“I think reading a good book makes one modest. When you see the marvelous insight into human nature which a truly great book shows, it is bound to make you feel small-like looking at the Dipper on a clear night, or seeing the winter sunrise when you go out to collect the morning eggs. And anything that makes you feel small is mighty good for you.”
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
Welcome to my annual Reader’s Journal post! Here you will find a list of the books that I read this year with my top 5 highlighted. This was a weird reading year. There was a month where I could only listen. Honestly, I think I read more Psalms than anything else. However, this list does not include my Bible reading, The Cloud of Witness, Charlotte Mason’s 6 Volumes, or school books. Let me know if you have any opinions about these titles. Yes, I see a lack of soul-nourishing fiction that I will consciously try to remedy this year. If you post your list, feel free to link in the comments. I would love to see what you enjoyed this year!
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanith
This book was a breathtaking look at life and death from the perspective of a surgeon who was dying. It’s a quick read but really makes you contemplate what matters most in your life. It’s beautiful. And clearly something I needed to read at the start of my cancering.
2. Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep by Tish Harrison Warren
Tish Harrison-Warren is a gifted writer who dips deep into her life and training as she shares her insight into prayer. I was writing my talk on prayer as I was reading this and it is one of my favorites.
3. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
This heavy tome was suggested to me by my son who knows how I like to learn about any subject – with a living book. It goes deep into the history of cancer (and medicine) but the way research has been done in the 20th and 21st centuries was fascinating and often shocking.
4. A Deeper South – the Beauty, Mystery, and Sorrow of the Southern Road by Pete Candler
Try starting with the foreward by Rosanne Cash in this book. If that resonates with you (and I know it will) keep reading this brilliant book about a subject that our country and our families are still learning about and wrestling with.
5. & 6. Becoming Elisabeth Elliot and Begin Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn
I just had to read these two books as Elisabeth Elliot has been in the background of my entire life. Many of her works are precious to me and she has mentored me in so many ways. But these clear-eyed, honest books have given me a whole different perspective on this imperfect person. I was shocked in some ways, yet in other ways it made me appreciate her more. We should talk about it!
Here’s the rest of the list. An “*” indicates that I also recommend these titles.
7. *No Cure For Being Human by Kate Bowler
8. Radical Remission by Kelly A. Turner
9. A Light So Lovely by Sarah Arthur
10. Slightly Foxed, No. 81,
11. *Psalms – The Prayer Book of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
12. Now I Lay Me Down to Fight by Katy Bowser Hutson
13. Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple
14. *Even If He Doesn’t by Kristen LaValley
15. The Life of Prayer by Edith Schaeffer
16. Help, Thanks, Wow by Anne Lamott
17. The Brave In-Between – Notes from The Last Room by Amy Low
18. Upstream by Mary Oliver
19. *Range – Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
20. The Librarianist by Patrick DeWitt
21. Enchantment – Awkening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May
22. *Chris Beat Cancer by Chris Wark
23. Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst
24. *Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop
Past lists of reading goodness:
You have asterisks by some titles. What do they indicate?
Whoops! I edited the post to state that those titles with asterisks are also books I recommend. Thanks for catching that!
Warmly,
Nancy