quote “In Jesus’s economy, giving is better than receiving. So what’s with the complaints that you do all the giving and rarely get to receive? According to Jesus. You have a spectacular arrangement!” Absolutely incredible book, will buy my own copy and read again and again.)
16) Outlining Your Novel: Map your way to success by K.M. Weiland 8/27/18 (This book was so inspiring and I know will revolutionize my writing process! The author teaches you how to create a clear outline for your story so that you don’t run into the dreaded “I have no idea what to write!”. She also gives ideas for brainstorming and character sketches. At the end of each chapter, she interviews prominent authors learning how they outline for their books. This is well written, with an extensive table of contents so you can easily find what you need. I’m very excited to start using these methods with my own writing and will be referring to this book again and again.)
17) Beyond Bath Time:Embracing motherhood as a sacred role by Erin Davis 8/31/18 (Short and sweet, this book is so encouraging to a mom. The author teaches how motherhood is a ministry and helps to broaden your focus so you’re not just stuck in dirty dishes and baby tantrums but focused on the goal - raising children for God’s glory and spreading the gospel. She encourages you to get to know, get help from, and be there for other moms. I appreciate that she’s not a stereotypical “good mom” - stay at home, homeschooling, have kids as soon as you get married - but she still applies these truths as a working mom with two kids in ten years of marriage. I also really like the journaling questions at the end of each chapter - they aren’t just to help you remember what you read, but they make you think. Will read this book again!)
18) Operation Jedburgh: D-Day and America’s First Shadow War by Colin Beavan 9/25/18 (This book is well researched and well written, very interesting with personal stories to make it more like a novel and less like a history book. Chapters are short, which I liked. This was about a different facet of the war that I didn’t know much about, so was very interesting.)
19) Structuring Your Novel: Essential keys for writing an outstanding story by K.M. Weiland 10/4/18 (I learned so much from reading this book. Like the name, it’s all about story structure. I’m excited to apply these concepts to my writing. However, I found this book almost too detailed. I enjoyed the author’s style of writing, so even though she was writing about a “dry” subject, I found it interesting. Will reference as I work on writing my own stories.)
20) GI Brides: The wartime girls who crossed the Atlantic for love by Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi 10/?/18 (this book tells the stories of four different women who fell in love with American GIs, and came to the US to live after the war. Most of the stories were heartbreaking - these women went through so much! The book is very well written and each story is inspiring. Loved it!)
21) The Help: a novel by Kathryn Stockett 11/10/18 (this book is about 3 different women during the 1960s who work together to write a book about working as a black maid for white families. The story is incredibly interesting and inspiring. The ending was beautiful. I did not appreciate all the swearing, plus a few other minor things. Glad I read it, but will be passing it on. Plan to leave it at the Baptist guest house in Malawi, Africa)
22) Illusion: a novel by Frank Peretti 11/18/18 (excellent novel! The story is captivating, and a little science fiction-y with a strong Christian message. Loved the main character. The ending is very sweet. Reading this inspires me to write more of my own stories!)
23) Timeline by Michael Crichton 11/26/18 (borrowed from the Baptist guest house in Malawi, Africa, this novel was written by the same author who wrote Jurassic Park. The story is about a group of historians who travel back in time to the hundred years war to rescue their friend. Story is very interesting and about a third into the book there's constant action until the end. There is a little language, but for most part, it was good.)
24) Odessa Sea: A Dirk Pitt novel by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler 12/1/18 (borrowed from the Baptist guest house in Malawi, Africa. The story is interesting, but I didn't really like the author's writing style.)
3) Living Stories of Famous Hymns by Ernest K. Emurian 1/24/18 (Started in 2017. Each chapter gives interesting details to the events inspiring famous hymns, poets, and composers. I read this along with my daily devotions and played and sang the hymns that I knew.)
4) All the Way Home: Power for your family to be its best by Mary Pride 2/1/18 (While there isn’t one thing thing that I disagree with in this book, I didn’t like the author’s proud and sarcastic style of communicating. The book does teach some wonderful things like learning to let God have control of your family size, ideas that don’t involve a screen for kids [or adults], inspiration to raise spiritually mature children, and steps for evangelizing the world through your family.)
