When I first started this "project" in January I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it. I've always loved to read (so much so that my mom once grounded me from reading for a whole week as a punishment because she knew how much it would hurt), but got out of a habit of reading for pleasure sometime in the last several years. The thought of reading a book a week intimidated me. But, just like riding a bike, the more I read the more I wanted to read. It was as if I'd rediscovered an important part of myself that I didn't know I'd lost. Interestingly enough, this has also led to me feeling more inspired to write....
I just want to read ALL THE BOOKS!
Here's the updated list, newest in bold :)
Non-fiction:
Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty
Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker
7 by Jen Hatmaker
Breaking Free by Beth Moore
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson
The Envy of Eve by Melissa Kruger
Recapture the Wonder by Ravi Zacharias
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Depression: Looking Up From The Stubborn Darkness (Edward T.
Welch)
Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that can't Stop Talking
(Susan Cain)
The Fringe Hours (Jessica Turner)
Jesus the King (Timothy Keller)
A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet (Sophie Hudson)
He Chose the Nails (Max Lucado)
Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard
(Laura Bates)
Sabbath (Wayne Muller)
Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis (Lauren Winner)
Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? (Mindy Kaling)
In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)
Yes Please (Amy Poehler) – I could have lived without reading
this. It’s too crude for my taste, especially
compared to Mindy Kaling’s book.
Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson)
– This gave me so much to
think about…and is such a timely issue.
I highly recommend.
Fiction:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)
Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty)
The Magician’s Nephew (C.S. Lewis)
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
The Good Girl (Mary Kubica)
The Invention of Wings (Sue Monk Kidd)
The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag (Alan Bradley)
Year of Wonders (Geraldine Brooks)
Three Wishes (Liane Moriarty)
Orphan Train (Christina Baker Kline)
The Things we do for Love (Kristin Hannah)
Angels Walking (Karen Kingsbury)
A Red Herring Without Mustard (Alan Bradley)
The Next Always (Nora Roberts)
The Rosie Project / The Rosie Effect (Graeme Simsion)
The Outer Banks House / Return to the Outer Banks House (Diann
Ducharme) –
Summer Island (Kristin Hannah)
Attachments (Rainbow Rowell)
Speak (Lauren Halse Anderson)
The Last Anniversary (Liane Moriarty)
Chasing Sunsets (Karen Kingsbury)
The Girl on the Train (Paula
Hawkins) – this book is
along the same vein as Gone Girl and it was a captivating read,
although not quite as well written.
Bridge to Haven (Francine
Rivers) – Rivers wrote
one of my favorite Christian fiction books ever, and so I was excited to see
she’d written something new. This was a
good read, but I didn’t love the happily ever after ending. It seemed far-fetched.
If I Stay (Gayle Forman) – A YA book that got its own movie. Didn’t like it.
Her Husband’s Secret (Liane
Moriarty) – I can’t get
enough of Moriarty’s style; an enjoyable read.
Eyes on You (Kate White) – got this as an audiobook through the
library and listened while cleaning and knitting. It held my attention but it’s not a
must-read.
The Lost Wife (Alyson
Richman) – This one is so
precious and I shed a few tears. Loosely
based on a synthesis of a few true stories, this World War II novel offers a
different, and difficult, picture of Jews in Nazi Europe.
The Nightingale (Kristin
Hannah) – This is another
World War II novel and focuses on the role of two sisters in the French
resistance. The best book by Kristin
Hannah I’ve ever read. So much
substance.
March (Geraldine Brooks) – I realized about halfway through this
book that I’d read it before...I kept reading anyway because I remembered that I
enjoyed it the first time. It combines
two things I love – the book Little Women
and the Civil War. Brookes writes in the midst of Alcott’s novel and gives the
reader an idea of what Mr. March experienced while away at war. One word of warning: if you don’t want to
view your favorite literary characters as real, flawed people, don’t read this.
On Deck:
Orthodoxy (GK Chesterton) – working my way through this slowly
Cutting For Stone (Abraham Verghese) – this one is LONG….I’m a
little over halfway through.
Total Finished as of May 31, 2015 – 51
