December 30, 2023

Lesson 244: 2023 Book List

Hi friends! Here is the Book List for 2023. 

2023 was the year of the memoir, or maybe a continuation from last year? While all stories have value, my top picks were Paris Hilton's and Beth Moore's. Though The Lord is My Courage isn't technically a memoir, it contains lots of the author's personal story. Well worth the read! Maybe my top Christian book of the year?! 

Books about the process of writing made a strong showing towards the middle of the year, including my favorite by Mary Karr, The Art of the Memoir. The end of the year had me down a rabbit hole of stories of gals who've given up alcohol. Not sure I have a top pick in that category. 

In terms of novels, I finally picked up Fredrik Backman. Though slow going, he eventually turns the knife at just the right time, and there I sit, ugly crying. Just so good! 

I began the year with The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, author of my all-time favorite book, A Gentleman in Moscow. Loved it! Read it! I also raced through Lessons in Chemistry over Christmas break, enjoyed the journey, and was sad when it ended. 

Top picks are bolded and italicized as always. Happy reading!


January 

* The Mean$: A Novel by Amy Fusselman

* The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

* Unstoppable: Siggi Wilzig's Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor and Penniless Immigrant to Wall Street Legend by Joshua M. Greene 

* Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung (reread)


February

* The Lord is My Courage by K.J. Ramsey

* Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church by Diane Langberg

* Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier


March

* I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

* American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

* All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore

* A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

* Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen


April

* The Search to Belong by Joseph R. Myers

* Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn


May

* This Too Shall Last by K.J. Ramsey

* Beartown by Fredrik Backman

* The Great Sex Rescue by Sheila Wray Gregoire

* It All Comes Down to This by Therese Anne Fowler

* The Joy of Home by Ashley Gilbreath

* The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs by Elaine Sciolino


June

* Integrity by Henry Cloud

* Forgive by Tim Keller

* Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

* The Writing Life by Annie Dilliard


July

* The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr


August

* Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott


September

* Paris: The Memoir by Paris Hilton

* Raising Emotionally Strong Boys by David Thomas

* Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke


October

* A Burning in My Bones by Winn Collier

* Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion


November

* On Writing by Stephen King

* Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson

* Being Elizabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn


December

* Highlight Real by Emily Lynn Paulson

* Open Book by Jessica Simpson

* Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

* We Are the Luckiest by Laura McKowen

* A Way of Living by Ralph Lauren 



December 31, 2022

Lesson 243: 2022 Book List

2022! Here it is. 

An explanation for January. I only list books on these annual lists once I have fully finished reading. I must have buckled down the first few weeks of this year and plowed through all of the "mostly" finished titles on my nightstand.  Apparently most of them were worth finishing! 

Tapestry by Edith Schaeffer, read in June, was a particularly special experience this year, as it accompanied me around Scotland on a 5 weeks Sabbatical with our children. 

The end of the year found me reading a number of displacement stories, which often reflected on the relationship between the author (who was a child) and their experience of their parents in the process of setting up a new life. Reading so many allowed me to think through similarities in the narratives and also, cultural and situational nuances.  

Ended the year contentedly with A Gentlemen in Moscow, because it's still my all-time (non-Harry Potter) favorite. 

As always, notable titles are bolded and italicized. Enjoy!


January

* Healing Contentious Relationships by Thomas Parr (reread)

* Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop

* Cry of the Soul by Dan Allender and Tremper Longman

* Changes that Heal by Dr. Henry Cloud

* Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns

* Attachments: Why You Love, Feel, and Act the Way You Do by Dr. Tim Clinton and Dr. Gary Sibcy

* Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund


February

* Redeeming Heartache by Dan B. Allender and Cathy Loerzel


March

* Dare to Lead by Brene Brown

* The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller (reread)

* Union with Christ by Rankin Wilbourne

* Try Softer by Aundi Kolber 


May

* A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear

* L'Abri by Edith Schaeffer

* The Grace Outpouring by Roy Godwin


June

* The Tapestry by Edith Schaeffer

* Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (audio)


July

* The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

* Can't Even: How Millenials Become the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen


August

* Aunt Dimity and the Summer King by Nancy Atherton

* We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu

* Atomic Habits by James Clear

* Leading with a Limp by Dan B. Allender


September

* The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell (reread)

* College Ministry in a Post-Christian Culture by Stephen Lutz


October

* Low Anthropology: The Unlikely Key to a Gracious View of Others (and Yourself) by David Zahl

* Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

* Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah


November

* My Money My Way by Kumiko Love

* Where the Children Take Us by Zain E. Asher

* The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh

* Meredith Alone by Claire Alexander 


December

* Diary of a Misfit by Casey Parks

* Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

* A Gentlemen in Moscow by Amor Towles (reread)

* Parisian by Design: Interiors by David Jimenez by Diane Dorrans Saeks



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