5) The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two by William Sears, MD, Martha Sears, RN, Robert Sears, MD, and James Sears, MD 3/1/18 (First borrowed from midwife, then purchased my own copy. This 700+ page book is stuffed full of everything you need to know. I will be keeping this as a reference. So much info on newborns, breastfeeding, baby development, common illness, basic life saving procedures, etc. The book promotes “attachment parenting”, which I appreciated, but won’t be taking as far as they recommend. It’s very medically minded, with advice for immunizations and mainstream medical interventions.)
6) For Women Only: What you need to know about the inner lives of men by Shaunti Feldhahn 3/5/18 (I think we started this in 2017. Read with Kris - my third time reading through this book. So good and helpful to read with your spouse to fully understand him.)
7) Redeeming Childbirth: Experiencing His Presence in Pregnancy, Labor, Childbirth, and Beyond by Angie Tolpin (Borrowed from Sarah Hainline. This book is about surrendering your will to God and worshiping Him during pregnancy and birth. She also talks about strengthening your marriage and other relationships (mother, in-laws, children) by inviting them to your birth. I appreciated that the author had experienced difficult pregnancies and births, instead of easy, smooth going ones, so that what she had to say seemed more valid. I loved her heart - she says several times that it doesn’t matter if you have a home birth or a C-section, it’s about letting go of control and letting God lead. Her writing style bothered me a bit [she was a little all over the place] and there were a lot of typos and incorrect grammar.)
8) The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre! Edited by Carleen Madigan 5/12/18 (This book is all about growing your own food in your backyard. There is so much information on how to grow veggies, fruits, and herbs, raising livestock, and preserving food [canning, drying, smoking, freezing, etc.]. I found it very inspiring and am excited to grow food in our backyard. Will read as a reference again)
9) Piercing the Darkness: A Novel by Frank Peretti 5/22/18 (A sequel to “This Present Darkness” which I read [and loved!] last year, this book is just as good as the first. Extremely well written and captivating, it tells the story of a lawsuit against a Christian school that’s somehow tied into the mysterious loner Sally Beth Roe. While telling an “ordinary” story, the author steps back and shows the spiritual realm - angels and devils, and prayers of the saints actively playing a part. It is eye opening to the power of prayer and shows the realness of the spiritual realm.)
10) Hansi: The Girl Who Loved the Swastika by Maria Anne Hirschmann 6/1/18 (Autobiography. An amazing story of a young orphan German girl who lives through the Nazi regime, escapes East Germany, marries, then immigrates to the United States. This book is hard to put down!)
11) Sacred Influence: How God Uses Wives to Shape the Soul of Their Husbands by Gary Thomas 7/2/18 (This book is powerful and Biblical, with an emphasis on complementarianism vs egalitarianism. I appreciated the chapters at the beginning of the book where the author stressed that we women should not place our identity and hope in our husbands, but rather on Christ. This book is filled with encouraging stories of other couples who worked through problems in their marriages and Biblical truth [wives submitting and honoring their husbands])
12) Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic 7/17/18 (I read this last year, but read it a second time through with Kris. Loved it and will read again and again!)
13) Comstock Lode by Louis L’Amour 7/28/18 (Louis L’Amour’s biggest novel of the west. I thought it was too long and could have been consolidated quite a bit. It begins rather slowly and doesn’t pick up until about ⅔ into the book. The ending is interesting.)
14) Practicing Hospitality: The Joy of Serving Others by Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock 8/6/18 (Borrowed from my family. This book teaches the importance of Biblical hospitality - opening your home to family, friends, and strangers and ministering, serving, encouraging, and witnessing to other people. I appreciated that they backed up everything they wrote with scripture. The concepts they teach are very stretching - like feeding homeless, inviting strangers, and hosting overnight guests you don’t know. I don’t think that they emphasized safety enough - our culture isn’t what it used to be and inviting strangers into your home can be dangerous. I am inspired to have more people in our house after reading this book.)
15) A Lifelong Love: What if marriage is about more than just staying together? By Gary Thomas 8/18/18 (Borrowed from my family. This is one of my favorite books on marriage. The author teaches how marriage isn’t just about passion and desire - love is serving and laying down your life for you spouse. Part 1 is on having a mission and purpose bigger than your marriage - serving God in some type of ministry. Part 2 is on growing together - purposely making small choices every day that build up the marriage and build true intimacy. Part 3 is moving toward love - how giving, serving, and building up our spouse strengthens the marriage and increases our love [i.e. desire] for our spouse. Favorite quote “In Jesus’s economy, giving is better than receiving. So what’s with the complaints that you do all the giving and rarely get to receive? According to Jesus. You have a spectacular arrangement!” Absolutely incredible book, will buy my own copy and read again and again.)
16) Outlining Your Novel: Map your way to success by K.M. Weiland 8/27/18 (This book was so inspiring and I know will revolutionize my writing process! The author teaches you how to create a clear outline for your story so that you don’t run into the dreaded “I have no idea what to write!”. She also gives ideas for brainstorming and character sketches. At the end of each chapter, she interviews prominent authors learning how they outline for their books. This is well written, with an extensive table of contents so you can easily find what you need. I’m very excited to start using these methods with my own writing and will be referring to this book again and again.)
17) Beyond Bath Time:Embracing motherhood as a sacred role by Erin Davis 8/31/18 (Short and sweet, this book is so encouraging to a mom. The author teaches how motherhood is a ministry and helps to broaden your focus so you’re not just stuck in dirty dishes and baby tantrums but focused on the goal - raising children for God’s glory and spreading the gospel. She encourages you to get to know, get help from, and be there for other moms. I appreciate that she’s not a stereotypical “good mom” - stay at home, homeschooling, have kids as soon as you get married - but she still applies these truths as a working mom with two kids in ten years of marriage. I also really like the journaling questions at the end of each chapter - they aren’t just to help you remember what you read, but they make you think. Will read this book again!)
18) Operation Jedburgh: D-Day and America’s First Shadow War by Colin Beavan 9/25/18 (This book is well researched and well written, very interesting with personal stories to make it more like a novel and less like a history book. Chapters are short, which I liked. This was about a different facet of the war that I didn’t know much about, so was very interesting.)
19) Structuring Your Novel: Essential keys for writing an outstanding story by K.M. Weiland 10/4/18 (I learned so much from reading this book. Like the name, it’s all about story structure. I’m excited to apply these concepts to my writing. However, I found this book almost too detailed. I enjoyed the author’s style of writing, so even though she was writing about a “dry” subject, I found it interesting. Will reference as I work on writing my own stories.)
20) GI Brides: The wartime girls who crossed the Atlantic for love by Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi 10/?/18 (this book tells the stories of four different women who fell in love with American GIs, and came to the US to live after the war. Most of the stories were heartbreaking - these women went through so much! The book is very well written and each story is inspiring. Loved it!)
21) The Help: a novel by Kathryn Stockett 11/10/18 (this book is about 3 different women during the 1960s who work together to write a book about working as a black maid for white families. The story is incredibly interesting and inspiring. The ending was beautiful. I did not appreciate all the swearing, plus a few other minor things. Glad I read it, but will be passing it on. Plan to leave it at the Baptist guest house in Malawi, Africa)
22) Illusion: a novel by Frank Peretti 11/18/18 (excellent novel! The story is captivating, and a little science fiction-y with a strong Christian message. Loved the main character. The ending is very sweet. Reading this inspires me to write more of my own stories!)
23) Timeline by Michael Crichton 11/26/18 (borrowed from the Baptist guest house in Malawi, Africa, this novel was written by the same author who wrote Jurassic Park. The story is about a group of historians who travel back in time to the hundred years war to rescue their friend. Story is very interesting and about a third into the book there's constant action until the end. There is a little language, but for most part, it was good.)
24) Odessa Sea: A Dirk Pitt novel by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler 12/1/18 (borrowed from the Baptist guest house in Malawi, Africa. The story is interesting, but I didn't really like the author's writing style.)
Wow, good for you! :-D
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, good for us Christmas lovers that we love the fresh starts, goals, and decluttering & organization that follows maybe even more! ;-P
ReplyDelete